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kindkitI've been feeling domestic lately, and also in a mood for chiles.
Mexican-style roast pork
This is based ontree_and_leaf's recipe, but adapted a bit according to what I had on hand (i.e. I thought I had chipotle powder but actually I had ancho powder and chipotles in adobo), what I like (cumin seed), and what I'm supposed to be doing health-wise (less salt).
My version calls for a slow cooker but you could also cook it in the oven astree_and_leaf's recipe says.
1 pork shoulder roast, about 4 to 4.5 pounds (2 kilos)
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
4 teaspoons ground ancho chiles
1-2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon or so cumin seed, dry-toasted until brown and fragrant
2 chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped
1/2 cup beer (lager or pale ale)
ETA: And one dried chipotle chile
Mix the salt, cocoa powder, and ground ancho and rub the pork all over with the mixture. Pat the cumin seed over the pork. Put the pork in the slow cooker and gently pat the chipotles over it. Pour the beer in (alongside the pork, not over it), drop in the dried chipotle, and cook on the low setting for 10 hours.
When the pork is cool enough to handle, pull/shred it with two forks. Put the stock in a jar in the fridge (once it's chilled you can remove the fat) and use it for something, because it's good.
Use the meat for tacos (soft corn tortillas, cilantro, thinly sliced green/spring onion, and the salsa of your choice) stews, chili, or anything you can think of.
I made green salsa to serve with the lovely pork tacos. This is Diana Kennedy's recipe from The Cuisines of Mexico.
Cooked Tomatillo Salsa
1/2 pound tomatillos (sometimes called Mexican green tomatoes although they're not tomatoes; they're recognizable by their papery outer skin), outer skin removed, thoroughly washed to remove the sticky sap on the outside, quartered
1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 medium white onion, roughly chopped
2 serrano chiles, toasted in a dry pan over medium-high heat until their skins are blackened and blistered
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
Put everything except the oil into a food processor or blender and process until smooth-ish. (Don't remove the skins from the serranos. Or the seeds, unless you want a much milder salsa.) Cook the salsa in the oil over medium-high heat for about five minutes, until thickened. Cool and store in the fridge. It'll keep for several days.
And finally, for my birthday I made Aztec Gold Brownies from the recipe at the Tigers and Strawberries blog. I pretty much followed it exactly, omitting the gold leaf, except that my vanilla wasn't as good quality as called for (I used Whole Foods' "365 Organic" store brand, the fair trade version). I think the difference was probably noticeable, and I'd have liked a bit more of a vanilla kick, but I can't afford Penzey's and anyway, the brownies were exceedingly delicious even without it. They keep well, too--I made them Thursday night and they still have excellent texture and flavor. In fact I think I'll have one now.
I'll definitely make this recipe again (for one thing, I still have most of a jar of espresso powder!), although I think I'll have to compromise a bit and use a cheaper chocolate than Scharffen Berger on non-birthday occasions.
Mexican-style roast pork
This is based on
tree_and_leaf's recipe, but adapted a bit according to what I had on hand (i.e. I thought I had chipotle powder but actually I had ancho powder and chipotles in adobo), what I like (cumin seed), and what I'm supposed to be doing health-wise (less salt).My version calls for a slow cooker but you could also cook it in the oven as
tree_and_leaf's recipe says.1 pork shoulder roast, about 4 to 4.5 pounds (2 kilos)
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
4 teaspoons ground ancho chiles
1-2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon or so cumin seed, dry-toasted until brown and fragrant
2 chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped
1/2 cup beer (lager or pale ale)
ETA: And one dried chipotle chile
Mix the salt, cocoa powder, and ground ancho and rub the pork all over with the mixture. Pat the cumin seed over the pork. Put the pork in the slow cooker and gently pat the chipotles over it. Pour the beer in (alongside the pork, not over it), drop in the dried chipotle, and cook on the low setting for 10 hours.
When the pork is cool enough to handle, pull/shred it with two forks. Put the stock in a jar in the fridge (once it's chilled you can remove the fat) and use it for something, because it's good.
Use the meat for tacos (soft corn tortillas, cilantro, thinly sliced green/spring onion, and the salsa of your choice) stews, chili, or anything you can think of.
I made green salsa to serve with the lovely pork tacos. This is Diana Kennedy's recipe from The Cuisines of Mexico.
Cooked Tomatillo Salsa
1/2 pound tomatillos (sometimes called Mexican green tomatoes although they're not tomatoes; they're recognizable by their papery outer skin), outer skin removed, thoroughly washed to remove the sticky sap on the outside, quartered
1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 medium white onion, roughly chopped
2 serrano chiles, toasted in a dry pan over medium-high heat until their skins are blackened and blistered
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
Put everything except the oil into a food processor or blender and process until smooth-ish. (Don't remove the skins from the serranos. Or the seeds, unless you want a much milder salsa.) Cook the salsa in the oil over medium-high heat for about five minutes, until thickened. Cool and store in the fridge. It'll keep for several days.
And finally, for my birthday I made Aztec Gold Brownies from the recipe at the Tigers and Strawberries blog. I pretty much followed it exactly, omitting the gold leaf, except that my vanilla wasn't as good quality as called for (I used Whole Foods' "365 Organic" store brand, the fair trade version). I think the difference was probably noticeable, and I'd have liked a bit more of a vanilla kick, but I can't afford Penzey's and anyway, the brownies were exceedingly delicious even without it. They keep well, too--I made them Thursday night and they still have excellent texture and flavor. In fact I think I'll have one now.
I'll definitely make this recipe again (for one thing, I still have most of a jar of espresso powder!), although I think I'll have to compromise a bit and use a cheaper chocolate than Scharffen Berger on non-birthday occasions.
