Pumpkin Pork Stew

Description
Pumpkin and Pork "chili" recipe

Main course pumpkin recipes seem few and far between. I used to go to an Afghan restaurant (now closed) that served Kadu (pumpkin) in some form of a meat stew. The following was inspired by that Afghan cook. The spice profile below is chili-like (Americans have called this stuff “chili”) and is quite good. I have tried a curry spice profile with less success. There is much opportunity to experiment with spices if you like a different flavor (how about black pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cardamom?).
 * Total Preparation Time: 30 minutes plus several hours cooking time

Ingredients

 * cubed pork
 * flour
 * spices (ground cumin, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, bay leaves)
 * onions
 * green peppers
 * celery
 * garlic
 * cubed skinned cooking pumpkin (no, canned pumpkin won’t really work in this recipe)
 * large can diced tomatoes
 * hot ancho or other pepper, browned over the gas burner and cut up

Directions

 * 1) Dredge cubed pork (could be any cut, probably the cheaper the better) in seasoned flour (1 cup of flour plus a tablespoon or so each of salt, ground pepper and ground cumin).
 * 2) Fry in canola oil until brown on each side (turn the pork cubes a couple of times while browning).
 * 3) Remove browned pork, add cut up onions, peppers, celery and garlic and fry until soft.
 * 4) Place sautéed vegetables, browned pork, and cubed pumpkin (cut up a sugar pumpkin, peel off skin and cube) plus 1 large can of diced tomatoes into a slow cooker or cast iron dutch oven.
 * 5) Add some ground hot pepper (like ancho, browned over the stove burner, outer skin removed and then very finely chopped).
 * 6) For spices add more ground cumin, ground pepper, a dash of cayenne, maybe some basil or thyme, perhaps a dash of cinnamon, and a couple of bay leaves.
 * 7) Add some chicken broth or water to make a stew consistency.
 * 8) Cook all day in the slow cooker or several hours in the dutch oven placed in a 350°F oven, adding more broth or water as necessary.
 * 9) Taste and adjust the seasonings (usually you need to add salt but it depends on how salty the chicken broth is if you use broth) 20 minutes before serving.