Red Wine and Tomato Pork Stew Over Polenta
Despite all my writing resolves, we actually were disconnected with the world over the short break that we took. That was actually good for the mind, body and soul. However bouncing back to school and being sick today pretty much has almost evened out the score.
Well, luckily despite being a very busy month September is also peppered with long weekends, Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah and thereby makes for an interesting balance of intense days and a few kick off days, which I have filled with some demos and book events.
This also is a busy prolific month on the harvest front, and this stew is actually a lovely way to use all the wonderful tomatoes that are still so prolific. In fact, September and October are amazing months, filled with so much beauty and bounty.
As for back to school, we survived the first three days, without much drama, I did not do much, by way of preparation and have to confess even my son who hates anything new managed to survive after his first day and told me that his teacher had changed by day two, and was actually rather nice. Thank god for small mercies!
Can you believe we harvested our first batch of potatoes? If you are Bengali like me, some of these get happily made in Bengali mashed potatoes, well what do you expect? I do have other glamorous stuff that I made and will make with the rest, and yes, I did add a few tiny ones into the stew along with the fresh carrots that are still going strong. So, well, this year I have a bonafide excuse for indulging in my favorite carb before winter! Whoppee!
Despite it’s sophisticated appearance and flavors, the ingredients are simple, and the stew needs little other than a nice deep pot that allows the stew to gently simmer along, while I do not have an identical vegetarian version, I do have something that is a nice and hearty vegetarian stew made with broken bow stout.
And, like all stews this keeps beautifully over time, and freezes reasonably well. I say reasonably because the carrots seemed to fare better than the potatoes and everything else pretty good!
The first day, I served this with an assortment of bread to sop it up, which worked and the second day, I served it over polenta, well, day two won hands down. And, actually, despite my weakness for polenta, I realized that I have actually never posted a recipe for this comfort staple making this post a little unique in that I actually will offer two recipes rather than one.
PrintRed Wine and Tomato Pork Stew Over Polenta
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Yield: Serves 6
A hearty dish that allows you to make the perfect transition to fall, and is actually a wonderful meal on school nights.
Ingredients
2 pounds of pork shoulder cubed (with some fat on)1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
11/2 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons of oil
2 large white onions, or 1 pound of chippolini onions (about 2 cups, chopped)
2 to 3 pods, minced garlic
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 bay leaves
4 medium sized tomatoes, diced
11/2 cups of red wine such as a cabernet
2 medium carrots cut into wedges
2 to 3 red potatoes cut into quarters
11/2 tablespoons chopped chives
For the polenta
¾ cup of corn grits
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup of grated parmesan cheese (optional)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Several generous grinds of black pepper
Chopped Cilantro
Instructions
Cut the pork into cubes and smear well with the mustard and ½ the salt and set aside for 20 minutes (note this can be done several hours ahead if desired).Heat the oil on a large flat skillet, and add the meat single side down and sear for 3 to 4 minutes and turn and cook on the second side. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon.
Add the onions and garlic to the same pan and sauté for about 8 minutes, turning occasionally until the onion softens and begins to turn pale golden. You do not caramelize the onions for this recipe.
Add in the black pepper, bay leaves and the tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to soften.
Add in the seared pork and mix well. Add in the red wine and bring to a simmer adding in the rest of the salt and the sugar and the carrots and red potatoes.
Add in about ¾ cup of water and continue simmering with the pot covered for about 1 hour. Remove the lid and check for seasonings and add more water if needed. You want fork tender meat and a thick sauce that is not too abundant.
While the stew is cooking, you can make the polenta, soaking the grains before you begin the stew.
Soak the grits for about 1 hour or longer.
Place 3 cups of water in a cooking pot add in the salt and bring to a boil. Add in the soaked grits and stir to mix evenly. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally allowing the polenta to thicken.
Turn off the heat when the polenta thickens, but is still fairly soupy (it thickens further in minutes) and stir in the butter and the cheese if using.
Check for seasonings, add in the lime juice and mix well. Serve with freshly ground black pepper and cilantro and enjoy.
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