We have loved and followed Jo Whitton’s career for years now.  If you aren’t aware, Jo is the founder of Quirky Cooking which consists of a vibrant community where you will find plenty of nourishing, additive-free, and fuss-free recipes to suit a wide variety of diets, as well as support and resources for a ‘back-to-basics’ approach to food and health. Jo is also a cookbook author filled with delicious recipes that nourish you from the inside out!

Jo has kindly shared one of her delicious recipes with us which we cannot wait for you to try!

Hints and tips from Jo:

“This recipe is deceptively simple. You won’t believe the flavour that comes from slow-cooking the pork belly in stock, which reduces down to a deliciously jammy, sticky sauce. I prefer to use butternut pumpkin in this recipe as it holds together better than other kinds of pumpkins.”

This recipe is:
Gluten Free, Grain Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Nut Free, GAPS friendly
Variation: Low FODMAPS

Recipe credit: Simple, Healing Food by Jo Whitton of Quirky Cooking
Image credit: Luisa Brimble

For more of what Jo has to offer, you can check her out at Quirky Cooking.

September 1, 2023
  • 10m
  • 2h 30m
  • 2h 40m

Ingredients

  • 500 g pork belly or pork spare ribs, cut into 2-3cm cubes
  • 1 large onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (optional)
  • 2 tsp. fine sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
  • 750 mL chicken or pork stock (see notes)
  • 700 g butternut pumpkin, cut into 2cm cubes
  • 400 g green beans, trimmed and halved

Instructions

Method

  1. Place pork, onion, garlic (if using), salt, pepper and stock in a 4L heavy-based saucepan or stockpot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 2 hours, or until pork is meltingly soft.
  2. Add pumpkin and beans (layering them on top of the meat), return to the boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer, partially covered, for 20–30 mins, or until veggies are soft and stock is reduced to a sticky sauce. Avoid stirring the vegetables too much or the pumpkin will fall apart.
  3. Season to taste and serve.

Notes

  1. You can use 500ml stock and 250ml filtered water instead, if you prefer.
  2. If you prefer, you can brown the pork, onion and garlic in a little olive oil or ghee before adding the stock. For those in early stages of gut healing, it’s best to simmer in stock without browning first.

Variation

  1. Low FODMAPS: Replace onion with thinly sliced green leaves of 1 leek. Omit garlic.

Serving suggestion

  1. Serve in bowls with Sauerkraut, and a salad or cooked vegetables, if desired.

Storage

  1. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze in an airtight container for up to 4 months. If freezing, don’t completely reduce the stock in the recipe so there is more liquid to keep meat and veggies moist; or add a little extra stock to containers before freezing.

Nutrition

  • 7