Pastured Pork and Pumpkin Stew

Have you ever looked at a recipe, raised an eyebrow at the odd combination of ingredients, then decided it might be worth a try? 

Well, usually I have a pretty good instinct as to whether or not it will be good, but sometimes I'm wrong and it ends up being a GIANT fail.  I always figure that it's worth the risk, because we've come up with some amazing family recipes by trying the suspiciously odd ones, tweaking them a little and WOW! - no regrets ;)

This pastured pork and pumpkin recipe started as I was searching for some new recipes to try. I had a feeling that our pork roasts cut into stew meat could taste amazing with some pumpkins we had grown this year.  

After looking through the ideas, I just decided to throw them all out and just have fun with it.  (that is usually how I do my best cooking... PLUS~ it's more fun that way!)

Long story short ~ this stew ended up being a super easy "from scratch" recipe and everyone LOVED it, so it will be added to our list of favorites.  

I hope you'll try it.  You won't be disappointed with the crisp fall colors and intensely delicious flavors coming from this one of a kind dish.  

Make sure you don't leave anything out....

I'll have a printable version of the recipe along with some tips below, but first, I wanted to make sure that no matter how strange the seasoning combination sounds, you won't leave anything out. :)  It really needs everything to get this amazing cozy stew flavor. 

Pastured Pork and Pumpkin Stew:

Here is what you're going to need... (I use organic ingredients (or, ingredients grown with 'beyond organic' practices, whenever possible) 

• 1-medium size pumpkin, cut in half with seeds scraped
• 1/4 C coconut oil
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1- 3 to 4 lb. shoulder roast, thawed and cut into cubes (You can get your pork roast here)
• 1/2 cup organic flour for thickening (gluten free flour works too!)
• 1 tsp garlic powder, or 2 cloves
• 6 cups pasture-fed beef bone broth, or water
• 2 Tbs. Turmeric
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 4 Tbs. chopped fresh Sage Leaves, or 2 Tbs. dry 
• 2 tsp Cinnamon (don't skip this one :)
• 2 large organic beets, cut into cubes (leave peel on)

1. Place pumpkin halves face down on a cookie sheet with a little water poured into pan.  Bake on 375 for about 25 min.  This will soften pumpkin and make it easy to cut into cubes and peel or scrape.  Cut and peel.​
2. In a heavy saucepan, heat coconut oil and brown pork cubes.  Season with sea salt and pepper.  Sprinkle flour on pork and stir to coat.
3. Add Broth or water, garlic, turmeric, bay leaves sage and cinnamon. Stir well.
4. Stir in Beets and pumpkin cubes
5. Simmer med low heat until beets and pumpkin are tender and liquids thicken. About 45 min to 1 hour.
6. Enjoy!  Cut in half, scrape seeds and lay face down on a cookie sheet.  Add a little water and bake at 375 until tender.  Scrape out squash,

Tips and Tricks...

1. This recipe makes a large batch.  It can be split in half, or pour left overs into quart jars leaving an inch headspace and freeze.  Now you have some quick lunches.  Just thaw, heat and serve!
2. This stew has such vibrant fall colors that you just can't fully capture in a photo. A perfect dish for fall celebrations!
3. Like how easy it is to prepare the pumpkin?  This is a super easy trick I use on all my pumpkin and squash.  Cut in half, scrape seeds and lay face down on a cookie sheet.  Add a little water and bake at 375 until tender.  Scrape out squash, blend in a blender and use any squash with a pumpkin pie recipe for the BEST squash (pumpkin) pies you'll ever taste!

Print your recipe here!