Southwestern Pork and Pozole
Similar to the traditional Pozole Rojo, this thick stew features leftover roast pork shoulder that has been cubed and simmered in stock with heirloom pozole, toasted cumin, cracked coriander, canella and Mexican oregano, with roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic and fresh chilies. Topped with crispy fried corn tortilla strips..
1 pound (more or less) leftover roast pork (including some fat), cut into 3/4-inch cubes
4 cups homemade smoked pork/chicken stock
1-1/2 cups fresh yellow pozole (hominy)
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds, toasted and cracked
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed, toasted and cracked
1 2-inch piece canella
1 large Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
2 large fresh tomatoes, cored and wedged
3-4 large, fresh Anaheim peppers
1/2 head of garlic, unpeeled
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon finely-minced lemon peel
1/4 cup New Mexico chile powder
2 teaspoons granulated piloncillo
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Heat stock to a low boil, then add cubed pork, cumin, canella and coriander and simmer 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, roast tomatoes, onions, peppers and garlic in a 500 degree oven soft and charred. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then squeeze out the garlic, chop the vegetables and add to the simmering pork along with the cooked pozole, dry spices (except s&p) and tomato paste.
Partially cover and simmer until the pork is very tender and the pozole has just begun to break apart, about 30 minutes.
Add cilantro, stir and simmer another 5 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, then ladle into clay bowls and serve hot with fried tortilla strips.
Like this:
Chipotle-Roasted Chicken with Mexican Mint Marigold, Tomato Bomba
Bomba is an ancient strain of slowly-maturing rice grown in fresh mountain water around the town of Calasparra in Murcia, using aqueducts first built by the Romans.
Bomba absorbs three to four times its volume in stock (rather than the normal two), yet the grains remain firm and delicious.
Plump, locally pastured chicken (Dewberry Hills) joints are brined for half a day in cold, filtered water with coarse sea salt, cracked cumin and coriander. Blotted dry, then roasted at 500 degrees until the skin is good and crisp, then transferred to a hot skillet and finished in sauce of reduced chicken stock, chipotles en adobo and a touch of apple cider vinegar. Served over stock-cooked rice with browned onions, garlic and fresh tomatoes. Garnished with freshly chopped Mexican mint marigold..
Chipotle-Roasted Chicken with Tomato Bomba
For the Brine (5%)
2 litres filtered water
100 grams coarse sea salt
1-1/2 tablesponns cumin seed, cracked
2-1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds, cracked
Bring the water to a rapid boil, then remove from heat. Add cumin, coriander and salt and stir to combine. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled. Place chicken pieces in a glass bowl and submerge in brine. Cover bowl and refrigerate 6-8 hours.
For the Chipotle Sauce
2 cups rich, homemade chicken stock
2 tablespoons raw cider vinegar
2-3 chipotles en adobo, minced
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon piloncillo (substitute high-molasses raw can sugar)
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Combine chicken stock and vinegar in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and bring to a rapid boil. Reduce heat to medium, add chipotles, tomato paste, oregano and piloncillo and simmer until reduced and thickened, about 1 hour. Adjust seasoning with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
For the Rice
2 tablespoons cultured butter
1/2 cup bomba
2 cups homemade chicken stock
1/2 yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2-3 green onions, slivered, divided
1 tablespoon minced elephant garlic
1 cup fresh tomato, diced
Heat the butter in a heavy skillet and add yellow onion, garlic and 1/2 of the green onions and saute until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add bomba and stir to coat each grain with butter. Add stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat simmer, stirring frequently until tender, about 30 minutes.
For the Chicken
Assorted chicken pieces, brined and air-dried
Smoked paprika
Arrange chicken pieces skin-side up, without crowding in a large skillet. Lightly dust with smoked paprika and place into a pre-heated 500 degree oven, cooking until skin is nicely browned and crisp, about 25 minutes. Chicken should be slightly underdone at this point.
Remove pan from oven and set on burner over medium heat. Baste liberally with chipotle sauce and continue to cook, turning occasionally until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
To assemble
Spoon rice onto dinner plates and place chicken pieces over the top. Dress with additional chipotle sauce and garnish with Mexican mint marigold. Serve piping hot.
Pan-Seared Berkshire Rib-eye with Habanero Bomba, Roasted Tomatillo Sauce
Thick chops of heritage black Berkshire pigs are briefly brined in a mixture of cold, filtered water, salt, cracked pepper, Mexican oregano and a few scrapings of piloncillo before being seared in cumin oil over high heat. Finished in the oven and served with habanero bomba (rice, chicken stock, habanero chiles, Asadero cheese) and roasted tomatillo sauce (tomatillos, garlic, fresh green chiles, white onion and cilantro)..
Pan-Seared Berkshire Rib-eye with Habanero Bomba, Roasted Tomatillo Sauce
Berkshire pigs are said to be “Britain’s oldest pig breed”, originally bred in the Faringdon and Wantage regions of the English county of Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). They apparently became popular after being ‘discovered’ by Cromwell’s troops while they were stationed at Reading during the English Civil War. Today’s animals descend from the herd maintained by the House of Windsor 300 years ago
Berkshire pork, prized for juiciness, flavor and tenderness, is pink-hued and heavily marbled. Its high fat content makes it suitable for high-temperature cooking. -Wikipedia
Smoked Duck Gorditas with Fresh Mango Salsa
Smoked duck breast is shredded and slowly simmered in stock with crushed chipotle en adobo, toasted coriander and Mexican oregano, then tucked inside flaky homemade gorditas (thick corn tortillas) and dressed with fresh mango salsa and crispy fried duck skin..
Smoked Duck Gorditas with Fresh Mango Salsa
For the Salsa
1 fresh mango, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 ripe tomato, cored and diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 green jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon sparkling water
1 teaspoon piloncillo or palm sugar
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and refrigerate 1 hour.
For the Duck
1 large smoked duck breast
1 1/2 cups rich chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons crushed chipotle en adobo
1 tablespoon raw cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon toasted coriander, ground
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Remove the skin and fat and reserve. Working parallel to the grain, tear the duck into thin strips, then place into a heavy pot. Cover with stock and bring to a slow simmer. Add chipotle, vinegar, oregano and coriander and slowly simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1/2 hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm.
For the Crispy Duck Skin and Rendered Fat
Pull the skin and fat from a duck breast and lay it flat on the comal over medium heat, weighing it flat with a bacon press or another smaller skillet. Cook until all the fat has rendered and the skin is crispy on both sides. Transfer to skin to a cutting board and chop into something resembling crumbled bacon, reserving the fat for frying the gorditas.
For the Gorditas
3/4 cup organic masa harina (fine corn flour)
2 tablespoons organic, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup warm, filtered water
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
3 tablespoons rendered duck fat
Heat a comal or iron skillet over medium heat for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the masa and water into a soft dough. Knead in the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper, adding a few drops of water if needed to maintain consistency. Divide dough into 4 balls and cover with a damp kitchen towel.
Use a tortilla press or rolling pin to shape dough into 4-inch rounds about 1/4 inch thick. Slide a thin-bladed spatula under each gordita, carefully flipping one-at-a-time onto your open palm before laying onto the hot comal. Cook for a minute or so on each side (they will be slightly crisp but underdone), then transfer to a plate.
To prepare
Just before service, melt the duck fat in the comal, then fry each gordita until golden brown and puffy (ideally, the gorditas will be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside). Transfer gorditas to a cutting board, then use a thin knife to cut a sideways slit about 1/2 way across.
Fill each gordita with shredded duck, dress with salsa and crumbled duck skin and serve hot.
This post is part of The Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday!
This post is part of The Healthy Home Economist’s Monday Mania!
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Achiote-Grilled Shiro Maguro with Mango Salsa Fresca
Fresh Shiro Maguro (albacore tuna, sustainably pole-and-line caught in the Pacific Northwest) is marinated in a paste of ground achiote, coriander and cumin seeds, Mexican oregano, garlic, olive oil and Seville orange juice. The inch-thick steaks are rare-grilled over a hot mesquite fire and served with a salsa of fresh mango, heirloom tomatoes, green onions, cilantro and fresh green cayenne peppers with a pinch of chipotle and a touch of piloncillo..
Achiote-Grilled Shiro Maguro with Mango Salsa Fresca
For the Tuna
2 very fresh tuna steaks, about 1 inch-thick
2 tablespoons organic achiote seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 scant teaspoon sea salt
3-4 oz Seville orange juice
1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup raw olive oil
Grind the achiote, cumin and coriander together in a spice or coffee grinder, pour into a bowl and combine with oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar until a thick paste is formed. Thin with orange juice until it is of a spoonable consistency. Set the tuna steak in the marinade and refrigerate 1 hour, turning once.
For the Salsa
1 ripe mango, diced
1 heirloom tomato, diced
1 4-inch green cayenne pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced
2 green onions, slivered
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon freshly-squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon Mexican piloncillo (substitute palm sugar)
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients together in a non-reactive bowl and refrigerate 1-2 hours.
To prepare, sear cold tuna over a hot wood fire until rare, about 5 minutes total. Move to the cool side of the grill, baste with additional marinade and let stand until almost medium rare, about 2 minutes more. Serve straight from the grill with mango salsa and a wedge of lime.
Wood-Fired, Ancho-Rubbed Sirloin with Fried Plantains and Frijoles Charros
Grass-fed sirloin (Bastrop Cattle Co.) is rubbed in a mixture of ancho chilies, fresh garlic, Mexican oregano, comino and piloncillo, then quickly seared over a wood fire. Served with salt & pepper-fried plantains and home-cooked frijoles charros (cowboy beans)..
Wood-Fired, Ancho-Rubbed Sirloin with Fried Plantains and Frijoles Charros
For the Rub (adapted from a recipe by Rick Bayless)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3-4 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 tablespoon piloncillo
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon half-sharp paprika
2 teaspoons sea salt
Add all ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and pulse into a semi-fine powder.
For the Beans (adapted from a recipe by Rick Bayless)
1 cup dried pinto beans
1 tablespoon leaf lard
1/2 yellow onion
1 small sprig epazote
2 thick slices bacon, diced and fried
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fire-roasted tomatoes, diced
1/2 fresh poblano pepper, charred and diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
Rinse and pick over dried beans. Cover with 1 quart of cool, filtered water, lard, onion and epazote. Bring to a hard boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until tender, about 2 hours, adding the tomatoes and peppers about 30 minutes out. Stir occasionally and add more water if necessary to keep from drying out.
Add bacon, salt and cilantro during the last 10 minutes of cooking, discarding the epazote before serving.
For the Plantains
1 plantain, very ripe but still firm
1 tablespoon peanut oil or butter
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Heat butter or oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Season plantain slices with salt and pepper then fry until golden brown. Set aside to drain.
For the Steaks
1 4oz breakfast sirloin per person
1 1/2 teaspoon spice rub per steak
Pat steak dry, then evenly coat on all sides with spice rub. Grill over a wood fire for about 2 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing against the grain about 3/8 inch-thick.
This post is part of The Nourishing Gourmet’s Pennywise Platter Thursday!
