Winter Recipe ~ Chile Verde with Pork

I claim in the description of this blog that I cook, but I haven't been showing that much lately. I have been kind of slacking in the kitchen, for one thing. Work is challenging these days, and I'm having a harder time finding the energy and creativity to cook interesting food when I get home. Plus, I think my years of having a food blog kind of burned me out on documenting my cooking. But I pushed myself to share this recipe with the blogosphere, because it is one of my favorites, and just needs to be shared.  

This Chile Verde recipe came from a Cooking Light Magazine years ago, and I wrote about it on my old blog. The reason I haven't deleted the old blog is because I still go back and refer to some of my favorite recipes on there, and this is one such recipe. This simple combination of tomatillos, poblano peppers, and pork doesn't take much work-- just a little time on the stovetop.

After taking the simple ingredients picture above, I had to laugh at the state of the kitchen. Because while I was getting dinner in order, Joe was preparing to bottle TWO batches of beer. This picture does not capture the chaos that was going on in our cute little city kitchen, but I swear it was comical watching the two of us utilize every inch of the counter space.

It's amazing how these plain ingredients can melt together into such a flavorful dish. And everything is supposed to start out chunky, too, so you don't even have to take the time to properly dice things. Win-win!

The ingredients melt down into this lovely stew, perfect for a cold winter night. With just the right amount of heat, and incredibly tender chunks of pork, I could eat this at least once a week. And now, by blogging about it, I will hopefully be reminding myself to make it again soon!

Chile Verde
from Cooking Light (2005ish?)

1 Tbsp canola oil
2 lbs pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 cups chopped onion
2 lbs small tomatillos, husks and stems removed and quartered
1 lb Anaheim or poblano chiles, cut into 1 inch pieces (I charred and peeled the skin, too)
6 garlic cloves, chopped
3 cups water
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Heat canola oil in a stockpot over medium high heat. Sprinkle pork evenly with salt and pepper. Place flour in a large zip top plastic bag, add pork to bag, seal, and shake to coat. Add pork to pan and saute for 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove pork from the pan.

Add onion, tomatillos, chiles, and garlic to the pan. Saute about 8 minutes, or until tender. Add pork, water, and remaining ingredients to pan. (It will seem very chunky, but that's ok) Bring to a simmer, cook for 2 hours until pork is tender, stirring occasionally. If saving for the next day, allow the chile to cool to room temperature and then put in the fridge overnight.