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Do you like combining sweet and savoury flavours together? I do, especially in stews like this Pork and Pineapple Stew that I made this week. Loads of umami! Adding fruits to savoury stews is something I learned to do in the recent years, and I find it gives dishes an extra kick!
I was browsing the supermarket last week and came across kumquat jam, and decided to get it as I had never tried it before. You may wonder, why get jam when you’re not eating toast anymore? Well, I like to use it for cooking instead. Think out of the box! Like how I used to mix cakes and cookies with my KitchenAid stand mixer before going Paleo AIP. It got relegated to the topmost kitchen cabinet initially after I stopped making conventional baked goods, but has since experienced a revival once I started using it for making pulled pork, shredded beef, sausages, or whipped coconut cream, to name a few.
So the moment I spotted this jam, I figured out that it would be great in a stew. I like this brand of jam as they contain no added sugars. My dad’s a great jam collector and would buy all sorts of varieties of jams (St. Dalfour brand especially), but surprisingly he had never tried this kumquat jam before. Daddy, you should get it if you ever spot it in the supermarket! It’s great when you want to add a little extra fruity essence and complexity to a dish. There’s only that many dishes that can pair with maple syrup as many other sugars are not AIP-compliant, so jams like these make great sweeteners for cooking when used once in a while, in my opinion. However, if you prefer not to use any jam in the recipe, go ahead and omit it or replace it with chopped pitted dates.
For folks using the Instant Pot electric pressure cooker, I think you’ll be glad to add this to your recipe collection. Only 35 minutes pressure cooking time! Makes meals really easy to whip up, as I simply prep the vegetables the night before and get started cooking less than an hour before dinner.
Ever since I started AIP I’ve done away with the traditional dredging of meats in flour before searing at the start of cooking a stew, but this time around I decided to experiment with cassava flour (not the same as tapioca flour/ starch) and am glad to say that it makes a great substitute for all-purpose flour. You may wish to check out my Savoury Biscuit recipe as it features cassava flour as well. The great thing about stews is that they can be very forgiving with substitutions and omissions, so feel free to leave out the cassava flour if preferred. I used Swiss chard as it was on sale, but I think spinach or kale will make nice alternatives too. The stew keeps very well and tastes even better the next day so it’s great for batch cooking. I like to prepare extra greens and add them when reheating the stew for extra veggie goodness.
- 1 - 2 tbsp bacon fat (or any other fat/ oil of your choice)
- 2 lb (1kg) stewing pork, cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup cassava flour (optional)
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 large onion, sliced into wedges
- 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (or a 3 inch cinnamon stick)
- 1 cup bite-sized pineapple chunks (equivalent to ¼ pineapple)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp kumquat jam (Alternatives: sugar-free marmalade or pitted and chopped dates)
- 1 cup bone broth
- 1 bunch Swiss chard, stems separated from leaves (stems finely chopped, leaves halved lengthwise and cut into 1 inch thick strips)
- Marinate the pork cubes with the coconut aminos, sea salt, cassava flour, ground cloves, ginger powder and turmeric powder for approximately 1 hour (you can also marinate just before cooking but the flavour will be less apparent in the meat)
- INSTANT POT METHOD
- Press 'saute' and heat up the Instant Pot until the display reads 'Hot'
- Add the fat to melt, then add the onions and saute for a minute or so, followed by the garlic, until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant
- Remove onions and garlic and set aside
- Add another tablespoon of fat/ oil if necessary, and brown the marinated pork cubes in batches
- Set the pork cubes aside and deglaze the pot with the bone broth
- Return the pork, onions and garlic to the pot
- Stir in the cinnamon, pineapple chunks, finely chopped Swiss chard stems, bay leaf and kumquat jam
- Seal the Instant Pot and set the valve to 'sealing'
- Select 'Meat/ Stew' setting for 35 minutes
- Once the Instant Pot beeps and the cooking time is up, do a quick release by turning the sealing valve to 'vent' (watch out for the steam!)
- Select 'saute' setting and add in the Swiss chard leaves
- Simmer until the leaves are cooked and the gravy is slightly thickened (you may also thicken it further by adding an arrowroot starch slurry of approximately 1 tsp arrowroot starch mixed in 2 tsp water)
- Remove bay leaf, season to taste and enjoy!
- STOVE TOP METHOD
- Heat a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat
- Add the fat to melt, then the onions and saute for a minute or so, followed by the garlic, until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant
- Remove onions and garlic and set aside
- Add another tablespoon of fat/ oil if necessary, and brown the marinated pork cubes in batches
- Set the pork cubes aside and deglaze the pot with the bone broth
- Return the pork, onions and garlic to the pot
- Stir in the ground cinnamon, pineapple chunks, finely chopped Swiss chard stems, bay leaf and kumkuat jam
- Bring to a rapid simmer, cover and simmer at a low heat for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until the pork is tender
- Uncover and stir in the Swiss chard leaves, increasing the heat slightly to allow the stew to simmer until the leaves are cooked and the gravy is slightly thickened (you may also thicken it further by adding an arrowroot starch slurry of approximately 1 tsp arrowroot starch mixed in 2 tsp water)
- Remove bay leaf, season to taste and enjoy!
Ingredients sources:
- Cassava flour
- Cinnamon powder
- Coconut aminos
- Ginger powder
- Ground cloves
- Kumquat jam
- Lard
- Sea salt
I’m trying this recipe tonight – I just want to make sure that the first part, what you’re calling ‘marinate’ – is more of a dry rub? The mixture is very dry due to cassava flour and only 1 tbsp of coco-aminos? I’m a little worried because the last time I tried to cook anything with flour on it, it basically burned on the bottom of my instant pot…
Yes, the mixture is meant to be pretty dry. It’s equivalent to coating meat in flour before searing in traditional stews. The bottom of the Instant Pot will get browned bits which add flavour to the stew once deglazed by adding bone broth. If you’re worried about burning your Instant Pot, add a bit more oil and remove the meat before it gets very brown. Hope that helps!