Pork in Salsa Verde

This classic recipe is a staple of our host family, as the tomatillo sauce is incredibly versatile and can be used with chicken, eggs, lima beans, and on gorditas or sopes. Here, pork hock simmers until it nearly falls off the bone, then it's smothered with this spicy and tangy salsa verde; zucchini joins in, uniting the heat of the chiles with the brightness of the tomatoes with the soft pork to create a family favorite.

**For a vegetarian option, use lima beans instead of pork and top with avocado :)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

-2.75 pounds pork hock (codillo, or pork knuckle, is a bone-in cut that makes for a rich broth from which to make the salsa verde. You can substitute pork hock with other bone-in cuts of pork, or chicken legs, wings, etc.)

-7 small zucchinis

-1 pound or 35 tomatillos (small green tomatoes that usually come in a sticky green leaf)

-1 large onion, halved

-3 jalepeños or 10-15 serrano chiles or a mixture of the two. For a milder salsa, go easier on the chiles and/or remove the seeds. You do you!

-2 cloves of garlic

-1 cube of chicken bullion

-Handful of cilantro

-1 TBS salt, plus more to taste

Directions:

1) Put pork in large pot and just cover with water. Add tablespoon of salt and put on stove over high heat to boil for 45 minutes to 1hr, until pork is soft (it will feel soft to the touch when ready).

2) While pork is cooking, pull the stems off the serranos and/or cut the tops off the jalepeños. Remove the sticky leaf from the tomatillos and discard.

3) In a blender or food processor, work in batches to blend jalepeños and/or serranos, onion, tomatillos, garlic, and cilantro. For each batch, fill the blender or food processor with a mixture of the ingredients (you can chop them a bit to make the blending easier, though it's not necessary). Add 1-2 cups of water to aid the blending process. Result should be the consistency of a thick salsa. If it's too thick, add more water to the blending. If it's too thin, use less. Work in batches until you've used all ingredients.

4) When pork is ready, add the salsa to the pot. Then, add the cube of chicken bullion.

5) Cut the zucchini into small strips, about 3 inches in length. Add them to the pot and cook for another 20 minutes or so, until zucchini are cooked but not mushy.

6) Add salt to taste

Serve and enjoy with warm tortillas, which you can rip and use as utensils like we do :)