The green chile - how cold do you want to go?
The green chile – how cold do you want to go?
My take on a Mexican classic “verde chile” adapted using apricots and lime leaves, to make up for the lack of tomatillos in the U.K. Balls of mince pork with green sauce - you make it as hot or cold as you like – choose your chilli, generally green chile is served moderate to really hot, and has subtle lime undertones and overall tartness taste of the tomatillos. Pork is a greener alternative to beef in terms of climate change, so the name has a double meaning!
Makes enough for 4 grown-ups and a little one
Ingredients
Green paste
2 green peppers
80g dried apricots
4 green chillies – you decide your heat but it needs to be green - I used very mild
3 cloves of garlic
6 dried lime leaves (kaffir leaves)
1 tsp hot chilli powder
Zest of half a lemon
1tbsp of lime juice
½ tsp cumin seeds
1tsp oregano (ideally Mexican marjoram)
A handful coriander
Bunch of spring onions (around 6-7)
1tbsp olive oil
Other ingredients needed
2tbsp olive oil
500g mince pork (I use the lean 5% fat pork)
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
½ low salt veggie/or chicken stock cube made up with a litre of water
2tbsp corn flour
Method
1. To make the green paste, pierce a few holes in peppers with knife, cover with a little bit of oil, pop in preheated fan oven 200. Cook for around 30 mins, turn over half way through – the skins will blacken in places. Take out, cool, cut both ends off, scrape seeds and pop in blender with all the other ingredients for the green paste.
2. Put the mince pork and just under half the green paste in a bowl with breadcrumbs and mix well then shape into balls – I make mine big and get around 10.
3. Pop olive oil in a large pan, fry gently turning so they brown, careful as you don't want them too fall apart. If you have used full fat pork then you need to take off heat and remove the excess oil, if not then pop the stock in and the rest of the green paste, gently mixing to combine
4. Turn up heat until bubbling and then keep at a gentle simmer – take out a ladle of the liquid and add to cornflour – mix and then pop it back in.
5. You need to slow cook this, gentle simmer, stirring occasionally for around 45mins to an hour. It will look really sloshy at the start but over time refines quiet elegantly.
6. Take little ones meat ball out and some sauce, then you can add a pinch of salt to the remaining grown ups
Tips
The dish can be frozen. Mix the sauce for little ones with rice and press to make a ball for them to hold an eat or cover a rice cake with the sauce. This is good starter meal as it has lots of subtle flavours and the meatballs are nice and soft.
Facts
Green chile is always made with pork and tomatillos and is generally moderately to really hot, depending on what green chillies you use. It is the chilli that is used in the Mission burrito.
My take on a Mexican classic “verde chile” adapted using apricots and lime leaves, to make up for the lack of tomatillos in the U.K. Balls of mince pork with green sauce - you make it as hot or cold as you like – choose your chilli, generally green chile is served moderate to really hot, and has subtle lime undertones and overall tartness taste of the tomatillos. Pork is a greener alternative to beef in terms of climate change, so the name has a double meaning!
Makes enough for 4 grown-ups and a little one
Ingredients
Green paste
2 green peppers
80g dried apricots
4 green chillies – you decide your heat but it needs to be green - I used very mild
3 cloves of garlic
6 dried lime leaves (kaffir leaves)
1 tsp hot chilli powder
Zest of half a lemon
1tbsp of lime juice
½ tsp cumin seeds
1tsp oregano (ideally Mexican marjoram)
A handful coriander
Bunch of spring onions (around 6-7)
1tbsp olive oil
Other ingredients needed
2tbsp olive oil
500g mince pork (I use the lean 5% fat pork)
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
½ low salt veggie/or chicken stock cube made up with a litre of water
2tbsp corn flour
Method
1. To make the green paste, pierce a few holes in peppers with knife, cover with a little bit of oil, pop in preheated fan oven 200. Cook for around 30 mins, turn over half way through – the skins will blacken in places. Take out, cool, cut both ends off, scrape seeds and pop in blender with all the other ingredients for the green paste.
2. Put the mince pork and just under half the green paste in a bowl with breadcrumbs and mix well then shape into balls – I make mine big and get around 10.
3. Pop olive oil in a large pan, fry gently turning so they brown, careful as you don't want them too fall apart. If you have used full fat pork then you need to take off heat and remove the excess oil, if not then pop the stock in and the rest of the green paste, gently mixing to combine
4. Turn up heat until bubbling and then keep at a gentle simmer – take out a ladle of the liquid and add to cornflour – mix and then pop it back in.
5. You need to slow cook this, gentle simmer, stirring occasionally for around 45mins to an hour. It will look really sloshy at the start but over time refines quiet elegantly.
6. Take little ones meat ball out and some sauce, then you can add a pinch of salt to the remaining grown ups
Tips
The dish can be frozen. Mix the sauce for little ones with rice and press to make a ball for them to hold an eat or cover a rice cake with the sauce. This is good starter meal as it has lots of subtle flavours and the meatballs are nice and soft.
Facts
Green chile is always made with pork and tomatillos and is generally moderately to really hot, depending on what green chillies you use. It is the chilli that is used in the Mission burrito.