Green Chile Pork

We had a wee bit of snow last evening, which I was secretly hoping would lead to one of those classic snow days, where commerce would come to grinding halt, and I would snuggle in for the duration, with the woodstove cranking, and a big pot of deliciousness simmering on the back burner. Alas, the much feared BIG! storm of 2008 turned out to be an anemic one at best, and so commerce pushes forward, and sadly, so do I. I did, however, stock up on groceries in anticipation of a potential blizzard, and so right now the house is filled to the rafters with the scent of cumin, and chiles, and garlic, and goodness. Inspired by the pork taquito's I dug into this past Saturday at Dos Camino's on Park and 26th, I've got a stew of green chiles, and pork simmering away in my slow cooker, just waiting to be tucked into flour tortilla's, and cooled off with a spoonful of sour cream, come dinnertime.

This is one of those recipes that gets even better the next day, so if you're ambitious, make it the day before, then simply reheat when you're ready for a belly full of yum.

Green Chile Pork
1 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds boneless pork, cubed
1 yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup chicken broth
4.5 ounce can chopped green chiles
14.5 oz can diced or stewed tomatoes
1/2 jalapeno, or hot red pepper, seeded and chopped (optional...only if you prefer extra spicy)
Salt + Pepper, to taste
Warm tortilla's (flour or corn), or rice, or cornbread (optional)

Heat oil in a wok or heavy skillet on high heat, then cook pork in batches, until browned on all sides. Remove pork with a slotted spoon and place in crockpot, then saute onions and garlic in the wok/skillet until tender. Add onions and garlic to crockpot, then mix in cumin, chicken broth, chiles, tomatoes. Simmer on low heat for 6-8 hours, or until meat is very tender. Season with salt and pepper. When ready to serve, spoon over white rice, or tuck into warm flour or corn tortillas and top with salsa and/or sour cream. Or, just serve in a big bowl with a wedge of cornbread on the side.

P.S. By all means, feel free to cook this on your stovetop. Just simmer on low heat in a heavy stockpot or dutch oven, until pork is tender (approximately 3-4 hours).

Serves 4