Tender pork stew meat braised with tomatillos and warm spices served in tortillas topped with a bright tomato relish, pickled onions and queso fresco!
I had a lot of different ideas of what I might call this dish
When your talking tomatillos in salsa you say ‘Salsa Verde’ and it sounds fancy
So what about pork verde or maybe verde pork stew?
Well let’s get down to the earth here…verde simply means green and we are getting the green from these great little green tomatoes called tomatillos!
In case you haven’t used them before, tomatillos are usually found in the produce section wrapped in their own skin which is almost paper like
Here we have 1 1/2 pounds
No… were not bobbing for tomatillos!
We are just using a great trick for removing the skins
Place the tomatillos in a bowl and cover them with warm water (not hot) and let them sit for 6 minutes
Peel the skin up from the bottom towards the stem
Give a slight twist and remove
Easy as can be!
Once you remove the outer skin the actual skin underneath can have a slightly sticky residue on it
Rinsing them under cold water a couple times will get that off
Once rinsed, cut the top off of the tomatillos and discard
Quarter them and then cut into smaller even chunks
Repeat until they are all cut up and set aside
Next up is the pork
We are using 2 1/2 pounds of pork loin cut into cubes for stew
Sprinkle these with kosher salt and ground black pepper
We are using our Instant Pot as a slow cooker
It also has a saute and searing function so we are going to brown the meat and vegetables up front
If you have a normal slow cooker you can just add the meat and veggies into the pot as you normally would
We are going to heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the Instant Pot and brown the pork in batches
Sear for 2-3 minutes per side then remove the pork and set aside
While the pork is browning, let’s work on some vegetables
We will need 1 onion, 1 jalapeno and 4 garlic cloves
Cut the stem off from the jalapeno and slice in half lengthwise
Use a spoon to scrape out the ribs and seeds
Peel and dice the onion, garlic and jalapeno
Add the onions, garlic and pepper to the pot and saute around 6-8 minutes
Now for some spices
We will need 1 tablespoon of cumin, 1 tablespoon of paprika, 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 1 teaspoon each of kosher salt and ground black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Add the spices to the pot
Stir to combine and cook around 2 minutes more
Cooking the spices for a bit releases even more flavor
Add the pork back in along with the tomatillos and mix to combine
Next we will need 1 cup of chicken stock and 1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro
Add the stock and chopped cilantro to the pot and mix everyone together
Cover and slow cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours
This is going to be flavorful and rich so I thought it would be good to add a bright and fresh note with a tomato relish
We will need 2 tomatoes, 1 lime and 1/2 teaspoon each of kosher salt and ground black pepper
Cut the tops off and discard then give the tomatoes a dice
Add them to a bowl and squeeze in 1 half of the lime to start (you can always add more)
Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and a little fresh chopped cilantro
Mix together and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
Let’s check on the pork
The meat is super tender and it smells so good!
I’m going to make a roux or thickener for the pork gravy
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a pot and whisk in 1/4 cup of flour and cook until lightly brown
Whisk this into the stew and allow to thicken slightly
Now you can certainly eat this in a bowl as a stew or over some rice but we are going taco style
We are using flour tortillas which I like toast a bit on the stove top for additional flavor
We are serving these with our toasted tortillas, the tomato relish, Pickled Onions (click on the link for the recipe) and queso fresco
What is queso fresco?
Queso fresco simply put is delicious fresh cheese made from cow’s milk that adds a slightly salty pop to whatever it is sprinkled on
Now for some simple assembly
Top some tortillas with pork, then tomatoes, some onions and cheese!
Can you say YUM!!!
Enjoy!!!
Simply Sundays! ~ Tomatillo Pork
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds of pork stew meat
1 teaspoon of kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 1/2 pounds of tomatillos
1 onion
4 garlic cloves
1 jalapeno
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of paprika
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon each of kosher salt and ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 cup of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of flour
For the tomato relish
2 tomatoes
1 lime
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and ground black pepper
cilantro
For serving
tortillas (toasted)
tomato relish
Queso Fresco
Directions
Place 1 1/2 pounds of tomatillos into a bowl and cover in warm water. Allow to sit for 6 minutes. Peel the skin up from the bottom towards the stem. Give a slight twist and remove
Rinse the tomatillos under cold water to remove the sticky film that is left when you remove the outer skin. Cut the top off of the tomatillos and discard. Quarter them and then cut into smaller even chunks. Repeat until they are all cut up and set aside
Sprinkle 2 1/2 pounds of pork stew meat with 1 teaspoon each of kosher salt and ground black pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the Instant Pot. Brown the pork in batches for 2-3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside
Cut the stem off of 1 jalapeno and slice in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out the ribs and seeds and dice. Peel 1 onion and 4 garlic cloves and dice as well. Add the onions, garlic and pepper to the pot and saute around 6-8 minutes
Add in 1 tablespoon of cumin, 1 tablespoon of paprika, 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 1 teaspoon each of kosher salt and ground black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne powder. Mix together and cook another 2-3 minutes
Add the pork back in along with the tomatillos and mix to combine. Add in 1 cup of chicken stock and 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped cilantro. Mix together. Cover and slow cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours. Once the stew is done melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a pot and whisk in 1/4 cup of flour and cook until lightly brown. Whisk this into the stew and allow to thicken slightly
For the relish
Remove the stems from 2 tomatoes and discard. Dice the tomatoes. Add them to a bowl and squeeze in 1 half of the lime to start (you can always add more). Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and a little chopped cilantro. Mix together and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
Serve the pork on toasted tortillas with tomato relish, Pickled Onions and Queso fresco
Pyrex Prepware 4-Quart Rimmed Mixing Bowl, Clear
Architec Gripperwood Cutting Board
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