Sunday Supper: Cuban Pork Stew
No sooner did February dawn clear and cold than I pulled down the slow cooker to make some comfort food. I have discovered that, as my tastes evolve to embrace the light and clean aesthetic of healthy cooking, I need to counter balance with the occasional hearty bowlful. As I relearn my relationship with food and apply it to the practical aspect to cooking and eating, I find that while spa cuisine resets my body, I must reset my spirit. It is no better for me to feel deprived than it is for me to feel weighed down. On this journey John and I are still learning to navigate, we try to light and clean during the week with room for indulgence in restaurant cooking on Friday or Saturday night. And on Sundays, just as my grandmother did, I make Sunday Supper.
It turns out that in this as in many things, grandma was right. Sunday Supper often has an old-fashioned, dare I say grandmotherly, quality. Some grandmas put lasagna and garlic bread on the table; some put chicken and waffles, but in its original iteration, Sunday Supper was grandma’s territory. In my grandmother’s kitchen, Sunday Supper was a pot roast with carrots and potatoes in thick brown gravy, passed with hot biscuits and jam at a table set with Sunday dishes. It had been simmering all day in a pressure cooker set up before we left for church because yes, at that American table, Sunday Supper is church food. It is meant to commemorate the day as slightly special, part of the Sabbath observation of those times and that place. A common practice was supper on the ground, where the congregation spent most of the day together on the church grounds. Matriarchs served a nonstop potluck of their best efforts, from ham sliced at the table to blue ribbon pies and cakes.
Just as some Sundays are for church and same are for football games, so are the Sunday suppers served as varied as how Sunday is observed. When I arrived in New York City, I learned that Sunday is as special in the city as it is in a small town. Sunday in New York is a phenomenon unto itself, comprising museums and matinees, leafy walks and sidewalk cafes, and not insignificantly shifts for workers on Sunday schedules. I passed countless Sunday afternoons in Village coffeehouses, writing in journals I still have. As we gathered our forces for the evening and the week ahead, we’d gather together for a Sunday supper of dinner at the pub. That presaged Sunday Funday, the Los Angeles celebration of the nadir of the week, where the music starts at brunch and the Bloody Marys don’t stop flowing until the drag show wraps up around midnight.
LA Sunday is truly a fun day, but nowadays John and I find ourselves spending most Sundays at home. It is necessary to recharge for the week to come, from the trials of the Monday morning commute to the hopeful glimmer of Hump Day. There is much to recommend Sunday at home. How lovely it is to clean house, restock the pantry, tend to the car, work on projects from mending to model trains that wait as patiently for Sunday progress and we waited out the progression to Sunday. Our beloved old movies play at low volume in the living room, inspiring us with style, substance, and comfort as we pass through. Throughout the remainder of our urban home, the music system plays a Sunday playlist comprised of jazz, American standards, show tunes, lounge, and classic pop. How lovely it is in the morning, coffee perked and paper scanned, to move into the day by setting up supper for the evening. As I take the slow cooker or stew pot down from the shelf, I echo my grandmother setting up the pressure cooker with its clamps and dials.
As Sunday supper cooks throughout the day, it fills the home with the rich aromas of the evening’s meal, a promise that does much to mitigate the Sunday blues. We come to the table in celebration of the weekend just passed and in preparation for the week to come, and with gratitude for all we have. Here is the first of three recipes for Sunday Supper: a lively Cuban-inspired pork stew. Serve it with rice and beans, pickled jalapenos, and cucumber escabesche. Start off with a tequila sunrise or cold beer, and conclude Sunday's supper with a pineapple parfait or cool slice of icebox cheesecake.
Cuban Pork Stew
It turns out that in this as in many things, grandma was right. Sunday Supper often has an old-fashioned, dare I say grandmotherly, quality. Some grandmas put lasagna and garlic bread on the table; some put chicken and waffles, but in its original iteration, Sunday Supper was grandma’s territory. In my grandmother’s kitchen, Sunday Supper was a pot roast with carrots and potatoes in thick brown gravy, passed with hot biscuits and jam at a table set with Sunday dishes. It had been simmering all day in a pressure cooker set up before we left for church because yes, at that American table, Sunday Supper is church food. It is meant to commemorate the day as slightly special, part of the Sabbath observation of those times and that place. A common practice was supper on the ground, where the congregation spent most of the day together on the church grounds. Matriarchs served a nonstop potluck of their best efforts, from ham sliced at the table to blue ribbon pies and cakes.
Just as some Sundays are for church and same are for football games, so are the Sunday suppers served as varied as how Sunday is observed. When I arrived in New York City, I learned that Sunday is as special in the city as it is in a small town. Sunday in New York is a phenomenon unto itself, comprising museums and matinees, leafy walks and sidewalk cafes, and not insignificantly shifts for workers on Sunday schedules. I passed countless Sunday afternoons in Village coffeehouses, writing in journals I still have. As we gathered our forces for the evening and the week ahead, we’d gather together for a Sunday supper of dinner at the pub. That presaged Sunday Funday, the Los Angeles celebration of the nadir of the week, where the music starts at brunch and the Bloody Marys don’t stop flowing until the drag show wraps up around midnight.
LA Sunday is truly a fun day, but nowadays John and I find ourselves spending most Sundays at home. It is necessary to recharge for the week to come, from the trials of the Monday morning commute to the hopeful glimmer of Hump Day. There is much to recommend Sunday at home. How lovely it is to clean house, restock the pantry, tend to the car, work on projects from mending to model trains that wait as patiently for Sunday progress and we waited out the progression to Sunday. Our beloved old movies play at low volume in the living room, inspiring us with style, substance, and comfort as we pass through. Throughout the remainder of our urban home, the music system plays a Sunday playlist comprised of jazz, American standards, show tunes, lounge, and classic pop. How lovely it is in the morning, coffee perked and paper scanned, to move into the day by setting up supper for the evening. As I take the slow cooker or stew pot down from the shelf, I echo my grandmother setting up the pressure cooker with its clamps and dials.
As Sunday supper cooks throughout the day, it fills the home with the rich aromas of the evening’s meal, a promise that does much to mitigate the Sunday blues. We come to the table in celebration of the weekend just passed and in preparation for the week to come, and with gratitude for all we have. Here is the first of three recipes for Sunday Supper: a lively Cuban-inspired pork stew. Serve it with rice and beans, pickled jalapenos, and cucumber escabesche. Start off with a tequila sunrise or cold beer, and conclude Sunday's supper with a pineapple parfait or cool slice of icebox cheesecake.
Cuban Pork Stew
For the stew
1 -1/2 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed and boned
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small jalapeno, diced*
4 baby potatoes, scrubbed and halved
3 cloves garlic, peeled, pithed, and minced
1-1/2 cups chicken stock
½ cup pico de gallo
3 tablespoons lime juice
Extra-virgin olive oil
For the spice rub
Smoked paprika
Ground coriander
Ground cayenne
Dried oregano
Chili powder
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Salt
For the garnish
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 lime
1 recipe cucumber-radish escabeche
The night before cooking
- Mix the spices together. Place the pork on a plate and rub the spices on the pork to coat liberally.
- Cover with a sheet of wax paper and a secure wrap of either aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate overnight.
8 hours before serving
- Measure the pico de gallo, chicken stock, and lime juice into a large measuring cup with a spout.
- Pour a four-count of olive oil into the cooking vessel of the slow cooker. Swirl to coat evenly.
- Place the onion, red pepper, jalapeno*, garlic, and potatoes into the slow cooker. Pour about ½ cup of the salsa-stock mixture onto the vegetables.
- Carefully unwrap the seasoned pork and nestle into the slow cooker. Use a silicon spatula to scrape any leftover seasoning from the plate into the slow cooker.
- Pour the remainder of the salsa-stock mixture into the slow cooker. Use the silicone spatula to gently stir the ingredients.
- Cover the slow cooker. Program to cook 7-1/2 hours on low.
Before serving
- Roughly chop the cilantro. Place into a small serving bowl.
- Cut the lime into eight wedges. Place into a small serving bowl.
- Place both bowls on the dinner table along with the escabeche.
Serve the dinner
- For each serving, use tongs to place some nice pieces of stewed pork into a deep bowl. Ladle vegetables and sauce into the bowl.
- Have each guest garnish their bowls as desired with cilantro, lime, and escabeche.
Resources
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
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