Chile Verde

Recipe from Kiki (Tastes Better from Scratch)

Ingredients

• 3-4 pounds boneless pork loin or pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 1’’ pieces

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 Tbs oil

• 1 large yellow onion, chopped

• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

• ½ Tbs ground cumin

• ½ Tbs dried oregano

• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

• 2-3 fresh poblano chiles, seeded and halved

• 2-3 fresh Anaheim chiles, seeded and halved

• 2-3 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and sliced in half (see spice note below)

• 1 ½ pounds fresh tomatillos, husks removed

• ½ cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

For serving: Fresh cilantro, chopped, sour cream, cheese of choice (cojita, cheddar, etc), lime weges

Directions

Season pork pieces on all sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a large stock pot over high heat. Add oil. Once hot, sear the pork pieces until browned on all sides.

Remove the pork from the pot. Add a little additional oil to pan, if needed.

Add onion and saute until tender. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Stir in the cumin and oregano. Return pork to the pot and add the chicken broth.

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 2-4 hours.

Meanwhile…

Make the Sauce

Set oven to 400˚ F. Place rack on second to top level of oven and turn the oven to high broil.

Lightly spray sheet pan with cooking oil. Wash the peppers and tomatillos.

Slice the tomatillo and both types of peppers in half, and remove stems. Seed the peppers and remove the white veins inside if if you do not want the chile verde to be very spicy. (See note about spice level). Do not seed the tomatillos.

Place the poblano peppers, jalapeño and tomatillos on baking sheets cut side down. Broil for about 7-10 minutes or until browned.

Immediately place peppers in a plastic bag and tie the bag. Allow them to steam for 5 minutes, and then peel off their outer layer of skin. (It should come off easily)

Add the peppers, tomatillos and cilantro to a blender and puree.

Add mixture to the pot with the pork and cook everything together for an additional 30 to 45 minutes.

Note

Jalapeno spice level

Very Hot: do not remove seeds and veins from jalapeños.

Medium-hot: leave the seeds and veins in one whole jalapeños.

Mild: leave seeds and veins in half of a jalapeños.

Extra mild: remove all seeds and veins from jalapeños.