Farfalle Pasta with Avocado Pesto, Kalua Pork, Corn, and Freeze-Dried Strawberries

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Costco Business sells restaurant-sized quantities of food for close to wholesale prices. A case of 35 avocados costs $16. 8 oz. of basil costs $4. Whatever you buy becomes the Iron Chef secret ingredient to use it all up.

Freeze-dried strawberries are a substitute for tomatoes and take this dish to the next level. They add texture and a concentrated sweetness/tartness.

Avocado Pesto

Ingredients

  • 3 ripe avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
  • 3/4 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • Kosher salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Blend everything together in a blender.

Pressure-Cooker Kalua Pig

Ingredients

  • 3 slices bacon
  • 5-pound boneless pork shoulder (cut into 3 pieces to fit in pressure cooker)
  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled (optional)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt (Alaea or kosher salt)
  • 1 cup water

Instructions

Instructions are for a stove-top pressure cooker. Adjust accordingly for your own pressure cooker.

  1. Fry the bacon at the bottom of the pressure cooker. Note this is using the cooker as a pot with the lid off (i.e. not pressure cooking yet).
  2. If using garlic, cut two slits into each piece of meat and place a garlic clove into each slit.
  3. Rub the pork with salt.
  4. Place the pork on top of the cooked bacon in the pressure cooker.
  5. Add 1 cup of water to the pot and then seal the pressure cooker.
  6. Bring the pressure cooker up to pressure and cook for 75 min.
  7. Remove pot from heat and let it depressurize. The pork should be fork tender and shred easily. If not, pressure cook a little longer.
  8. Shred the pork.

Pasta

Ingredients

  • ~16 oz farfalle
  • Frozen corn

Instructions

  1. Boil salted water in a large pot and prepare pasta according to instructions.
  2. About halfway through the pasta cooking process, add some frozen corn to the pot. It will finish cooking at the same time as the pasta.

Assembly

Ingredients

  • Avocado pesto
  • Shredded Kalua pork
  • Farfalle pasta w/corn
  • Freeze-dried strawberries

Instructions

  1. Scoop pasta and corn into a bowl
  2. Add pesto and pork, mix well
  3. Top with crumbled freeze-dried strawberries.