Aunty's Garden: Sweet spuds with succulent pork (+recipe)

Arohanui Lawrence dishes up her Kumara Mash with Crispy Pork and Cashews.

By the time this goes to print, we at Aunty's Garden would have set some seeds for the coming spring, more especially our favourite kamo kamo and kumara plants.

Kumara plants take some preparation. Sort several good sized kumara and lay them on a bed of hay, covering them with soil to provide heat from underneath and sun from above. These tipu (plants) should then be ready to pluck and plant in your gardens by Labour Weekend.

Kamo kamo (part of the squash family) are our super food which we love. We have already set some seeds in the hot house to plant out this month for a treat to eat by Christmas.

Kumara mash on crispy pork and cashews

INGREDIENTS

3 or 4 kumara
4 pork fingers
2 onions
1 clove garlic
2 carrots
Celery, broccoli
Handful of mixed herbs from the garden
1/2 cup cashew nuts
1/2 cup flour
1 cup ginger ale
Soy sauce
1/2 cup grated cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

Cut the kumara into pieces and roast till cooked and set aside. (Alternatively, fry in an electric fry pan).

Slice pork into cubes, and marinate in soy and ginger ale. Dip each pork piece into flour and drop into pan of hot oil. Add onions, garlic, vegetables and finely chopped herbs. Cook together, turning constantly until brown. Add cashews last and toss throughout. Pour into casserole dish and mash each kumara and place on top of meat. Drizzle with cheese, place in oven for 10 minutes before serving.

TIPS:

This is delicious and goes well with salad or spinach, pak choy and sour cream. We reckon "this dish is absolutely beautiful. Enjoy!"