Pork with Green Chiles (Part Mexican Part Czech, CzechXican)

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Article previously published on Honest Cooking, The FOOD Magazine.

Pork with Mild Green Chiles

Those of you that follow my blog have heard me mention the lack of fresh spicy chiles in Prague. But what they lack in fresh spicy peppers they make up with a fantastic variety of mild and sweet peppers. Peppers like banana peppers, wax pepper, Kapia or pimento peppers, and a spicy green Slovak variety. As a Mexican I cannot live without my chiles, I need a little kick in my food. Over the past couple of years more and more exotic products are to be found here. On some rare occasions I have found fresh Jalapeños and fresh cayenne chiles. In the last month I was lucky enough to have found an online shop selling a variety of Mexican ingredients. It is called Viva La Vida, so if you live in Czech Republic look them up. Can't tell you how happy that has made both my husband and I. Even though more authentic ingredients are becoming available I have to admit that experimenting with local ingredients and coming up with CzechXican salsas has been quite fun.

Today I have a super simple recipe that incorporates a hint of flavors from Mexican cuisine with a bit of Czech. But what is so fantastic about this simple recipe is that it can be made with Pork, Chicken, Turkey, Beef or even chorizo. It can be served on top of white or Mexican rice, as a taco filling or used as any type of Mexican filling you may need. Wait there's more great reasons why you need to make this dish, it's healthy and low in fat. The chorizo would be the fattier choice but if you use a lean cut of meat it will stay low in fat. So you'll get a very flavorful dish lower in calories. Now that summer is here most of us are looking to cook and eat lighter meals that wont expand the waistline nor leave you feeling bloated afterwords. This is one of those dishes. Okay I think I've convinced you so now I'll give you the recipe. Buen Provecho!!

Ingredients:
400 g or 14 oz. pork medallions or pork tenderloin, sliced in thin strips
4 green mild chiles, stemmed and seeds removed and sliced into rounds*
1 green cayenne chile or any hot green chile, finely chopped **
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped
1 small tomato, finely chopped
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil

white rice to serve
corn tortillas, optional
cilantro to garnish

* You can use banana, wax or Cubanelle chiles, Do not use bell peppers.
** For a milder version remove the seeds and center vein.

1. Heat 1 tbsp. of the oil, once warm saute the onion until soft and translucent. Add the round green cubanelle chiles and hot green chiles to the pan, saute for 2 minutes. Next add the minced garlic, sprinkle some salt and ground black pepper to the vegetables and stir to combine. Saute another 2 minutes, then remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside.

2. In the same pan heat the remaining 1 tbsp. of oil, add the pork to the pan and sprinkle some salt and ground black pepper to taste. Cover the pan and fry until the pork strips are cooked all the way through, about 10 minutes. Drain any fat or liquid in the pan and add the previously cooked vegetables back to the pan. Next add the ground cumin seed and chopped tomato to the pan. Stir to combine all ingredients well. Cover and continue cooking until the cubanel chiles have soften.

Serve with or over white rice or Mexican rice and corn tortillas on the side, if desired.

I'm curious, what are your favorite peppers or chiles ?