Tanya Holland, especially among Bay Area foodies, needs no introduction.
She’s the award-winning celebrity chef behind Oakland’s Brown Sugar Kitchen, B-Side BBQ and Town Fare, and the author of multiple cookbooks. She competed on “Top Chef,” hosted “Tanya’s Kitchen Table” on the Oprah Winfrey Network and today serves on the James Beard Foundation’s Awards Committee.
For the Super Bowl this year, she’ll be at a cousin’s 80th birthday party.
In celebration of Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny’s upcoming halftime show, she opted to share her recipe for Dominican Pork Guisado. While some seasonings can differ between Dominican and Puerto Rican guisados, this rich stew is a pan-Caribbean staple.
“As a young chef in Manhattan during the late 1990s, I embarked on my first Executive Chef position at a Caribbean-themed restaurant located on the Lower East Side,” Holland writes in an email. “One of the restaurant’s owners, who was of Dominican heritage, requested that the menu showcase dishes reflecting her family’s recipes, albeit with a modern twist. At the time, I was unfamiliar with Dominican cuisine, so I immersed myself in research by visiting local neighborhood establishments and seeking out the limited cookbooks available.
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“The blend of tomatoes, fresh herbs, citrus, olives, and capers resonates with the ingredients common in the Southern Rhône,” she continues. “It is fascinating to see how different cultures utilize similar ingredients to create unique dishes. The slow-cooked, braised meats of guisado are especially appealing and provide a comforting, hearty base for pairing with wine.”
The dish pairs well with Sang des Cailloux Vacqueyras wine from France’s Southern Rhône region, which can be found at Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant in Berkeley and Larkspur.
“The pairing creates a synergy that highlights the strengths of both the dish and the wine, showcasing how culinary traditions and wine regions can harmonize beautifully,” Holland writes.
Chef Tanya Holland’s Dominican Pork Guisado recipe yields a rich stew of marinated pork and vegetables, cooked slowly in a Dutch oven. (Photo courtesy of Tanya Holland)
Dominican Pork Guisado
Yield: Makes 6-8 servings
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons of fresh chopped oregano (dry can be substituted)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 large yellow onion, cut into 1-inch dice
1/4 cup plus one tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for sauté)
2 large bell peppers, cut into 1-inch dice (can be red, green or combination)
1 cup white wine
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon concentrated tomato paste
Zest of one large orange
1 cup pitted green olives, cut in half
3 tablespoons capers
Salt to taste
Fresh chopped Italian parsley
DIRECTIONS
Place pork in a sealable container and sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Add oregano, garlic and onions. Add Worcestershire sauce and oil, and toss everything together until pork is uniformly marinated. Cover dish and refrigerate overnight or at least 2 hours.
Heat oven to 300 degrees. On the stovetop, heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove the pork from the marinade, leaving the onions behind in the marinade. Do not discard.
Add about a tablespoon of additional oil to the heated pot and brown pork pieces on all sides. Remove pork (can rest on a baking pan or plate), then add onions and marinade. Add prepared peppers and sauté about 5 minutes to sweat some of the juices out of the vegetables, but not to overcook. Deglaze the pot with white wine. Allow this to cook down for about 5 minutes, then add tomatoes, tomato paste, orange zest, olives and capers.
Bring pork and vegetables to a simmer and cover. Transfer to the oven and cook until pork is fork-tender, about 75 minutes. Test and return to the oven if it needs more time. Season to taste with additional salt. Finish with chopped parsley.
Stir the stew vigorously before serving to incorporate the oil; the oil adds flavor.
Water or chicken broth can be added to create more broth if desired.
Serve over rice.
— Recipe courtesy of Tanya Holland
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