I am still working on balancing my new schedule. Throw in a pinched nerve in my neck and shoulder and I am almost useless. Good thing that this past week we have been in the classroom and haven’t moved into the kitchen yet. I have been rocking the robot for three days now. I am thinking I need to hunt down a masseuse soon. Know anyone good in the Tulsa area?
The day before I started rocking the robot I made this yummy dish, which I got from one of my Cooking Light issues. I had a boneless pork shoulder sitting in the freezer and sweet potatoes in the pantry. It was too obvious.
Trim and cube your pork shoulder into 1 inch squares. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to season.
Heat a cast iron skillet or dutch oven with a tablespoon of olive oil. Brown the pork evenly on all sides. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan.
Place all the pork in the pot with garlic cloves.
Add chicken stock to pork. Enough to just cover the pork, about 3 1/2 to 4 cups.
Bring the pork to a boil, lower to a simmer and cover. Let simmer covered for 45 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon transfer the pork to a plate or bowl to cool. Remove pork from pan, reserving cooking liquid and garlic.
Once it has cooled enough to handle shred the pork using your fingers.
While the pork is cooling you can start to prepare the sweet potatoes.
In a large skillet heat 2 tbs of olive oil. Add cubed sweet potatoes and onions to the pan.
Sauté for 6 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
Add ground red pepper and mushrooms; cook for 3 minutes.
Add 2 cups of cooking cooking liquid and garlic; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until liquid nearly evaporates, stirring occasionally.
Stir in pork, and cook for 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.
Serve immediately and sprinkle with sliced green onions.
It does take some time to prepare this dish and simmer the pork but it is worth the time and effort. Also if you wanted to make it a little easier on yourself you could prepare the pork in a slow-cooker and have it ready when you get home. That way all you have to do is prepare the potatoes.
Da husband was very pleased with this dish. Of course it had two of his favorite things, pork and sweet potatoes. So it was hard to go wrong. I thought it was quite tasty prepared just as, but I would be curious to try roasting the potatoes instead and then tossing them with the pork. Don’t get me wrong like I said it was delicious but for purposes of texture I would be curious to try roasting instead of boiling.
Pork and Sweet Potato Hash (Adapted from Cooking Light)
- 1 pound boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cubed
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tbs of olive oil
- 3 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato (about 1 pound)
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1 (8-ounce) package cremini mushrooms, quartered
- 3 tablespoons sliced green onions
Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork evenly with salt and black pepper. Coat pan with 1 tbs of olive oil. Add pork to pan, and sauté for 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Add broth and garlic to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes or until pork is fork-tender. Remove pork from pan, reserving cooking liquid and garlic. Cool pork and shred with fingers.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add potato and onion; sauté for 6 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add red pepper and mushrooms; cook for 3 minutes. Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of cooking liquid and garlic; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until liquid nearly evaporates, stirring occasionally. Stir in pork, and cook for 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with green onions.
Bethany @Bridezilla Bakes says
Eek! Pinched nerve? Sorry to hear that.
I’ve been seeing sweet potato hash around quite a bit, and it seems like a VERY good idea. I love this version — and my husband will LOVE that pork!