CUBAN SHREDDED PORK

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork chops
* 1 pint water to cover
* 1 lime, juiced
* 1 sprig fresh thyme
* 8 black peppercorns
* 1 tablespoon garlic powder, or to taste
* 1 tablespoon onion powder
* salt to taste
*
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
* 3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
* 1 lime, juiced
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

In a large saucepan, combine water, juice of one lime, thyme sprig, peppercorns, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Bring mixture to a boil. Add pork chops, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until meat is very tender. Add more water as necessary to keep chops covered.

Turn off heat and let the chops rest in the broth for 30 minutes. Remove chops from broth and shred, removing excess fat; set aside.

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shredded pork and fry until it is almost crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the onion is just tender yet slightly crisp, about 10 minutes more. Add the juice of one lime, mix though and toss with cilantro. Serve and enjoy.

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THAI SPRING ROLLS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

1 pound pork tenderloin (500 g)

Garlic Marinade

3 tablespoons fish sauce (50 mL)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons honey (25 mL)
1 (5 ounce/150 g) package thin rice noodles,
softened in water and then drained
2 large carrots
1/2 cup fresh mint, shredded (125 mL)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, shredded (125 mL)
24 rice paper wrappers
1 small head Boston lettuce

Place pork on foil-lined baking sheet; brush on garlic marinade. Roast in oven for about 25 minutes or until pork is slightly pink inside. Let cool; cut into thin 1 1/2?inch long slices.

In large bowl, toss together pork, rice noodles, carrots, mint and cilantro.

Fill wide shallow pan with hot water and spread dish towel out on work surface. Dip rice wrapper into water for about 3 seconds, until softened, and place it in front of you on towel.

Place lettuce leaf on lower third of rice wrapper. Arrange 2 tablespoons (25 mL) of the noodle mixture on lettuce. Fold bottom edge over the filling, tucking in sides; roll up into a tight cylinder. Place roll on platter and cover with a damp towel to prevent from drying out. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

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CARNITAS

Carnitas is a very famous Mexican dish. It consists of braised pork and can be eaten by itself (and tortillas, a chili sauce) or as the filling in tamales, tacos and burritos (yuk). The pork is first simmered for a long time to make it really soft and then braised in the oven to make it crispy. Since the recipe is very simple and does not involve any chili sauces everyone likes carnitas. You can add the heat on your own as you eat it.

2 lb (16 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder
1 tablespoon chopped coriander (cilantro)
1 tablespoon cumin (comino)
Corn tortillas
2 bay leaves
1 onion, quartered
Chili sauce, such as Pico de gallo, chipotle or whatever you like

Pre-cooking: Cut the pork meat in chunks and discard big pieces of fat, leave some fat as it adds to the flavor. Chop the cilantro if you need to.

Cooking: Set tall frying pan over mid-high heat. Add the pork, cilantro, cumin, onion and broth. If necessary, add water so that the meat is covered. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3-4 hours or until the meat is very soft and pulls apart easily. Remove the meat and place it in a roasting pan, discarding the onion and broth, break apart the meat in smaller chunks. Bake for about 20 minutes at 450 degrees F, until the meat is brown and crispy.

Heat the tortillas and enjoy, you can serve it with your favorite chili sauce, chopped onions and cilantro.

Tips:

A pressure cooker really helps here. If you like making dishes like this one often you should consider the pressure cooker. It will cut cooking time to a half hour.

Heating tortillas on a microwave: To heat tortillas you can wrap them in a kitchen towel and put them inside a container. Microwave 15 seconds per tortilla.

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ROASTED PORK LOIN

Ingredients

* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
* salt and pepper to taste
* 2 pounds boneless pork loin roast
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/2 cup white wine

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Crush garlic with rosemary, salt and pepper, making a paste. Pierce meat with a sharp knife in several places and press the garlic paste into the openings. Rub the meat with the remaining garlic mixture and olive oil. Place pork loin into oven, turning and basting with pan liquids. Cook until the pork is no longer pink in the center, about 2 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Remove roast to a platter. Heat the wine in the pan and stir to loosen browned bits of food on the bottom. Serve with pan juices.

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PORK GREEN CHILE ENCHILADAS

Servings: 6

2 fresh chiles
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
1 1/4 cup chopped onion, divided
4 mini-tomatoes, husked, rinsed, quartered
1 jalapeño chile, seeded, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup sour cream
12 flour tortillas
Pork green Chile , chilled (see recipe)
2 1/4 cups shredded asadero cheese
2 plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped

Char Anaheim chiles over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in plastic bag 10 minutes. Peel, seed and coarsely chop chiles. Combine broth, 1/2 cup onion, tomatillos, jalapeño and garlic in medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until liquid is reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
Transfer to blender. Add Anaheim chiles, cilantro and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Transfer to bowl. Whisk in sour cream. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover, then chill.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 15 x 10 x 2-inch baking dish.

Place 6 tortillas between 2 damp paper towels. Cook in microwave on HIGH until warm, about 1 minute.

Working with 1 warm tortilla at a time, dip tortillas into sauce; shake excess sauce back into bowl. Place tortillas on work surface. Spoon scant 1/4 cup Pork Chile Verde, 2 tablespoons cheese and 1 tablespoon onion down center of each. Roll up tortillas. Arrange enchiladas, seam side down, in prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining 6 tortillas. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover enchiladas, remaining sauce and separately. Chill.)

Top enchiladas with remaining sauce, then cheese. Bake enchiladas uncovered until heated through, about 20 minutes (or 30 minutes if enchiladas have been refrigerated). Sprinkle tomatoes over and serve.

Pork green Chile (sause)

8 fresh chiles
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 pounds trimmed boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cups (or more) water

Char Anaheim chiles over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in plastic bag 10 minutes. Peel, seed and chop chiles. Stir cumin seeds in heavy small skillet over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Transfer to spice grinder; process until finely ground. Set aside. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion; saut? 3 minutes. Add pork; cook until juices evaporate and meat browns, stirring often, about 20 minutes.

Add chiles, cumin and garlic. Saut? 5 minutes. Add 4 cups water. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat until meat is very tender and sauce just coats meat, about 1 hour. If necessary, increase heat and continue to simmer until sauce is reduced and just coats meat. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm over medium heat, adding 1/2 cup water to loosen mixture if necessary.)

Yield: about 4 cups

This can also be used in burritos or tacos.

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