Pork Verde

 

Pork Verde.

Southwestern Food is often synonymous with tacos, burritos, and salsa. Growing up my only experiences with Mexican food was the occasional hard corn shell taco that we would get a lunch. Nothing says south of the border more than Old El Paso salsa…not.

Anyways, so obviously my Mexican food choices were limited. Compounding that limitation is living on the East Coast, your authentic options are limited, although they are getting better.

The funny thing about Southwestern or Mexican food is that even what people today claim now as “authentic” is still an amalgamation of influences from different countries and regions. For instances, meat in general was not typically prevalent in Mexican cuisine pre-Spanish invasion.

The lesson about any food history is this:  People invade, invaders still need to eat, new crazy food combos arise. So the same thing happened in Central America & Mexico, the Spanish brought meat and cheese, out of that contribution you have the wonderful creation that we now call Mexican food.

Pork is a staple of Mexican cuisine and I think it can really elevate any stereotypical burrito, taco, etc. etc. What I did here was make a quick Verde sauce using fresh herbs and spices. I then slow cooked the pork chop, this created a deliciously tender cut of pork. Because the pork chop itself is lean, slow cooking it in a flavorful sauce helps make up for some of the lost flavor or juiciness, which can arise from a longer cook time.

The end result was a flavorful pork dish that would go perfectly with any combination of tortillas, nachos, or beans. I went healthy for this meal and just topped it with some fresh roasted spaghetti squash.

Recipe-  Pork Verde

Ingredients

1 Pork Chop

2 Tsp. Pozole Spices (Mexican Oregano, Coriander, and Cumin)

1/2 Cup of Diced Cilantro

3 Tbsp. Lime Juice

2 Tsp. Chili Powder

1/4 Cup Diced White Onion

3 Cloves of Garlic

1 Tsp. Black Pepper

1 Tbsp. Cooking Oil

1 Tbsp. Butter

2 Cups of Chicken Broth

Method

Mix all of your ingredients, except the pork chops and 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil, into a blender or food processor. Blend the ingredients until they form a nice liquid.

Heat 1 Tablespoon of the cooking oil in a pot. Brown the pork chop on each side, then add 3/4th’s of your liquid to the pot. Cook on low for 2 to 3 hours, once the meat is tender and can almost come apart with a fork, heat the butter in a nonstick pan and brown the meat on each side. Then top with your liquid and reduce for 30 seconds.

Serve and enjoy!