Pork Stew — The Anniversary Recipe, the Always-Recipe

The bakery's fourth anniversary. March 15, 2019. Four years. I am forty-one and the bakery is four and the bakery is walking now, the way four-year-olds walk — confidently, sometimes stumbling, always forward. Sofia organized the celebration: free conchas all morning, the photo wall updated with this year's images, and a new addition — a small plaque on the wall next to Rosa's photograph. The plaque says: PANADERÍA ROSA — FOUNDED 2015 — IN HONOR OF ROSA DELGADO (1954-2016) — HER RECIPES. HER NAME. HER LEGACY.

Sofia had the plaque made at a trophy shop. Thirty-five dollars. She paid for it with her farmers' market earnings. She hung it herself, at 5 AM, before I arrived. I walked in and saw it and the bathroom floor called to me again, and I went, and I sat, and I breathed, and I stood up, and I went to the kitchen and made bread, because that is what you do when your thirteen-year-old daughter honors your dead mother with a thirty-five-dollar plaque and the words are perfect and the gesture is everything.

Doña Esperanza was the first customer, as always. She looked at the plaque and said, "Your mother is proud." I said: "I hope so." She said: "I know so. I can taste it in the bread." And that is the review. Not five stars. Not a newspaper article. "I can taste it in the bread." Rosa is in the bread. Doña Esperanza tastes her. The review is complete.

Luis Jr. came for the celebration. In uniform, because he had duty, and the uniform in the bakery felt right — the soldier and the bread, the defending and the feeding, two forms of service in one room. He stood next to Sofia and she barely reached his shoulder and they looked at the plaque together and he said, "Abuela would have loved this." Sofia said, "Abuela would have said the font is too small." They both laughed. They are right. Rosa would have loved it. Rosa would have complained about the font. Both things are true. Both things are Rosa.

I made chile colorado for the family dinner — the anniversary recipe, the always-recipe, the recipe that is the bakery's soul. I will not describe it again. You know it. The dried chiles. The garlic. The cumin. The pork. The steam. The kitchen. The taste of Rosa in every bite. You know it. It is the same every year and that is the point and the miracle. The same every year. Four years. One hundred and thirty-five recipes. Eight tables. One promise. Still kept.

I do not need to explain this recipe to you — it has already been explained in the story above, in every year I have made it, in every bowl I have set on the table on March 15th. But if you want to make it yourself, here it is: the pork stew, the anniversary stew, the one that smells like my mother’s kitchen and tastes like a promise I have managed, somehow, to keep. Make it slowly. Do not rush the chiles. Let the steam do what steam does.

Pork Stew

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 1 hr 45 min | Total Time: 2 hr 10 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 3 lbs boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 4 dried guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed
• 2 dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed
• 1 dried pasilla chile, stem and seeds removed
• 2 cups warm water (for soaking chiles)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (Mexican oregano preferred)
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Fresh cilantro and warm tortillas, for serving

Instructions

1. Soak the dried chiles. Tear the guajillo, ancho, and pasilla chiles into pieces and place them in a bowl. Pour 2 cups of warm water over them and let soak for 20 minutes until soft. Transfer chiles and soaking liquid to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and set aside.
2. Brown the pork. Pat pork chunks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown pork on all sides, about 3–4 minutes per side. Transfer browned pork to a plate and set aside.
3. Soften the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pot. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
4. Build the base. Pour the strained chile puree into the pot and cook, stirring frequently, for 3–4 minutes until it darkens slightly and becomes fragrant. Add the diced tomatoes and chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
5. Simmer low and slow. Return the browned pork and any accumulated juices to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until the pork begins to turn tender.
6. Add the potatoes. Stir in the cubed potatoes. Continue simmering uncovered for 30–35 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender and the stew has thickened. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
7. Rest and serve. Let the stew rest off the heat for 5 minutes before serving. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve with warm tortillas.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 610mg