Chile Verde

I grabbed some tomatillos the last time I went grocery shopping because I wanted to try cooking with them. I love Mexican food and really enjoy salsa verde so I decided to give them a try. I found a recipe on Simply Recipes for Chile Verde and instantly knew I had to make it. It was a fun and simple recipe to make and the house smelled amazing. I served it in tortillas with cotija cheese and extra verde sauce on top for my husband and I - we both really liked it a lot. The pork was tender and the sauce was a bit spicy and full of amazing flavor. I served this delicious dinner with warm tortillas and homemade refried beans.

• 10-12 tomatillos
• 5 garlic cloves, not peeled
• 1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
• 1 Pasilla chile, cored, seeded and flattened
• 1 bunch cilantro leaves, cleaned and chopped
• 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
• 2 Tbsp of chopped fresh oregano or 1 Tbsp of dried oregano
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock

Position the oven rack close to the broiler. Cover a baking sheet with tin foil (for easier clean up). Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Cut in half and place cut side down, along with 5 unpeeled garlic cloves and the cored, seeded and flattened chile pepper, skin side up on a baking sheet.

Broil in the oven until the tomatillos, garlic and chile are blackened - about 5-7 minutes.

Transfer the chile pepper to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let cool for 7-10 minutes. Once the pepper is cool enough to handle, carefully remove the blackened skin.

Place tomatillos, skins included, into food processor or blender. Remove the now roasted garlic cloves from their skins then add them to the processor. Add the chopped jalapeno pepper, the chile, any extra juice from the roasting tray and cilantro then pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed.

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.

Other ingredients:

• Flour or corn tortillas
• Cilantro and Lime Sour Cream (recipe below)
• Cotija cheese
• Fresh cilantro, chopped finely (garnish)

Cilantro and Lime Sour Cream:

• 1/2 cup of sour cream (I use fat free)
• 1/2 tbsp sweet yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• Juice of half a lime
• 1/2 clove of garlic, minced
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Place the meat and sauce inside a warmed flour or corn tortilla then add a bit of cotija cheese. Roll into a burrito or taco, cover with more verde sauce. Enjoy.

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