I like fish, kasha and vegetables prepared in different ways. The only meatless product which is not my cup of tea is tofu. But maybe one day an interesting dish will change my mind. I can't quite reject meat. Sometimes it "follows me around" and lures me. Today's stew with a load of vegetables captivates me with its aroma.

The recipe comes from the TV programme "Three ways to prepare Polish pork" by Karol Okrasa. In all the ingredients there is ajvar, which is a slightly seasoned vegetable paste from Serbia, made with pepper, aubergines, tomatoes, garlic, vinegar and flavouring. If you don't like it, you may add tinned tomatoes and peppers fried in butter and. It is equally tasty but slightly less peppery.

Ingredients:
600g of pork shoulder
100g of smoked bacon
red pepper
2 gherkins
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
150g of ajvar
1 chili pepper
1 tablespoon of curry powder
4 tablespoons of oil
1 tablespoon of butter
salt and pepper

Cut the pork shoulder into large cubes. Spice them up with salt and pepper and quick fry in pre-heated oil. Put the meat into a saucepan with a thick bottom. Don't clean the pan. Fry in it two sliced cloves of garlic, the curry powder and diced chili pepper (with the seeds if you like spicy dishes). Add the seasoning from the pan to the meat. Pour in enough water to cover the meat and stew until it is soft.

Slice the onion and garlic and then cube the bacon, pepper and gherkins. Lightly fry the onion, garlic and pepper in butter. Remove from the pan. Put the bacon in the pan and fry until the fat melts. Add the gherkins and fry for a while. Add the vegetables and bacon with gherkins to the meat. Mix it in and spice it up with salt and pepper. Serve with anything you like: fresh bread, buckwheat groats or noodles.

Enjoy your meal!