Pulled Pork Kalamata Apple Salad Bites

Hello Friends!

Happy Summer! That's right, it's June 20th and it's the first day of summer. I couldn't be more excited for it. Summer in Seattle is the best time of the whole year. We get amazing weather, spend whole weekends at the lake and cook nothing but savory fresh salads.

Today I've got a fun one. This salad is much more of a lettuce wrap. Mixing it up a bit today BUT let's be real here, it's a salad. I can definitely eat this meal with a fork and be completely satisfied with my meal. It does get a little messy, missy, so Ye Be Warned.

As a perk in our office, we get organic fuji apples. We get boxes of them shipped in from a vendor outside of the city and it's one of my favorite parts of working for a food magazine. We really care about our food. Thus, they are always fresh, delicious and crisp. Since spring has been here for a while, these apples were full of flavor and I couldn't help but add it to my salad today.

For those of you who are impatient, like me, this recipe is going to test you. It does take some prep work. Again, Ye Be Warned! The over all time for this to cook is around 8-10 hours, depending on how long you keep the pork shoulder in the crock pot. Afterwards, it's a simple assembly line chopping process and staging.

Let's talk about these kalamata's for a moment. They are, like everything in my recipes, 100% substitutable. Regardless, I have to tell you my story because I still can't believe I did this. This silly lady (me) decided it was a terrific idea to walk into Costco at 2:30pm without an emergency snack in her bag. Guess what happened? - Oh yes. I now have a 5lb jar of kalamata olives hanging out in my fridge. I'm going to try very hard not to overdose on sodium this...month. The majority of them will get eaten because,  let's be real here, I love olives. So much, that due to this mess, I've got another recipe coming up for anyone else who is an olive fan!

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Pulled Pork Kalamata Apple Salad Bites

Sweet, salty and perfectly fresh pulled pork bite sized lettuce salad wraps. Stuffed with a dairy-free creamy herb dressing, kalamata olives and diced fuji apples to satisfy a summer craving.

Recipe by: Allison Tripi

Ingredients: 

Pulled Pork:
- 1 lb Pork Shoulder
- 1/3 Cup Vegetable Broth
- 1 Tbs Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Chili Powder

Salad:
- Romaine Leaves (Cut in Half)
- 8 to 10 Kalamata Olives (Sliced)
- 1 Small Fuji Apple (Diced)

Creamy Herb Dressing:
- 1/4 Cup Mayo
- 2 Tbs Warmed Leftover Pork Juice
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Thyme
- 1/2 tsp Rosemary (better if fresh)
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- To Taste Salt & Pepper, Cracked

Instructions:

Pull out your crock pot! Set unfrozen Pork Shoulder on the bottom of the crock pot bowl. Add vegetable broth, garlic powder, black pepper, oregano and chili powder around the meat. Set crock pot on low for 8-10 hours.

Once cooked through, pull pork with two forks and allow to sit in juice for another 10-15 minutes.

While setting, cut washed Romaine leaves in half. Cut olives and apples.

In a small bowl, mix mayo, pork juice (from crock pot), oregano, thyme, rosemary garlic powder, salt and pepper together with a fork until nicely blended into a creamy dressing.

Set lettuce on a plate and evenly distribute warmed pork onto each leaf of lettuce. Add dressing and top with olives and apples.

Optional cracked pepper to the top and Enjoy!

Details:

Prep time: 5 mins  Cook time: 8-10 hrs  Total time: 8 - 10 hrs  Yield: 4 Servings

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