Pork heel stew

One of my favorites is this meal. I must admit there was a time when at the end of the month we ate this quite often, as it is relatively cheap, but we never got tired of it because we love it. Fortunately my husband shares my enthusiasm about this food. It has been a long time, though, since I made it the last time. I was planning to do so, but it is rather hard to find fresh pork heels. Now I finally bought some beautiful pork heels and it became our Sunday meal.
Our kid ate the boiled potatoes with something else because he does not like pork heel stew. Yet.
I suggest you try allspice in this as it adds a small and harmonic taste. Use only one piece though, not more.



Ingredients:

4 smaller pork heels
2 middle-sized onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 green pepper
½ tomato
1 piece allspice
10 pieces of whole black pepper
1 chili pepper
1 heartful tblsp ground paprika
salt

Preparation:

In the store, I let the butcher cut the heels in 3-4 pieces.I wash the meat at home and put it in a pot under water that just covers it. I heat it until it boils, then I put the top on the pot, reduce heat and let it cook for an hour.
When there is time, I let it stand then in the fridge for a night. This way, the fat comes up to the top and gets firm, thus I can remove it.
If there is no time for that, I just remove it with a spoon while cooking. I gather the fat in another (big) pot and heat it. I cut the onions and garlic into small pieces and cook them in the hot fat for a while. When they turn a little transparent I add the heels together with their liquid.
I add pepper, allspice, chili, tomato, green pepper and salt. I cover the pot again and cook for another 15 minutes. I add water only if there is an emergency : one should not let the stew be too thin.
If the 15 minutes are over, I add paprika and let the stew boil for another 15 minutes.
I serve this with boiled potatoes flavored with cumin and pickles.
The pork heel stew is best when it is thick and sticky, and the meat just melts from the bone. One should eat something like this only with family or with good friends, because there is no way to eat it like a civilized person :D