Italian Pork Stew

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Life around here is picking up with the baby coming in only a month -- yikes! I'm trying to squeeze in some last precious moments with Libby and JD before No. 3 comes along to monopolize my time. Not to mention all the STUFF that needs to get done before the delivery. The list is endless! However, I'm still cooking; we gotta eat!

So here's a recipe that appeared in Taste of Home a few months ago. I just loved it! It was such a great, new way to use pork loin. I actually made it using about 1 pound of leftover pork loin roast that I chopped into bite-size pieces. If you want to do that, just start the recipe at the second paragraph. And since I was using already cooked and tender pork, I was able to cut back on the simmering time by half.


Italian Pork Stew

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 lbs. boneless pork loin, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots, optional
5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup dry red wine or MSPI-friendly beef broth
3 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick, optional
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. anchovy paste
1 tsp. each dried oregano, basil and sage leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
Hot cooked bow tie pasta

Place flour in a large resealable plastic bag. Add pork, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. In a Dutch oven, brown pork in 3 tablespoons oil in batches. Remove and keep warm.

In the same pan, saute onion in the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil until crisp-tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes, wine, bay leaves, cinnamon, tomato paste, vinegar, anchovy paste, herbs, salt, pepper flakes, pepper and pork; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in parsley. Cover and cook 30-60 minutes longer or until meat is tender. Skim fat; discard bay leaves and cinnamon.

Tip: I listed the cinnamon as optional because I completely forgot to include it in my stew, and the carrots are optional because they aren't included in the original recipe. I just decided to toss them in as a way to get some extra veggies in my kiddos.