Green Chili

For my 50th recipe on this blog I thought I'd do my green chili. Mine is quite different from the traditional one since I didn't actually look up an existing recipe before I came up with it. Unlike most recipes, mine is actually green thanks to pureed chilies. In the past I've made a huge batch in a ceramic Dutch oven, but I scaled it down to a single serving made in a mini pressure cooker. For this I used some pre-made beef bone broth and vegetable broth that I had in my refrigerator, but I've provided instructions on how to make your own broth. Any pre-made broth or stock will work for this recipe if you just want to buy it. Green tomatoes and green habaneros might be tricky to find if you don't live near a Publix. For those who live by a Sprouts, they have on-the-vine heirloom tomatoes in different colors, and sometimes they'll have an unripe one that you can grab(a green tomato is an unripe tomato). You can also use red or orange habaneros without messing up the color as long as the rest of the peppers are green. For this I used 1 green jalapeño, 2 serranoes, and 1 green habanero.I could have made it more green by using a poblano as well. The types of green chilies you want to use varies based on how much spice you want. Poblanos have almost no spice, jalapenos are mild, serranoes are medium, and habaneros are hot. You can reduce the heat by removing the seeds from the peppers. I like mine spicy, so I included a large habanero with the seeds in.

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To make a quick homemade broth in a pressure cooker:

• Beef Broth: Brown 4 oz of beef bones and add 1.5 cups water. Pressure cook on high for 30 minutes.
• Chicken Broth: Add 1.5 cups water and 4 oz chicken bones(or the carcass of a whole chicken after cutting the meat off) to a pressure cooker. Cook on high for 30 minutes.
• Vegetable Broth: Brown 4 ounces of diced vegetables(slightly wilted leftover vegetables are fine) Add 1.5 cups water to a pressure cooker. Cook on high for 15 minutes.
• Mushroom Broth: Add 1.5 cups water and 1/3 cup dried mushrooms to a pressure cooker. Cook on high for 5 minutes.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup (48g) dried navy beans
• 6 oz (170g) pork butt(pork shoulder), cut into ½ to 1-inch cubes.(Or use pork tenderloin instead to reduce the fat and calories)
• 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
• ½ tsp whole coriander seeds
• ½ tsp (2g) oil
• ¼ cup (30g) diced onion
• 2 tbsp (15g) diced celery
• 2 tbsp (15g) diced green bell pepper
• 1 cup (240g) broth or stock
• ½ cup (100g) diced green unripe tomato
• Any combination of puréed green chilies: poblanos, jalapeños, serranoes, or green habaneros, depending on heat preference
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• ⅛ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ oz (14g) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, for topping
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

• Rinse the dried navy beans. Pressure cook with enough water to cover by 1 inch for 40 minutes. Quick release the steam. Drain the beans and set aside for later.
• Grind the cumin and coriander using a mortar and pestle.
• Purée the green chilies (poblano, jalapeño, serrano, habanero) with a little broth to create a smooth liquid
• Set pressure cooker to sauté mode. Add the oil and pork. Let it brown undisturbed until the meat browns and naturally unsticks from the stainless steel(about 5 minutes). Flip and brown a little more.
• Add the minced garlic, celery, bell peppers, and onions. Cook until slightly browned.
• Add the diced green tomato and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Pour in the broth or stock of choice, add the navy beans, and stir.
• Add the ground spices, bay leaf, and black pepper.
• Lock lid and pressure cook for 8 minutes. Quick release the steam.
• Remove the bay leaf and stir in the fresh cilantro.
• Top with shredded Monterey Jack cheese before serving.