One Dish Wonder - Sweet and Spicy Pork, Quinoa and Vegetables

CSA items used in this recipe:  Mixed Greens, Kohlrabi, Shiitake Mushrooms, Garlic Scapes

It's Wednesday and Week 3 of CSA.  It is still early in the season, so this week's bag was again full of lettuces, greens and kohlrabi, which was much larger this week.  I came straight home with the bag and set to work on dinner.

I started a cup of quinoa cooking in the rice cooker.  Then I sliced up a variety of vegetables, and some boneless pork.  I whipped up a stir fry sauce with pineapple preserves, ginger, tamari, chili garlic sauce, water, black pepper and cornstarch and tossed it with the cooked vegetables and pork and then mixed in the quinoa and served.  

This was my first experience with cooked kohlrabi.  It had a mild, slighty sweet taste and crispness which I liked.  The quinoa and shiitakes gave the dish such a meaty texture, that it really didn't need the pork. This would be a great vegan dish with the substitution of more mushrooms and/or tofu in place of the pork.

RECIPE: Sweet and Spicy Pork, Quinoa and Vegetables

Serves 6 as a main dish

1 c. dry Inca Red Quinoa, cooked according to package directions

1/2 c. pineapple preserves or other fruit preserves such as peach or passionfruit

3 T. tamari soy sauce

1 t. chili garlic sauce

1 t. grated fresh ginger

3 T. water

1 1/2 t. cornstarch

ground black pepper

3 T. vegetable or peanut oil

1.5 lbs. boneless pork, sliced in 1/4 inch strips

salt and pepper

1 small vidalia onion, chopped

3 garlic scapes, chopped (or 2 garlic cloves, minced)

1 c. chopped red bell pepper (about 1/2 a large pepper)

4 c. mixed greens such as swiss chard, kale and collards, hard stems removed, leaves sliced into 1 inch wide strips

1 large kohlrabi bulb, peeled and sliced 1/4 in. thick by 1/2 inch wide strips

1 c. shiitake mushrooms, slicked 1/4 inch thick

Make Stir Fry Sauce:  In a small bowl, mix preserves, tamari, chili garlic sauce, ginger, water and cornstarch.  Add ground black pepper to taste.  Set aside.

In a large nonstick wok or skillet, heat 2 T. oil over high heat (reduce heat if your stove tends to cook hot).  Salt and pepper sliced pork and add to hot skillet.  Saute until pork slices turn opaque.  Remove pork to a medium bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.

Wipe out skillet and add remaining 1 T. oil.  When oil is hot, add onions and garlic scapes and saute for 2 minutes until onions begin to soften.  Add red bell pepper and mixed greens and saute another 2 minutes until greens are wilted.  Add kohlrabi and mushrooms and saute another 2 minutes.  Drain pork and add it to pan with vegetables.  Pour stir fry sauce over pork and vegetables in skillet and mix with a large spoon to coat.  Add cooked quinoa to skillet and mix in evenly.  Remove from heat and serve.

Pickled Kohlrabi & Vidalia Onions

This week's Crabtree Farms CSA was chock full of lettuces, a kohlrabi bulb, garlic scapes, radishes, rosemary and sage.

I am momentarily going into the kitchen to attempt a kohlrabi and vidalia onion pickle since someone gave Tim a bag full of Vidalia onions.  I'll be back later to document the process and the results!

Okay!  I'm back.  Here's what I did with the kohlrabi.  I'm going to let it marinate a few days and let you know how I end up using it.  I'm thinking it would make a nice condiment for fish tacos.

RECIPE: Pickled Kohlrabi and Vidalia Onions

1 medium kohlrabi bulb, peeled and sliced into matchstick size pieces

1/2 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced

1/3 c. white wine vinegar

2 T. sugar

1/2 t. dijon mustard

1/2 t. mild goulash paste (basically roasted red peppers and salt - highly salted and savory!)

Heat the vinegar, sugar, dijon mustard and ghoulash paste in a small saucepan and whisk until all ingredients are evenly dispersed and sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and pour mixture over kohlrabi and onion.  Marinate in sealed container in the refrigerator for a couple of days, stirring occasionally.