Chilli Verde Sauce

With the rest of the 6 hour pork roast I made green chilli. Over the summer I grew tomatillos in the garden, a kind of Mexican vegetable, which looks a bit like a tomato but tastes completely different. Last year these failed dismally, this year they took over! I have so many I've been making them into everything under the sun.

The recipe below is the one I used, but my pork was already cooked and shredded and so I added it, along with some corn and beans, to the sauce and cooked for 5-10 mins as the recipe suggests. I also did that heinous thing of buying a tin of cheap baked beans, washing off the sauce and using just the beans. I was only cooking for me, and supermarkets only sell cannellini beans in 400g tins, 3/4 of which I would waste, so this was a much cheaper option. It was delicious.

Chilli Verde Sauce (from Full Circle)

700g fresh tomatillos, husked, washed and halved

1 large onion, quartered

3 green chillis, Anaheim or Poblanos, seeded and halved

4 cloves garlic

salt and pepper

1/4 tsp dried oregano

125ml chicken or vegetable stock

1/4 tsp sugar

 

Preheat the oven to 200C.

 

Place the tomatillos in a roasting tin with the onion, chillis, and garlic. Bake for 45 mins to 1 hour, or until onion is beginning to brown and chilis are soft. Leave to cool.

 

Transfer the tomatillos, onions, chilies and garlic to a blender and add the salt, pepper, oregano, sugar and stock, blend until smooth.

 

If you are serving with meats, pork shoulder or chicken thighs, cut the meat into bite size pieces, cook in the oil until browned, then add the sauce and simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours, or until tender.

 

Otherwise, return the sauce to a hot, lightly oiled pan and cook for 5- 10 minutes over a medium heat. Season to taste, garnish with coriander and serve over rice and beans.