Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 pound pork shoulder (Boston butt), fat trimmed
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
  • 1 carrot, quartered
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 5 sprigs parsley
  • 2 sprigs rosemary, divided in use
  • 4 cups chicken broth or stock
  • 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained, or 2 cups fresh, cooked

Method

  • Put an oven rack in lower third of oven and heat to 350 degrees. Sprinkle pork liberally with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a medium Dutch oven or ovenproof pot over medium-high heat until hot. Add pork and cook until browned on all sides. Remove pork from pot and set aside.
  • In the pot, stir in garlic, celery, carrot, onion and tomato paste. Cook until onions are softened. Add parsley and 1 sprig of the rosemary. Chop remaining sprig of rosemary for garnish; set aside.
  • Return meat to pot. Add chicken broth until it reaches halfway up the side and heat to a simmer. Transfer the pot to the oven and cook, covered, until fork tender, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
  • Remove pork from pot. When it's cool enough to handle, shred the pork into bite-sized pieces, removing as much fat as possible.
  • Place 3 cups of the shredded pork in a medium saute pan. Stir in chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm until ready to use (moisten a little with a little of the braising juices, if necessary).
  • Alternatively, make pork as many as two days ahead; reheat in saute pan, adding a
  • little braising liquid if necessary. Use remaining shredded pork for barbecue-style sandwiches or as desired.
  • To serve, place a scoop of pork and chickpea mixture in the center of each soup bowl. Pour soup (Potato & Leek Soup recipe) around center; garnish with chopped rosemary.