Canned Pineapple Anniversary Day

Apparently, today is the anniversary of the first canned shipment of pineapple sent from Hawaii way back in 1895. As far as I’ve been able to find, nobody’s entirely sure that the day is actually correct but it’s as good an excuse as any to get out a tin of pineapple out of the cupboard and eat it.

I personally love pineapple, especially the tinned variety. Yes, I know the fresh stuff if probably considered far superior but my taste buds tell me otherwise so there’s always a tin of pineapple chunks or rings in my food cupboard. Sometimes I eat it ‘as is’, occasionally adding a big blob of double cream if I’m feeling particularly decadent, other times I use it in cooking. The following is my favourite recipe that incorporates pineapple.

Hawaiian Pork Casserole

Serves 2

Olive oil
300g pork, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed and chopped
1/4 red & 1/4 yellow pepper, deseeded and diced
50g mushrooms, sliced
Small can pineapple chunks
1 tbsp tomato puree
Plain flour
300ml vegetable stock
Juice from tin of pineapple chunks
A coupoe of good glugs of red wine
Salt & ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to gas mark 4 (180c).
2. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Bung the sliced onion and crushed garlic in and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft.
3. Stick the peppers and mushrooms in the pan with the onions and cook for a further minute or so. Tip into a casserole dish.
4. Coat the pork in flour, add some more oil to the frying and fry the pork until it’s nice and golden all over. If your frying pan’s small, do this in batches because otherwise you’ll end up boiling the pork which isn‘t a good thing. Put in the casserole dish with the onions and garlic.
5. Pour of a good glug of red wine into the hot pan to deglaze it, scraping up all the bits as it bubbles then pour that into the casserole dish too.
6. Add the stock, another good glug of red wine, and the pineapple juice to the casserole and mix it all up.
7. Cover and cook in the preheated oven for 1 hours 45 minutes.
8. Taste it and stick some ground black pepper in if you think it needs it. Add the pineapple chunks, stir and cook for a further 15 minutes.

This is absolutely delicious served with fluffy white rice and green salad and it’s an apt meal to make on canned pineapple anniversary day being as the first ones came from Hawaii.

Sharon J

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Image Source: Cervus

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