Weekends in November are the start of winter hibernation for many of us in Ontario. It’s chilly outside, and all I want to do is spend time inside recharging before the holiday rush. What better excuse to spend all day recharging than having a pot of stew simmering away in the oven for hours?
This is one of those stews that you want to plan ahead for. It requires over two hours of cooking time, but this is what gives it an incredible depth of flavour that is completely restaurant-worthy. I promise you will be so proud to bring this stew to the table. The aroma alone will win over everyone! You can serve it over brown rice or egg noodles, but my favourite way to serve it is over a warm bowl of polenta.
For this recipe, I’m using pork shoulder. This is an affordable cut of pork that becomes incredibly tender when cooked low and slow—it’s my favourite cut to reach for when making pork stew. It starts with a quick sear in a hot pan, which builds a ton of flavour into the dish. You’ll find this technique used in pretty much every stew and slow cooker recipe, and it’s so important not to skip it!
Once the meat is seared, we get started on all the aromatics; this stew has a typical French base of carrots, celery and onion, but gets a hit of Spanish flair from smoked paprika.
This stew is cooked in two steps. First, the meat is simmered with the vegetables for an hour in a hearty tomato and wine mixture; and second, the white beans and portabella mushrooms get added and cooked for another 45 minutes. The reason is so the white beans and mushrooms do not get overcooked and you end up with perfectly tender carrots and melt in your mouth pork.
Yield: Serves 4 - 6
Preparation Time: 20 Minutes
Cooking Time: 2 Hours
Ingredients:
- 1 kg pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes, + ½ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 19 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 portabella mushrooms, cut in 1-inch chunks
- Parsley for garnish
Cooking Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- In an oven-proof Dutch oven, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Sear pork shoulder, in two batches, on all sides, about 4 minutes per batch. Remove from pan.
- Add onion, carrots and celery, cook 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, smoked paprika and salt. Cook for 1 minute more.
- Deglaze with red wine, cook for 2 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, water and bring to a boil. Carefully add pork.
- Cover and transfer to oven and cook for 1 hour at 325 F.
- Stir in white beans and mushrooms, cover and return to oven to continue cooking for another 45 minutes.
- Serve with a sprinkling of fresh parsley.
| Nutritional Information |
| Pork & White Bean Stew |
| Per 1 Serving (1/6 of recipe) |
| Protein |
44 g |
| Calories |
407 |
| Sugar |
|
| Fat |
8 g |
| Saturated |
2 g |
| Monounsaturated |
|
| Polyunsaturated |
|
| Cholesterol |
76 mg |
| Sodium |
1119 mg |
| Potassium |
|
| Calcium |
|
| Carbohydrate |
38 g |
| Fibre |
10 g |