Pork dish brings traditional flavor

This week, we are preparing a very traditional dish from the Veracruz, Mexico, area: Puerco Encacahuatado, or pork cooked in a peanut sauce.

PUERCO ENCACAHUATADO

Ingredients

5 tablespoons lard (you can use oil instead, but it will change the flavor)

3 pounds pork shoulder, cut into large chunks

1⁄2 cup chopped onion

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup shelled peanuts

1 cup chopped Roma tomato

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

4 pasilla peppers, soaked in hot water for at least one hour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds

Salt and pepper, to taste

Putting it together

In a very large pot over medium heat, add the lard and pork and cook until the pork begins to brown. Add the onion and cook for about three minutes. Add the broth, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and cook for at least one hour.

After an hour, remove some of the broth and add it to a blender along with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Add the blended mixture to the pot and cook for at least 15 minutes more, or until the pork is very tender. Adjust the seasoning with some salt and pepper, if needed. Serve while hot with some rice and enjoy.

Antonio Villagomez is head chef and owner of Cilantro's restaurant and catering in Yuba City, Calif. Contact him at 530-844-2111. His website is cilantros.us.