Chilli Verde

It’s been quite a while since I’ve made something new and creative so I’ve not done much posting to the Druber blog. I’ve done several really nice breads and some great sea food dishes and some pastas and risottos, but nothing that isn’t a variation of stuff already posted, but this chilli – this was inspired.  I’ve made it twice just to make sure I got it right.  Neither Kathy or I have had anything quite like it so, I figure it’s blog worthy.

I got the idea from watching a chili cook off on one of the Food Shows.  Everyone was making tomato and beef and red bean based chilli with variations on the spices, but nothing variable on the the tomato and beans – so while I was out on a long training ride  – which is where most of my inspiration hits, I guess hunger is the mother of cuisine – I got wondering – what if I made a chilli soup that was all green with white beans?  Along the way, I decided to fortify it with some pearl barley and viola!  Here you go.  Hope you find it as good as we did.

In a large stock pot combine

8 cups chicken stock

12 medium to large tomatillos, peeled and rinsed

2 4-5 inch Serrano chilies with seeds and most of the pith removed – leave more pith to increase the heat.

6 gloves of garlic

Bring this to a boil for 3 minutes then simmer until the tomatillos are completely cooked through.

At this point  you can take two paths.  You can use a stick blender to mix everything until smooth or you can take a masher to it and give the tomatillos a more coarse texture.  I prefer the former as it completely integrates the garlic and Serrano flavors.  If you’re going to mash the tomatillos, I find it better to mince the garlic and finely chop the peppers to avoid leaving yourself with larger  bits of those in your soup.

Add to this

1 large onion chopped semi course – about 1cm pieces

6 sticks of celery cut into 1 cm pieces

Juice of two fresh limes

24 oz of chicken breast cut into 2cm cubes (shredded chicken would be good for this as well)

1 cup of Pearl Barley

24 oz of mini white beans – I have no preference for this soup if you use high quality drained, canned beans or beans you’ve soaked overnight.  If you use soaked, beans you’ll need to par boil them so they’re nearly done before adding to the soup

1 cup of chopped green onion, cut into .5cm pieces stopping at the white

2 T. Garlic Salt

2 T Onion Powder

2 T Ground Cumin

Simmer this for at least two hours.  Serve garnished with broken tostadas and fresh cilantro leaves.   This get’s better  the longer it sits so if you want to cook and refrigerate it overnight to serve the next day, your patience will be rewarded

Citrus Roasted Pork Loin over Pearl Barley

Some times I even impress my own damn self. I did this with a 2 lb pork loin but you could easily use just the tenderloin. The marinade is spicy and tart while the pearl barley cooked in vegetable stock is creamy and wonderfully al dente. The wilted kale finishes off this dish perfectly with hearty, slightly bitter green super food. Low fat, high in fiber and antioxidants.

Marinade a 16 oz lean pork loin in 1 cup of Seville Orange concentrate and 4 tablespoons of Aji Panca Paste. Mix the juice and paste in a 1 gallon freezer bag and dunk the loin, close the bag, roll it over several times to coat the meat and set it in the fridge for minimum 4 hours.

Remove the marinated loin from the bag, keep the liquid in reserve and cut it down the center lengthwise to create two smaller loins. Pre heat oven to 375. Heat a heavy skillet or sauce pan to hot, add 3T extra virgin olive oil and sear the loin on all sides until slightly browned. Leave the skillet – you’ll use this later to wilt the kale. Remove loins to a pan with a rack. Place in the oven to bake for roughly 1 hour. After 20 minutes, lower the oven temp to 350. Marinate the loins about every 10 minutes with reserved orange/pepper marinade.

Depending on how many you’re serving – the barley cooking ratio is 3 to 1. I used Bob’s Red Mill Pearl Barley for this. 1 part barley to 3 parts organic vegetable or chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 50-60 minutes, stirring occasionally just as you would cook rice.

Check your pork loin after about 40 minutes. Using a meat thermometer stuck into the center of the loin, you want the internal temp to be about 160-165. This is done white – not pink, but the perfect temp to keep the loin from drying. The top of the loin will develop a nice crust as it roasts. Once the internal temp reaches 160, reduce oven temp to 200 and tent some foil over the meat.

Re heat the skillet used to sear the loin. Once the oil and is hot add cleaned, de stemmed and chopped kale (or swiss chard if you choose) to the pan and stir, toss and turn until the greens are thoroughly coated and wilting. Salt to taste, cover and remove from heat. This step will only take about 5 minutes and the volume of greens reduces significantly as they wilt so plan accordingly.

By this time, your barley should be be done. Remove the loin from the oven and let it rest. Plate the barley and slice 2-3 slices of the loin, place them over the barley and serve the greens on the sides.

Enjoy!