Recipe - Lentils With Chilies Pork And Fruit

Jim Vorheis
One half pound (1 heaped cup) lentils,
brown if available
One half small White onion
Sea salt to taste
The pork:
1 pound Boneless stewing pork, cut
into 1inch cubes
Sea salt to taste
The seasoning and final
cooking:
5 small Chilies anchos, cleaned of
veins and seeds and
Lightly toasted
One fourth pound Tomatoes, broiled
1 Garlic clove, peeled and
roughly chopped
One fourth teaspoon Dried oregano, Mexican if
possible
1 Whole clove
1 One half Inch cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon Melted lard or safflower oil
1 md Plantain (about 8oz),
peeled and cut into
One fourth Inch cubes
2 Thick pineapple slices,
peeled, cored, and cut into
Small triangular wedges

The lentils: Run the lentils through your hands to make sure there are no
stones or other foreign bodies in them. Rinse them in two changes of water
and put into a pan. Add onion, salt to taste, and enough water to come
about 2 inches above the surface of the lentils. Set over medium heat and
bring to a fast simmer. Continue simmering until the lentils are quite soft
~ about 3 hours, depending on their age. Keep a pan of nearboiling water
on the side, ready to add if necessary.

Put the pork pieces into a pan; add salt to taste and water to cover. Bring
to a fast simmer and continue simmering until the pork is tender but not
soft about 25 minutes. Strain, reserving the broth, and set broth and
meat aside.

Cover the dried chilies with boiling water and leave to soak for about 15
minutes, until the chilies have softened and become fleshy. Drain and put
into a blender with 1 cup of the reserved pork broth, the broiled tomatoes,
garlic, oregano, clove, and cinnamon; blend until smooth, adding more broth
only if needed to release the blades of the blender.

Heat the lard in a small frying pan, add the blended ingredients, and fry
over medium heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, until
reduced and well seasoned about 4 minutes. Add to the lentils and add the
pork, remaining broth, plantain, and pineapple; simmer together for about
30 minutes. Adjust salt and add water if necessary. The mixture should be
like a thick soup.

The Art of Mexican Cooking From the collection of Jim Vorheis

File ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/mmdja006.zip