Santa Fe Stewed Pork

This isn't actually following any recipe from Santa Fe, nor is it even using many of the same ingredients, but as I was making it, I was remembering the chili verde I ordered multiple times while visiting Santa Fe, and which is a New Mexican speciality. Will agreed that this is a must-repeat dish, but didn't really get any of the chili verde-ness that I did. But since this is my blog, I'm going to title the post my way.

This is after we already ate some, and I put the sliced pork back in the crock to stay in its juices.

I have a 6-quart, manual slow cooker with low and high temperature. I usually load it at night, refrigerate until the next day, and then because Will works from home, he can put it on low around 1 p.m. so we can eat around 7:30. This one came together fast enough (because it didn't involve as much chopping as some recipes do) that I was able to assemble it in the morning.

Ingredients
1 1/2 pound pork roast (I don't know much about different cuts; I used a sirloin roast, but choose whatever is your favorite)
1/2 large onion
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium carrots, peeled, and cut crosswise on the diagonal into 1/2" slices
1 bay leaf
7 oz can diced green chiles
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken broth
1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground oregano
fresh ground pepper
1 cup grape tomatoes
parsley

Slice the onion into quarters, then into thin slices. Separate rings and layer on bottom of crock.
Layer with minced garlic and sliced carrots. Add bay leaf (remember to remove before serving.)

Place roast in center of crock on top of onions/carrots, topping with fresh ground pepper to taste.

In a small bowl, whisk together chiles, cumin, oregano, salt, tomato paste, broth, and vinegar. Pour evenly over roast. Add grape tomatoes around perimeter. Cover, cook 6-7 hours on low. Remove roast and slice, serve with hearty spoonfuls of vegetables and broth and garnish of chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro).


Notes: I served these with warm tortillas. I also considered mashed potatoes. You could add the potatoes (or sweet potatoes) to the crock, but they can get mushy and I liked how the colors stayed bright and not as grey as even the most delicious crock-pot recipes can sometimes turn-out. I left my grape tomatoes whole, and only a couple of them cooked down, but I loved the "pop!" that they made when I bit into them, and the warm juices inside. If you cut them in half, they will become more a part of the sauce, and less a separate ingredient - follow your preference. I actually assumed they would cook down and didn't expect they would stay whole, but I think they added a delightful component to the texture and appearance of this dish as glossy red gems.