The Mexican Slow Cooker: Recipes for Mole, Enchiladas, Carnitas, Chile Verde Pork, and More Favorites by Deborah Schneider Read Free Book Online Page B

is tender and the sauce is thick and fragrant.
    Remove and discard the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Stir in the vinegar, piloncillo, orange zest, and chocolate. Serve hot.

Chile Verde
    PORK IN GREEN CHILE SALSA Serves 6
    Salsa chile verde takes its name from three types of green chiles, which are combined with green tomatillos to make an olive-green sauce with a gently tart and spicy edge. Never overpowering, it’s a perfect match for the richness of the pork. You can control the level of heat by adding more jalapeños, substituting spicier serrano chiles, or leaving out the hot chiles altogether. For frying the pork, I like to use flavorful fresh (liquid) lard, called asiento , which I buy at my local Latin grocery. (I also save the fat from Carnitas , for the same purpose.) All the ingredients go into the slow cooker hot, so the dish cooks in about 2 hours. This recipe is excellent with made with chuletas (pork chops) instead of diced pork. Serve with rice, beans, and warm corn tortillas.
    2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
    1 whole clove
    1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
    10 tomatillos (about 12 ounces total), husked and washed
    2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed
    8 Anaheim chiles, roasted , seeded, and diced
    4 large cloves garlic
    2½ teaspoons kosher salt
    2 tablespoons fresh lard or vegetable oil
    2½ pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into ¾-inch cubes
    2 large poblano chiles, roasted , seeded, and diced
    ½ white onion, finely diced
    1 cup water, Caldo de Pollo , or Caldo de Res
    1 dried bay leaf
    TO SERVE
    Mexican crema
    In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the cumin, clove, and peppercorns until fragrant, stirring frequently so they don’t burn. Let cool completely and grind in a spice grinder.
    Place the tomatillos and jalapeños in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes, or until barely soft. Drain immediately and place in a food processor along with the Anaheim chiles, garlic, and salt. Pulse until smooth.
    Heat the lard in a large skillet over medium-high heat and, working in batches, brown the pork on one side without stirring the meat, then turn and brown on the other side. Return all the pork to the skillet and add the poblanos and onion and cook, stirring, until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the ground spices and cook, stirring, for an additional 2 minutes, until the spices are fragrant. Transfer the pork mixture to a 5-quart slow cooker.
    Reduce the skillet heat to medium. Add the contents of the food processor to the pan and cook, stirring, until the salsa is thick and begins to stick to the pan. Add the water and bay leaf to the pan and simmer, stirring once or twice, for 5 minutes. Stir into the pork in the slow cooker, cover, and cook on low 2 hours, or until the pork is tender.
    Serve hot with a bowl of crema alongside.
    NOTE
    Leftovers make an excellent filling for tamales.

Carne Pibil
    PORK IN BANANA LEAVES WITH ACHIOTE Serves 6
    The vibrant red color and distinctive flavor of this recipe come from the achiote recado, a spice paste made with annatto, the seed of a tree native to Central America. Long, slow cooking in banana leaves brings a taste of tropical Mexico to your slow cooker while replicating the traditional pit-cooking method that gives the recipe its name. Keep it simple and authentic by serving it with black beans, corn tortillas, and white rice, as well as fiery Mayan xni pec, a citrusy salsa laced with onion and habanero chiles. Fried plantains are an excellent accompaniment as well. Boneless chicken may be used instead of the pork shoulder.
    2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
    3 ounces achiote paste
    ¼ cup peeled garlic cloves
    2 serrano chiles, stemmed
    ½ cup diced white onion
    2 teaspoons kosher salt
    2 tablespoons white vinegar
    2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
    2½ pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
    2 (12-inch) pieces banana or plantain leaf ( see Note )
    ½ cup water
    TO SERVE
    Chopped fresh cilantro
    Xni Pec