SPICY PORK & CHILLI BEAN STEW

The creamy texture of the black turtle beans was the star of this SPICY PORK & BEAN stew.
If you are in a hurry, you can buy the beans in tins or cartons, although I cooked mine in the pressure cooker.
I used a cheaper cut of meat - shoulder of pork, but again, if you don't have the time, you could use pork tenderloin, which is a very tender cut and requires little cooking time. It's not too expensive either.
This is a very economical meal, and will make 6-8 portions. Serve with rice and pittas.
We spiced ours up using this recipe:

SPICY PORK & BEANS

Ingredients

Serves 6 -  8

1 kg pork shoulder cut into cubes (most of the fat removed)

1 large can of chopped tomatoes

1 large tin of black turtle beans (or mixed beans)

1 large onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red or green pepper, diced

SPICES

2 bay leaves

1 tsp chilli flakes (use chipotle chillies if you have them)

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp paprika (use smoked paprika if you have any)

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

TO FINISH

salt to taste

cornflour to thicken

**

Brown the pork in a frying pan then add to a large saucepan.

Brown the onion in the frying pan then add the minced garlic and diced pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes longer, stirring all the time. Add this to the saucepan.

Measure out the spices onto a separate plate, then add to the saucepan. Give everything a good stir, and add the tin of tomatoes. 

Add enough water or stock to cover the pork. I saved the water from cooking the beans and used that. 

Bring to the boil and gently simmer until the pork is soft and cooked through - approx 2 - 3 hours. To cut down on cooking time you could use a pressure cooker, and it will take just 20 minutes. Or - you could use the pork tenderloin, which will cook in around 30 minutes. You can also cook this in a slow cooker (approximately 6 to 8 hours - see your instruction booklet). 

Once the pork has been cooked, stir in the pre-cooked beans and heat through (follow directions on tin/carton). 

The flavours will develop if you allow the stew to cool, refrigerate and leave until the next day.

Thicken either by reducing the liquid (I would pour the liquid off and reduce in a separate pan), or add cornflour. 

***

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