Chile Verde

Posted on by

A cheap, simple and easy crowd-pleaser, green chili is a versatile family favorite with lots of great uses for left overs.

  • Ingredients:
  • 1 large Pork Butt or Shoulder
  • 1 jar of Salsa Verde ( Rick Bayless’ Frontera is a good, spicy one)
  • 2 large onions
  • 1 qt Chicken Broth
  • 1 tbsp Cumin
  • 1 tbsp Coriander
  • 1 tbsp Onions Powder
  • 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tsp Oregano (Mexican if you can find it)
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Remove skin and cut meat off the bone. Cube pork into 1/2′ to 3/4″ chunks and sear in small batches in a large dutch oven like a Le Creuset. Season with S&P. Add dried spices and continue cooking for about 5 more minutes to bring out the flavors. Add diced onions, chicken broth and salsa verde. Bring to a boil then reduce to the lowest simmer. Cover tightly and cook for about 2 hours until the pork is fall apart tender.

Serve with rice and garnish with sliced avocado, chopped cilantro, lime wedge, sour cream and a couple of fresh soft corn tortillas.

Use left overs to make Huevos Rancheros for breakfast. Poach the eggs directly in the chile and serve over English Muffins or tortillas. Or stuff a burrito with left over rice and meat from the chile then smother with sauce and sprinkled cheese over the top and nuke for a few minutes. 

Note:

If you want a more authentic Chile verde, use fresh roasted tomatillos, lots of cilantro and roasted Anaheim Chilies.

White Bolognese

Posted on by

An unusual twist on a classic Bolognese Sauce.

This recipe comes from our distant cousins in Bologna with a little help from Chef Marco Canora (http://marcocanora.com/about/bio.php) who taught me pretty much everything I know about cooking one long summer on Martha’s Vineyard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Start with 2lbs ground meat – pork, veal, turkey – anything that’s light. 2 Onions, 2 Stalks of celery and 2 Carrots. Rough chop veg and then puree in a cuisinart.

 

 

 

 

 

Fry this is 1/2 cup of olive oil over medium heat until it starts to stick to the pan and eventually turns golden mahogany brown. This is called Soffrito and is the basis of many great Italian Sauces. The darker the soffrito, the richer the sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add the meat and lightly brown. Season with salt & pepper and 1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg. Add 4 cups light chicken broth and gently simmer for at least an hour. At this point you can add crushed tomatoes to make a Red Bolognese Sauce or 1 Quart Heavy Cream to make White Bolognese. Reduce by at least half to make perfect creamy consistency. Serve tossed with home made Gnocchi (recipe coming soon), garnished with grated Parmigiano Reggiano, a hint of Grated Lemon Zest and Chopped Parsley. 

    

 

 

 

 

Octopus Carpaccio

Posted on by

This is truly amazing

P1020198

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had our friends, The Lorizio’s, over for dinner and I wanted to try something new and different to raise the bar.

I’ve wanted to work more with octopus and demystify ways in which it is prepared.

The recipe that follows is easy, fool proof and mind-blowing.

Octopus

 

The hardest part is finding fresh, whole octopus. Asian markets, like Kam Man here in Boston, or Restaurant Depot have a great selection of unusual seafood.

So – start with 1 or 2 large-ish octopus (octopi??) 2 to 3 pounds each.

Youtube the best way to clean a whole octopus…it really just involves cutting out the eyes and beak.

Set up a large pot of boiling water with aromatics – onion, garlic, celery, carrot, bay leaf, splash of vinegar. When boiling, dip the tentacles in and out of water 5 or 6 times to make them curl up tight, then submerge octopus, turn down heat to medium/low and simmer for 45-60 minutes depending on the size.

Remove octopus and drain water. Meanwhile, find an old 2 liter soda bottle,  cut off the top and prick some holes in the bottom. Cut octopus into 4 pieces and arrange inside soda bottle. Put a sheet of plastic wrap over the top press down with a can of something. Leave refrigerated for no less than 6 hours weighted as much as possible. 

 

P1020156 P1020157

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remove from the soda bottle and slice as this as possible.

P1020160 P1020159

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dress with olive oil, lemon juice, sliced onion, fresh parsley, crushed red pepper and S&P.

P1020171 P1020178 P1020180 P1020188 P1020189 P1020192 P1020198