Pork and veggie stew

I was totally winging it with this one and it came out very tasty!

I wanted to stew some meat because it makes for great family meals - very easy to eat for the family member who still doesn't have all her teeth. The rest was just a mix of what I remember from making other stews and Marcella Hazan tomato sauces (ie, LOTS of olive oil!).

We ate it with pasta but it could also have been served over rice, with potatoes - or even with potatoes cooked in it.

2T veg oil
800g pork

1/2 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced thin
1/2 courgette, sliced thin
About 1/4-1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced thin
1/2 head garlic, chopped
2 splashes dry sherry
1 tsp oregano
1 enormous bay leaf
3 400ml/14 ox tins tomato
250ml/1 cup chicken stock
1 Tbsp flour
(Would have added dried basil if I'd had it. Instead, chopped up some fresh basil and cilantro and used that as a garnish before serving)

Heat veg oil in Dutch oven until very hot. Add cubed meat and brown on all sides. Set aside.

Add olive oil to Dutch oven. Add onion and carrot and saute for a few minutes. Add courgette, mushroom and garlic and cook until veg starts to get soft. Add spices, stir. Add sherry, scraping bottom of pan to remove tasty meat bits. Add tomato and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer, put the top and let it cook for at least two hours, stirring occasionally.

When the meat is very soft, remove the lid. Remove about a cup of liquid, and disolve flour in it. Then return flour/broth mixture to the soup. Stir and let cook for a few minutes with the top off, to thicken broth. Season with salt and pepper.