I should be able to throw something together...
Low sodium Spam? Sacrilege!
And I've never seen Campbell's "Cream of Shrimp" soup before. I have no idea what I'd do with it, but I'll have to look around...
While we're mostly stuck inside and pretty bored, my wife was browsing, and found a recipe for "Latvian Pork Stew". I've made it twice now, including a dinner for 8 this week, and it's astoundingly good. I recommend leaving out the optional potatoes and serving it with small roasted halved potatoes for a textural contrast.
(I may try this with lamb next time -- should work just as well.)
Latvian Pork Stew
2 lb pork shoulder trimmed of as much fat as possible and cut into 1” cubes (3 – 3.5 lb bone-in pork shoulder)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
3 medium carrots, thickly sliced diagonally
Optional: 2 potatoes, diced large (roasted potatoes on the side are better)
1 large onion, halved, thickly sliced then halved again
6 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 c. dark beer (porter or stout)
1 c. chicken stock
1 c. water (see instructions below)
salt and pepper
½ tsp. red chili flakes
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. sweet Hungarian paprika
½ tsp. crushed and ground coriander seeds
½ tsp. crushed dried oregano
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 c. dried apricots, halved
1 c. pitted prunes
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
If using bone-in shoulder, remove the bone. Trim the visible fat from the pork and cut into large chunks. Sprinkle generously with salt/pepper.
Heat half of the olive oil and half the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium low heat.
When the sizzling on the butter starts to slow down, turn up the heat to medium. Add the pork pieces and brown on 2 sides, about a 1 – 2 minutes per side. Do this in 2 to 3 batches to keep from overcrowding the pot. Add more oil and butter as needed.
Transfer browned pork pieces to a bowl.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Add the onions and garlic to the Dutch oven and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook the onion for 20 - 30 minutes stirring occasionally until the onions start to caramelize (darken). If the onion starts to brown on the edge, turn the heat down a bit.
Once the onion is a rich brown, add the chili flakes, cinnamon, paprika, coriander, oregano. Stir for 1 minute. Return heat to medium.
Add the beer and deglaze the pot. Stir in the tomato paste.
Return the pork pieces to the pot with any liquid that has accumulated in the bowl.
Add chicken stock.
Add the carrots, optional potatoes, dried prunes, and half of the apricots. Stir to incorporate. Liquid should be a little below the top of the ingredients. Add water if needed. Spread the rest of the apricots on top.
Cover and transfer to oven.
Bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and check meat by using 2 forks to gently pull apart a chunk of pork. The meat is done when the piece easily separates. If meat is not pull apart tender, you'll need to cook another 30 minutes.
But before returning to the oven...check the liquid level. The liquid should have decreased and started to thicken. If you can't see any liquid then add ½ c. of water. At the end of 1 ½ hours you want the liquid thick and flavorful. If the meat is pull apart tender, but there is still too much liquid after 1-1/2 hours, place the Dutch oven on the stove, remove the lid and simmer until the liquid is reduced to sauce consistency (about 5 minutes).
Just before serving, season with salt and pepper and stir in parsley.
