​Paleo Carnitas with Garlic Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Mash

I am still obsessed with the the Garlic Cauliflower Mash I made a couple times last month. so this week I decided to add some sweet potatoes into the mix. The verdict: the mash turned out absolutely delicious! I am so glad I tried this out. I'm always searching for ways to mix up how I make sweet potatoes and this one is a winner. Since I picked out the mash first, I found this simple crockpot carnita recipe to pair it with. This recipe does have a hint of Mexican and spicy flavor to it, so not your typical pair for a sweet potato mash, but I thought the meal was great! I also think anything pairs well with sweet potatoes though... Anyways, I put the pork in the crockpot on high for 6 hours. Once done, I shredded the pork and threw it on a baking sheet, drizzled some of the extra sauce from the crockpot and lightly sprayed some olive oil on top, then baked for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. The recipe calls for putting the shredded pork in a skillet to crisp and brown up, but I thought baking it would do a better job.

Paleo Carnitas from Pork Tenderloin 
Ingredients:

• 2lb pork tenderloin
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 jalapeño chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Juice of one lime
• Juice of one navel orange

Pork Tenderloin Rub:

• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Pat dry pork tenderloin with paper towels. Combine rub ingredients and rub all over tenderloin then place in your Crockpot.
2. Top with remaining ingredients, cover, and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours. When done, the meat will be cooked through and very tender, easily separated with a fork.
3. Remove the tenderloin from the Crockpot and shred the meat with two forks. Do not discard juices

To Serve:

1. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add enough carnitas to cover the surface without crowding and ladle a little of the carnitas juice over. Cook until juice has evaporated and bottom of carnitas is crispy and browned. Flip and cook briefly, but not until too brown.
2. Remove from skillet and drizzle with a little more juice. Serve.

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Original recipe found here


Garlic Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Mash 
Ingredients:

• 2-3 pounds sweet potatoes (based on how much sweet potato you need)
• 1 pound cauliflower florets
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2-3 tbsp ghee (you can also use coconut oil) (I used 3 Tbsp)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Peel and cut sweet potato into 1 ½ -inch chunks.
2. Steam the sweet potato and cauliflower in a large pot with boiling water, garlic cloves, and salt. Steam until fork tender. (I steamed the cauliflower and sweet potato separately because I had a lot of sweet potatoes.)
3. Drain and transfer sweet potato, cauliflower, and garlic cloves into a food mixer or food processor. You can also place in a large bowl and mash yourself.
4. Add the ghee, salt, and black pepper to your liking (I added at least 1 tsp of salt). Blend until smooth. 
5. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

Note: If the mash is too thick for your liking, add a little bit of coconut milk until desired consistency is achieved.