Photo: Savory and Sweet Pork Stew with Ancho Chiles Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion, sliced
- Juice of 2 limes
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 5 or 6 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup blanched whole almonds
- 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, grated or made into a paste
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- Handful of raisins
- 2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into bite-size cubes
- About 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2 large bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 12 flour or corn tortillas
- Queso fresco or Cotija cheese, crumbled
Directions
Separate the red onions into rings and place in a small plastic container. Dress with the lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Cover and store in the refrigerator.
Place the ancho chiles in a pot and cover with the chicken stock. Turn on the heat and warm the stock to reconstitute the chiles, 10 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven, toast the almonds and peanuts over medium heat until browned. Transfer the nuts to a food processor. Reserve the pot. Add the ancho chiles with the stock to the food processor along with the cocoa powder, cloves, garlic, yellow onions and raisins. Season with salt and pepper. Puree until smooth. (You may need to do this in two batches.)
Pat the pork dry and heat a thin layer of oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper, then brown in two batches, adding more oil between batches as needed. Return all the pork to the pot and pour the ancho sauce over it. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the pork is very tender, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 1/2 hours (depending on how large you cubed the meat).
Warm or char the tortillas. Serve the stew with the lime-pickled onions, crumbled cheese and the tortillas.
Cook's Note: If you are not serving the pork immediately, cool and store it in the refrigerator. Reheat over medium heat.
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By eagerbeaver19
on January 20, 2013
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Wow, really good. I used pork loin also, which was very easy and delicious. Such a different flavor. The onions are a must, though, which adds a wonderful tang. We used with flour tortillas and sliced avocado. Will do again
By Heather U.
Beverly, MA
on November 15, 2012
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Yum, this was really great! I love the smoky, earthy taste and using pork tenderloin worked out great. I made a couple of other substitutions to use ingredients I had on hand too: I used 1/2 cup of brazil nut butter instead of almonds and peanuts, and a mix of ancho and regular chile powders instead of the actual ancho chiles. Before refrigerating in make-ahead fashion, I added two large raw russet potatoes and 3 carrots, both chopped in big chunks. The night we ate it, we brought the pot to a bubble on the stove top and then simmered on low for an hour until the potatoes and carrots were cooked. So good. And I'm eating leftovers for lunch right now and it's even better.
By agreer
on November 05, 2012
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so, we don't usually eat anything like this, but we were looking for a change and something different. don't usually eat a lot of pork (never cooked it like this and never had a peanut based sauce. i only had regular cocoa powder - not dark chocolate. all i could taste was peanut in this dish - very earthy. maybe not enough anchos or raisins?? my husband surprisingly didn't think it was that bad. i was shocked - he's a meat and potatoes guy. i definitely thought it was better as a whole dish - the pickled onions, cilantro and cojita were welcomed additions to this dish...lightened the earthiness. it wasn't terrible, but probably wouldn't make it again.
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