Recently our local grocery store began selling New Mexican Hatch chiles, something I have been wanting for many, many years. Granted I have made plenty of chili over the last ten years or so, but I have always been wanting the Hatch chili. To me, it is a bit like any other. I remember it clearly when we vacationed in New Mexico back in high school. The Hatch chili is crisp, spicy, and offers an awesome brightness. So when I found out the grocery store was finally selling these, I was bound and determined to make some real New Mexico style Hatch green chile with pork.
This chili is not only easy to make, yields a ton, and has plenty for leftovers, but it was one that had just that right amount of heat.
Hatch Chili Pork Recipe
Let’s get started.
Ingredients:
3 lbs pork shoulder, fat trimmed, cut into cubes
1 lb New Mexican Hatch Green Chiles, lightly oiled
Charcoal fire or broiler
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp salt, more to taste
1 tbsp cracked black pepper
3 tbsp canola oil
6 large tomatillos, husks removed
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, washed
That’s it. Simple ingredients.
Start by charring your Hatch chilies. I do this on my grill, flipping when the chilies get nice and charred, and softened. Once softened and charred, remove the chilies and place them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap or plastic zip lock bag, allowing them to steam, and ensuring that the exterior skin is easily removed.
After about 10 minutes, remove the chilies, and peel away the exterior charred skin. Cut off the top stem, and remove the seeds from the inside of the chilies. Discard the seeds, then roughly chop the Hatch chilies. Set them to the side.
Hatch Green Chili Pork Ingredients
Next, take your onion, cilantro, tomatillos, Hatch chilies and garlic and add them to a food processor. Pulse down until you have a smooth sauce.
Season the cubed pork with salt and pepper, then heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Once heated, add in the canola oil, then add the pork in batches. Your goal is to get a nice sear on the exterior of the cubed pork shoulder. Turn the pork to get all sides nice and seared. Once seared, remove to a bowl, and repeat with the remaining pork.
To a slow cooker (please feel free) or large pot, add the pork, as well as the onion mixture. Cook low and slow until the pork is super tender. I did mine in a slow cooker for 8 hours (a perfect thing to do when you head to work).
When you are ready to serve, ladle the Hatch green chili pork into a serving bowl, get some warm tortillas or ladle over an easy cooked egg, and you are ready for a game changer. I added some cannellini beans towards the end of my cook process, but that is only optional.
I was blown away. Seriously. This chili was perfect. It had great heat, great citrus flavor, and screamed comfort all around. If you have access to Hatch chilies, try them. Now I am heading back to buy some more before they are all gone. Hope you enjoy!
It was not too long ago when fresh mussels were on sale at one of our local grocery stores. In the past, I typically would buy them frozen, then steam them but as they were fresh, I decided I would go all in. It was my kids last day of school, and I figured I would throw it out there and see if they would be keen on the idea of having them as an end of year celebration. Low and behold they did and I decided to buy a few pounds of mussels. What’s funny is that one of my pickiest of eaters (he’s getting much better) was stoked about eating them. So I arrived home, and got to work. At first I thought I would do a simple wine and butter sauce to steam the mussels in, but then I quickly turned my attention to making a killer Thai curry and coconut broth, introducing something a bit different to them. These Thai curry mussels had just the right amount of heat that did not distract from the flavor of the mussels, and my kid ate a ton of them.
Thai Curry Mussels
Let’s get started.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 can of Thai green curry paste
1 can of coconut milk
1 cup of water
3 lbs fresh mussels
Simple stuff here, and feel free to use other types of curry paste. I used the prik king curry paste from Maesri which is a spicy ginger style of curry paste, and one that I really like, but feel free to use their red or yellow paste if you have that in stock.
To a large pot, large enough to house the mussels, get the heat going on medium heat. Add the canola oil and bring it to a light smoke, only a couple of minutes, then add in the green curry paste. Stir, and cook for a couple of minutes. Next add in the coconut milk, and water, and stir to incorporate and break down the curry paste. Once this comes to a simmer, add in the mussels.
Make sure that all of the mussels are closed, and feel free to scrub off any exterior beard material from the mussels ahead of time should they not already be cleaned.
Thai Curry Mussels
Stir the mussels into the coconut curry mixture, then cover, and cook and steam the mussels until they all open up.
Please note, that any mussels that do not open up, then discard.
Once the mussels are all opened, pour the mussels and broth into a large serving bowl and dig in.
Feel free to serve these with some nice crusty bread, or spoon the broth over some cooked jasmine rice.
It was funny watching my oldest go to town on these. He could not stop eating them, and he loved the spice from the broth. These Thai curry mussels were a great way to end the school year that’s for certain. Hope you enjoy!
It has been weird in some ways not sharing a weekly recipe creation with all of you. Fortunately, however, my family was able to disconnect (well except for my kids and their darn devices) and take a week long road trip. Where you may ask? Tennessee, the whole state and wow was it a blast. I think, and I hope we got so much in during the week. I went down on a mission, a different one than my wife and probably kids for that matter, and that was to try some of the best barbecue and fried chicken I have ever had; hands down ever. In summary Rendezvous ribs and barbecue nachos, Gus’s Fried Chicken, Peg Leg Barbecue ribs (got the last rack and it was only noon (they opened at 11)), and Hatti B’s Nashville hot chicken. So with that said, I’m ready to share with you a great recipe, and one that has some heat to it, much like Hatti B’s!
Bicol Express is a Filipino dish that finally has some heat to it. Don’t get me wrong here, I love pretty much any Filipino dish that has come my way, but I’m always questioning in my mind ‘Do they not use any heat when cooking?’.
This is the perfect answer to that question. I love how the Filipino’s use vinegar, garlic, and lots of black pepper in some of their dishes, and that is right up my alley, but this recipe has me. It’s a stew with very simple ingredients. It’s comforting. It has the perfect heat, and is great served alongside rice.
Filipino Bicol Express Recipe
Let’s get started.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp oil
1 lb pork belly, cut into 2 inch cubes
4 tbsp roasted shrimp paste (this stuff stinks but brings such umami)
1 whole onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
14 fresh chilies (Thai Bird, Indian Green Chile, or Serrano) of your choice, stems removed, chiles sliced in half
2 cans of coconut milk
salt and pepper, to taste
cooked rice, optional
Start by heating a medium sized pot (you will cook everything in this pot) on medium heat, then add the oil. Once the oil comes to temperature, add in the cubed pork belly.
Cook the pork belly, turning along the way, until all sides become browned.
Once the pork is browned, add in the onions, garlic, and ginger. Give a good stir, and continue to cook for about 3 minutes or so.
Next add in the shrimp paste. Turn on your vent on high as this stuff has some funk (good funk), and continue to stir. Toss in the chilies, stir again, then add in the coconut milk.
How to make Filipino Bicol Express
Bring this to a simmer, and cook for about 1 hour, on low, stirring along the way.
Before serving, taste and season with any salt or pepper.
Now you are ready to dig in. I like to serve with a small bowl of rice to the side, along with a soup bowl of the Bicol Express. This dish is rich, creamy, spicy, funky, and overall totally comforting and right up my alley. Don’t be scared of the chiles as you can eat around them. The chilies overall bring that subtle heat to the dish overall, but if you are searching for a bit of that chili punch when eating, go ahead and bite into them! Hope you enjoy, and it’s great to be back!
This past weekend, I decided to clean out our cupboard as it was just getting littered by my kids. I think that when they make their lunch, they just toss things on the mid-shelf, not realizing that it just becomes cluttered and a complete mess. Upon organizing and putting things where they should be, I came across a bag of lentils, along with some red lentils that I had used in the past. I’m a total fan of lentils, as is my wife. Are you? There is something about them. The creaminess of them, and when cooked with awesome Indian spices, well things just get a whole lot better. As I had Indian food on my mind, and particularly butter chicken, I decided that I would take a spin on making Indian buttered lentils. These things were awesome!
Indian Buttered Lentils Recipe
This recipe uses an array of Indian spices, of which are cooked along a lot of caramelized onions, garlic, ginger, and then folded into cooked lentils, only to simmer longer making them nice and creamy.
Let’s get started.
1 cup of green lentils
1 cup of red lentils
7 cups of chicken stock
4 tbsp clarified butter
1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
1 medium sized red onion, diced
8 cloves of garlic, finely diced, almost into a paste
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely diced, almost into a paste
1 whole cinnamon stick
2 whole cardamom pods
3 Thai bird chilies (or serrano) kept whole
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp garam masala
1/2 tsp fenugreek
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp Spanish paprika
1/4 tsp coriander powder
generous pinch of salt, to taste
14 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
6 oz can of tomato paste
3/4 cup of half and half
5 tbsp unsalted butter
Warmed naan bread to serve
thinly sliced chili, optional
This is a bit of a process, but well worth it, trust me. My wife described it as everything comforting in her life in a bowl.
Start by adding the lentils to a medium sized bowl, and cover with water, about 2 inches above the lentils. You are going to let these soak overnight. The following day, strain and rinse the lentils. Place these into a medium sized pot, cover with the chicken stock, and bring them to a boil. Once they come to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover, cooking for about 1 hour.
During this time, make the Indian spice mixture.
How to make Indian Buttered Lentils
Start by making the clarified butter. To a non-stick, small skillet, add four tablespoons of unsalted butter. Cook this on medium heat. You will notice the butter begins to foam after awhile. Take a spoon and skim the foam, leaving as much butter in tact. Repeat this until all of the foam has removed. If you want, you can strain this through a cheese cloth, or if you are making a lot of it to be stored for later use, then you can refer to another way to make clarified butter.
Add the cinnamon stick to the lentils that are cooking, then cover again and continue to simmer.
Next, have your mise en place ready, as the rest will go fairly quick.
To a large skillet, add the clarified butter, and cook on medium heat. Add in the diced onions, and cook just until they begin to caramelize, lowering the heat if necessary as you do not want to burn the onions. This typically takes about 10-15 minutes or so.
Once the onions are browned, toss in the garlic and ginger, and cook until you get that awesome fragrance from the garlic.
Toss in the cardamom pods, chilies, garam masala, cumin, coriander, paprika, fenugreek, and bay leaf. Cook for a few minutes, getting those awesome oils from the Indian spices.
Yes, step back and smell your house. Lord I love that smell.
Indian Buttered Lentils Recipe
Remove from the heat, and place that mixture into a bowl. Now you can clean up a bit before the lentils are finished cooking.
About a hour into the lentils cooking, add the salt to the lentils, and the Indian spice mixture. Pour in the both cans of tomatoes and paste, give a good stir, cover, and continue to cook for about 30 minutes.
Now you are getting ready, and excited, to eat! A few minutes before serving, add in the half and half and and additional five tablespoons of butter. Let the butter completely melt in the lentils.
During this time, warm up your naan. Trust me, the naan is a great dipping tool.
Ladle a generous amount of the buttered lentils in a bowl, top with diced onion or chilies, if you desire, tear off some of the naan, and spoon in one hand, and naan in the other, get busy. Not only is this a super affordable meal, and one that makes a lot, it super delicious, comforting, and great for you to boot. Well, it does have butter, but what’s not to love about that? I hope you enjoy!
8 cloves of garlic, finely diced, almost into a paste
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely diced, almost into a paste
1 whole cinnamon stick
2 whole cardamom pods
3 Thai bird chilies (or serrano) kept whole
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp garam masala
½ tsp fenugreek
½ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp Spanish paprika
¼ tsp coriander powder
generous pinch of salt, to taste
14 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
6 oz can of tomato paste
¾ cup of half and half
5 tbsp unsalted butter
Warmed naan bread to serve
thinly sliced chili, optional
Instructions
This is a bit of a process, but well worth it, trust me. My wife described it as everything comforting in her life in a bowl.
Start by adding the lentils to a medium sized bowl, and cover with water, about 2 inches above the lentils. You are going to let these soak overnight. The following day, strain and rinse the lentils. Place these into a medium sized pot, cover with the chicken stock, and bring them to a boil. Once they come to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover, cooking for about 1 hour.
During this time, make the Indian spice mixture.
Start by making the clarified butter. To a non-stick, small skillet, add four tablespoons of unsalted butter. Cook this on medium heat. You will notice the butter begins to foam after awhile. Take a spoon and skim the foam, leaving as much butter in tact. Repeat this until all of the foam has removed. If you want, you can strain this through a cheese cloth, or if you are making a lot of it to be stored for later use, then you can refer to another way to make clarified butter.
Add the cinnamon stick to the lentils that are cooking, then cover again and continue to simmer.
Next, have your mise en place ready, as the rest will go fairly quick.
To a large skillet, add the clarified butter, and cook on medium heat. Add in the diced onions, and cook just until they begin to caramelize, lowering the heat if necessary as you do not want to burn the onions. This typically takes about 10-15 minutes or so.
Once the onions are browned, toss in the garlic and ginger, and cook until you get that awesome fragrance from the garlic.
Toss in the cardamom pods, chilies, garam masala, cumin, coriander, paprika, fenugreek, and bay leaf. Cook for a few minutes, getting those awesome oils from the Indian spices.
Yes, step back and smell your house. Lord I love that smell.
Remove from the heat, and place that mixture into a bowl. Now you can clean up a bit before the lentils are finished cooking.
About a hour into the lentils cooking, add the salt to the lentils, and the Indian spice mixture. Pour in the both cans of tomatoes and paste, give a good stir, cover, and continue to cook for about 30 minutes.
Now you are getting ready, and excited, to eat! A few minutes before serving, add in the half and half and and additional five tablespoons of butter. Let the butter completely melt in the lentils.
During this time, warm up your naan. Trust me, the naan is a great dipping tool.
Ladle a generous amount of the buttered lentils in a bowl, top with diced onion or chilies, if you desire, tear off some of the naan, and spoon in one hand, and naan in the other, get busy.
