Holy Mole Pork Stew

From the hands of Anna Heerwagen & Ethan Fischer
Serves 10

Here it is, the first in what we optimistically hope to be a surging return to form and timeliness, an actual recipe from Soup & Bread. This killer pork stew was created by  Anna and Ethan, who work together at the lovely Green Grocer Chicago. They presented at Soup & Bread on January 25. It is smoky, savory, and so lusciously spicy that it prompted one fan to say, between bites, “This soup is everything you could ever want in a life partner.” Or I think that’s what he said; it was hard to tell given the chorus of ecstatic moaning from his friends.

Ingredients
2 quarts pork stock (recipe follows) or substitute chicken stock if you have to
12 dried New Mexico chiles
5 dried Guajillo chiles
½ cup toasted almonds
½ cup toasted peanuts
2 ½ ounces Guajillo chile Mexican chocolate, chopped
½ cup raisins
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cumin
3 whole cloves
6 garlic cloves
1 onion, chopped
2 ½ lbs smoked pork shoulder, pulled into bite-sized pieces
3 limes
salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado, cubed
½ cup sour cream
3 ounces heavy cream
fried tortilla strips
pickled jalapenos (recipe follows)

Preparation
Remove seeds and stems from the dried chiles. Toast the chiles in batches in a cast iron pan for 2 minutes. 

In a large stockpot, heat pork stock to a simmer. Add chocolate and whisk to melt; let simmer on low heat.

Place chiles, nuts, raisins, spices, garlic, and onion in a blender with some of the stock and puree until smooth. You may need to do this in batches.

 Add blended mixture into pork stock and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Add smoked pork and bring soup to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, to meld flavors. If you can’t find a smoked shoulder, you can use a raw shoulder as well. Simply cube the shoulder, removing excess fat. Heavily salt and pepper, then brown cubes in a heavy pot with a little oil. Add the browned pork to the blended liquid and cook for approximately 3 hours until the pork is fall-apart tender, making sure to stir along the bottom of the pot frequently to avoid the meat sticking and burning.

Avocado Cream
Place cubed avocado, sour cream, heavy cream, and the juice of 1 lime in blender and combine until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. 

Add juice of remaining 2 limes to the stew before serving. 

Top each bowl with a dollop of the avocado cream, some of the pickled jalapenos, and the fried tortilla strips.

Pork Stock
Yields 2 quarts

Ingredients
1/2 pound pork bones
1 yellow onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
4 carrots, diced
5 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon peppercorns
4 quarts water

Preparation
Broil bones on baking sheet or hotel pan for 45 minutes until brown. Add bones, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to a stockpot and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the 4 quarts of water to the stockpot along with the peppercorns and bay leaf. Bring stock to a simmer. Simmer stock uncovered until half the liquid remains, approximately 3 hours, skimming foam and grease from the surface every 30 minutes. Strain and cool.

Pickled Jalapenos
Yields 1 quart
1 pound firm jalapenos
4 cloves garlic
2 cups vinegar
2 tablespoons salt
½ yellow onion
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil

Score the bottom of each pepper. Sautee peppers in olive oil with onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Add vinegar, bring to a low boil, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add sugar, salt, and oregano. Refrigerate or process in glass jars for longer storage,