Sunday, March 30, 2003


pizza crisis day two

the flour did not arrive. and thus we here at bccy faced a profound crisis: mr. right wanted his pizza!

instead, i offered a dish from the beloved kuhn rikon pressure cooker, a little southwestern thing i call carne apodaca, after a house i used to love on apodaca hill in santa fe. serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, guacamole, and whole-wheat flour tortillas.

if you plan to make this, you can soak the dry beans and posole (a.k.a. hominy) overnight -- but i understand most people are too busy on the weekends to really plan. hey, use canned, i won't judge you! so ok, you don't have to make your own tortillas, either!

2 lbs. pork butt, cubed
1 cup dried pinto beans, soaked or 1 can pinto beans (i like to use organic beans, personally)
1 cup dried posole, soaked or 1 can posole (i can't find organic posole anywhere)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
15 oz. can organic tomatoes
3 medium organic zucchini
3 ears fresh corn, shaved or 1 pkg. frozen organic corn
1 large green pepper, diced
2 cups water or stock
3 - 6 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed, to taste
2 teaspoons - 1-1/2 tablespoons ground cumin, preferably freshly toasted in a skillet and then ground yourself
1 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon mexican oregano (worth seeking out, big difference, esp. with the posole)
1 - 2 teaspoons dried sage
2 large bay leaves
1 teaspoon -1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon -1 tablespoon new mexican mild chimayo chile powder
1/2 - 1 teaspoon chipotle powder or cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

in the kuhn rikon, saute the onions in the oil about 5-6 mins. until golden. saute the pork until no pink shows, about 3 mins. add the chili, 1/2 the cumin, the bay leaves, the bell pepper, the stock or water, and the dried beans and hominy, if using.

cook at high pressure 10 mins. let the pressure come down naturally for 5-10 mins. remove the lid, replace the pot on the stove. check to make sure the beans are done; the posole should be soft, but have a little chew at the center. if they're not done, simmer until the beans are right.

add all the remaining ingredients -- if you're using canned beans and posole, add them now -- except for the corn, if you're using frozen, and the fresh cilantro. simmer for about 6 mins. until the zucchini is just still a little crisp, then add the frozen corn. you want the corn and zucchini to be a little crisp for a contrast of texture. stir half the cilantro into the dish just before serving, and taste to see if you want more salt, more cumin, more chile, etc. sprinkle the rest of the cilantro over the top just before serving as a garnish.

all done. yummy! the pork is tender enough to cut with a spoon. . .

posted by fortune | 7:12 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments