Pork Belly, Shiitake, & Fig Kohlrabi Pasta

Salty, sweet, and savory - A trifecta of yum!

A garlicky kohlrabi pasta with crispy bursts of salty-savory pork belly bits, followed by sweet molassesy bursts of fig, and hints of tender earthy sliced shiitakes. But wait...thenyou get the tiny crunches of the fig seeds that explode with each bite.

Ummm so where do I start? This is one of those super exciting forage-and-kickass kinds of recipes. When you're on a specific diet and you start to get creative this is the magic that happens.

I'll be short and sweet here because this was not planned and I wanted to share it with you before we ate it all! Some of these products I purchased at Trader Joe's so if you don't have one nearby, you can just add a little more elbow grease to make it 100% from scratch. Feel free to click on the links to see what I'm using. (When you make purchases using the retail links on our website, we may earn a small commission.) 

SERVING SIZE: 2

YIELD:

PREP TIME: 10 min.

COOK TIME: 15 min.

INGREDIENTS

• 10 oz. pack Kohlrabi vegetable pasta from Trader Joe's OR spiral cut a whole peeled kohlrabi (Get an awesome fruit & vegetable spiral cutter here)

• 12 oz. pack Pork belly from Trader Joe's OR bacon, med diced (uncured, no sugar or additives)

• 1.5 oz Shiitake mushrooms, sliced

• 2 cloves Garlic, crushed 

• 3 whole Organic Smyrna dried figs, small diced

• ⅛ tsp Italian seasoning (Dried: oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, basil, marjoram)

• To taste Himilayan OR Redmond Real Salt 

• To taste Black peppercorns, fresh cracked

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large skillet, brown the pork belly over med-high heat for about 3-5 min until starting to turn a light brown.

2. Add the sliced shiitake to the pork, stirring to coat the mushrooms in the fat. Cook until pork is a light golden brown and mushrooms have slightly browned edges.

3. Prepare a plate on the side and remove the browned crispy pork and mushrooms using a slotted spoon and onto the plate while making sure to keep as much of the fat in the pan as possible.

4. Reduce heat to med-low.

5. Add the crushed garlic and stir evenly and quickly to prevent burning.

6. Add the kohlrabi and toss evenly in the garlic and fat.

7. Turn heat to med and evenly distribute the mixture, let cook until edges begin to turn a light brown or about 3 min, toss and redistribute, cook for about 2 min.

8. Test kohlrabi for desired tenderness.

9. Remove from heat and add the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste. Toss well.

10. Add in the pork and mushrooms. Toss well.

11. Plate servings and add the diced dried figs over top.