I bought some tomatillos (green tomatoes) with the thought of making salsa verde with it but then I saw this dish from Cooking Light Magazine (the same one where I found the Kahlua Cookies), which is even better: salsa verde with pork and chillies!Well, it’s actually Tequila Pork Chile (Chili, Chilli?!) Verde; it’s quite simple to make, although I made so many substitutions including replacing the tequila with white wine.
The ingredients for this dish could be readily available in some homes and not that hard to find if you buy it, but in my case, I just used what is available to me at the time that I know will make for a good replacement without entirely changing the flavor of the dish, the important thing for me here was I have the main ingredient/s which are tomatillos and chillies. I was happy with the result and so was my family.
The finished dish was very flavorful, it has the mild tartness of the green tomatoes and the zing from the chillies that I was after but not overwhelming; the kids can still eat it. It’s suggested to be served with corn tortillas and refried black beans but we had this with rice and sauteed veggies on the side 🙂
saute the coated pork tenderloin pieces
while the pork is cooking, cut up or slice the other ingredients
after about 10 minutes…ta-da! Delicious pork chile verde.. mine doesn’t look as yummy compared to the photo on the magazine and has chunkier tomatillos but it TASTES really GOOD! 🙂
…next time though I will cut my tomatillos into smaller chunks and mash it a little while it cooks like what I do with regular tomatoes for a thicker consistency..
RECIPE FOR PORK CHILE VERDE
from Cooking Light Magazine, October 2007
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons canola oil ( I used extra virgin olive oil)
3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal ( I replaced this with ground bread stuffing)
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder (I used cayenne powder)
1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 cups coarsely chopped fresh tomatillos (about 12 ounces)
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth or homemade chicken stock
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped mild green chiles, drained ( I replaced this with fresh green chillies, not exactly mild)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions ( I used less than 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro ( I used flat leaf parsley)
2 tablespoons tequila (I don’t have it, so I used white wine instead)
1/4 teaspoon salt (I think I added more than this amount)
Here’s How:
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Combine cornmeal and chile powder in a medium bowl. Add pork, tossing to coat. Remove pork from bowl, reserving any remaining cornmeal mixture. Add pork to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until browned. Stir in remaining cornmeal mixture; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in tomatillos, broth, chiles, and jalapeño; bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cook 8 minutes or until tomatillos are tender. Stir in onions and remaining ingredients; simmer 1 minute.
Makes 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)
calories: 245/serving ( for those who want to know ) 🙂
Thanks for reading and have a nice day! 🙂
Pork Chile Verde
Ingredients
- 2 TEASPOONS CANOLA OIL I USED EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
- 3 TABLESPOONS YELLOW CORNMEAL I REPLACED THIS WITH GROUND BREAD STUFFING
- 1 TABLESPOON ANCHO CHILE POWDER I USED CAYENNE POWDER
- 1 POUND PORK TENDERLOIN TRIMMED AND CUT INTO 3/4-INCH PIECES
- 2 CUPS COARSELY CHOPPED FRESH TOMATILLOS ABOUT 12 OUNCES
- 1 14-OUNCE CAN FAT-FREE, LESS-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH OR HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK
- 1 4.5-OUNCE CAN CHOPPED MILD GREEN CHILES, DRAINED ( I REPLACED THIS WITH FRESH GREEN CHILLIES, NOT EXACTLY MILD)
- 1/2 CUP THINLY SLICED GREEN ONIONS I USED LESS THAN 1/2 CUP
- 1/4 CUP CHOPPED FRESH CILANTRO I USED FLAT LEAF PARSLEY
- 2 TABLESPOONS TEQUILA I DON’T HAVE IT, SO I USED WHITE WINE INSTEAD
- 1/4 TEASPOON SALT I THINK I ADDED MORE THAN THIS AMOUNT
Instructions
- HEAT OIL IN A LARGE NONSTICK SKILLET OVER MEDIUM-HIGH HEAT.
- COMBINE CORNMEAL AND CHILE POWDER IN A MEDIUM BOWL. ADD PORK, TOSSING TO COAT. REMOVE PORK FROM BOWL, RESERVING ANY REMAINING CORNMEAL MIXTURE. ADD PORK TO PAN; SAUTÉ 5 MINUTES OR UNTIL BROWNED. STIR IN REMAINING CORNMEAL MIXTURE; COOK 30 SECONDS, STIRRING CONSTANTLY. STIR IN TOMATILLOS, BROTH, CHILES, AND JALAPEÑO; BRING TO A SIMMER OVER MEDIUM-LOW HEAT. COOK 8 MINUTES OR UNTIL TOMATILLOS ARE TENDER. STIR IN ONIONS AND REMAINING INGREDIENTS; SIMMER 1 MINUTE.
- MAKES 4 SERVINGS (SERVING SIZE: 1 1/2 CUPS)
- CALORIES: 245/SERVING ( FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW ) 🙂