Spiced Pork and Sweet Potato Stew

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Take the chill off fall with a flavourful stew packed with exotic flavours from cardamom, coconut milk and dates.

Who knew you could do so much with simple cardamom? Have you even tried it? It’s a totally unforgettable gem that is overlooked here in Canada. Used mostly in Middle Eastern cooking, it’s adds an amazing taste to recipes. Not a hot spice, just really interesting. I love it!

Now that the fall chill has finally settled in here in Toronto, I thought it was a great time to whip out a winter stew. This make-ahead Spiced Pork and Sweet Potato Stew is great to dig into during the weeknight hustle and bustle. An traditional favourite, with a new twist!

Cardamom is native to India, Pakistan and Nepal. There are three main varieties; green cardamom (the most commonly used in recipes), black cardamom and white cardamom. Whole green cardamom comes in pods, which are removed and discarded, the seeds inside are ground for a unique spicy-sweet taste, with an intensely aromatic fragrance, almost a perfume. Green cardamom, the most common, is also the world’s third-most expensive spice, with vanilla coming in at second and saffron at number one.

I love to use it, check out another one of my recipes – Cardamon-Coffee Rubbed Pork Tenderloin. So easy and really packed with flavour, a great way to start your spice journey… enjoy!

Spiced Pork and Sweet Potato Stew

Author: Lori

Ingredients

1 tsp cardamom
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp salt and black pepper
1 lbs. Ontario pork loin boneless rib chops or pork shoulder, chopped into 1” cubes
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2 tsp EACH garlic and ginger, chopped
½ tsp cardamom
2-1/2 cups sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1” cubes
½ cup Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
¼ cup olives, sliced
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp lemon zest
juice of ½ lemon
1 (400 mL) can coconut milk
½ cup water
2 tsp cornstarch
½ cup mint leaves, optional

Instructions

In a small bowl mix cardamom, cumin, cinnamon and turmeric.
Place pork into a resealable freezer bag. Sprinkle spice mix over top, toss to coat. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
Heat oil a dutch oven on medium-high. Add pork cubes and cook, stirring, 6-8 minutes. Remove.
Add onion (and a bit more oil if needed) and sauté for
minutes. Lower heat a bit, add garlic, ginger and
cardamom and sauté 2 more minutes.
Add pork, sweet potato, dates, olives, tomatoes, lemon zest and juice, coconut milk. Separately mix water and cornstarch, then add.
Bring up to simmer, reduce heat and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.
Serve topped torn mint leaves.