Culinary Adventures, Inc.

Clemole con Salsa de Rabanos

There are no specific foods or dishes associated with Cinco de Mayo, but since it is spring time, here is a vegetable soup from Puebla made special by the addition of a zesty radish sauce. This dish is a complete and flavorful meal traditionally cooked in a clay pot. This recipe is from Mexico the Beautiful Cookbook.

For the Soup

• 1 1/2 lbs. (750 g) boneless pork shoulder, cubed
• 1/2 white onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 10 cups (80 fl oz/2.5 l) water
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 1 1/2 lbs (750 g) tomatillos, husks removed
• 1 cup (1 1/2 oz/45 g) chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 ears corn, each cut into 3 chunks
• 8 ozs. (250 g) small zucchini, sliced 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick
• 8 ozs. (250 g) young green beans, trimmed and cut in half

For the Sauce

• 1 cup (8fl. oz/250 ml) water
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 4 chiles poblanos, roasted, peeled, membranes removed, and cut into thin strips
• 6 radishes, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup (4 oz/125 g) finely chopped white onion
• 3/4 cup (6 fl oz/180 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice

Place the pork, onion, garlic, water and salt in a large pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, skim the surface, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the pork is tender, about 45 minutes. Correct the seasonings and set aside.

In a blender, puree the tomatillos, cilantro and chiles serranos. Set aside.

To make the sauce, combine the water, salt and vinegar in a bowl, add the chiles poblanos and soak for 30 minutes. Drain the chiles and combine with the radishes, onion, orange juice and lime juice.

Twenty minutes before serving, bring the pork mixture to a boil, add the corn, zucchini and green beans and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 10-15 minutes. Bring the soup to a boil, add the tomatillo purÈe, stir and remove from the heat.

Pass the sauce separately, to be served over the hot soup. Serves 6.