Hearty pork and black bean stew with pork shoulder, onions, red bell peppers, jalapeños, garlic, cornmeal, black beans, spices, molasses, and a splash of lime juice. Perfect for a cold day!
Summer has finally decided to vacate the premises and the cool weather has set in here in Northern California. I don’t know about you, but I look forward tothecooler days, especially when they bring rain (which we desperately need right about now). Things slow down, not as much needs tending to, and I can curl up with acup of hot chocolate and a blanket and read a book without any guilt over taking it easy.
Most of thegarden has given up its fruit, it won’t need any tending until the new year. A few jalapeños and poblanos remain, clinging on to catch what rays of light they can of the rapidly shortening days. I picked a couple a few days ago to include in this pork and black bean stew.
This stew is decidedly southwestern in ingredients and flavor(hence the name “Santa Fe”). Chunks of pork shoulder are browned and then slowly cooked with onions, garlic, red bell peppers, jalapeños, molasses, and a spice mix with cinnamon, cumin, and oregano. We include some corn meal to help thicken the stew. Black beans are added near the end of cooking, and the stew is served with cilantro and splashes of lime juice.
Just writing about it makes me want to make it and eat it all over again! (It’s really good. )
Santa Fe Pork and Black Bean Stew Recipe
We are using canned black beans in this recipe, but you could easily use dry beans, if you cooked them ahead. See our recommendations for good brands of canned black beans, and instructions on how to cook dry beans on our Black Bean Burrito Bowl recipe.
This recipe makes a relatively small batch for a stew (serves 4). You can easily double the recipe to make a larger batch.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 pounds of pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1-2 jalapeño chili peppers, less or more to taste, seeded, stems removed
- 2 Tbsp cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (less or more to taste)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 red bell pepper, diced, about 3/4 cup
- 2 long 1-inch wide strips of orange zest (optional)
- 1 cup water
- 1 15-ounce can black beans (we recommend Bush’s or S&W premium), liquid included
- More salt to taste
- 1 to 2 limes
- Cilantro for garnish
Method
1 Sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt over the pork pieces and let sit while you prep the other ingredients.
2 Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a thick-bottomed stew pot on medium high heat. Add the pork pieces to the pot and brown them on all sides.
3 Once the pork pieces have browned, add the chopped onions to the pot with the pork. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the onions are translucent, about 7-10 minutes more.
4 As the onions are cooking, work on the garlic spice mixture. Place the garlic and the jalapeños in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until minced. Then add the oregano, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, and cornmeal and pulse everything until ground.
5 Once the onions are cooked, add the spice mixture to the pork and onions. Add the molasses, bell pepper, orange zest (if using), and water to the pot. Bring it to a simmer and then reducethe heat to the lowest setting. Cover and let cook until the pork is completely tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally and scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
6 When pork is tender, remove the orange zest and add the black beans to the pot and cook for 20 minutes more on low heat.
7 Remove from heat, and stir in the lime juice. Add more salt to taste.
Serve garnished with fresh cilantro. Great with warm corn tortillas.
