Apricot and Onion Braised Pork Shoulder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a dry frying pan toast the fennel seeds and coriander seeds. Lightly crush seeds with a mortar and pestle. Put the pork shoulder in a Dutch oven. Rub with in garlic, chile, saffron, honey and olive oil. Marinate for 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Remove the pork shoulder from the marinade. Reserve the marinade. Heat 3 tbsp. of olive oil in the Dutch oven. Season the pork shoulder generously with salt and pepper. Sear the meat until golden brown on all sides and remove. Add diced onions and quartered fennel. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes then add the tomatoes, bay leaves, reserved marinade and the apricots. Cook for 5 minutes scraping the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil. Return the pork shoulder to the Dutch oven. Cover and braise in the oven for 1½ hours. Uncover and finish cooking for 1/2 an hour.

Remove pork shoulder from Dutch oven. Let rest 5 minutes then slice. Serve with puree of celery root. Finish the sauce with fresh herbs and ladle over meat.

Pour cream into a heavy bottomed pot and reduce by half over medium-high heat.

In another pot, cover the celery root with water. Add bay leaves and season. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until celery root is fork tender. Remove bay leaves. In a food processor puree the celery root until just smooth. Add the cream and season to taste.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups