Puerco y Papas al Gaujillo

The aromas drifting around my apartment yesterday were intoxicating. Deep, earthy, a bit of tingling in the throat. We finally acquired a slow-cooker (thank you Christine!), and so at long last I was able to tackle a recipe in Rick Bayless's MEXICAN EVERYDAY.

Despite it being 85 degrees yesterday, it was after all, the first of October and I was needing a little bit of Fall in my life. So I decided to make Puerco y Papas al Guajillo...Guajillo-Spiced Pork and Potatoes (sounds prettier in Spanish, right?)-it's a pork braise rich with red guajillo chiles, potatoes and yummy yummy yummy pork. Spicy, and warm and so so simple to make!

Take a few potatoes, dice 'em up, or cut them in wedges. Take a pork roast and cube that up as well. Throw those in the slow cooker. Here's the hardest part:

toasting the chiles. And that's really no biggie. Seed the chiles, and tear them into flat strips. Heat a pan and toast them until fragrant and they lighten in color slightly. Throw those in a blender with some canned tomatoes, Worcestershire, garlic, oregano, salt and whir away.

Now, you're supposed to strain the sauce, but we don't have a strainer. I tried a coffee filter in a colander.

Don't try that.

I just said to heck with it and threw it straight into the slow-cooker. Rustic cooking is still en vogue, right? Turn the slow-cooker to high, and six hours later, after minimal effort, you are richly rewarded.

The spicy steam that wafted up as I lifted the lid was heavenly. The pork was, sorry for the cliche, melt-in-your-mouth tender. We added some chopped white onion and cilantro, warmed up a few corn tortillas and dinner was served. And eaten in about three minutes.

Next time I think I will try making this with yucca in place of the potatoes. That sounds like a treat. I can also report that this dish is just as good, if not better, eaten directly from the refrigerator cold...while blogging about said dish.

The temperatures are finally dropping in my neighborhood, and if it's a bit chilly where you are, I suggest you try this recipe out this weekend. It's sure to warm you up!

Puerco Y Papas al Guajillo

Serves 6

1 1/2 pounds red skin or Yukon Gold potatoes, each cut into 6 wedges

1 1/2 – 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cubed (I used 1 1/2” cubes)

2 oz (about 8) dried guajillo chilies (stemmed, seeded, and torn so they lie flat)

1 – 15oz can diced tomatoes (preferably fire roasted)

4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved

2 tsp dried oregano

2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

salt

1/2 C (loosely packed) chopped cilantro for garnish

1/2 C diced white onion

1. Set the potatoes over bottom of slow cooker and top with pork.

2. Heat med. (8-inch) skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, toast the chilies – about 10 seconds per side. Any smoke means they are burning. Put in blender.

3. Add tomatoes w/ juice, garlic, oregano, Worcestershire, a generous 1 1/2 tsp. Salt, and 1 1/2 C water. Blend until as smooth as possible. Strain mixture through a medium-mesh sieve directly into slow cooker, over meat and potatoes. Stir to mix.

4. Put on lid and set to slow-cook on high for 6 hours. (It can keep on “warm” for 4 hours after cooked.)

5. Stir when done, add water if sauce seems too thick. Add salt if you think it needs it.

6. Serve in bowls with cilantro and onion on top.

Note: You can also do this in a Dutch oven at 300 degrees for 2 -1/2 to 3 hours.