Caribbean Pork and Sweet Potato Pockets

In case you’re wondering where Judy and I have been since our last posting and why it’s been so long, let me bring you up to date. 

In August, when we last posted to the blog, we were enjoying the first few months of our retirement. At that time we were at Lake Tahoe, in northern California.  Our odyssey which had begun with our retirement  in April of this year had taken us from our home in Danville to Palm Desert for a brief time and then to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where we spent a about a month checking out our new home, which is actually the house in which Judy grew up.  Judy’s Mom was in the process of moving to her new house, about a mile away, and she had wanted us to move into the “family home”. 

In June we left Tulsa and traveled to Lake Tahoe for the summer.  There is so much to do at the Lake including hiking biking, boating, kayaking, and our new favorite hobby, art glass fusion, that we barely had the time we needed to devote to Cooking D’Lites. 

Following a fantastic summer we went back to Tulsa in early October and continued with some renovations to the house.  Just prior to Thanksgiving we headed west to the San Francisco Bay Area to spend the holiday with my family.  We’ve now been back in Palm Desert for a couple of days getting settled in for the winter. 

With all of the commotion behind us we now find we will have the time to get back on track, researching and developing new and exciting recipes for you to try and to enjoy.

Our first offering and today’s featured recipe evokes a sense of adventure.  We’ll travel to the Caribbean for this sweet and tangy dish.  So kick off your shoes, put on your flip-flops, pour yourself a nice Rum concoction and come along for the ride.

From our kitchen to yours.  Enjoy the adventure.

Caribbean Pork and Sweet Potato Pockets

Ingredients

In the "Pocket"

1 medium to  large Sweet Potato, peeled and thinly sliced

1 medium Apple, cored and thinly sliced

2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

½ cup Apple Juice

1 tsp Ginger Root, fresh, peeled and grated

¼ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Allspice

1/8 tsp Cinnamon

¾ pounds Pork Tenderloin, trimmed of all visible fat and cut into 12 half-inch inch slices

2 medium Scallions, sliced

 1 medium Scallion, chopped, for garnish

¼ tsp dried Red Pepper flakes

Instructions

Plated and ready to enjoy

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Tear off four 12 inch pieces of Foil or Parchment paper. Fold in half and cut into the shape of a heart with the fold down the middle.  Open each “heart” flat and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the Sweet Potato, Apple and Brown Sugar; spoon onto the center on one side of each “heart”.

In the same bowl combine Apple Juice, Ginger, Salt, Allspice and Cinnamon.  Using the heel of your hand, press the Pork sliced to a ¼ inch thickness; add the Pork to the juice mixture and toss to coat.

Place the Pork slices over the Sweet Potato and Apple mixture. Sprinkle with sliced Scallions.

Fold the Foil or Parchment.  Starting at the top of each “heart” make a series of overlapping folds to seal the “Pockets”.

Place the sealed Pockets on a baking sheet in the oven and cook until the Pork is no longer pink, roughly 20 minutes for Parchment, adding another 15 minutes for Foil.

Slice open the Pockets when done being careful of the escaping steam.

Serve after garnishing with chopped Scallions.

We served the dish over Brown rice, but you may choose to add a vegetable such as green beans.

This is so delicious that your dinner guests will think you spent all day in the kitchen.

Yields 4 servings, including ½ cup Rice per serving.  PointsPlus value per serving, including Rice is 8.  Prep time is about 25 minutes. Cooking time is about 20 - 40 minutes. Level of difficulty is Moderate.

Weight Watchers and PointsPlus are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers Intl. Inc.

Recipes shown may not be exactly the same as those found on any website. Judy and I tend to "tweak" each recipe we feature, to some degree, incorporating our own unique tastes and ideas. PointsPlus values, however, are accurate. 

Photos  by  Barry Baruh