October might be my favorite month for cooking. There’s still an abundance of vegetables and fruits at the farmers market and the dip in temperature means it’s time for slow cooking, roasting, glazing and caramelizing. There are few things better than coming home from a long day to a house filled with the scent of a thoughtfully prepared meal. This recipe for tender pork and chile stew gives you that with minimal prep; it’s easily assembled in the morning and waiting to warm your belly when you get home.

The most complicated part of this recipe is roasting the chiles but you can easily just throw them on the barbecue when you’re grilling up dinner the night before (that’s what I did). Even better, just open a can of roasted chiles. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Martha. This was one of those recipes that I found myself saying “I can’t believe how good this is” the whole time I was eating it…and again the next night and the night after. It is at once comforting and bright and is going to be on heavy rotation in this house once the cold settles in. Easy and impressive, my favorite.

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

4 pound boneless pork shoulder

1 small white onion, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon oregano

2 cups tomatillos, husks removed and quartered

2 roasted hatch chiles or one 4 oz can diced chiles

4 cloves garlic

2 cups chicken stock

5 small to medium golden potatoes, cubed

salt and pepper to taste

Cut pork shoulder into 1 inch cubes and quickly sear in a hot skillet coated with olive oil. Add onions and cook until pork has browned on all edges, about 5-10 minutes. Layer the pork and onion mixture into the bottom of a slow cooker. Sprinkle the bay leaves, cumin and oregano on top. In a vitamix or food processor combine the tomatillos, chiles, garlic and chicken stock and blend until smooth. Pour over the pork mixture and top with potatoes. Set the cooker to low for 8 hours and get on with your day. When it’s time to eat give it a stir and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with warm tortillas and top with avocado, a dollop of sour cream, fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime.