I was thumbing through a recent Cooking Light magazine and came across a recipe for roasted pork tenderloin served with cannellini beans and tomatoes. It looked good, and what piqued my interest was the fact that I had a half of a pork butt roast in my freezer and wanted to try something new with that cut. (I used the other half to make pozole a while back – check May 5, 2013 in my archives for that super easy and delicious recipe).
So, I combined my pot roast technique (posted a couple of weeks ago) with Cooking Light’s basic seasoning ingredients for the cannellini beans, added kale to give it a Tuscan flare and, I must admit, I did a dang good job creating a tasty, hearty dish. I sort of impressed myself with this one. The meat turned out deeply flavorful and oh-so tender … and combined with the cannellini bean “stew” … awesome! At least that’s how my husband Michael described it. (Thank you, dear.)
Pork Roast with Cannellini Bean Stew
2-3 lbs. pork shoulder roast
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Seasoning salt, such as Hy’s (my fav) or Lawry’s
Course ground pepper
1 t rosemary, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 slices onion, chopped
1/2 can (approx. 7 oz.) chicken broth
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 large leaf of sage, thinly sliced
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, juice drained and reserved
4 large kale leaves, stocks removed, loosely chopped
Season roast with garlic & onion powders, seasoned salt & pepper, and rub with rosemary. In a Dutch oven, at medium heat, sear all sides of roast. Add chopped garlic and onion, sauté for 2 to 3 minutes to release fragrance. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for approximately 2 hours, turning meat occasionally.
Remove roast to pan and place in oven at 325 degrees to brown while finishing preparations.
Add garlic, sage, cannellini beans and tomatoes to Dutch oven. Increase heat to medium and reduce liquid to half. Taste for seasoning; add salt & pepper as needed. Add kale to pot and wilt.
Remove roast from oven and slice or break into pieces with a fork.
Ladle bean mixture onto plates or into shallow bowls. Top with pieces of pork. Serve!
We are not big bread eaters, but if we were I would serve big slices of hot, crusty French or Italian bread with this dish.
The cannellini bean stew makes a great vegetarian dish, too. Use vegetable broth instead of chicken, and I would suggest adding ¼ teaspoon of rosemary (used on the pork), as it is integral to the flavor profile of this dish.
Eat well. Be happy.
Plynn
Plynn Gutman 