7 February, 2018
Cuban-Style Stewed Pork with Onion & Sweet Potatoes
The origin of this recipe is one my spouse and I got from Weight Watchers, but we found there were issues with that recipe: the biggest problem was overcooking the sweet potatoes which disintegrated after too many hours in a slow cooker. So, we changed the timing on that item. Another was the onion component. The original called for scallions to be added late in the cooking. We found we preferred more onion flavor, but didn’t like the result with either Spanish (yellow) onions or white onions (and red onions seemed not a good option, so we didn’t even try them). We ended up preferring the flavor of sweet onions, such as Vidalias. The original called for pre-spiced canned diced tomatoes. Again, we preferred the flavor of spicing things ourselves, so we use plain tomatoes, add a can of green chiles, and our own dried spices. Finally, the original called for orange juice. One day when I made this, I didn’t have any OJ, but I did have a navel orange, so I just peeled that and liquified the fruit in our mini-food processor. Wow! It was so much better than using bottled or reconstituted juice!
So . . . here it is. Our version of Cuban-style Stewed Pork with Onion and Sweet Potatoes.
The dramatis personae:
2 lb pork tenderloin
1 medium sweet onion
2-4 cloves of garlic
1 large navel orange
1 28-oz can of diced tomatoes
1 4.5-oz can of green chilies
2 lb sweet potatoes
Juice of 1 lime
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
And the supporting cast:
1 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Act One, Scene One: Trim fat and silverskin (connective tissue) from the pork tenderloin and discard it. Cube the pork into stew-size pieces (about a 1/2 to 1″ dice).
Act One, Scene Two: Peel and dice the onion. Peel the garlic cloves and put them through a garlic press. Peel and section the orange, remove any pips and any excess pith; liquify orange sections in mini-food processor or blender, adding the salt and spices.
Act One, Scene Three: Put pork, canned tomatoes, and canned green chilies into slow cooker; add the onion, garlic, and spiced orange; stir well; set the slow cooker on “Low” and cook for five to six hours.
Act Two, Scene One: Peel and dice sweet potatoes.
Act Two, Scene Two: Add potatoes to crock pot. Cook for another two hours.
Act Three, Scene One: Juice lime; chop cilantro. Add lime juice and chopped cilantro to stew. Wait five minutes, then serve. A really good, crusty, chewy bread, such as a traditional baguette or a sourdough, is a great accompaniment for this stew!
Here’s the recipe without the pictures and the chit-chat.
Cuban-Style Stewed Pork with Onion & Sweet Potatoes
2 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and silverskin, cut into stew chunks
1 medium sweet onion, 1/2″ dice
2-4 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 large navel orange, liquified in blender
1 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 28-oz can of diced tomatoes
1 4.5-oz can of green chilies
2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled, 1/2-3/4″ dice
Juice of 1 lime
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Trim fat and silverskin (connective tissue) from the pork tenderloin and discard it. Cube the pork into stew-size pieces (about a 1/2 to 1″ dice).
Peel and dice the onion. Peel the garlic cloves and put them through a garlic press. Peel and section the orange, remove any pips and any excess pith; liquify orange sections in mini-food processor or blender, adding the salt and spices.
Put pork, canned tomatoes, and canned green chilies into slow cooker; add the onion, garlic, and spiced orange; stir well; set the slow cooker on “Low” and cook for five to six hours.
Peel and dice sweet potatoes. Add potatoes to crock pot. Cook for another two hours.
Juice lime; chop cilantro. Add lime juice and chopped cilantro to stew. Wait five minutes, then serve.
A really good, crusty, chewy bread, such as a traditional baguette or a sourdough, is a great accompaniment for this stew!