A Stew Fit for Two Misfits
Chile Verde with Purslane:
the sliminess would be absorbed, dispersed and covered up by the textures and flavors of this fragrant stew, and its earthy, slightly bitter flavor might offset the sweetness of the stew. Indeed, the purslane improved the verde, which can otherwise border on too sweet if you aren’t careful.
To be clear, you don’t need to go hunting through some vacant lot for purslane just to cook this dish. With or without the world’s
This stew is hands-down the best thing to make with tomatillos. It’s a meaty whirl of aromas and flavors, with enough sour sweetness to balance the pork, and enough heat and bitterness to counter the sweetness. Serves 8
Ingredients Chile Verde with Purslane
2 lbs pork — (Something tough and marbled like stew meat, shoulder (aka butt), countrystyle ribs or even uncured belly if it’s not too fatty)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, minced
1 tablespoon whole coriander seed
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon garlic powder
½ pound sliced apple
4 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 lb tomatillos, cut into quarters
2 cups of chopped chile peppers (the greater the variety the better; I like a mix of red, green, hot, mild, fresh, dried, thin and thick skins. Anything but bell or sweet peppers.)
Salt and pepper
1 cup lager beer, such as Pacifico
1 cup purslane, if available, cleaned and chopped healthiest weed, chile verde is definitely the thing to make with tomatillos. Its tartness penetrates the meat, tendering and imbuing it with flavor. If you aren’t a pork eater you can substitute pinto beans to balance the sour, spicy sweetness of chile verde.
My recipe includes apples, because everyone knows they go with pork, and create a redundant complexity with the tomatillos.
Cut the pork into inch-cubes (if using ribs, cut the meat off but include the bones to flavor the stew). Heat the oil in an oven-safe dish with a tight-fitting lid, and then add the pork. Cook on the stovetop, over medium heat, until brown and tender. Add olive oil if the pork isn’t fatty enough.
When the pork is cooked, add the spices and onions, and stir it together. When the onions become transparent, add the tomatillos, apples, garlic, peppers and two cups of water. Add the beer and cook on low with the lid on for one hour. (Alternatively, for a smoother sauce, blend the tomatillos, apple, garlic and peppers until smooth, and add that. You can also blend half of these ingredients and leave the other half chunky.)
Season with salt and pepper, and possibly more cumin. When the flavor is right, spoon it into bowls, accompanied with rice, beans and tortilla chips if you want to be all proper, and garnish with purslane.
San Pedro will soon be host to an important documentary on the problems with California’s watershed areas and how to fix them, California’s Watershed Healing.A
special screening will be held at 4 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Warner Grand Theatre in downtown San Pedro. Audiences will be enlightened about the conditions of Southern California’s forests and watersheds and how to heal them.
The National Integrated Drought Information System or NDIS reports that 99.76% of California is experiencing moderate exceptional drought and 43.2% of California is in extreme to exceptional drought. NIDIS is a multi-agency partnership that coordinates drought monitoring, forecasting, planning and information at national, state, and local levels across the country.
In the midst of this ongoing shortage of water, activist, director and executive producer Jim Thebaut’s latest documentary goes beyond reporting the dark, dangerous state of the world’s environment to, rather, focus on reasonable solutions.
Thebaut is the president and founder of The Chronicles Group. The international nonprofit prides itself on “tak(ing) an aggressive, issueand-solution-based approach to documenting these wide-ranging and urgent challenges humankind is facing.”
This latest work is the sequel to Thebaut’s documentary, Beyond The Brink California’s Watershed, which aired on PBS It explained watersheds, their vital importance and the serious environmental problems they are facing.
Thebault says this about
Watershed Healing:
“Water Utilities and the Sanitation District within the LA region have recognized the reality that imported water from Northern California and the Colorado River will soon be unavailable. (The reasons transcend drought, climate crisis, population growth and lack of adequate infrastructure and regional planning).
“[This] screening encompasses the Sanitation District, WRD, Metropolitan Water District, LADWP, West Basin and other Southern California utilities collaborating to implement water reuse with the objective of complete water independence.
“It’s a unique, historical, and a great, inspirational story.”
Water utility companies rarely step up and sponsor events like this screening and discussion that Thebaut and his colleagues have arranged. That is a testament to how important this documentary is to all Southern Californians.
California’s Watershed Healing has garnered praise from a number of sources.
California’s