hola! there is a little mexican restaurant that only exists in cedar city and st. george, utah. unfortunately i live about 3 hrs. from cedar and a good 4 hrs. from st. george. it is called
pancho and lefty's and i literally
crave their pork chile verde. it is also the only mexican restaurant that my dear sweet husband will walk into. damn the luck. so i decided the other day that i would try and recreate what they do so well and i ran across a recipe over
here that is pretty darn close. i'll jot it down and you can try it if you like. it's a sunday dinner type of thing because it takes some time but it oh so worth it if you like a good chile verde.
pork chile verde
pork:
3 lb. pork loin cut into 1/2" chunks (i got 4.19 lbs and had the butcher cut into chunks for me which i then brought home and cut all the sinewy yuckiness out of and all the fat...after i got all that out it was about 3 lbs, i think.)
1 tbsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
4 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 c water
chile verde...green sauce
2 anaheim peppers, seeded and sliced or poblanos
1 1/2 lbs. tomatillos, cleaned and cut in two
1 lrg onion cut into 8 equal pieces
4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dry oregano
1/4 tsp sugar
Start by cutting your pork (if you didn't have your butcher do it, which you should because it's sooo much easier!) into 1/2" cubes and add to a large ziploc bag. quick tip: put your big ziploc freezer bag into some sort of bowl, i use my pyrex measuring cup, and pull it down over the sides. it's a good way to keep it upright while you have pork covered hands. add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, water and olive oil to your bag. close the bag leaving a little bit of air in it and 'smoosh' it around to thoroughly mix the seasoning into the pork. set this aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
while your pork is marinating, peel the outer shell of the tomatillos and wash them to remove the sticky residue. cut them in half and slice the onion into 8 equal pieces. slice your chili's in half after seeding them. transfer your tomatillos, onion and chilis along with the 4 cloves of garlic into a baking dish and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1-1:15 hrs. remove from the oven and let it cool slightly. add to a food processor or blender and add the salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder and sugar. pulse to get it started and then blend it really well. set aside.
after your pork has marinated, add it and the marinade to a large deep skillet preheated to high. you will want a pan big enough to hold the pork and the sauce. a good way to know if your pan is hot enough is to add a few drops of olive oil and when it starts to smoke, it's ready. cook your pork on all sides, stirring often. this will take about 20 minutes. once the pork is cooked, stir in your sauce along with about 2 1/2 cups water. i did this differently...i put it all in my big crockpot and reduced the water to 1 1/4 cups. then i cooked it on high for about 4-5 hrs. taking the lid off the last hr. and stirring occasionally. if you don't want to use a crockpot then do this: bring all ingredients to a boil in the pot and reduce heat to the lowest possible setting and cover. your looking for a low simmer, it should barely even bubble. cook for about 1 1/2 hrs. stirring occasionally. you could also transfer your covered pot to a 300 degree oven and bake for about an hour. try a piece of meat and it should be tender when done.
now the recipe suggests that you use corn tortillas...we didn't. i spooned some of the chile verde into a flour tortilla then rolled it up and put it in the same baking dish i used for the veggies. then i spooned some of the sauce over the top, put some cheese on that and broiled for a minute or 2 until it melted. then we put sour cream, shredded lettuce and some avacado on top. so yummy!
i also made mexican rice and black beans and i'll put those recipes down too.
mexican rice
2 tbsp vegetable oil...i used olive 1 tbsp ground cumin
1 onion, chopped 1 c uncooked long or short grain rice
1 tsp minced garlic 1 3/4 c chicken broth
1 tsp chili powder 1/4 c tomato paste...i used tomato puree
preheat the oven to 350. heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. add the onion and garlic, cook and stir until onion is translucent. stir in the chili powder and cumin, and cook for about 30 seconds. add the rice, chicken broth and tomato paste and bring to a boil. transfer to a casserole dish and cover with aluminum foil or a lid. bake for 35-40 minutes, or until liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender.
black beans baby
1 16 oz can black beans...i used a big one 1 tbsp fresh cilantro...left this out because big d
1 small onion, chopped doesn't like it
1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt to taste
in a medium saucepan combine all ingredients except seasonings and bring to a boil. reduce heat to medium-low. season and simmer for 5 minutes.
well there you go....a mexican fiesta from mi casa to su casa.
My baby, (who really isn't a baby anymore....) is getting these cute fabric "paper" dolls. I couldn't resist the fabric when I saw it in the store this summer. I have to make her a book/holder for her to take them all to church in too. This is turning out very nicely.
And this is a good present for a girlfriend. I have another friend who LOVES Zachary Quinto, (Sylar from Heroes, Young Spock from the new Star Trek movie). And so I bought magnet sheets that can go through your printer and I made her some eye candy for her refrigerator. (And yes there's a sheet leftover for me to print out some Johnny Depp for me!)
