Roast Pork with Sweet-and-Sour Chile Cilantro Sauce
New Mexico Chiles are the dried form of the Red Anaheim Pepper. This chile has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This chile ranges from 2 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. The New Mexico Chile may be referred to as the California Chile or Chile Colorado. New Mexico Chiles are commonly used in Red Mexican or Southwestern sauces and is grown in Mexico. This mildly hot chile. Scoville heat units 8,000 – 12,000.
Suggested Use:
New Mexico Chiles are mildly hot and very popular in Southwest cooking. Great in sauces, salsa, rice dishes, stews and soups. Add directly to the cooking liquid along with other spices. Use in stir fry, or add to chicken or fish marinades.
Ingredients:
For Pork:
1/3 cup coriander seeds
1-1/2 cups fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup extra-virgin oilive oil
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
3/4 tsp. salt
3 pounds center-cut boneless pork loin roast, butterflied
For chile cilantro sauce:
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1/2 cup crushed New Mexican red chiles
1 cup honey
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions:
Prepare Pork Loin:
Preheat an oven to 400F. Coarsely crush the coriander seeds with a mortar and pestle or an electric coffee/spice grinder, then stir together with the bread crumbs, oil, pepper and salt in a small bowl. Turn the pork so the long side is closest to you and season with salt and pepper. Pat one third of the loin with seasoned crumbs, leaving a 2″ border along top edge. Starting with the side nearest you, roll the meat into a cylinder and tie securely with kitchen string. Coat the pork with the remaining seasoned crumbs and roast the pork on a rack in a roasting pan in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325F and roast until an instant-read thermometer diagonally inserted at least 2″ into the meat registers 155F, about 1 to 1-1/4 hours longer. Let the pork stand, loosely covered, for about 10 minutes.
Make the sauce while the pork roasts:
Simmer the bell pepper, caribe, honey, lime juice and salt in a 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Cool the sauce to warm or room temperature, then stir in the cilantro just prior to serving. Slice the pork and serve topped with some of the sauce.
NOTE: Sauce (without cilantro) may be made 2 days ahead of time and chilled, covered. When ready to use, reheat the sauce over low heat until warm, stirring in the cilantro.
Makes 8 servings.
Recipe from Gourmet Magazine.