I received product samples from Sam’s Fresh Salsa to help in the creation of this post. All opinions are my own.
Yes, it’s summer, but the weather here hasn’t felt like it the last week or so. All the dreary, rainy days have me craving comfort food so I took one of my summer staples – salsa! – and turned it into the perfect rainy-day dinner.
Tender chunks of pork are stewed in a couldn’t-be-easier verde sauce and then buried in piles of fluffy cornbread dumplings. Finish with a dollop of sour cream and you have the perfect meal!
I created this recipe for Sam’s Fresh Salsa Blogger Recipe Challenge and couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out!
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Ingredients
For the stew:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1″ cubes
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 24 ounces Sam’s Salsa Verde Salsa
For the dumplings:
- 1 1/3 cups flour
- 2/3 cup cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon baking soda
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 cup milk
For serving:
- Sour cream
This recipe cooks for bit, but really comes together so easily thanks to the salsa! Instead of dealing with individual produce and seasonings, the salsa is a pre-prepped shortcut. I added a chopped onion to this just for a little more texture, but you could skip if you wanted to speed things up more!
Don’t skip the sour cream for serving, though – it’s an excellent balance for the flavors of the pork and salsa.
Directions
- In a large Dutch oven, head the olive oil and butter until shimmering.
- Season the pork cubes with salt and pepper and dredge them in flour. Add to the pan.
- Cook for 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides, then remove with a slotted spoon.
- Add the onion to the pan and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom. Stir in the salsa.
- Return the pork to the pan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for an hour.
- After an hour, start to make the dumplings. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the melted butter and milk. Add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Uncover the stew and stir well. Drop heaping spoonfuls of the dumpling batter on the stew until covered. Put the lid back on the stew and cook for another 20 minutes, or until dumplings look set and dry.
- If you’d like to brown up the top, pop the Dutch oven under the broiler for a minute or two, watching closely not to burn.
- Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream.
Dredging and browning the pork is one of the things that makes this recipe work so well! Getting a little crust on the pork gives the whole dish a really amazing texture and the flour left in the pan helps thicken up the sauce.
If you want to prep this ahead, cook until you would add the dumplings, then refrigerate. Reheat and cook the dumplings as directed in the recipe when you want to serve!
You can find more recipes featuring Sam’s Fresh Salsas on their website, Facebook, and Instagram.
You can purchase Sam’s Fresh Salsa at ShopRite, Acme, and Safeway. If they are not in your local store, ask them to carry Sam’s Fresh Salsa products!
Recipe
Pork Verde Stew with Cornbread Dumplings
Ingredients
For the stew:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1" cubes
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 24 ounces salsa verde salsa
For the dumplings:
- 1 1/3 cups flour
- 2/3 cup cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon baking soda
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 cup milk
For serving:
- Sour cream
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven, head the olive oil and butter until shimmering.
- Season the pork cubes with salt and pepper and dredge them in flour. Add to the pan.
- Cook for 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides, then remove with a slotted spoon.
- Add the onion to the pan and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom. Stir in the salsa.
- Return the pork to the pan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for an hour.
- After an hour, start to make the dumplings. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the melted butter and milk. Add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Uncover the stew and stir well. Drop heaping spoonfuls of the dumpling batter on the stew until covered. Put the lid back on the stew and cook for another 20 minutes, or until dumplings look set and dry.
- If you'd like to brown up the top, pop the Dutch oven under the broiler for a minute or two, watching closely not to burn.
- Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream.
Notes
I used Sam's Fresh Salsa - Salsa Verde Salsa for this recipe
