The
first time I tasted this green colored sauce was at a food stand in Puerto Vallarta. It
was served in a bowl along with a couple other salsas, chilies and limes. I
hesitantly dabbed a little on my taco, took a bite – smiled – then proceeded
to spoon it on like gravy. I could not get enough of it and needed to find out
what this delicious green stuff was.
When I asked the proprietor what it was, he said; guacamole. I was sure that it was the language barrier that had this man calling this sauce guacamole. My American voice in my head assured me that this was not guacamole, at least any guacamole I have ever had.
Needless to say, I walked away disappointed and hungry to find
out how to make this sauce. I looked up the translation for guacamole and
discovered that it translates into avocado sauce. That was my first clue; there
must be avocados in their sauce.
When
I got home I made my version of avocado sauce (which was delicious), but it was more like smooth guacamole (no tomatillos).
I
had pretty much given up on figuring out how to make it when my friend Dave
shared a bottle of Herdez Guacamole Salsa with me. At that time he could only
get it in Mexico or on-line, which was spendy, so I assumed that this would be
my last bottle and used it sparingly as a condiment on my tacos and burritos.
Yesterday
my husband spotted a bottle of this wonderful salsa at our local grocer for an affordable $2.39. It would cost you that much to buy an avocado theses days. It was time to experiment. If you haven’t tried this sauce – you are truly missing out
on one of the greatest salsas to ever grace a taco.
The
end result was possibly the best chile verde pork I have eaten. Tender chunks
of pork with creamy potatoes in a spicy green tomatillo sauce that thickened on
its own with the help of the avocados. It really doesn’t get easier or better
than this.
WARNING: This sauce is screaming HOT; don’t be
fooled by the “MEDIUM” on the label. However,
when cooked, it mellows out into a
well balanced sauce with just the right amount of kick.
My notes to you…
MEAT - The best cut to buy
for this dish is what is usually labeled “Carnitas”(at least at my store) –
this cut makes the best stew or soup meat and is well marbled and doesn’t have
too much extra fat to trim off when you get home. It gets tender and stays
juicy after the long cooking process. Other choices are pork butt or shoulder
and boneless country ribs. All of those will have a lot more fat to trim off,
but will work well.
You could use chicken thighs for this dish. The cooking time would be about 40 min.
POTATOES – the best potatoes
to use for this dish are russets, because they will soak up the sauce well. – Either;
cube the potatoes and add them in the last 20 minutes of cooking or (this is what I usually do) Boil potatoes
on the side and add them when I’m ready to serve.
TO SERVE – I serve this in a
bow layered in this order; RICE, POTATOES, PORK & SAUCE with a generous
sprinkle of cheddar cheese.
Guacamole Salsa Stew
2 - 3 pounds pork
carnitas meat
1 large onion,
chopped small
1 - 2 cups Herdez
Guacamole Salsa, medium (1/2 - 1 bottle)
1 cup water
2-3 russet potatoes, cubed
kosher salt
and pepper, to taste
shredded cheddar
cheese for garnish
Cut
pork into bite size pieces. Season with kosher salt and black pepper.
Heat
a large skillet over med-high heat and brown pork. Add onions and cook until
onions are soft.
Pour
guacamole salsa and water over the meat and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover; simmer for 1 hour or
until meat is tender.
See
note above for potatoes – a must in this dish!
I am definitely going to try this recipe. I have a bottle of the same product and have been looking for a main dish recipe that will go well with it aside from being used as a dip. Thank you for this recipe!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great find and love the convivence, but be warned it can be very spicy. So, start with maybe 1 cup of the salsa and add the other cup if you desire more heat. As I have said before, you can always add, but you can't take it out.
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