Ancho Pork, Kabocha and Hominy Stew

This recipe turned out even better than I could have imagined. I took the base of it from Cooking Light magazine and turned it up a bit while keeping things healthy. It's that good kind of spicy that makes your nose run and your belly warm. If you run into trouble finding a kabocha squash, sweet potatoes would be a great substitute. Try your local Asian market before you give up. While I might have recommend this for a cold day, I will admit that we enjoyed this on an insanely hot Minnesota summer evening. Make this stew!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, fat trimmed off and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 cups (one carton) of fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1 large can of hominy (28 oz)
1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, don't drain them!
3 cups chopped kabocha squash

Preparation

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; set 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture aside. Add pork to remaining spice mixture in bowl, tossing well to coat.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove pork from pan and set aside. You will automatically be in love with this dish at this point because it makes your kitchen smell like Chipotle, not the spice, but the restaurant with giant burritos. Ooooh yeah!

Add remaining 1 teaspoon of oil to pan. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; saute 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Return pork to pan. Toss in your reserved 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture, broth, kabocha, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes. I recommend throwing in the hominy in the last few minutes of cooking so it retains its shape and keeps from turning into mush. When it was time to serve, I remembered the cilantro growing in the back yard, so I snipped a bit and sprinkled in each bowl.

 

You can enjoy this stew right away, but I found that as a day or even two passed, the flavor got more intensely delicious.  This is a recipe I will keep in my back pocket to use over and over again!