Police in India say they have arrested alleged Sikh separatist leader Amritpal Singh, bringing to an end a massive months-long manhunt.

The news was announced in a tweet on Punjab Police India’s official Twitter account.

Singh is a leading ideologue within the Waris De Punjab group, an outlawed separatist movement that seeks to establish a sovereign state called Khalistan for followers of India’s minority Sikh religion.

Police have been searching for Singh since March 18, when he was accused of attempted murder, obstruction of law enforcement, and creating “disharmony” in society.

The manhunt has revived calls for an independent Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab state, stoked fears of violence, and revived painful memories of a bloody insurgency that killed thousands.

In March, while police searched for Singh, Indian authorities blocked internet access for about 27 million people in the state of Punjab, one of the country’s most extensive blackouts in recent years.

Canada has told its citizens in Sudan that evacuations are “not possible at this time” due to the closure of airspace amid fierce fighting between rival forces.

In a tweet Saturday, the Canadian government urged its citizens to “continue to shelter in place” and assured them it was “coordinating with other countries to respond to the crisis.”

The tweet came before an announcement by US President Joe Biden that US government personnel and their families had been evacuated in an operation involving special forces troops.

Earlier on Saturday, Saudi Arabia said it had evacuated Canadian nationals from Sudan to Saudi Arabia. However, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not provide the number of Canadians it had helped to evacuate.

There are 1,596 Canadians signed up to the Registration of Canadians Abroad Service in Sudan but this number provides only an estimate of Canadians in Sudan as registration is voluntary.

Since registration is voluntary, the number of registrants for any given area is typically not fully representative of the number of Canadians actually residing or visiting that area. Canadian citizens can register through the Registration of Canadians Abroad service on the Travel.gc.ca site.

Fierce fighting erupted in the northeastern country on April 15 between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

The ensuing violence has seen hundreds killed and thousands wounded, igniting fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Many Sudanese people have been desperately trying to flee escalating violence in Khartoum, where hospitals are being flooded with victims.

But escaping Sudan now is no easy task. Bus tickets out of the conflict zone are estimated to be at least five times more expensive than before.

In addition to Canadians, Saudi authorities said they had also evacuated people from 11 other countries which included Qatar, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates and Burkina Faso, as well as its own citizens.

The key campaign promise that brought Giorgia Meloni and her far-right coalition to power in a landslide victory in last September’s election was a vow to do what no one else had done before: stop migrant boats using Italy as a gateway into Europe.

“Blocco navale,” her social media screamed (“Naval blockade now!), complete with photos of overcrowded smuggler ships.

On the campaign trail she promised to halt all migrant boats from landing on Italian shores, no matter who was on them and what drove them to risk their lives.

Her first hundred days in office were deemed a success.

She was nowhere near as far-right as some had feared, and the multilingual career politician was at ease with global world leaders.

Liberal European leaders stood to gain from the prospect of Meloni’s promise to stop the boats, and many hoped she could pull it off. Conservatives like Hungarian leader Viktor Orban heralded her win, and thanked her for “protecting Europe’s borders.”

She even managed to bring wily coalition partners Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi in line despite differences over the war in Ukraine.

Meloni rode out several storms, including Berlusconi’s admission admitting he had rekindled his bromance with Vladimir Putin after Putin sent over Russian vodka for his birthday. She sparred with Salvini over how to handle the energy crisis and his own affection for Putin. By late January, she seemed unstoppable.

Then the boats started coming, and coming, and coming.

By April 21, more than 35,000 people had arrived by boat, a number more than three times higher than the year before. By contrast, just over 4,000 people have arrived in the UK so far this year across by boat from France.

A recent poll showed that support for Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party – which won elections with 34 percent of the vote – has fallen to just over 29 percent in opinion polls.

Some believe that no one ever expected her to be successful stopping boats, so the drop in the polls reflects other issues, including her continued support for Ukraine and her relationship with China.

Italy has signed up to China’s Silk Road project, an ambitious, global infrastructure scheme some analysts view as a worrying sign of growing Chinese influence.

“Meloni will not be crippled by migrants, but if she can’t opt out of the Silk Road Agreement with China, and do it firmly, then she will not get an invitation to the White House.”

But not everyone is ready to give her a pass on migration.

He says to most Italians, the migrant crisis is still something they hear about, not something that impacts them directly.

“The turning point (is) when the migrants stop headlining the news and start becoming the people in front of their homes, you find them in the streets and squares in small Italian towns, then it becomes existential not abstract.”

Irregular migration into Europe has been one of the most divisive problems in the bloc for years.

“If you ask migration experts if she could stop boats, the answer would be no,” she said, adding that the only thing that has ever stopped migration was the Covid-19 pandemic.

Beirens says that until Europe can agree together how to address the problem issue at the root, by offering opportunities to apply for asylum earlier in the journey and working to solve problems in countries that produce the most migrants and refugees, the boats will keep coming.

“There are high expectations with these promises, and when they are not able to manage a chaotic situation, we’ll see member states going it alone and deciding unilaterally to use pushbacks, violence at the border, or worse,” she says.

Meloni has done just that by declaring a state of emergency over the migrant crisis, which will allow extremely tough measures to handle arrivals, including allowing authorities that normally handle natural disasters to swiftly repatriate migrants.

Orsina says the state of emergency buys her time. “It also allows her to cut corners in Italian bureaucracy and it sends a message to the country that the problem is being tackled seriously, but it is also a way to better organize the people who come here.”

The measure is being boycotted in several left-leaning regions; Elly Schlein, the leader of the opposition Democratic party, likened the decree to something from the Fascist era.

Meloni’s election win was an astonishing moment in Italian politics, not only because of her party’s rapid ascent from the right-wing fringes.

She was not only Italy’s youngest and first female prime minister, she was also and its first elected leader since 2011, having won such a healthy majority that post-election politics as usual were put aside.

The people had spoken, and they wanted her and all she stood for.

Now whether she can follow up on her promises to voters is the question on everyone’s mind.

Barcelona took a step forward to reaching the Women’s Champions League final by defeating Chelsea 1-0 in the first leg of their semifinal clash.

In front of 27,697 fans at Stamford Bridge – a record crowd for a women’s Champions League game in the UK – Barcelona took the lead in the fourth minute thanks to Caroline Graham Hansen’s brilliant goal and never relinquished it.

“I think we did an amazing job,” Jonatan Giráldez said afterwards, according to UEFA. “Of course we knew that it was a difficult game.

“We stopped them many times in the game. We had patience with the ball, had a lot of chances – maybe we could have scored more goals but in the end we got a victory and everything is open for the second leg.”

Graham Hansen opened the scoring early in the first half, going on a mazy run before finding the back of the net with a sensational long-range effort.

“It was just one of these moments you get the ball, everything fits when you go for it and you know it’s going to be a goal,” she said afterwards, according to UEFA website.

But the Blues regrouped after conceding the early goal, engineering chances for Guto Reiten and Sam Kerr, and banishing any thoughts of a similar collapse against Barcelona in the 2021 Champions League final when it lost 4-0.

“I can’t ask any more of the players,” Chelsea manager Emma Hayes told the club website afterwards.

“I think they gave their maximum. I remember that we lost the Champions League (final in 2021) after 25 minutes so I think it’s important for us to remember it’s half time and we’re 1-0 down that it’s important for us to learn and improve and get ready for our away leg.”

Barcelona continued to press in the second half but suffered a setback midway through when defender Lucy Bronze exited with a knee injury, though Giráldez later confirmed that it wasn’t serious.

“It was something in her knee, but now she is fine,” he said. “In the moment we made the substitution because it looked bad, but in this moment the feeling is really good.”

The second leg will be played at Camp Nou on April 27.

The projected No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, Victor Wembanyama, officially announced on Friday he will enter the process.

Wembanyama, the 19-year-old Frenchman, told ESPN that he has submitted his papers to the league to formally enter consideration to reach the NBA.

“I hope it’s big news,” he told ESPN. “Declaring for the draft … it’s something crazy I’m not realizing yet.

“I realized pretty young I wanted to play in the NBA but it becomes a reality more every day. I’m so lucky to have this dream within the reach of my hand.”

The excitement around Wembanyama’s arrival to the NBA has been likened to LeBron James’ in 2003.

Such is the potential he is seen to have, teams have traded away productive players and talent in an effort to increase their chances of acquiring his services.

The Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs all have a 14% chance of claiming the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft lottery on May 16.

Whichever team wins the lottery to get the first pick will likely select Wembanyama such is his rare combination of size, skill and athleticism.

But despite the likelihood of arriving to a team lacking in top-level talent, Wembanyama says he’ll be happy wherever he lands.

“I am not worried; there is no bad organization. I never tell myself I don’t like to go there,” he told ESPN. “Every organization is so careful about their players that there’s no wrong destination.”

Although he is just 19 years old, Wembanyama has been a dominant force with his team in France this season, Metropolitans 92.

He leads the league in both scoring and rebounds, averaging 21.5 points and 9.9 rebounds a game.

Wembanyama is listed as being 7 foot 3 inches on the French league website but has become known for the skills with the ball he has which separate him from other big-man prospects.

His dribbling and shooting abilities with his large wingspan have made him an offensive and defensive talent.

The NBA Draft takes place on June 22.

Manchester City’s treble hopes remain alive after defeating Sheffield United 3-0 in the FA Cup semifinal, thanks to a hattrick from Riyad Mahrez.

It was always the likely result although the knockout stages of any competition can produce surprises and Pep Guardiola had rested five key players – Kevin De Bruyne, Rúben Dias, Rodri, John Stones and Ederson – ahead of Wednesday’s likely title-deciding Premier League clash against Arsenal.

Still, City is one of the best teams in Europe while Sheffield United is fighting for promotion in England’s second tier – the Championship – but it was not an entirely one-sided game.

“Excellent performance,” Guardiola told ITV afterwards, “we cannot forget three days ago we were in Munich.

“The quality of Riyad we have seen for many years in this country, also with Leicester. (He is a) huge mentality competitor. Huge ambition to score goals. Scoring at the end of the first half was so important.”

Sheffield kept the scores pegged at 0-0 for much of the first half and had its own chance to take the lead early on when Iliman Ndiaye’s attempt after a corner was saved by Stefan Ortega.

But City won a penalty in the 43rd minute, which Mahrez converted and from there, the outcome seemed clear.

Just after halftime, Mahrez scored his second goal of the game – a glorious strike after he won possession on the halfway line, wove his way past the Sheffield defense and fired the ball into the net.

And then five minutes later, he had a hattrick – the first in an FA Cup semifinal since 1958 – latching onto Jack Grealish’s cross and making no mistake with the finish.

“It feels very good (to score a hat-trick),” Mahrez told ITV afterwards. “The most important thing is that two or three seasons in a row we’ve come here in the semi-finals and lost. Today, we wanted to make sure we got to the final. I think I had a good game.

“I don’t know really which goal was the best. It’s a good team achievement and we took the game seriously.”

City will face either Manchester United or Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup final on June 3.

Wrexham fans will likely be singing into the night, serenading their famous owners in the process, because the wait for promotion is finally over.

On a raucous evening at the Racecourse, and with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – the actors who have transformed the club since their 2021 takeover – in the stadium, Wrexham secured promotion to the Football League after a 15-year absence.

Once the referee blew his whistle, a come-from-behind 3-1 win against promotion-chasing Boreham Wood secured, thousands of fans raced onto the pitch, the victorious players disappearing in the red mist as fans lit flares, waved banners, and lost themselves in the moment. Television cameras showed McElhenney shedding a tear.

It has been quite the journey.

It will be said that this was a tale made in Hollywood, but the truth is the story was always here, waiting for Hollywood. The historic small town club saved from the brink by its fans, once in the higher echelons of the English football league system only to tumble into the National League, its fortunes taking a downturn both on and off the pitch.

But then came Reynolds and McElhenney and Hollywood did what it does best, adding stardust and hope to create a magical conclusion to what is the end of a chapter, not the story.

Wrexham will next season compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league. Three further promotions and they will be in English Premier League; easy to write, much harder to achieve.

A team with global appeal

Hours before kick-off, the sound of tooting horns and singing fans could be heard near the stadium. The atmosphere building for a kickoff which had been moved to later in the day so it could be broadcast live on TV.

There was no mistaking the significance of the occasion: win and the championship would be Wrexham’s and a first promotion since it was relegated to the National League in April 2008.

But the team had been here before, and failed. There was optimism – this team has only lost three times this campaign and dropped just two points at home – but also some uncertainty. Seeds of doubt are hard to rid after years of near misses.

Fans descended to the city in numbers, hotels were booked up for the night, pubs were overflowing, and there were film stars in attendance too, as is often the case these days.

Accompanying Reynolds and McElhenney for this promotion-clinching match was Paul Rudd, star of Marvel’s “Ant-Man.”

He had been pictured in the Turf, a pub near the ground, before the match, the latest Hollywood star to visit the bar which regularly features in “Welcome to Wrexham” – the Disney+ documentary which follows the actors’ first season in charge.

Lifelong fans will often shake their heads in disbelief when asked about the impact the owners and their show have had on the club and the city. That this Welsh city is now recognized globally is a source of amusement and bemusement.

The documentary seems to have captured the imaginations of many, with Americans especially seemingly having fallen for a club which is the beating heart of its community.

New Wrexham fans, from Ohio, Los Angeles, Washington and Arizona, had come to Wales this week; some had tickets, some just wanted to be in the city to see for themselves what they had watched on TV.

The club’s worldwide appeal can be measured in merchandise sales, 80% of which this season has been in global sales, the club says. By December, the club had sold out of shirts – 24,000 home, away and third strips snapped up. It is unprecedented. Needless to say, a bigger order has been put in for next season.

What next for Wrexham? The competition in League Two will be tougher, but arguably the aim – promotion to League One – might be an easier challenge than the one the club faced this season as three teams are automatically promoted from League Two, instead of the one automatic promotion spot on offer in the National League.

In Phil Parkinson, in charge of the team since the summer of 2021, the club already has a seasoned manager, one who has now enjoyed four promotions in his career, as well as several players already accustomed to playing in the Football League.

Paul Mullin, the star striker who has been integral to the team’s resurgence, will likely be a key player next season too. He scored twice, the first a special curling effort which put the home team 2-1 ahead and a 71st-minute strike which all but secured the win sparked wild celebrations.

The records broken this season – with a game remaining the club has already broken the record for most goals and points in National League history – suggests Wrexham will be more than capable of being competitive next season.

When Reynolds and McElhenney took ownership of the club in February 2021 few could have imagined the impact the pair would make. The story, and the dream, continues.

The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970. We mark it again this Saturday.

Decades after that optimistic first event, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reminds us that “global climate change has had an alarming effect on Earth and its inhabitants.”

Waves upon waves upon yet more waves of tourists crisscrossing the globe have helped contribute to the environmental stresses. But you don’t have to totally cut out travel or stay super close to home to be a good planetary citizen.

You can still tour the world and still minimize the impact on the health of our one and only (and vulnerable) planet. Check out these five ways to more gently explore the Earth:

Sustainable ships

Cruising is an industry known for its carbon-discharging vessels, waste production spanning from trash to gray water and overcrowding in ports of call.

However, you don’t need to give up your dreams of oceanic adventure to be a good steward of the environment.

Click here to find out how Hurtigruten, Ponant, Star Clippers and other cruise lines are easing pressure on the seas.

Hiking

You might burn some fossil fuels to get there, but once you’ve arrived, hiking is all about burning up calories. But where to go for an epic hike?

Greener ski resorts

The infrastructure that supports the exhilarating sport of snow skiing adds its own pressures to our warming planet.

Some resorts are trying to reduce their environmental impact, such as using renewable energy to run their lifts.

From Val d’Isere (France) and Jackson Hole (Wyoming) to Zermatt (Switzerland) and Whistler (Canada), here are 10 places where you can ski with an eased mind.

Bicycles

Not only are bicycles easier on the environment, they let you get up close and personal with cities in a way that’s just about impossible from vehicles.

But not all cities that tourists enjoy are bicycle friendly. You need a city that’s dedicated to getting it right to best enjoy an urban biking vacation.

From Antwerp and Melbourne to Montreal and San Francisco, check out these 10 cities where bicycling works.

Inspiration from a beautiful planet

Sometimes, Earth’s sheer incredible beauty and wildly varied landscapes can move us to think about better protecting the planet.

And what a beautiful world it is, whether you’re taking in the landscapes of lush Brazil, the green-hued charms of Ireland, the boundless sweep of Canada or the gorgeous scenery of Vietnam.

When Sharon Lane heard about a cruise company offering a three-year-long voyage around the world, she immediately started fantasizing about life on board.

Life at Sea Cruises is selling places on board the MV Gemini, which sets sail from Istanbul on November 1 on an epic global journey that will take in most of the planet’s prime cruising destinations.

Lane, a 75-year-old retired high school teacher from California, is a travel enthusiast. Back in the day, she taught foreign languages and loved taking her students on trips to Europe. In the 1990s, she decamped to Cape Town, South Africa for two years of adventures.

More recently, Lane’s become a cruise convert – not just because of the opportunities it affords her to see the world, but because the feeling of being adrift at sea is one of her favorite sensations.

While it’s long been Lane’s dream to live on a cruise ship full time, the steep cost has always been a barrier. But when Lane heard about the three-year-voyage from a friend on a Friday night Zoom call, she hung up and spent the rest of the evening researching and budgeting.

The cheapest rooms on the MV Gemini cost around $30,000 per year, including a discount for solo travelers. Lane calculated this cost was manageable, and decided to dive in.

“By midnight that night, I had done enough research that I booked a room,” she says.

Now, Lane is busy preparing for MV Gemini’s November disembarkation. She’s selling most of her possessions, giving up her rental lease and preparing for a long stint at sea.

“The logistics are crazy,” says Lane. “It’s a leap of faith, but I know there will be a place here when I get back. Or maybe I’ll end up living in another country. I don’t know, the sky’s the limit.”

Preparing for a new life

Lane has opted for one of the cheapest cabins on board – what Life at Sea Cruises’ is calling a “Virtual Inside” room. The 130-square-feet cabin has no window, but guests have been promised a screen that will broadcast live footage from outside the ship.

“It shows literally what you would see outside your window if you had one,” says Lane. “And that’s enough for me, it really is.”

Lane insists the prospect of three years living in a room with no natural light isn’t daunting. She plans to treat the cabin like a bedroom – she’ll sleep there, but she won’t spend a lot of time there otherwise. During the day, she’ll relax elsewhere on the ship, walking around soaking up the ocean views, or she’ll be busy enjoying exciting excursions.

While she plans to sell “95% of her possessions” before setting sail, Lane says she’ll bring along a few family photographs to make the cabin her own. She has a favorite picture of her now-adult grandsons back when they were kids and she took them on a whale-watching trip.

I actually prefer the ocean days, when we’re just sailing through or powering through the oceans, it just thrills me.

Sharon Lane

“I have that laminated and I’ll take magnets and I’ll stick it to my door for two reasons,” says Lane. “One, I get to see their faces every time I go in, which is always fun, and the other reason is it makes it really easy to know which door is yours, because you’ve got your grandsons smiling back.”

Lane hasn’t yet told her daughter or grandsons she’ll be embarking on the cruise. “I don’t want them to try and talk me out of it,” she says. Lane thinks they will support her decision, but three years is a long time, and it’s likely she won’t see much of her loved ones on land while she’s circumnavigating the world.

But Lane’s looking forward to video-calling family and friends from far flung locales – and she’s excited to forge new connections on board. She’s heard there will be many solo travelers on the voyage and reckons they will be keen to socialize. In fact, the cruise line has already connected many of the guests via an app, says Lane, and “it’s already a good time.”

“We’ve already gotten to know each other – already volunteering to help each other on things and giving each other ideas and answering questions and making plans. It’s already fun.”

Lane’s been happily single for a long time, and dismisses the notion she might find romance on board.

“That will not happen. It is completely out of my head. I have no interest. I want to make friends,” she says.

Plus, when she was making the decision to book onto the three year cruise, she found herself extra thankful for her independence – she’s spoken with people who’ve said they’re keen to sign up, but their partner or spouse isn’t interested, so it’s not happening.

“I don’t have that,” she says. “I can stay home if I want to. I can go someplace if I want to. The only thing that keeps me from doing things is health. As long as I control that I’m okay.”

Lane suffers from a medical condition in her lungs which she says makes her more susceptible to the effects of Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses. She’s rarely been out of her home, let alone on vacation, since the pandemic took hold.

But rather than being apprehensive about boarding a cruise ship, Lane suggests she’ll be more comfortable on board than on land – she’s confident in the cruise’s Covid measures and the medical facilities available on board, and also plans to take her own precautions.

“When I’m on the ship, when I’m any place where there are other people, I’ll wear an N95 mask, a surgical mask and goggles,” she says.

Lane won’t disembark the ship in certain destinations, like Antarctica, where the cold air might aggravate her lungs. But she’s very excited for much of the ship’s itinerary, including stop offs in Scotland and Ireland, places she believes her ancestors hailed from, but which she’s never visited before.

Life on board

In total, the MV Gemini will stop at 375 ports over its three-year voyage, with 208 of these including overnight stays. The ship will stop everywhere from India to China to the Maldives to Australia, with some multi-night stopovers.

Lane’s excited to see the globe and glad travelers will have time to soak up each destination, but she thinks she’ll spend more time on board the ship than many of her fellow passengers.

“For me, the ocean’s the thing,” she says. “The ship itself in the ocean, that’s the draw.”

Lane plans to blog her experience – “my goal is to write something every day,” she says. She hopes that the blog, which she writes under a pen name, will allow her to savor the journey and share her adventures with loved ones back home and strangers alike.

Lane hopes her dispatches might inspire others to take a risk and push themselves out of their comfort zone. She still regrets the years she spent in midlife, putting off traveling.

“I think I was always waiting for the perfect time to go when everything is right in life, when money is right, when appointments are right, when other people want to go,” she says.

“Don’t stay home,” she encourages. “Home may be where the heart is, home may be where you hang your hat – hang your hat, and then get on the boat, get on the plane, get in the car, go somewhere.”

Tacos come in many regional variations, and if you’re a fan of Mexico’s popular comfort food, you may be familiar with the version called birria that’s been all the rage in the United States for the past few years. On TikTok, the hashtag “birriatacos” has a whopping 1.2 billion views.

For what most believe is the original birria, however, you need to head to a state in western Mexico called Jalisco, which is also the birthplace of such cultural treasures as tequila and mariachi.

The foundation of birria tacos is red meat that’s marinated with spices and several types of chile pepper. The slow cooking process creates tender meat. The meat’s rich drippings are combined with tomatoes for a flavorful broth — or consommé — that can serve as a perfect dip.

In Jalisco, the dish is traditionally served as a stew made with goat meat, which initially was born out of necessity.

When the Spanish came to Mexico in the early 1500s, they brought goats for milk. The fast-growing population of livestock overran the crops of the Indigenous people, devouring everything in sight. So, although consuming goat meat began as a way to survive, the fact that the local people found a way to transform the tough, gamey meat into a delicious dish was a culinary victory.

The specialty was originally a poor man’s food, and eating goat was looked down upon by the Spanish. The Spanish word birria means “of little value.”

Ironically, today the classic dish is enjoyed at celebrations, including holidays and weddings, and is often made with beef in the United States.

While in Guadalajara, the state capital, Longoria tried the famous stew, prepared by Enrique Gonzales Villareal, the head chef of the Charros de Jalisco (Cowboys of Jalisco) clubhouse at Lienzo Charro de Jalisco, an arena that hosts competitive events featuring Mexican rodeo, the country’s national sport.

His family has been cooking birria from an heirloom recipe for four generations. Garlic, bay leaves and cloves combined with vinegar are some of the aromatics that help create birria’s magical taste.

The deeply savory broth has an enticing smell that makes you salivate. And the juicy meat melts in your mouth.

Right before serving, the chef adds red onion and lime to give the dish a citrusy punch. Warm tortillas accompany the delicacy to mop up the meaty stew, but you can also enjoy it as sauce-drenched tacos.

“Oh, my gosh, this broth is amazing,” Longoria said as she dug into a bowl of birria.

This dish with humble beginnings may be long overdue for a name change.

Goat Birria (Jalisco-style Goat Stew)

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

2.2 pounds I 1 kilogram bone-in goat leg or shoulder, cut into small pieces

1 dried ancho chile

2 dried guajillo chiles

2 dried morita chiles

2 dried cascabel chiles

1 whole garlic bulb

Olive oil for drizzling

Coarse kosher or sea salt to taste

1 pound | ½ kilogram vine-ripe tomatoes, preferably Campari

¼ cup | 60 milliliters white vinegar or apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon | 7½ grams ground cumin

4 black peppercorns, crushed, plus more freshly ground to taste

2 cloves

Pinch of dried oregano, preferably Mexican, plus more for garnish

2 bay leaves

1 cup | 52 grams diced red onion

½ cup | 118 grams piquin chiles

4 halved limes

Corn tortillas for serving

Equipment

Food processor, blender or mortar and pestle

Pressure cooker (optional)

Instructions

Day 1: Roast ingredients and make the overnight marinade for the meat

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius). Using a damp paper towel and wearing gloves, wipe the ancho, guajillo, morita and cascabel chiles. Destem, deseed and devein the ancho and guajillo chiles. Arrange all the chiles on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and toast until just puffed and fragrant, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the oven immediately, discard the foil and set aside the chiles for the marinade.

Next, prep the garlic. Cut ½ inch (or 13 millimeters) off the top of the whole garlic bulb so the cloves are exposed. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, then wrap and seal tightly in foil.

After the chiles are toasted, increase the oven temperature to 375 F (190 C). Place the foil-wrapped whole garlic bulb directly on the rimmed baking sheet. Roast garlic until fragrant, golden and soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Once the bulb has cooled, unwrap and squeeze out the cloves. Set aside 2 cloves for the marinade and refrigerate the remaining roasted garlic in an airtight container for another use for up to 2 weeks.

Increase the oven temperature to 450 F (232 C). Halve the tomatoes and transfer them to a bowl. Generously drizzle with olive oil and season with salt to taste. Mix until the tomatoes are evenly coated. Arrange the tomatoes directly on the rimmed baking sheet and roast until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer the tomatoes and their juices to an airtight container. Refrigerate overnight, reserving for the consommé.

2. Make the marinade. Place the reserved ancho, guajillo, morita and cascabel chiles in a bowl and cover with boiling water to rehydrate, about 20 minutes. Drain and combine chiles in a food processor with 2 cups (or 473 milliliters) water, vinegar, 2 roasted garlic cloves, cumin, crushed peppercorns, cloves, oregano and salt to taste. Strain the chiles if needed to remove bits of skin (if using a high-powered blender this step may not be necessary).

3. Season the goat meat with salt and place it in a Dutch oven or large pot. Cover the meat with the chile marinade and refrigerate for 24 hours to marinate.

Day 2: Cook the meat and the consommé

4. Pressure cooker: Place the meat and the marinade in a pressure cooker. Bring to high pressure and cook until the meat is tender, about 1 hour.

Stovetop version: Alternatively, place the meat and the marinade in a Dutch oven and cook over medium heat, covered, until the meat falls apart and is easy to shred, about 3 hours.

Remove from heat and let the meat rest until cool, then separate the meat from the pan juices. Reserve the liquid for the consommé. Shred the meat.

5. Put the tomatoes and the pan juices in a blender, and blend on high until smooth. Transfer broth to a pot, add bay leaves and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. When done, remove bay leaves and discard.

6. Place the goat meat into four individual bowls and pour the broth over. Top with Mexican oregano, diced onion, and piquin chiles; serve with warm tortillas and limes.