Coconut Pork with Chickpeas Stew

Coconut Pork with Chickpeas Stew is as delicious as it sounds and excellent with white rice or creamy polenta. Delicious, tender pork shoulder in a hearty turmeric base coconut and chickpeas stew creates the perfect family’s favorite Sunday meal.

This recipe can easily be made on the stovetop, preferably in a heavy bottom pan, dutch oven, or slow cooker. Meat and potatoes stew indeed is one of the best comfort foods you can make. But an all-season stew should also include ingredients that are available all year round. 

Pork Stew

Making pork stew is economical. The reason why it is inexpensive is that this type of stew is usually made with pork shoulder. Pork shoulder is a cut of meat that is one of the most affordable cuts. It is excellent for slow-cooking stews, frying, and roasting. This particular cut is what is used in Griot, one of Haiti’s national dishes.

Like my Coconut Pork with Chickpeas Stew, my Tatouni recipe is a pork with leek and carrot stew recipe that is slow-cooked, hearty, full of deep Caribbean flavor, and makes for a delicious and easy weeknight meal.

How to Make Pork Stew

This recipe style is similar to a Caribbean stew, such as Lamb Stew with Chickpeas. The meat is marinated in a blend of savory herbs and spices, including Noubess Hot and Spicy Herbs Sauce. This process allows the marinade to infuse the meat, and when mixed with the coconut milk, it creates a mind-blowing aroma and explosive flavor. 

The process is simple to replicate if you want to add your blend of herbs and spices, similar to green seasoning or epis.

1. Cut pork into cubes (if not already cut), and clean
2. Prepare the marinade and add to pork cubes.
3. Boil meat with marinade; reserve cooking liquid. 
4. Cook tomatoes with meat.
5. Add turmeric, more seasoning, coconut, and chickpeas, and cook until all ingredients are infused, and the sauce has thickened a bit. 
6. And serve!

Why add turmeric and not tomato paste

Turmeric contains several health benefits and brings warm flavors to stew recipes. It also adds a deep golden color which is pleasing to the eyes. And we do eat with our eyes first. So why not add turmeric instead of tomato paste?

I rarely cook with tomato paste. I prefer using fresh tomatoes in my stews, eggs, and even my creole sauce. It seems that the older I get, the more sensitive I’ve become to canned foods. 

I may also use both, as I did in my spicy coconut lamb dish. This recipe is so tasty you will want to take your favorite bread, maybe my flatbread recipe, to soak up every last drop on your plate.

What you will need for most stew recipes

First and foremost, stews need time to cook. A good pot is necessary, no matter the culture or cuisine. Besides the pot, fresh ingredients are required. The fresher the ingredients, the more aromatic your stew will be. 

The word legume in French means vegetables. Whereas in English, legume means Ragout. We call stews legume, which is the Haitian-creole term. It also means meatless or stews with meat. The name is the same for seafood stews. We only differentiate the legume by the type of main ingredients used. 

Are you confused yet? Don’t worry, and no one cares at this point. As long as the food is good, your stomach will not care about the proper name of the food. 

Fresh herbs and spices such as parsley, thyme, garlic, and cloves are necessary for Caribbean cuisine. They are the staple ingredients used in most recipes, and don’t forget your pantry staples as well. 

A meatless stew such as my papaya, eggplant, and watercress stew is remarkably easy to prepare and full of bold flavors. A good pot is a must for this recipe.

Here is a list of what you will need to make the perfect stew recipe:

• Dutch oven – the best pot to use for cooking stews. Or you can also use a heavy bottom pot.
• Spoon – please do not use plastic or silicone. 
• Sharp knife – to cut the vegetables, meat, etc.
• Cutting board – to properly cut, chop and slice the ingredients
• Cooking utility bowl – a great help in the kitchen for prepping meals.
• Mortar and pestle is you need to crush your spices
• Olive oil or extra virgin olive oil is a must for flavor.

What to serve with this Coconut Pork with Chickpeas Stew

Stews are usually a one-pot meal you can serve alone or with a side dish. You can serve this stew recipe with the following:

• Rice
• Bulgur wheat
• Millet
• Farro
• Cornmeal
• Boiled Plantains, yams, yucca or potatoes

How To Make Coconut Pork

1. Clean the pork meat and place it in a pot. 
2. Add the following to the pot: olive oil, lemon juice, oil, Noubess hot and spicy sauce, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, and onion. 
3. Cook pork until tender. Remove from cooking liquid and set aside—Reserve cooking liquid. 
4. Season the meat with salt, pepper, and paprika.
5. In another pan or pot, add additional oil, and fresh tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes while stirring and until the tomatoes have softened and released their juice. 
6. Add meat and turmeric to the pot and mix well. 
7. Pour the coconut milk and add the chickpeas and mix well. 
8. Add some of the cooking liquid back to the pot (not more than ½ cup). (add more if you want more sauce. Simply season to taste with salt and pepper and additional Noubess hot and spicy sauce if necessary. 
9. Cover and cook for 15 minutes longer. 
10. Serve with rice.

Tips and Notes

I used the following in the recipe.

• Organic canned chickpeas
• Turmeric powder
• Noubess Hot and Spicy Mango Sauce
• Organic canned coconut milk (unsweetened is better but not necessary)
• Fresh lemon juice
• Fresh garlic
• Already cut up pieces of pork shoulder – store-bought packages make life much easier. If not, buy a small whole pork shoulder 

If properly stored, the stew will last for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator. Use a BPA-free plastic bowl or glass bowl with a lid.

If you want to make this in a crockpot or slow cooker, place all the ingredients in the crockpot insert and set it to 3 hours on high or 5 hours on a slow setting.