I know it's not fall, but somehow, my Safeway app keeps sending me coupons for organic butternut squash. Plus I can't resist this sweet vitamin and fiber rich squash, and it's beautiful deep orange flesh.
It's versatility in dishes and it's ability to keep in storage for 2 months in a cool dry area is a bonus.
Here, I'm making a pork and butternut squash stew that has a balance of earthy flavors from the miso and soy sauce and sweetness from the squash. I made it in the instant pot to speed things up, but if you don't have an instant pot, you can stew this in a pot on the stove top for an hour or so, and then add in the butternut squash in the last 20 minutes of stewing.
Here's the step by step instructions. And for easy peeling and dicing of the butternut squash, please see my tips posted on the recipe for Butternut squash soup.
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| Cut pork butt to 1 to 1.5 inch cubes. Add salt and pepper |
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| Brown on at least one side |
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| Mix miso, soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, water |
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| Pour sauce over browned pork. Add garlic, and onions |
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| IP high pressure 12 minutes, NR 5 min |
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| Add butternut squash. Give it a mix. Close lid. IP high pressure 5 minutes |
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| Taste and add salt as needed. Ladle out |
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| Garnish with green onions |
Yields 5 to 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs pork butt, cut into 1 to 1.5 inch cubes
- 1 lb butternut squash, cut into 1 inch cubes
- ½ t salt
- ½ t ground black pepper
- 2 T soy sauce
- 2 T red miso paste
- 2 T rice wine
- 2 T white sugar
- ¾ c water
- 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 T dried chopped onions
- olive oil for sauteing
- chopped green onions (for garnish)
Procedures:
1. Mix the soy sauce, miso paste, rice wine, and sugar together in a bowl. Add ¾ c water and set aside.
2. Set the instant pot to saute. Sprinkle salt and pepper onto pork cubes and mix. Add some olive oil to the pot and brown the pork cubes until nicely browned on one side of the cube. You may need to do this in two separate batches.
3. When all the pork cubes have been browned, turn off the saute function. Pour the soy sauce miso mixture over the browned pork.
4. Add the garlic and onions. Give everything a good mix, and close the lid to the instant pot. Seal the vent. Set the instant pot to high pressure cook for 12 minutes. When the timer is up, allow for natural release for 5 minutes, then carefully release the remaining pressure and open the lid.
5. Add the butternut squash cubes. Give everything a stir, and close the lid again. Set the vent to seal, and high pressure cook for 5 minutes. When the timer is up, carefully release the pressure and open the lid.
6. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot, garnished with some chopped green onions over rice. NOTE: If your pork butt is particularly fat, you may want to pour the sauce into a fat separator to remove some of the fat in the sauce before serving.