Spicy Pork Stew with Chickpeas and Sausage

Get ready for some seriously yummy recipes!  My dear friend, Jessie, from Bites was here for a visit and we made it a priority to cook delicious things together!  This stew was perfect for a fall day; hearty,  flavorful and, between the two of us, seemed fairly easy to put together.

adapted from this recipe

1 Tbsp olive oil
1.5 to 2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1-2 inch chunks
Salt
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3 links hot Italian sausage links (not loose) or Spanish chorizo 
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
3 1/2 cups water
1 Tbsp dried parsley
2 Tbsp sweet paprika (I used 2 Tbsp paprika total - it was smoked, not sweet)
1-2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches to ensure that you do not crowd the pan, brown the pieces of pork shoulder. If there is a fatty side to a chunk of pork, put that side down on the pan to help render out the fat. Sprinkle a little salt over the pork as it cooks. Once browned, set aside to a bowl.

Once the pork pieces have browned and have been removed from the pan, drain off all but a couple tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add the chopped onions and carrots to the pan. Stir well and scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook over medium-high heat until the onions start to brown. Add the chopped garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the pork, the sausage links, diced tomatoes, water, and parsley then stir to combine. Stir in the various paprikas. Add salt to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook for at least 2 hours, or until the pork shoulder is melt-in-your mouth tender.

Remove the sausages from the pot and cut them into chunks, then return them to the pot. Add the chickpeas and stir well; adjust salt to taste. Cook for 5 minutes further until chickpeas are tender.

Excellent served with crusty bread and red wine.