She's back: Annalena spice makes pork with green chiles

Well, let us say simply that Annalena has been having summer overload.  I suspect many of her ragazzi have as well.  We had the summer olympic games, we had what seemed like interminable heat, and so many other things.  Annalena hopes, however, that  you all knew that , somewhat like Arnold , but not really, Annalena  "would be back."  And here she is. 

During her time away, Annalena was busy cooking.  And she has a number of truly interesting, delicious newbies for you all to try.  Many of them have more spice , or different spices , than you are used to seeing Annalena use.  Here is one of them.   As with the dishes that will be coming (with the exception of the desserts), it is a fast, easy one. 

Annalena was inspired to make this, by memories of her childhood.  Nana was very fond of peppers, so at home,  Annalena and her sibs ate them a lot. With veal.  In eggs.  Stuffed.  It did seem that the family ate peppers at least once or twice a week.  Indeed, when one looks at the cooking of Basilicata, which is the region from which the Annalena clan comes, peppers, both sweet and hot, play a very important role.  The climate, the lay of the land, and so many other things, contribute to this.  To this day, Annalena is a fan of peppers .  Now, however, she uses the peppers of many different regions, not just the sweet ones, which her Nana called "frying peppers," and which are properly called "cubanelles," and the bell pepers , but also the hot peppers of Mexican and Asian cooking. 

Pork and peppers is a very natural combination.  There is an inherent sweetness to pork that plays off nicely against the brassiness of green peppers, as well as the sweetness of red ones.  Here, we will be using green ones.  In Annalena's version, she used wild boar.  You can use that, or pork, or if you have it, veal.  Lamb would probably be not a good choice here, but if you are so inclined, go for it.

You start witgh 2-2.5 pounds of boneless shoulder meat.  If it comes from boar, you are probably going to have a very solid layer of fat on top of it.  Cut that away.  Do the same thing if you have it on pork.  The meat is fatty enough such that you don't need this, else your stew is going to be swimming in the rendered fat.  That is something you do NOT want.    If your butcher or vendor has cubed it for you, you will not need to do this; however, if you buy the meat in one large piece, and you are going to cube it yourself, chances are, you will have to rid yourself of that. 

Ok, so you have the meat, cubed.  Make solid cubes.  Let us say about 1x1x1.  Put them aside, after you've salted and peppered them, as you prepare the vegetables.  The first couple are easy: you need a large onion, which you peel, quarter, and slice.  You also need six garlic cloves, which you slice  rather than dice.  Put that in with the onions, because as we will see, everything goes in together in this dish.  Also, get yourself 2 cups of chicken stock.   

Now, let's go to the peppers.  You need a pound of them, and you also need a few (FEW) hot chilis.  For the pound of peppers, you want green ones.  Poblanos are called for here, or Anaheims.  Annalena warns you :  poblanos are not without heat, and within poblanos, some are hotter than others.  You can devein them, and wash out the seeds, but you will still have heat.  Anaheims are much milder.  If you have a good tolerance for heat, by all means, use the poblanos.  If you do not, use the anaheims or even bell peppers.  Clean the peppers, and then cut them into thin slices, and again, put them together with the other vegetables.

Now, the final ingredient:  the hot peppers.  Ragazzi, whenever you are going to add hot peppers to a dish, you must do something ahead of time.  YOU MUST TASTE THE PEPPERS.  If, as was the case with Annalena , you are using a pepper with which you are not familiar, you need to be able to gauge the heat that it will impart.  Annalena was using a specimen called a "Portuguese" chili, and it was blistering.  Use serranos if you like a strong heat,  jalapenos if you like a milder one.  As with all hot peppers, if you really are worried about heat, get the veins out .  You may also want to wear gloves or otherwise protect your hands, especially if you wear contact lenses.

Annalena speaks from experience here.  Keep in mind that the heat from peppers comes from oils, and water will not remove it. 

Anyway, three hot peppers of some type, is more than enough.  Cut it back if you are so inclined, and again, put em with the other vegetables.

Now, let's get to work cooking.  If prepping the veggies took you fifteen minutes, dinner will be on the table in an hour.    Pour a quarter cup of olive oil into a pot, and get it hot enough to the point where it begins to ripple (Lest anyone start saying ALL THAT FAT:  if Annalena told you four tablespoons, you wouldn't blanch. That's a quarter cup).    Add the pork cubes.  Let them cook for about five minutes and stir them around and let them cook about five mintues more.    You'll get some browning, and that's all you want.

Now, add all the veggies, and stir. When they soften, add the chicken stock.  Put the cover on the pot, lower the heat, and go away for about thirty minutes.    Come back, and check for tenderness.  If it's tender enough for you, take the lid off, raise the heat, and reduce the liquid by half.  If not, cover the pot, and come back and test again in ten minutes.  And so on.  Test for salt, adjust... and you've got dinner.  Probably enough for six people, or four farmers. 

Not too hard, huh?  Annalena cooked this up with hominy, but rice, tortillas, or even mashed potatoes would be nice too. 

And so it begins, ragazzi.  Check your spice rack, because you're going to be heading toward it a lot, in days to come, if you cook along with Annalena