Pork with Beans in Green Sauce

Click here to jump to recipe: Pork with Beans in Green Sauce.

I do not carry on with my backyard gardening during the cold months, so I am done repotting and bringing indoors a few overwintering plants, tidying up the garden beds and boundaries, and finishing the late fall harvest, which includes shelling bean pods.  The fall weather stayed pleasantly mild for quite a while this year here in Southern Ontario, so the bean plants were still very prolific as the first snowflakes appeared.  When I finally pulled the vines, some of the pods for shelling were still green, and the beans inside them were plump and had a light green tinge as well, as can be appreciated in the photo below, left, especially when compared to the dry, brown pod and dry beans on the right:

Just to check how each kind would cook, I put about three quarters of a cup of each in separate pots, with water and a piece of onion; beans from green pods in the photo below, left, and from dry brown pods, right:

The fresh beans from the green pods swelled even more, and started to crack after cooking for about 35 minutes (photo below, left), while the beans from the dry brown pods got rehydrated and grew, but remained smaller than the other batch, and did not crack; these took 45 minutes to cook( photo below, right):

The two batches rendered tender beans, but the ones from the green pods had a slight vegetable-like flavour, and the ones from the dry brown pods were more starchy, so it definitely would have paid off to be patient and let all the pods dry on the vine before pulling.  They were still nice, though, so after cooking, I consolidated the two batches, and used them in this recipe for pork in green sauce, just in time to enjoy during the cold season.

Pork with Beans in Green Sauce –

Puerco con frijoles en salsa verde

Printable recipe:  Pork with beans in green sauce

Ingredients 

3 lb (1.36 kg) pork shoulder; cut up into chunks
4 cups white beans, such as navy; cooked at home or from 2 cans, drained
1 lb (454 g) fresh tomatillos; husks removed, washed, and halved
1 onion; peeled, and divided into quarters
2 serrano or jalapeño peppers; washed and stems removed
1 bunch cilantro; washed
3 bay leaves
2 tsp salt, plus more, to taste
½ tsp ground black pepper, or to taste
½ tsp ground cumin
Water, as needed
To serve:
Limes; washed and halved
Warm corn tortillas

Place meat, one quarter of the onion, bay leaves, and one teaspoon of salt in a large pot; add water to cover, and place pot on the stove at high heat:

Bring to a boil, remove and discard foam on surface, then reduce heat to medium. Cover the pot and cook for one to two hours, until meat is fork-tender.

Uncover pot, and remove and discard bay leaves (photo below, left). Add drained cooked beans (photo below, right):

Stir to incorporate, cover again, and cook for twenty minutes.

Meanwhile, place tomatillos, one quarter of the onion, hot peppers, one teaspoon of salt, and half the cilantro in blender jar:

Process until smooth and reserve.

Uncover pot and add reserved sauce (photo below, left). Stir to incorporate with meat and beans (photo below, right):

Allow to cook for another ten minutes, then add black pepper and ground cumin:

Stir, then adjust seasoning with more salt, if needed.  Continue cooking for another five minutes.

Chop the rest of the onion and cilantro and set aside.

Ladle hot stew into bowls, with plenty of sauce; sprinkle chopped onion and cilantro on top and serve with limes on the side:

This is a delicious and comforting dish, especially when eaten with warm corn tortillas, rolled into cylinders to dip in the rich sauce:

---

For your convenience, click on the images below for products available on Amazon™. DISCLAIMER: Any reviews included in this post are my own, for items I have purchased, not provided by any company; as an Amazon Associates Program affiliate, I might receive a commission for any purchases originated from the links below, at no extra cost to you. Thank you to all who have bought other products starting with a click from my links!:

---

I am joining Fiesta Friday #617 with Angie @ Fiesta Friday.