Chile Verde

Quick Post: I love this dish – seriously it’s one of the best things I make. The house smells amazing right now! It’s not something that can be made quickly, but it is so worth the effort it takes. I thought I posted this recipe here already, but I found out that it has been at least two years since I last made it. I found this recipe about three years ago, but I have combined two different recipes to make this just the way I like it. We enjoyed this over rice that  I cooked with chicken stock instead of water, and these tortillas. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Chili Verde – loosely adapted from Food Network and For the Love of Cooking

Tomatillo Salsa:

• 1 pound tomatillos, husked
• 1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 jalapeno
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/2 lime, juiced

Directions –

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapeno for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.

For the Pork:

• 1 1/2 to 2 lbs of pork loin (or shoulder), trimmed of excess fat and cut into to 2-inch cubes
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• Olive oil
• 2 yellow onions
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp of dried Mexican oregano
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock

Directions –

Season the pork cubes generously with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper and oregano, to taste. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat then brown pork chunks on all sides. Remove pork from Dutch oven and set aside. I had just a little grease in the pan so I didn’t add olive oil but if you have no grease, add a bit of olive oil. Place the onions in the Dutch oven and cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 60 seconds. Add the pork to the onion mixture then pour your chile verde sauce on top. Add enough chicken stock to cover the meat. Taste and re-season with salt, pepper and oregano to taste. Be careful not to add too much because the chile verde will continue to cook down and concentrate a bit. Bring to a boil and reduce to a slight simmer. Cook for 2-3 hours uncovered or until the pork is fork tender.