Culinary Travel: Paraguay

Paraguay is a country of fascinating contrasts. It’s rustic and sophisticated. It’s extremely poor and obscenely wealthy. It boasts exotic natural reserves and massive man-made dams. It is a place where horses and carts pull up by Mercedes Benz cars, artisans’ workshops abut glitzy shopping centers and Jesuit ruins in rural villages near Encarnación are just a few kilometers from sophisticated colonial towns like Asunción. Steamy subtropical rainforests with metallic butterflies contrast with the dry and wild frontier of Northern Paraguay & the Chaco. Here, many Mennonites have created their haven, living alongside some of the country’s many indigenous groups, while the European influence is particularly strong in the laid-back towns like Filadelfia and the more chaotic capital.

This delicious guiso, or stew, has pieces of tender pork, cumin and other seasonings, sweet potatoes, and fruit. The sweet and mildly spicy flavors come together beautifully for a simple one dish meal. Serve pork and sweet potato stew over South American-style rice. Leftovers make an excellent filling for empanadas.

Pork and Sweet Potato Guiso Stew

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 105 minutes
Total Time: 120 minutes Yield: Serves 4-6.

Ingredients
1-2 pounds of pork shoulder, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 teapsoon cumin
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 sweet potatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 packet sazon Goya with achiote and culantro (optional)
15 ounces peaches, can also use apricots
Salt and pepper to taste


Direction
In a heavy, deep-sided skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil with 1 tablespoon butter. Add the onions and cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown (about 10 minutes). 

While the onions are cooking, toss the cubed pork with the cumin, flour, sazon Goya (if using) and salt and pepper. 

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a separate skillet, add pork pieces, and sauté until well-browned on all sides (work in batches if necessary). Remove pork to a plate and set aside. 

Add 1 cup chicken broth to the skillet and deglaze, scraping up any pieces of pork from the pan with a wooden spoon. Add chicken broth to onion mixture.

Add the pork to onion mixture, along with enough chicken broth to cover. Simmer gently for 1 hour. 

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. Add the sweet potatoes to the stew with the raisins and simmer until the pork and the sweet potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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