Thanks for the help yesterday. My attempt to create something newish turned out great! Roasted Green Chile & Pistachio Mole over Pork (garnished with roasted pumpkin seeds, cilantro, and queso fresco) with Tomato Saffron Rice and Guacamole.

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1. 

   ronearc 3 years ago

   I set off yesterday trying to make something new that was inspired by Pork Chile Verde, Mole Verde, Mole Poblano, and Pistachio Mole, and I think I succeeded. 🙂

   It was pretty involved, but I like how it turned out. I could only get canned crushed tomatillos, so I had to figure out how to work around that.

   I started out by roasting 3 Anaheim and 3 Poblano peppers at the same time that I charred two onions I’d quartered. Once those things were out of the oven, I switched from broil to bake at 375 °F and roasted a head of garlic.

   The roasted peppers had their skin removed, and I chopped off the root from the onion quarters and those things went in a blender with the canned tomatillo, and I blended the heck out of it.

   I then moved that to a Dutch Oven where I added the juice of two limes and all of the roasted garlic along with Mexican Oregano and two packets of Sazon Goya (Culantro y Achiote).

   I reduced it for about 45 minutes on low. I had to use a spatter screen. It was so thick already it just kept bursting in large bubbles that were making a mess, heh.

   I’d hoped to keep the green color, but it became brownish green at this stage, but oh well. Some of my favorite foods are ugly af (like Lamb Saag).

   The reduced sauce went back into a blender with two handfuls of roasted, salted pistachios, a big handful of roasted, salted pumpkin seeds, and an entire bunch of cilantro.

   I then blended the heck out of it again.

   The pork I’d cooked a few days earlier in the Instant Pot with just onions and garlic, to the point where it was somewhat tender but not quite falling apart. It had been in the fridge where the fat had risen to the top.

   I spooned off most of that fat and melted it in the Dutch Oven, added an appropriate amount of ap flour and made a roux. The ingredients of the blender and the pork with all of its juices then went into the Dutch Oven along with a couple of cups of chicken broth. (Before emptying it from the blender, while it was still vegetarian, I set some aside in a small container for a friend who’s vegetarian).

   I added some toasted cumin seed that I’d just ground up in my molcajete, along with MSG and a tablespoon of Asian Fish Sauce for an umami bomb.

   I then put it in a 250 °F oven for an hour for the flavors to get happy together. I left the lid cracked so it could reduce just a bit more.

   I added salt at the very end, to taste, and I’m very happy with the final result.

   Thank you again.