Solar Baked Pork in Curried Fruit Barbecue Sauce

Solar Baked Pork in Curried Fruit Barbecue Sauce

This is a recipe I created using the tomatoes, apples, and figs that I dehydrated last year. As I planned on using all three in my sauce, it only made sense to rehydrate them in the same dish to thoroughly combine their flavors in the rehydrating liquid. 

Baked Pork in Curried Fruit Barbecue Sauce

   12 ounces rehydrated tomatoes

     10 ounces rehydrated apples

4 ounces rehydrated figs

1/4 cup liquid from rehydrated fruit above

one medium onion, minced

1 teaspoon mild Curry powder

1/2 teaspoons instant coffee

1/2 teaspoon ground fennel

2 teaspoons yellow mustard

1 tablespoon raw sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon each: ground marjoram, ground oregano, and ground thyme

   (or, 1 tsp each: marjoram leaves, oregano leaves, thyme leaves, finely chopped)

1 pound pork, fat removed and cut in bite-sized pieces

optional, but oh, so, good: thinly sliced apple rings, at least three per plate

Preheat solar oven to 225°F       2-quart baking dish with cover/tin foil

Here you can see the tomatoes on the left, apples in the center, and figs on the right. Apples can take up to 45 minutes to rehydrate, tomatoes around 30, and the fig roll less than ten, so you would want to plan accordingly
 and use separate bowls. Normally, for combined recipes, I would just toss the fruit and vegetables to be rehydrated all together in the same bowl, willy-nilly; but for you, dear followers, I didn't mind taking the extra time to separate them to make a pretty picture.  

Dehydrated tomatoes, apples, and figs

Here, there is just enough water to cover the dried fruit. Since this isn't rocket science, if you have added too much liquid to your dried vegetables or fruit, just remember to remove and strain the produce when it's fully rehydrated and measure the liquid before adding it to your recipe.

Covered in water to rehydrate

When fully rehydrated, thoroughly puree with hand blender or processor. Pour into mixing bowl.

Tomatoes, apples, and figs, pureed.

As you know, I prefer country-style pork ribs because I hate paying for bones I'm not going to use. I wanted the pork as lean as possible and full of flavor, so I decided to cut it up into bite-sized pieces, removing all fat. I was hoping that each piece would absorb as much flavor from the sauce as possible and just pop with every bite.

Remove as much fat as possible, slice thin

 Combine all ingredients, thoroughly coating meat, and place on bottom of baking dish.

If baking dish does not have its own cover, make one with tin foil, shiny side down. Place on SolarWear(tm) Carrier base.

Tin foil, shiny side down, with ditch on inside,
placed in SolarWear(tm) carrier

Cover with SolarWear(tm) top and bake in solar oven approximately 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Ready for solar oven

For a really great taste and texture combination, serve on three thinly-sliced, cored, apple rings. My sides are a Brown Rice Medley and Pureed Tarragon Peas. (Recipes below - no pix).

Brown Rice on Pea Puree; Curried Baked Pork
on apple slices.
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Brown Rice Medley: sauté 1 cup brown rice in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat until rice begins to turn opaque. Add 1 Tbsp sunflower seeds and 1/4 cup shredded coconut, saute for another minute while stirring to mix and roast all ingredients. Add 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon raw sugar and 3 cups chicken stock/broth and bring to full boil. Pour into baking dish, cover, and bake in solar oven until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Brown rice will always take longer to cook than white rice, and can be made a day ahead. Or, if you have a 110-V appliance, like a pressure cooker or rice cooker, go ahead and combine your cooking methods. I'm all for saving energy, but I know how long brown rice can take and I want your solar cooking to be fun, not frustrating.

Tarragon Pea Purée: One package frozen peas plus 1/4 cup water or one 15-ounce can green peas, 2 tablespoons butter, salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon tarragon. Place green peas in microwavable bowl (I like the glass measuring cups that have a handle) and heat thoroughly without popping peas; place in blender and add rest of ingredients; purée. Mixture should be smooth and thick enough to hold shape when plated but not pasty. If needed, slowly add additional liquid and blend to get right consistency.