Feb 8, 2025 Recipe of the Week
This is one of our family’s favorite winter recipes, perfect to come home to after a day outside enjoying our Canadian winter!
You can prep this recipe in about 30 to 45 minutes in the morning, leave it in the oven all day long and come home to a house that smells fantastic.
If you double or triple the batch, you can have an entire meal for another night as well as a week of lunches in the fridge and freezer.
This goes great with some cornbread and coleslaw or green salad on the side.
Included in your basket:
One head of garlic
1 pound stewing pork
1 pound ground pork.
| Pantry items: One cup of dried kidney beans Extra-virgin olive oil One large onion One jalapeño pepper (or 1/2 tsp fermented pepper paste) Tablespoon cocoa powder 2 tablespoons chili powder 1 tablespoon paprika 1/4 tsp ground cumin One can of diced tomatoes One cup of chicken, beef or pork broth Salt and pepper |
| Equipment: Chef’s knife and cutting board Dutch oven or other large oven proof pan. Large mixing bowl or an extra pot |
Method
The night before, place the dried kidney beans in a large bowl and cover with a few inches of water. Let them soak at room temperature overnight. This is also a good time to place your ground and cubed pork in the refrigerator to thaw.
In the morning, prep all of your ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 275 F.
Thaw meat in the microwave, if it is not already thawed.
Chop your onion and garlic, measure your spices, and keep them close by in a little bowl.
Start by browning your meat. Add some olive oil to your Dutch oven on the stove. Once the oil is shimmering, add meat in small batches (so that it browns without steaming, you are doing this to add browned flavour but don’t need to thoroughly cook the meat). Add salt and pepper to season the meat as you brown it. Once each little batch is browned a bit on the outside, move it to a bowl on the side. Keep browning in small batches until all of the meat is browned.
Next, add your onions to the same pan with a bit of oil if needed. Saute for just a minute then add in your garlic, cocoa and all of your spices. Mix this together for just a few minutes until it is fragrant, then add the diced tomatoes and broth. Taste your mixture and add a bit of extra salt and pepper if it needs it then cover the Dutch oven and put it in the oven.
This can cook for about seven hours at 275. If you happen to be home, give it a stir every few hours. If you are not home, don’t sweat it, just give it a good stir when you return and enjoy the delicious smell when you open the door!
Serve topped with some grated Nauvoo Cheddar:)
Time Savers, Storage Tips and Spin off Recipes
- I highly recommend making a double or triple batch. You can fill a casserole dish with enough for another whole meal, keep it covered in the freezer and enjoy a prep-free meal night.
- This also makes perfect lunch sized portions in the fridge and freezer.
- Our family’s absolute favourite combo is chilli with corn bread.
- Here is my super-simple corn bread recipe that I throw together and cook while the chilli is cooling and the table is being set. I can’t tell you if it freezes well or not because it never lasts that long!
- Preheat over to 375
- Oil 9×13 pan
- Whisk together wet ingredients:
- 1c milk
- 1/2 c oil
- 2 large eggs
- Mix together dry ingredients:
- 3/4 c corn meal
- 1 1/4 c organic sugar
- 1 3/4 c daily grind flour (or other AP flour)
- 11/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- Mix together wet and dry ingredients until just moistened, pour into the pan and bake for 20 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean), serve warm or cooled
Did you Know?
There are good reasons that there is a flavour difference between commercial and heritage pork breeds.
Heritage pork breeds are genetically programmed to build intramuscular fat which leads to increased moisture and improvement in the flavor profile.
There are also flavour differences and varying impacts on health depending on how the animals are raised.
Those raised in the forest have been shown to have distinctly different qualities in the fats that they contain. For example, they have increased polyunsaturated fatty acids, less saturated fatty acids, and increased omega-3 to omega-6 ratios compared to more traditionally raised animals.
| This Recipe’s Plant Count: 10, thanks to all those spices! |
| Time Required: Eight hours; 30 to 45 minutes active, plus soaking the beans overnight the night before |
| Number of Servings: 4-6 main course servings in a single batch |
Harmony Kitchen 