I make this carne guisada recipe all the time, and yet I never tire of it. Loaded with bright and briny flavors like fresh tomatoes and Manzanilla olives, this dish could easily become a part of your regular weeknight meal rotation.

　　This recipe was excerpted from ‘Diasporican' by Illyanna Maisonet. Buy the full book on Amazon.

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What you’ll need

　　Chevron

　　Chevron

　　Manzanilla Olives

　　$12 At Amazon

　　Sazón

　　$24 $23 At Burlap and Barrel

　　5.5 Quart Dutch Oven

　　$420 At Amazon

　　

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

　　

For the Sofrito

2 medium roma tomatoes, roughly chopped

　　1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped

　　7 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

　　1 medium green bell pepper, roughly chopped

　　1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

　　5 leaves of culantro (recao), optional

　　

For the Carne Guisada

2 Tbsp. canola or vegetable oil

　　1½ pounds boneless pork “country” ribs, cut into bite-size pieces

　　2 cups water, plus more as needed

　　¼ cup sofrito

　　½ cup tomato sauce

　　½ cup unpitted Manzanilla green olives (optional)

　　1 large russet potato, medium dice

　　2 medium carrots, roughly diced

　　1 Tbsp. salt-free sazón, like Burlap & Barrel Sazón

　　Kosher salt

　　Ground black pepper

　　White rice, for serving

　　

Make the Sofrito

Step 1

Place tomato in blender, blitz until smooth. Add onion and garlic and blitz until smooth. Add bell pepper and cilantro (and culantro, if using), and blitz until smooth.

　　

Make the Carne Guisada

Step 2

Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the pork and sear until golden brown.

　　

Step 3

Add the water, 2 tablespoons of the sofrito, tomato sauce and half of the olives. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen all of the brown bits. Season with salt and pepper. Turn down the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 2 hours, or until the meat is tender.

　　

Step 4

Add in your potatoes and carrots and simmer for another 10-20 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are fork tender. Place a piece of the potato in a spoon and mash with a fork, return to the pot. Repeat with 2-3 pieces of potato. This will thicken the sauce. Add the remaining sofrito and olives and stir to distribute well. Check for seasoning. Serve with white rice.

　　Cooks' Note

　　Make sure you get some ribs that have a decent amount of fat on them. Depending on the supermarket, sometimes the boneless country ribs can have more lean meat on them. Avoid too much lean meat because it'll be dry.

　　If you don't like the texture of olives, use a splash of the olive brine. This dish needs the brightness!

　　Reprinted with permission from Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook by Illyanna Maisonet copyright © 2022. Food photographs copyright © 2022 by Dan Liberti. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Buy the full book from Amazon or Penguin Random House.