Pork and Green Chile Stew

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the pieces of pork all over with salt and pepper, then transfer to the pot and cook, turning as needed, until golden brown on all sides and some of their fat has rendered, about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate.

Add the onion, garlic and serrano chiles to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized at the edges and soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the Hatch chiles and any liquid that accumulated into the pot and stir to combine with the aromatics. Pour in the chicken stock, then return the pork to the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and cook the pork until it’s tender, about 2 hours.

Uncover the pot and stir in the tomatoes. Cover the pot again and continue cooking until the tomatoes break down and the pork is very tender and almost falling apart, 45 to 60 minutes more.

In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and water to create a slurry. Uncover the pot and pour in the slurry, stirring to ensure it’s evenly incorporated in the stew. Continue cooking the stew for another 15 minutes to allow the liquid to thicken. Remove the pot from the heat and season with more salt.

Spoon the stew into serving bowls and top each with grated cheddar. Serve while hot with warm flour tortillas.

In a small saucepan, combine the milk and lime juice and place over medium-high heat. Warm the milk, swirling it occasionally, until hot to the touch, about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat; the mixture should end up looking slightly like cottage cheese.

Place a sieve over a large bowl and add the flour, baking powder and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the bowl, then whisk to combine; form a well in the center. Pour the curdled milk mixture and the melted butter into the well, then, with a spoon or your hands, begin stirring from the center, slowly incorporating some of the dry ingredients as you go, until the dough comes together.

Scrape the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead with your hands until elastic and well-combined, about 5 minutes; the dough will not be completely smooth but rather still a little bumpy. Return the dough to the bowl it was mixed in and place a damp kitchen towel or paper towel on top of the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Uncover the bowl and portion the dough into 30 pieces (27 grams each) and roll each piece into a ball. Arrange the dough balls on a sheet of parchment paper, nestled close together, then cover with the damp kitchen towel or paper towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

Working on a lightly floured work surface and using a rolling pin, flatten one ball of dough into a 5-inch round that’s 1/8-inch thick. Transfer the dough round to a plate and cover with a square of parchment paper to stack the next one on top of; continue this process for the remaining dough balls. Once all the dough balls are rolled and stacked, cover the rounds and plate with plastic wrap and let stand while you heat the skillet.

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Working with one round at a time, lightly brush each side with melted butter, then place a round in the skillet and cook until you see air bubbles forming in the tortilla and the bottom is golden brown, about 15 seconds. Flip the tortilla and continue cooking until it puffs up like a balloon and is golden brown on the bottom and cooked through, about 15 seconds more.

Transfer the tortilla to a kitchen towel, cover with another towel to keep it warm (or use a tortilla warmer) and repeat making the remaining tortillas, brushing each on both sides with more melted butter before cooking.