Green Sauce, a.k.a. Creamy Green Sauce a.k.a. Jalapeno Avocado Sauce a.k.a. ?????

There are a lot of names for this, none of them really very accurate, outside of “green sauce”, because it is, well, green. You will find this in only the finest taco joints.  And by finest, I mean good ones.

While smooth and luscious, there is no dairy, so not really creamy (although you could add crema or yogurt)

While it kind of tastes like perhaps there is avocado in it, there isn’t.  But you could put one in instead of the oil.

It is really just, well, DELICOUS!  Crazy Good!  The kind of stuff you go to a taco joint just to eat spoonfuls of!

So, what is it?

Jalepenos (or other pepper like Poblanos or Anaheims), onion, garlic, salt, fresh squeezed lime (if you like) and oil, cooked and pureed.

Super simple – make some tonight!

This is the mild version - if you follow the directions, it really will be pretty mild, unless your jalapenos are the insanely hot (sometimes they are)

Ingredients

• ·         1lb jalapenos (about 20 or so)
• ·         4-5 green onions, cut into 3 inch sections, whites and greens)
• ·         3-6 cloves garlic, peeled
• ·         ½ teaspoon salt
• ·         ¼ cup corn oil (or other neutral oil – no olive oil)
• ·         ½ lime juice, to taste

Recipe

• ·         Put on some disposable gloves
• ·         De-stem, de-seed and de-rib the jalapenos.  If you like your sauce spicier, skip step – just toss in whole.   WEAR GLOVES.  Really bad idea to do this and then rub your eyes.  #justsayin
• ·         Toss jalapenos, green onions into pot of water, bring to boil, then reduce to simmer and cook until soft (about 20 minutes)
• ·         For the last 1 minute or so, toss the peeled garlic cloves into the simmering water.  This will temper the raw garlic taste
• ·         Drain, let cool
• ·         If you did not de-stem, etc earlier, do so now.  The more seeds and ribs you scrape out, the milder it will be.  Like it spicier?  Leave some or all of that out.  But do get rid of the stems
• ·         Toss everything into blender, add salt, puree at low speed
• ·         When things are getting nice and pureed, start slowly adding oil to mixture in blender.  Once added, speed up the blender.  Basically your making a nice emulsion so the oil does not separate out of the sauce
• ·         Taste, add more salt or squeeze some lime juice into the mix while blending.  The lime juice will brighten up the flavors.  Not sure it needs it, be sure to start with just a half lime.  You could use a tablespoon of white vinegar

Options

If too spicy, cut with greek yogurt or sour cream or add advocados.  Yogurt adds it's own tang and was generally preferred in our house.  If you were planning on using yogurt, especially yogurt with fat in it, I would probably reduce the amount of oil.  Same if your adding advocados

1 cup cilantro is a very nice contribution - just put it in at the start of the blending stage.

I like it better without the lime, but to each their own

If you want to have this on chips, remember you want El Milagro "Totopos" homestyle chips.  Really you do.

EAT IT

Pork Tinga - sorta like Rick Bayless (but not)

At Casa Mexicana, Tinga is one of my favorite dishes there.

Fortunately, it is easy and cheap to make at home.  Basically think of it as a Mexican Pork Stew.  Easy to make in a crock pot or to braise on a stove top or in the oven.

Dad's Version of Tinga

I started with this recipe from Rick Bayless - but his version is considerably spicier than mine.  Good if you like spicy, not so good if you have to feed my family.  So mine is heavily spiced, but no heat.

One key item - I use adobo seasoning (from Penzey's), while Rick Bayless uses chipotles in adobo sauce.  They are NOT the same thing.  Adobo seasoning is garlic, onion, Tellicherry black pepper, Mexican oregano, cumin and cayenne red pepper.  Chipotle's in adobe sauce is
Chipotle Peppers, Tomato Puree, Vinegar, Onions, Sunflower Seed Oil, Sugar, Salt, Paprika and Garlic, and is quite hot.


Don't confuse the two.

Tinga with Home Grown (frozen) Sweet Corn

Ingredients

1 pound lean, pork shoulder, pork loin or boneless pork ribs  Trim and cut into pieces, 1- 2 inches in size.
3 medium  potatoes, pealed and quartered
1 large white onion, halved and sliced thin
1 green pepper, cut into chunks if you don't like to eat it, thin sliced if you do)
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1  28-ounce can diced tomatoes, in juice
Chicken Stock (enough to cover)
2 tbs adobo seasoning (not chipotles in adobo sauce)
Salt and Pepper

Recipe

Season the pork heavily with salt, pepper and at least 1 tbs of adobo seasoning.
Heat the some oil in a le crueset, brown pork chunks, set aside
Brown onion and green peppers
Add garlic and 1 tbs adobo seasoning, cook for 2 minutes
Add chicken stock to deglaze
Add tomatoes
Add potatoes and browned pork.
Cook on low heat for 1-2 hours, or in crock pot for 6 hours till pork is very soft.

Many options on how to serve this.  You could use it as a taco filling - shred or chuck it up a little.  Serve it over mexican rice and beans.  Serve on top of a salad with lettuce, fresh tomato, onions, some cheese and avocado (no dressing required).  Serve over brown rice.  Eat it like a soup.  Serve it with sweet corn.  Any way you serve, it will be great.