700 g pork shoulder (or another cut that’s not too lean), cut roughly into cubes
700 g potatoes (a fairly waxy variety is best), peeled and roughly cubed
2 onions, sliced
4 large garlic cloves, chopped  (or, if in doubt, add an extra clove or two)
A small glass of armagnac (or other spirit – see above)
Leaves from a large sprig of thyme
A small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
4 – 5 tbsp duck fat

Preheat the oven to 180⁰C.

Season the pork and brown it in a couple of tablespoons of duck fat (it’s best to do this is in several small batches), then set aside. Add a little more duck fat to the pan if it’s dry and fry the onions slowly until soft – 20 minutes or more would be good. Add the garlic and fry for 2 or 3 minutes. Pour in the armagnac and stir around until the liquid has all but disappeared. Return the pork to the pan together with any juices and add a cup of water and the thyme. Increase the heat until the liquid is simmering. Partly cover the pan and allow the mixture to simmer for an hour, stirring now and then. Make sure that the pan doesn’t dry out completely before the hour is up, but you should end up with quite a dry result – the pork should be coated with a sauce rather than sitting in liquid.

While that’s going on, pat the potato cubes dry and lightly season them. Preheat an oven tray with a tablespoon or two of duck fat and then add the potatoes. Roast in the oven until cooked through and golden (about 30 minutes, although that’ll depend on the size of your cubes, of course). Turn them once or twice while roasting.

To finish the dish, stir the potatoes into the pork and check the seasoning. Chop the leaves of the parsley and add to the dish just before serving. (There should be plenty of parsley, so don’t hold back).