Mexican Tomatillo Chile Verde
Servings 8 people
Ingredients
Salsa Verde
- 500 g tomatillos papers removed, rinsed, and halved
- 4 Anaheim peppers seeds and membrane removed, and roughly chopped
- 1 onion peeled and roughly chopped
- 8 cloves garlic peeled
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 50 g coriander leaves
- 1 tbsp agave syrup
Chilli Verde
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground chipotle
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 0.5 tsp white pepper
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 1.7 kg pork shoulder trimmed of excess fat and cut into bite-size chunks
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 300 g chicken stock
Instructions
- Begin by preparing your salsa verde: preheat the oven to 200°C, and line a medium-large baking sheet with foil.
- Place the tomatillos, Anaheim peppers, onion and garlic into a large bowl, and drizzle with about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the oil; sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat, then turn the vegetables out onto the baking sheet, and roast for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, reduce the oven temp to 180°C, and roast for 15 minutes more, until the veggies are charred, tender and aromatic; remove from oven and allow them to cool slightly, just enough so they can be handled.
- Once slightly cooled, add the roasted veggies, along with all of their juices, to the bowl of a food processor, then add in the coriander and the agave; process for about 30 seconds or so until the mixture has a chunky-smooth texture, like that of salsa; spoon into a bowl and set aside for a moment.
- To prepare the chili verde pork, combine the cumin, smoked paprika, ground coriander, chipotle powder, dried oregano, white and black pepper in a ramekin, and set aside 1 tablespoon of this to use as seasoning for the pork.
- Place the pork into a large bowl, season generously with salt, and sprinkle over the 1 tablespoon of seasoning, and toss to coat well.
- Place a large pot over high heat, and drizzle in about 3 tablespoons of oil; once very hot, add some of the seasoned pork to the pot (working in batches), and allow it to sear/brown on that first side, undisturbed, for about 4 minutes; then, stir, and allow the pork to brown for about 2 minutes more, then remove from the pot and spoon into a large bowl to hold; repeat with remaining pork until all is browned.
- Next, to the same pot, add in the onion, and saute that for a few moments until it becomes softened and slightly browned; add in the remainder of the seasoning/spice mixture you prepared, along with the garlic, and stir to combine for about 30 seconds, or just until aromatic.
- Pour in your salsa verde, followed by the browned pork and its juices, and then the chicken stock; stir to combine, bring to a vigorous simmer, cover with a lid and place in the oven.
- Cook the chili verde for 2 ½ to 3 hours, or until the pork is very tender, stirring occasionally.