Green Chile Stew
When we lived in Santa Fe, I often walked through the plaza to get to work where they had a couple of street food vendors.
My favorite street food was when the weather cooled and pinon smoke filled the air from chimneys, “my fajita guy” would make green chile stew. It’s bold and deep with a copious amount of roasted green chile that brings a charred sweetness that warms the soul from the inside out.
Everyone makes green chile stew a little different, but this version is pretty standard. Some people will even add squash to the stew, but I find it starts to mute the chile flavor. Let’s be real. Chile is the whole point of the stew.
When I made a double batch of the stew last weekend, I had bags of chile sitting on the counter defrosting. My Armo asked what I was doing with all of the chile and I said green chile stew and I’m pretty sure his heart skipped a beat.
Note: Because the stew flavor is all in the chile, you can’t use canned green chile. I’ll admit, I haven’t made green chile stew with the canned kind, but I can’t imagine it would be satisfying or even taste good. If you can’t get your paws on roasted chile, you can buy green poblanos or ancho chiles and broil them in your oven. As soon as they’re blackened, put them in a bowl and cover it tightly with Saran wrap. Trapping the steam will make peeling the chile much easier.
Green Chile Stew Ingredients
1 lb pork roast
3-4 Tbl high heat oil
1 c chopped onion
½ c chopped celery
½ c chopped carrots
1 ½ lbs roasted green chile (weighed with skin on and seeds in)
1 ½ quarts water
2 Tbl Better Than Chicken Bouillon
2 Tbl tomato paste
1 c frozen corn
¾ lb of red or Yukon gold potatoes
1 Tbl minced garlic
1 tsp salt
Green Chile Stew Directions
Cut the pork into ¾” cubes. Pat the meat dry with paper towels.
Heat 1-2 Tbl of oil in a Dutch oven to hot. You want enough oil to cover the bottom of the pot. After the oil shimmers and before it reaches smoke point, add 1 piece of meat. If it gives a loud sizzle and continues to sizzle, leave it in the pot. If it sizzles lightly, remove the meat and heat the oil hotter. When it’s hot enough, add pieces of meat in a single layer with space between the piece. Flip the meat over when the meat is medium-colored brown.
As you remove meat that is browned on both sides, you can add new pieces. Add oil if the pan dries out.
When the meat is finished cooking, lower the heat and add 1 c chopped onions, ½ c chopped celery, and ½ c chopped carrots. You should hear a sizzle when the seasoning hits the pan, but should fade out. Lower the heat if needed. Occasionally stir until the vegetables are soft and the onion is clear.
While the vegetables are cooking, clean 1 ½ lbs of roasted chile. Hold the stem in one hand and run your fingers or knife over the charred skin to remove the black parts. Slice off the stem and remove the seed head. That will remove most of the seeds. The few straggling seeds can go in the pot.
Lay the skinned chile flat and rough chop it. When the vegetables in the pot are soft, add the chile, 1 ½ quarts of water, 2 Tbl Better Than Chicken Bouillon, 2 Tbl tomato paste, 1 c of frozen corn, and cooked pork to the Dutch oven. Bring it to a boil then down to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour.
Cut 3/4 lbs potatoes in half then half again to quarter them. Add 1 tsp salt, 1 Tbl minced garlic, and the potatoes to the pot. Continue to simmer until the potatoes are fork tender. It should be about 30 minutes. Taste. Add salt if needed. If you used poblanos, you’ll need to add cayenne to make it spicy.
Notes
The heat level varies depending on the chile you use. The veins in chile is what causes them to be “hot”, but it’s hard to remove the vein in a roasted chile without losing too much of the pepper. If you’re sensitive to pepper, make sure you start with a mild chile.
If you’re sensitive to heat and are roasting the chile yourself, you can cut the stem off, slice it in half down the length and remove the veins. Put them on a sheet pan, cut side down before broiling it.
