Pork Linguini Pasta in Three “Chiles” Sauce

To pair with: 2009 Château Lyonnat, Lussac-Saint-Émillion

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon

Description:

You will definitively love this recipe. An extremely rich, flavorful, elegant and satisfying dinner recipe for any day or occasion. The sauce used to cook the pork is the same for the pasta, which makes it easy and intensifies its flavors. The secret ingredient is the easy-to-make combination of three different Mexican dry chiles: “guajillo”, “pasilla” and “ancho”. The way I cook the chiles, the sauce is not spicy, but if you prefer a little “kick”, just keep a few chili seeds in the sauce. You can find these in the dry Mexican or Latin section of any grocery store.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of linguini pasta
• 3-4 pounds of half of a small pork shoulder
• 2 ancho chiles
• 2 guajillo chiles
• 2 pasilla chiles
• 1 red onion cut in 2 pieces
• 8 garlic cloves
• 4 pear tomatoes
• 1/2 of a bunch of cilantro
• Crumble “queso fresco” for garnish
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

Procedure:

1. Clean the pork with running water, then dry with paper towel and cut in 3-4 pieces so it cooks faster (keep the bone). Season it with salt and pepper and place it in the refrigerator.
2. In a cast iron, non-stick, or comal pan at medium-high temperature, heat/toast the chiles for about 2 minutes or until they become aromatic. Add the garlic, onion and tomatoes, turning occasionally until they “roast” and become golden brown with dark spots in some areas.
3. While the garlic, onion and tomatoes are roasting, remove the chiles, break their stems off, tear chiles open and remove seeds and veins to make the sauce completely mild. If you like it spicy, keep some of the seeds.
4. Place the clean chiles in a deep container with 3-4 cups of warm water and soak them for about 20 minutes to rehydrate.
5. Add the chiles, onion, tomatoes, garlic, half of the cilantro and 2 cups of the chile water to a blender and mix well. Add salt to taste and set this sauce aside.
6. In a large pot at medium-high temperature, add the pork and sear for 2 minutes on each side until slightly browned.
7. Then, lower the temperature to medium-low, add the sauce, stir and cook covered for about 75 minutes or until tender, turning occasionally.
8. Once the pork is almost ready, start cooking the pasta in boiling salted water.
9. In the meantime, remove the pork bone, remove any excess of fat, shred the meat and bring the shredded pork back to the sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary.
10. As soon as the pasta is almost al dente, drain and mix it with the pork sauce and let it cook for 2-3 more minutes. Make sure not to overcook the pasta.
11. Serve and garnish with crumble “queso fresco” and fresh cilantro.