Recipe: Roast pumpkin-pork stew with poblano pepper
Pumpkin pairs well with pork; roast pumpkin and roast pork team up even better.
Warmed by poblano pepper and cumin, this Oaxacan-inspired stew makes use of both: Chunks of oven-roasted pumpkin and leftover pork roast. Serve alone or over rice or polenta.
For this recipe, the pumpkin can be roasted up to two days in advance. Roasting keeps the chunks firmer than steaming, so the pumpkin doesn’t turn to mush in the stew.
How to roast pumpkin: Wash and pat dry pumpkin. Cut pumpkin into wedges. Scoop out seeds. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush cut surfaces of pumpkin with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange wedges in a large baking pan or on a rimmed cookie sheet with cut sides up. Bake at 400 degrees until the pumpkin is fork-tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Peel and cube.
Roasted pumpkin won't turn to mush in the stew. |
Roast pumpkin-pork stew
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
2 cups roast pumpkin, cubed
2 cups cooked pork roast, cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
¼ cup white wine
½ cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Cube roast pumpkin and cooked pork. Set aside.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Over medium heat, sauté onions, celery, garlic and poblano pepper until soft. Add pork chunks to pan and sauté lightly, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add white wine to deglaze the pan. Add tomato sauce, chicken broth and cumin. Cover the pan and reduce heat. Let simmer, about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
Add pumpkin chunks to the pan and re-cover the pan. Let stew simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring gently. (Don’t mash the pumpkin.) Adjust seasoning.
Serve warm.
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Garden Checklist for week of May 5
Survey your garden after the May 4 rainstorm. Heavy rain and gusty winds can break the neck of large flowers such as roses. Also:
* Keep an eye on new transplants or seedlings; they could take a pounding from the rain.
* Watch out for powdery mildew. Warmth following moist conditions can cause this fungal disease to “bloom,” too. If you see a leaf that looks like it’s dusted with powdered sugar, snip it off.
* After the storm, start setting out tomato transplants, but wait on the peppers and eggplants (they want warmer nights). Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.
* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.
* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.
* Plant onion sets.
* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.
* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.
* Don’t wait; plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.