Sabor Eats

Early Valentine Dinner: Part 1 (South American Style)

Part 1? What’s Part 2 then? DESSERT. Yeah. Be ready.

I made this delicious dinner for Wasc when he came to visit me. He was surprised that I had made lechon using a slow cooker. I’ve never had lechon before, so…? :) Apparently, lechon is usually roasted—at least Wasc has only ever had lechon roasted.

Using the slow cooker was a great idea though, the pork just falls apart as you try to scoop the chunk out of the clay pot to shred it into pieces. Very delicious. I really enjoyed the Cuban Mojito Sauce that goes along with the pork as well! Wasc very much enjoyed this slow cooked version of lechon.

Also…Because I have yet to find yuca flour/manoic flour here, I decided to make my own version using toasted ground red lentils. It substitutes perfectly! Also, I feel that it’s healthier as well since it’s using ground beans rather than flour…

The pictures here are not from the dinner unfortunately (because of the lack of lighting in my apartment at night). The dinner plate was much more grand—I had paired the dish with Couve à Mineira (Sauteed Collard Greens) and a refreshing salad made of diced cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley tossed with lemon juice. I felt that all-in-all it was a pretty rounded out meal that was not particularly heavy in any one arena.

The pictures here aren’t very great because I was in a hurry, but trust me when I say This. Is. Way. Delicious.

Are you ready? Take a huge breath and be prepared to be bombarded with recipes. I hope you enjoy!!

-Erica

Slow Cooked Lechon Pulled Pork with Cuban Mojito Sauce, Black Beans, and Couve à mineira (adapted from My Life as a Mrs. and Gina’s Skinny Recipes)

Ingredients:

For the Lechon

• 5 lb pork butt
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup mojo sauce
• 2 limes, juiced
• Sea salt
• Ground black pepper

For the Cuban Mojito Sauce

• 3/4 onion, minced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Ground black pepper

For the Black Beans

• 1/2 bag of dried black beans
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 3/4 onion, finely diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup mojo sauce
• 2 limes, juiced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• Salt and pepper
• Cayenne (optional)

For the Couve à mineira

• 1 bunch of collard greens, washed
• 4 slices of bacon
• 3 cloves garlic

For the Red Lentil “Farofa”

• 2 tbsp finely ground red lentils

Recipe:

For the lechon

1. Cut pork to fit into slow cooker. My slow cooker is about 4 qt, I cut the pork into two large pieces. Try to keep cutting as minimal as possible to retain juices and softness of meat.
2. Poke holes into pork everywhere using a small knife.
3. To marinate, you have a two options: 1) Use a large ziplock bag OR 2) If you’re like me with the handicapped kitchen, marinate pork butt in the slow cooker pot. So, put the pork in your vessel of choice.
4. Start making the marinade: Pulse onion and garlic in blender/food processor until pureed. Add in mojo sauce, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste (doesn’t take much, maybe a dash or two)
5. Pour marinade over pork and let marinate in the refrigerator for a 8-10 hours. 
6. Oil the slow cooker pot (if you were marinating in the pot: remove pork and marinate from pot and set aside while you wash, dry, then oil the slow cooker pot).
7. Add pork into the slow cooker (put the fatty side facing up). Pour the marinade over the pork.
8. Slow cook on low for 12-14 hours.
9. To Serve: Pull a chunk of pork out of the slow cooker and use a fork to shred the pork. Pour a bit of Cuban mojito sauce over if desired.

For the Cuban Mojito Sauce

1. Put minced onion and garlic into a medium sized, heat-proof bowl.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan until hot (you may start to see super-tiny bubbles at the bottom of the pan).
3. Pour HOT olive oil over the onion/garlic to sizzle (will sound like you’re adding greens to a hot wok)! Be careful here, it makes a lot of noise—don’t panic/get scared it’ll be okay just mind any popping of oil/onion.
4. Stir mixture.
5. Add in lime juice, add a pinch of salt and pepper, stir to mix.
6. To Serve: Serve warm over lechon. **NOTE: Stir before serving because the lime juice will settle out and to the bottom!

For the Black Beans

1. Cook black beans as directed on package with bay leaves. (I think I boiled/then simmered mine for a few hours….) Keep an eye out on the beans so the water doesn’t evaporate away (even when covered). Add water as needed to keep beans submerged.
2. When beans are cooked through, in a separate pan, heat olive oil on medium high. Add onions and stir until lightly browned.
3. Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds **NOTE: Do not burn garlic!
4. Pour garlic/onion mixture into the black beans, then stir.
5. Add mojo sauce, lime juice, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. If you like, add cayenne (about 1/2 to 1 tbsp) and stir to mix.
6. Let simmer for about 10-15 more minutes.
7. Using a potato masher, mash anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of the beans. I just mash it right in the pot. Mashing will thicken up the beans so it is not all watery.
8. Serve with hot rice (white or brown…or mixed!) and chopped parsley or cilantro.

For the Couve à mineira (Sauteed Collard Greens)

1. Remove the stems (in the center of the leaf) from the collard greens.
2. Stack 4-5 leaves and roll up (like a Fruit Roll-Up). Slice thinly. Repeat for the rest of the greens.
3. Chop bacon into small pieces.
4. Heat bacon on low until just barely cooked. Remove bacon from pan and remove 1/2 of the bacon oil.
5. Put bacon back into pan with remaining oil and add in garlic along with collard greens. 
6. Cover pan and simmer until tender (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally.

For the Red Lentil “Farofa”

1. Toast ground lentils in pan on medium until lightly browned. Remove from heat and place in a small bowl.
2. Serve sprinkled over rice, beans, whatever!