My Favorite Recipes

Of all the mexican style meats, Carnitas is by far my favorite. Its great to serve in simple tacos or as a main course. Made of flavorful pork with minimal seasonings, its the two step cooking process that puts carnitas over the top. First its braised, or slowly roasted until its fork tender. Then its fried until a fine crust adds a little crispness and more flavor to the meat.

Ingredients

• 5 lbs boneless country style pork ribs
• 1 cup Tomatillo Salsa
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 Tbl salt

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the pork in a large roasting pan. Make sure the roasting pan can go in the oven and on the stove or on an outdoor grill (I use my metal roasting pan that I use for Thanksgiving turkey dinner). Sprinkle all the salt over the meat (all sides). Scatter the sliced onions and garlic over the pork. Pour the salsa over the pork. Cover the roasting pan with foil. Place in the oven and roast for 3 hours or until the the pork is fork tender. The pan will have lots of juice. Once removed from the oven, remove the foil and place the roasting pan over two burners on your stove or on an outdoor grill over high heat. Occasionally stir the pork. We are trying to evaporate all the liquid and ultimately fry the meat in the rendered fat from the pork. Continue frying until the meat looks like the picture, about 30 minutes. Eat right away, or place in a oven proof dish, cover with foil, and keep in a warm oven.

I haven’t made tomatillo salsa in a while, but I made some the other night and forgot how bright and tangy it tastes. It also is a base for many other great recipes including guacamole, green enchilada sauce and a new favorite of mine, avocado vinaigrette. Rick Bayless loves to roast his tomatillos along with serrano peppers, onion and garlic. This version is simpler, just boil the tomatillos and blend with onion and peppers, add salt and you have a wonderful base that will brighten up any dish.

Ingredients

• 6 Tomatillos, husks removed
• 1/2 onion roughly chopped
• 1 or 2 serrano peppers
• 2 Tbl chopped cilantro
• salt to taste
• water

Preparation

Place the tomatillos in a large sauce pan and add water to cover.  Bring the pot to a boil over high heat.  Boil tomatillos until soft and start to rupture.  Drain and move tomatillos to a blender.  Add the pepper (or peppers depending on how hot you like it, I would start with one and add more to taste), onion, cilantro and blend to a smooth consistency.  Add salt to taste, about 1 tsp and blend to combine and you are done with the base.  The salsa will still be runny while its warm, but will congeal as it cools, so you will have to add water to make your desired consistency, at thats it, you have great tomatillo salsa.  If you decide to roast (I broil) the tomatillos, peppers and onion, you will have a smokier but sweeter and less acidic salsa, just as good, but a different flavor.  Now after you have your salsa with chips or even better drizzled on fried eggs, here are other things you can do with your salsa:

Guacamole

Add about 3/4 of salsa to 3 mashed avocados and mix.  The acid in the salsa will help keep the guacamole green.

Enchilada Sauce

Heat 1 Tbl of olive oil in a sauce pan.  Blend the salsa in a blender to get is as smooth as possible. Pour salsa through a mesh strainer into the hot oil and cook until it is the consistency of tomato paste, about 10-15 minutes.  Add  water, stock or clam juice (the same amount as your original amount of salsa, if you started with 1 cup of salsa add one cup of liquid) to the pan and mix with the salsa paste.  Simmer for a few minutes to blend flavors and to slightly thicken.  Add 1/4 of cream and salt to taste.  This sauce can be used for Enchiladas, on eggs, really on anything.

Avocado Vinaigrette

In a blender, add 1 avocado, juice from two limes, 1/2 cup of salsa, 1/2 tsp salt, a few grinds of pepper, and blend.  While the blender is on, stream through the top olive oil until the vinaigrette is too the consistency you like, should look like the old green goddess dressing.  Use on any salad but great with grilled tuna with a black bean mango salsa.

Now that our friend Jim has moved to New Zealand, he has had a craving for good ol’ salsa as many of the condiments down under don’t have that spicy bite and the salsas they do sell are more like Taco Bell taco sauce. So, per Jim’s request, her is an easy tomato and jalepeno salsa. This one is based on a Rick Bayless recipe.

Ingredients

• 1-1 1/2 lbs roma tomatoes
• 2-3 jalepeno salsas
• 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 Tbl apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• salt
• water

Procedure

1. Place tomatoes and chiles on a sheet pan and place under a broiler. Broil until skins are charred and tomatoes and chiles are soft and freely giving their juices. Rotate the tomatoes and chiles to cook all sides evenly.
2. While the tomatoes and chiles are under the broiler, place the onion slices and garlic cloves in a cast iron skillet, or a griddle over medium heat. Cook until the onion is soft and the cloves are soft and the skins are brown or black. Peel the garlic.
3. Place the chiles, onion, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until medium chop. Add the tomatoes and all the accumulated juices. Pulse until combined.
4. Add cilantro, and pulse until chopped.
5. Add water until the salsas the consistency that you like. It will thicken as it cools, so runny is good.
6. Season with the vinegar and add salt to taste, usually about a teaspoon or more.
7. Put in a bowl or jar and cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

This one is from Rick Bayless. Serve with white rice and some fresh avocado, and you have a wonderful meal in minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 Can (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice (preferably fire-roasted), drained
• 3 chipotle chiles, canned en adobo
• 1 Tbs chipotle canning sauce
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 3 Garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped OR crushed through a garlic press
• 1½ Cups Fish OR chicken broth OR water
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 lbs medium-large shrimp (21 to 25 shrimp per pound), peeled and deveined, tail left on if desired
• ¼ cup loosely packed,roughly chopped cilantro, for garnish

Procedure

Pour drained tomatoes into a blender or food processor.  Add chipotle chiles and chipotle canning sauce. Process until smooth.  In a very large (12-inch) skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add garlic and stir until fragrant and golden, about 1 minute. Pour in tomato mixture.  Cook, stirring frequently, 5 minutes to allow flavors to meld and reduce to the consistency of tomato paste.  Add enough broth or water to achieve a light tomato sauce consistency. Taste and season highly with salt, usually about 1 teaspoon. Add shrimp to pan. Cook, stirring nearly constantly, until shrimp are cooked through, about 4 minutes. Stir in a little more broth or water if sauce has thickened too much. Scoop onto dinner plates and sprinkle with cilantro.

Servings: 3