Pulled Pork with Olives and Pearl Barley

It is still winter here in Melbourne, and we are still getting cold, grey wet days on a consistent basis. This kind of weather calls for hearty food to warm you from the inside out.

One of my favourite recipes that I tried recently for a hearty winter meal is Pulled Pork with Olives and Pearl Barley, from p42 of the July 2019 edition of Coles magazine.  The flavours are wonderful, and the dish is warning and filling.

The pork is cooked in the slow cooker with onion, tomatoes, garlic, carrot, celery, stock and pearl barley to give rich, deep flavour to the pork, and baby spinach and olives are added at the end for additional flavour and bulk.

To make this wonderful dish, you will need:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1.8kg boneless roast pork shoulder
2 brown onions, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
3 cups (750ml) chicken stock
400g can diced tomatoes
1 cup (200g) pearl barley
1/4 cup tomato paste
100g pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
50g pitted Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
120g packet baby spinach

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, remove the string from the pork, season with salt and pepper, and cook in the pan for 2-3 minutes each side or until browned.  Transfer the browned pork to a slow cooker.

Add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, stock, diced tomato, pearl barley and tomato paste to the pork in the slow cooker.  Cover the slow cooker and cook the pork on high for 6 hours (or 8 hours on low) until the pork is tender and the mixture thickens.  Transfer the pork to a plate.

Add the olives and vinegar to the mixture in the slow cooker and stir to combine.  Stir in the spinach.

Using two forks, coarsely shred the pork.  Divide the barley mixture evenly between 8 serving bowls.  Top each bowl with shredded pork and a little dill (if desired).