Pig’s cheeks are a delicacy in Spain and Italy, revered for their incredibly tasty flesh and unctuous, sticky texture. You have to cook them for a couple of hours to get the meat really soft but they’re completely worth the wait. Your butcher will be happy to supply you with these as they’re relatively underused in the UK and often go to waste. We like to serve pigs’ cheeks year-round, not just in the colder months. Although the cheeks are richly braised here, this dish is made lighter by the bright, summery flavours of the apples, pancetta and peas.

What You’ll Need:

• 8 pigs’ cheeks, trimmed of fat, ask
• your butcher for the ‘spots’ not the
• whole jowl
• 1 large carrot
• 1 small onion
• 1 stick celery
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ head garlic
• 250ml dry cider
• 1 – 1.25 litres dark chicken stock,
• enough to cover the cheeks
• 120g pancetta or smoked bacon,
• cut into lardons
• 1 Braeburn apple, peeled, cored,
• cut into 12 slices
• 400g peas, fresh or frozen
• 40g unsalted butter, diced
• 2 sprigs oregano, leaves picked
• olive oil for cooking
• sea salt and black pepper

What To Do:

• Preheat the oven to 160˚C.
• Peel and roughly chop the carrot, onion and celery. Heat a large ovenproof casserole pan over a medium heat and add a lug of olive oil. Add the cheeks and colour for 3 minutes