Rhea's Rundown
This tomatillo chili is the perfect hearty dish for the winter. It’s a sensational amalgamation of flavors including oregano, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, and cilantro. The pork falls apart just as you would expect in a slow-cooker meal. I found everything I needed at Whole Foods. The prep work is not quite as much as the Thai-Style Chicken Soup, but will require a food processor. Husking the tomatillos is the most tedious task involved. For some reason the husk can become sticky and make the process even more tedious, which is why a good rinsing is called for.
Next, there’s a little roasting. This might be weird, but there’s something very enjoyable about roasting things in the oven to me. I think it’s because it opens up the all smells from the ingredients involved and gives the roasted items a nice amount of owning. In this case, the roasted tomatillos, onions, and garlic tossed in oregano, cumin, cloves, and cinnamon filled the house with an amazing potpourri. After the roasted items have been processed all that’s left is mincing the poblanos and cutting the pork, prep work wise. After that, you can throw everything in the slow cooker and let it work its magic. The chili only requires seasonings afterwards.
Ingredients – Serves 8 to 10
- 1 ½ pounds tomatillos (16-20 medium), husks and stems removed, rinsed well, dried, and halved
- 1 onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Pinch ground cloves
- Pinch ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 (15-ounce) cans white or yellow hominy, drained and rinsed
- 2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken oth
- 3 poblano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced
- 3 tablespoons Minute tapioca
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 (4-pound) boneless pork butt roast, trimmed and cut into 1 ½-inch chunks
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ cups minced fresh cilantro
Directions
1. Position oven rack 6 inches from oiler element and heat oiler. Toss tomatillos, onions, garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves, and cinnamon with oil and spread onto aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Broil until vegetables are blackened and begin to soften, 5 to 10 minutes, rotating pan halfway through oiling.
2. Let vegetables cool slightly. Pulse vegetables with accumulated juice in food processor until almost smooth, about 10 pulses; transfer to slow cooker.
3. Stir hominy, oth, poblanos, tapioca, sugar, and bay leaves into slow cooker. Season pork with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker. Cover and cook until pork is tender, 9 to 11 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high.
4. Let chili settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon. Discard bay leaves. Stir in cilantro, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
Adapted from: “Tomatillo Chili with Pork and Hominy.” Slow Cooker Revolution. Boston Common Press Limited Partnership. 2011. Print.
Rhea Torreon
