Pork & Winter Squash Stew with Sage

Posted by Sheri on Friday, December 23rd, 2011

I don’t know what it is about pork shoulder, but it just seems like the perfect cut of meat for the slow cooker – and for the pressure cooker. Maybe it’s because it takes some time to bring out all of the great flavor. The pressure cooker makes quick work of it and it tastes like it’s been cooking for hours.

The pork only takes 25 minutes to cook in the pressure cooker (once it’s been browned stove-top), and then the squash just takes a few more minutes. This is quick enough to do on a weeknight if all of the ingredients are prepped. And it’s really, really good. Hearty and perfect for winter, I served it over garlic mashed potatoes (also made in the pressure cooker). The stew calls for chicken broth or stock – canned will work fine, but as an experiment I made my own chicken stock using the pressure cooker. Fast, and really terrific, it will likely become my go-to method of making stocks from here on out.

I really like this book (Rick Rodgers is a favorite of mine) and I can’t wait to cook more out of it. And Larry loves it when I use the pressure cooker because it reminds him of his mom (she used one a lot). For the pork stew recipe, go here.