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“This menu and its spin-offs put crazy-versatile pork through its paces all week long. You’ve gotta make a lot of pork the first night, because it’s gonna get devoured.”

Ingredients

For the Pork Shoulder
  • 2 large onions, sliced
  • 4 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 6 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
  • 1 quart homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
  • 3 tablespoons granulated garlic
  • 2 tablespoons onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • One 6-pound boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 4 equal pieces
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
For the Rice Pilaf
  • 2 1/2 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
  • 3 cups basmati rice
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup finely diced onion
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
For the Succotash
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup shelled and hulled fresh or frozen fava beans
  • 2 cups shelled fresh or frozen edamame beans
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen peas
  • 1 cup diced green beans
  • 1 cup diced asparagus
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 to 5 turns freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Yield

Serves: 4-6

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

For the pork, place the onions, carrots and celery in the bottom of a large roasting pan and pour in the chicken stock.


In a small bowl, combine the granulated garlic, onion powder, paprika, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to make dry rub. Rub the pork all over with the olive oil, then season it all over with the dry rub. Place the pork on top of the vegetables in the pan and roast for 30 minutes.

Reduce the heat to 325°F and roast 4-5 hours, adding water to the bottom of the pan if it becomes dry, until the pork is very tender when pierced with a fork. Let stand until cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes.

Toward the end of roasting, prepare the rice pilaf: In a large saucepan, bring the stock and 2 1/2 cups water to a simmer over medium heat.

Meanwhile, place the rice in a mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear. Drain well. (This removes any excess starch, which makes the rice gummy.)

Place the olive oil, onion and salt in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until the onion is just translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add the rice and bay leaves, and mix well to combine and coat evenly. Add the warm stock and water, and bring to a boil. Boil uncovered until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until the liquid has been completely absorbed. Let the pan sit off the heat, still covered, for 7-8 minutes. Just before serving, discard the bay leaves, fluff the rice with a fork, and fold in the cilantro.

While the pork is resting, prepare the succotash: In a medium saucepan, bring 4-5 inches of water and 1 tablespoon of the salt to a boil over medium-high heat. Have a large bowl of ice water ready. Add the fava beans, edamame, peas, green beans and asparagus to the boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge veggies into the ice water (this locks in the bright green color). Drain and let stand dry.

Set a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When it is hot, add the bell pepper and shallots. Sauté until the shallot is translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add the blanched vegetables, garlic, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and the black pepper, and sauté until heated through, 5-6 minutes. Add the butter and toss until the butter had melted. Remove the pan from the heat.   

To serve, pull two pieces of pork into bite-size pieces and transfer to a serving platter. Spoon the juices from the pan over the top. Serve with the pilaf and succotash alongside.