As you may have surmised from previous posts, I'm Danish, but I grew up
in Canada. Also and luckily for me, my mother was a great cook, she
loved to try new stuff, as well as the old tried and true. So when we
moved to Canada, she cooked mainly Danish dishes, but would also branch
out and make Italian food, or East Indian curries as well as some more
mainstream Canadian foods. But thanks to her willingness to try new
foods, myself and all of my sibs cook pretty much internationally. I
make dishes from my Danish childhood, some Chinese, some east Indian,
many very American foods, and also Mexican. Pretty much whatever
floats my boat and tickles the taste buds of my husband.
I was introduced to Mexican Cuisine after meeting my husband to be, I
had always wanted to try it, but in my hometown, eating ethnic was
pretty much either Chinese food or Canadian. (I did say I was Danish,
so to me Canadian food was ethnic). I look back now and laugh, (I
laughed that day too, but...), the day my then boyfriend, now husband,
and I met his sister and her boys for dinner at a Mexican Restaurant,
and I watched as they shoveled Salsa onto tortilla chips and ate them
like they were starving. As they munched away, they made little happy
sounds and said stuff like, "Ooh this is so good' as they were shoveling
the chips and salsa in so I wanted to try it too. I copied them,
scooped a nice big chunk of salsa onto a chip, and popped it into my
mouth and started to chew, just as they warned me to take a smaller
bite, but WHOOO WEEE They had warned me, but I was like, "gee, I like
spicy food, how hot can it be'?. Well, the tears started running down
my face, I had trouble catching my breath, my lips and tongue were on
fire, and but, wow, was that good stuff. After downing the contents
of my glass of water, and that of my DH's, I was ready to try it
again. The next time, I was a little more cautious of the salsa, but I
have to say, it was still pretty darn awesome. And I don't think
I've ever had salsa that good or hot again, lol. Seriously, I fell in
love with Mexican food, and have continued to enjoy it whenever I can.
Luckily for me I used to live in a place where there were some good,
some great and some fantastic Mexican restaurants on almost every
corner. Sort of like the Chinese restaurants were when I was growing
up. Along the way I also started to learn how to cook some
Americanized versions of the Mexican dishes I liked. After all, a
person can't go out to eat all the time.
I now live in an area that doesn't have a lot of Mexican restaurants,
and those that we do have, don't have the dishes we are used to. So,
now if we get in the mood for Mexican, I go ahead and make it. One of
our favourite dishes is Chile Verde, a pork stew made with Anaheim
Chile's,Jalapeno's and Tomatillo's.
When I make it, I make a lot, it freezes well, and is also the basis for my version of Huevo Ranchero's.
Start with a good cut of pork, slice it up into chops, I buy my pork at
Sam's Club and generally get a whole loin at a time. It works out
cheaper that way per pound and I know what I'm getting.
Brown them in a little olive oil, or if you're being really bad, some rendered lard (that you just made from the fat trimmings).
Brown them well on each side, sprinkling a little salt on them after
turning them once. After removing the chops from the pan, cut them in
bite size pieces and dump them into a large pot.
Add some fresh Tomatillo's, some Anaheim chiles,a couple of
Jalapeno's, a little salt, maybe a 1/2 tsp. or so, cover and let simmer
for a couple of hours. If you can't find fresh tomatillo's, then add
some canned salsa verde or even some canned Tomatillo's. Quite frankly, either method works.
After simmering, let cool and put it in the fridge overnight. The
next day, pull it out, heat it up and check for seasonings, this is when
I add a couple (well three or more) jalapeno's, finely minced, (we like it hot), and
to finish it off, a can of Stokes Green Chile sauce. If you can't
find some Stokes, then add a small can of green enchilada sauce at this
point. Simmer for about an hour and serve with fresh hot homemade
tortilla's.
I love Chile Verde, it is the most versatile meal. We like it in a bowl with the tortilla's on the side.
I make my own Tortilla's as well, it just adds something to the whole
experience. And I'm not too proud to say that a good tortilla mix is
not a bad thing at all. I like Quaker Harina Preparada para tortilla
mix.
Divided and ready to roll out.Ready to go into a nice hot pan. See that butter pooling on top?
It's also great served over Mexican style rice, or rolled up in a
burrito with some fresh made Refried beans. And if there's any
Chile Verde
You can adjust this for heat, we like it on the mouth searing side, just short of volcanic hot.
2 lbs. pork roast, loin, or shoulder doesn't really matter what cut of pork, cut into cubes.
olive oil for browning
Tomatillo's about 8 or so (mexican tomatoes) husk removed and cut into quarters.
Canned Anaheim or Hatch Chiles about 6 of the 4 oz. cans or one large can chopped or...
fresh Anaheim chiles, roasted and peeled, roughly 6-8 fresh ones per 2 lbs of meat.
1-4 whole jalapeno's for heat, thrown in whole to cook down.
Green Enchilada sauce or
Stokes Green Chile Sauce with Pork or
the new Verde Salsa put out by Pace I just tried it and it works great.
in to thicken the liquid.
Serve with fresh warm tortillas and or Mexican rice.
