Sunday was a day of relaxing and cooking, followed by an evening sharing comforting, warming bowls of Pork Chile Verde. Last Fall, I ordered 20 lbs. of roasted New Mexican Hatch Green Chiles, through Bristol Farms, and we separated, vacuum-sealed, and froze 2 lb. packages. I absolutely, positively, love the incredible flavor of these chiles in this dish. It’s a tad spicy for the faint-of-heart, but a dollup of sour cream tones it down.
Chile Verde Adapted from Malo Restaurant’s recipe Serves 15 Ingredients 30 Hatch Green chiles, roasted 5 pounds pork shoulder 4 medium white onions, chopped 10 whole garlic cloves, crushed 4 bay leaves 4 tablespoons dried oregano 28-oz can of whole tomatoes, crushed by hand, and the juice (I like San Marzano) 4 cups water 1.5 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon, Base Chicken Salt Flour Tortillas (I like buying the uncooked torillas, found in the refrigerated section, and cooking in a non-stick skillet right before serving) Sour Cream, for garnish Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish Directions Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles and coarsly chop, set aside. Remove the fat from the pork shoulder and cut the fat into small pieces. In a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, fry the fat until crisp, 4 or 5 minutes, and then remove the chunks of fat from the pan. Sweat the onions and garlic in the same saute pan, cooking them in the residual pork fat. Cut the pork shoulder into 1/4 – 1/2 inch pieces, add them to the pan, and saute until browned. Add the bay leaves, oregano, tomatoes, and Hatch chiles. Simmer over low heat for about 25 minutes. In the meantime, heat the water and chicken base in a medium saucepan and then pour it into the chile. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 hours or until tender. Remove the bay leaves. Serve in bowls, and garnish with sour cream and fresh cilantro leaves. I also served homemade pinto beans on the side.
Bring on another deluge!
