chile verde

crock pot chile is great for days when it's too warm to cook a lot inside, but gets a little chilly in the evening. this was my first time working with tomatillos - i get so excited when i try a new ingredient.  i wanted to make this recipe this because i *love* salsa verde, and what could be better than big bowl of it for dinner?  typically chile verde is made with pork, so i modified my pork chop recipe and used it in this recipe.  it was a fantastic addition, so don't forgo it!

for the shredded pork:

• 3/4 cups wheat gluten
• 1/2 cup veggie broth, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
• 2 tablespoons low sodium soy
• 2 tablespoons cup cold water
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

for the chile:

• 10-12 small-medium tomatillos
• 1 poblano pepper
• 1 serano pepper 
• 2 jalapenos
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 cups veggie broth
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 small onion, finely minced

to make the shredded pork, mix the dry and wet ingredients (use only 1/4 cup of the veggie broth) in two separate bowls, then mix wet into dry and kneed for a few minutes.  once the gluten starts to form, create a large flattened 'chop' and place in glass baking dish with the 1/4 cup of veggie broth (to prevent sticking).  bake at 375°f for 40 minutes.  pull out and set aside.

peel the paper husk of each tomatillo and rinse thoroughly.  next, drill out the small core of the tomatillo and slice long-wise into thirds.  each slice should be no more than a 1/2 inch thick.  place the slice on a large foil-lined baking on 375°f for 20 minutes.  during this time, they will release a lot of water, so when they are done baking, i pull them out drain as much water off the pan as possible.  then turn on broiler, and broil for about 6 minutes until they start browning in spots.

next, de-seed the poblano, serano and jalapeno peppers and slice each pepper into quarters.  move the tomatillos to a separate dish and lay the other peppers on the baking sheet.  also, place the seitan pork with the peppers and broil for 10 minutes, flipping the pork at the 5 minute mark.   the seitan will start to bubble and crisp on the outside (don't let it burn), which makes for a nice texture in the chili. once the setian pork has cooled, cut it into bite size pieces.

put tomatillos and rest of peppers in a food processor and chop for about 20 seconds - until no peppers left. in a 3 quart sauce pan or small crock pot, add the blended peppers, rest of chili ingredients and cubed pork.  simmer on low for a minimum of 3 hours.

don't be scared off by all the peppers, it was surprisingly mild (with just a little heat).