This Little Piggy Got Green

I've read that your taste buds change every five years, which might explain a recent change to my chili sensibilities...I used to love my chili chock full of beans (When I was vegetarian, go figure), nowadays, I'm loving more meat-centric chili like Chili con Carne.

So, for this challenge, I decided to try Chili con Carne's white meat counterpart: Pork Chili Verde.

I'd never made -- or even eaten -- green chili before, but this recipe was a hit: It's light on beans, heavy on pork and damn delicious. But avert your eyes, Sita, because this takes a lot of pig...


The recipe that I found called for a ton of pork and chilis, so I ended up halving it...a good decision, even if you're serving 4-6. The reduced version took:

• 3 lbs. of lean pork (I used pork chops)
• 2 and 1/4 c. chicken stock (the recipe has a typo -- use cups, not quarts)
  
• an onion and half a fist of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 T. cumin, salt and pepper
  
• 4 poblano chilis and 2 jalapenos, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 lbs of tomatillos, husks removed
• half a bunch of cilantro, chopped
  
• 1 can of white beans (this was a reviewer's suggestion and a good one

Here's what you do:

1. Sear the pork in a 1/4 c. of oil until just golden
2. Scrape the resulting fond and saute the onions and garlic. When translucent, add spices and chicken stock. Simmer for 1/2 hour.
3. In this time, you have lots of chilis to chop.
   
   
   I needed some help, so sous chef Carnahan stepped in to dice and prepare the tomatillos. The tomatillos are pureed with the cilantro.
4. You add the peppers and puree to the pot. This is when things get seriously beautiful (bright green!) and delicious -- light, spicy and fresh. Let it cook for another 45 minutes.
5. Then serve on rice, add some cheese for garnish and voila!
   
   

The verdict: The pork and green chili made a winning combination, and Tim voted this my best P-off/C-off venture yet. As a green chili neophyte, the chili's thinner not-so-soupy base took me by surprise. But it tasted great...and even better on day two.

This one's a keeper!