Lechona Tolimense (Colombian-Style Stuffed Pork)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork fat back skins
- ¼ cup pork fat or lard
- 4 scallions chopped
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sazon with azafran or color
- ¾ cup peas yellow or green
- 1 ¼ cups cooked white rice
- Salt and pepper
- 2 pounds pound pork meat cut into small pieces
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan melt the pork fat or lard. Add the scallions and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes.
- In a large bowl mix the pork meat, cooked rice, ground cumin, sazon, peas,, salt and pepper.
- Add the pork fat and onion mixture to the bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- o assemble: Rinse the pork fat skin under cold water and pat dry. Lay the pork fat skin on a baking sheet or baking pan lined with foil, top with rice mixture. Start rolling the pork skin to enclose the rice and pork mixture completely. Tie with kitchen string to hold it together.
- Preheat the oven to 475 F.
- Bake for about 40 minutes uncovered to allow the skin to brown.Cover with foil and cook for about 45 minutes more.
- Remove from the oven and transfer it to a cutting board. Carve the lechona after it has rested for at least 15 minutes. Serve with arepa, salted potatoes and lime wedges on the side.
Notes
*I used green peas for this recipe, but traditionally lechona is made with yellow peas.
*In Tolima lechona is stuffed with of pork and yellow peas, however, in other parts of Colombia they add prok, rice, peas and potatoes to their lechona.
*You can prepare your lechona up to 3 days ahead before serving, just keep it uncooked in the fridge covered and bake it when ready to serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 1968kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 25gFat: 200gSaturated Fat: 76gPolyunsaturated Fat: 23gMonounsaturated Fat: 90gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 258mgSodium: 966mgPotassium: 473mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 338IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 34mgIron: 2mg
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