I didn't have the honor of meeting my paternal grandma Angelina- known by Gela, but I hear she was a wonderful chef and always had food in her kitchen. She was a teacher, a poet, but most importantly a wonderful mother and friend to many. I believe I get my artistic side from her. While she grew up in Guanajuato, she was originally from Colima- a Mexican state south from Jalisco. I recently found out that this dish was a favorite of my dad's. It's a thin stew with lots of flavor. She made it with espinazo (pork spine). You probably would need to go to a Carniceria (mexican butcher shop) to get that cut. If one isn't accessible, you can use baby back ribs, just have the supermarket butcher cut them two inches across the bone. For this recipe I used both.
As with any soup or stew, it's important to have a well seasoned stock, as well as the chile. Not flavorful enough, and it can turn your hard work into a bland meal. The meat is nothing without a perfectly seasoned stew liquid. Chilayo is typically served with white rice and is not spicy in terms of heat, so it's perfect those who prefer the mild taco bell sauce. You can however add some kick by adding arbor chiles along with the guajillos. Remember, usted es la que manda!
Ingredients:
5 lbs of Espinazo, ribs, or both
1 whole onion, washed but unpeeled
1 small garlic head, washed but unpeeled
2 teaspoons of coriander seeds
2 teaspoons of peppercorns (preferably mixed)
3 bay leaves
5 chiles guajillos, stems and seeds removed
1 lbs of tomatillos
3-5 garlic cloves
half an onion cut to chunks
1 teaspoon of ground cumin- more if you like
One jar of cooked nopales, drained
canola oil
In a large dutch oven, soup pot, or clay cazuela like I used- bring about 4 quarts of water to boil with the seeds, whole onion, garlic head and peppercorns. Once it reaches a boil add enough salt to your liking. Add the meat and simmer on medium heat, while spooning off the top foam that begins to develop. You don't want those little proteins to ruin the clarity of your broth. Cover the pot and let it simmer away.
While the meat is cooking, make your chile. Add a few drops of oil, enough to coat, to a deep pan that’s heated on medium high. Add your guajillos and tomatillos. Quickly turn your guajillos to slightly brown all side and remove them onto a bowl of warm water. This step is no more than 20 seconds. The chiles burn very easily resulting in a bitter taste, so be vigilant. Now that there is room in the pan add the onion and garlic with the tomatillos, browning them just enough to get some dark golden scorches on the skin. Cover with enough water and add the chiles back into the pan. Boil until the tomatillos have turned a dull khaki green and become soft, about 7 minutes. In a blender, add the cooked tomatillos, chiles, garlic, onion, and cumin with a bit of the cooking liquid. Add salt and blend until you can hardly see any bits of chile. Guajillos have a tough skin, so you will still see specks in your sauce, which you can drain if you'd like. I preferably like to leave it as is. Set the sauce aside.
After about an hour and half, remove the meat and strain the broth. Have the meat, broth, and chile sauce ready to go for the final step. In the same pot on medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil. Immediately add the chile blend and stir for about a minute. Add the meat and broth, but discard any loose bones. Add the strained nopales. This is a great time to taste and adjust for salt. Allow the stew to boil until the meat is tender.
Serve the Chilayo with cooked white rice and garnish with radish, onions and cilantro. Enjoy!
