Sauce Épinard aux Côtes de Porc will simply delight you and your friends and family!

Sauce Épinard aux Côtes de Porc (Spinach Sauce with Pork Chops) Recipe-

Ingredients:

• 5 large bunches of spinach leaves
• 2 lb. (about 1kg) smoked pork chops
• 1 large pepper-smoked fish, torn apart and flaked (Mackerel works great)
• 5 large ripe tomatoes, blanched, half cut into large chunks and half and crushed
• 3 onions, peeled and sliced thin
• 10 oz. (300ml) red palm oil (for the sauce, and this is a must ingredient)
• 4 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 Knorr cubes, lamb flavor, crushed (another absolute must ingredient, for authentic Malian flavor)
• Salt, to taste
• Dendé oil, for frying (yet another ingredient you must have, for the real thing)

Directions:

1. Rinse the smoked pork and let it soak in a bowl of water for about 2 hours.
2. Drain the pork and then sauté until nicely browned all over.
3. In a large-bottomed cooking pot, over medium high heat, put some oil in and when the oil is hot, add in the add 1 of the sliced onions and sauté for a 2-3 minutes, then season with salt to taste, and add in the pork chops, lower the heat and let the dish simmer.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, then add the spinach leaves and cook for about 4-5 minutes, or until well tenderized. Drain the water off in a sieve or colander, and then coarsely chop the leaves and pulverize into a smooth paste with a mortar and pestle. (you could use an electric blender or a food processor, if you want to go all Western and cheat, lol)
5. Stir the leaves paste into the simmering pork chops and onions mixture, and then add the crushed tomatoes into the pot also. Stir everything together well.
6. Place the remaining sliced onions, crushed garlic, crushed Knorr cubes, and the flaked flesh from the fish in your mortar and pestle, and pulverize into one blended mixture. Add the mixture into the pork mixture, stir and combine well.
7. Now pour the red palm oil into the pot, bring back to a lively simmer, cover the pot and cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until the pork is fork tender.
8. Serve your Sauce Épinard aux Côtes de Porc nice and hot. Malians traditionally serve Sauce Épinard aux Côtes de Porc with boiled yam, mashed plantains, and rice.

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