Pork, Potato & Tomatillo Stew

The other morning, the dogs woke me up early. I stumbled downstairs, opened the door to the backyard and stared at snow. Snow on the ground, snow on the trees, snow falling from the sky, but most importantly, snow covering my vegetable garden. This did not make me happy.

I put on a layered ensemble of mismatched, semi-warm clothing that made me look completely insane and headed outside to save my tomatillos. I pulled as many of them as I could and got about 10 cups worth. Once back inside, I searched through the pantry, fridge and freezer and came up with this stew which I cooked in my slow-cooker. I've made it twice now and I absolutely love it.

My slow-cooker is the large oval variety and the ingredients for this stew fills it up almost to the top. I cut my piece of pork in half lengthwise and that fit inside the pot perfectly. The first time I made this it was mildly spicy but the second time it was much hotter which tells me that the heat level of my poblanos was all over the place. To control the heat, taste the peppers after roasting them and add more or less seeds and peppers as desired.

To serve 6-8:

• 5-6 medium-sized poblano peppers
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1¾ pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of fat
• 1½ pounds tomatillos, papery husks removed, rinsed, and halved or quartered if large
• 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch size chunks
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1½ cups chicken broth
• Grated zest of 1 lime
• Garnishes: lime wedges, avocado, sour cream

Broil the peppers, turning often, until blackened on all sides. Place the peppers in a plastic bag and seal. Set aside for 10 minutes. Remove the peppers and peel or scrape the skin off with a knife. Cut the stems off and chop the peppers. Set aside.

In a slow-cooker, spread the onions in the bottom of the pot. Place the pork on the onions and scatter the potatoes, peppers, garlic, and tomatillos over the top. Sprinkle the cumin, salt and lime zest over the stew. Pour the broth over everything. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.

Remove the pork to a cutting board and with two forks, shred it into bite-sized chunks. Return the pork to the slow-cooker and stir the stew, breaking up the tomatillos with a spoon. Taste and add more salt if needed. Serve in bowls garnished with lime wedges, avocados and sour cream.