Pork Stew with Kabocha Squash

This very tasty recipe was in the paper the other weekend. Since I've been on a bit of a braising roll lately, I decided to give it a try.

I made a few changes noted here.

I cooked it in my trusty dutch oven, not a sauce pan as the recipe calls for. Bring it to a simmer on the top of the stove and then cover and move it to a 325 degree oven for the rest of the cooking time. I'm sure it would be great in a slow cooker, too.

Instead of pork shoulder, I used 2 1/2 # fairly lean country spare ribs and increased the stewing time to an hour.

I skipped the bacon, forgot the shallots (oops!), added a few cloves of garlic, a chopped rib of celery, a chopped carrot and used kale instead of spinach.

Adding the flour at the point the recipe calls for, didn't work that well for me. It got kind of lumpy. I think next time I will just flour the pork before browning it and thicken the gravy at the end if it needs it, or make a roux at the begining like gumbo.

Any dry fleshed firm winter squash would work instead of Kabocha (Butternut, Buttercup, Hubbard, etc.)

Erik

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Pork Stew With Kabocha Squash & Spinach

The squash makes this a hearty and colorful stew. I like to serve it simply with plain white rice and two or three chutneys. The spinach could be substituted with other greens, such as chicory or bok choy.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder or butt, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

6 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup onion, chopped

(1 Medium Carrot, Chopped)
(1 rib Celery, Chopped)

2 shallots, chopped

3 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 cups beef broth

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 pounds Kabocha squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes

2 cups chopped fresh spinach

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat Add the pork in uncrowded batches, and saute until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon, then pour off the accumulated juices and fat from the pan.

Add the bacon to the pan and return it to medium heat, stirring until the bacon releases some of its fat. Add the onions and shallots and saute until they are translucent. Sprinkle on the flour, salt and pepper, stir and cook until the flour browns, 2 to 3 minutes. Raise the heat to high, pour in the white wine and deglaze the pan, stirring up any bits clinging to the bottom. Add the browned pork, the broth, bay leaf, thyme and parsley. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Add the squash, stir, cover and cook until the squash is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in the spinach. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.

Serves 6

PER SERVING: 583 calories, 50 g protein, 24 g carbohydrate, 30 g fat (9 g saturated), 154 mg cholesterol, 1100 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.

fixed some stuff.

This message was edited Jan 21, 2005 10:37 AM