I was excited to read that this month’s Kitchen Bootcamp challenge was braising and stewing. There’s nothing like a little braising to tender up even the toughest cut of meat and who doesn’t like a good stew in the winter?
I was a little bit inspired by a couple of things this month – firstly, our recent trip to Mexico where the salsas can truly elevate plain dishes to new heights of tasty and secondly, by some sad looking tomatillos languishing in the bottom of our crisper. I found a wonderful recipe for New Mexican Green Chile Stew as I perused Chapter 23 of The Professional Chef, calling for only a very few ingredients and knew that my tomatillos would have a happy home in the salsa which originally called just for Anaheim chiles and jalapeño peppers.
It’s a simple recipe, despite all the steps – as with the wonderful ratatouille I made last year from The Professional Chef, each different ingredient is prepared on its own (or nearly) which means everything is correctly cooked and when you mix them all together you get a perfect marriage of flavours without some ingredients being over or under-cooked. Like most stews, it’s a dish that tastes better the next day and freezes well, developing the flavour even more.
adapted from The Professional Chef, page 657
Ingredients makes 10 servings
227g white beans, soaked overnight
1.6kg pork shoulder, medium dice
2.4 litres chicken stock
680g Anaheim peppers (we used Banana peppers), halved lengthwise
6 small tomatillos, washed
30ml vegetable oil
340g onions, small dice
28g minced garlic (about a tablespoon)
900g potatoes, medium dice
45g jalapeño peppers, seeded
a handful of chipped cilantro
pepper and salt, to taste
cilantro sprigs, to garnish
Method
Place the beans in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil then simmer on low-medium heat for about an hour, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Beans should be completely tender.
Meanwhile, while the beans are cooking, bring a large pot of water to the boil and blanch the pork for about 5 minutes, skimming the scum that rises to the surface. This step ensures you have removed any impurities. Drain and rinse the pork and set aside.
Add stock to a large pot and add the pork, potatoes and beans. Simmer on low heat for about 90 minutes. Pork should be extremely tender.
Place peppers and tomatillos flesh side down on an oven tray and broil on high until the skin is blackened. Place them in a bowl and cover them with plastic wrap – this will “steam” them and allow for easier peeling. Peel and remove the seeds of the peppers and the flesh of the tomatillos. Place tomatillo and jalapeno flesh in a blender. Add the jalapenos and chopped cilantro to the roasted peppers and purée until as smooth as you like. (I used the attachment on my immersion blender, perfect for little quantities of salsa!)
Heat oil in a sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and fry until onions are translucent – approximately 5 minutes. Add the onions and garlic to the pork mixture. If there is still a lot of liquid, reduce the heat to very low and continue to cook, uncovered until the stew has reached the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
We served this stew the following day – it’s one of those that gets better with age – and to store it, I alternated layers of the pork/potato and the salsa. This allowed for the flavour of the salsa to permeate the otherwise bland stew. To serve, make sure you have a bit of each layer and garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs.
A wonderful bowl of comfort on a cold day with a little bit of kick from the chiles – I will definitely be making this again.
Want to join us working through the chapters of the Professional Chef? Check out the Kitchen Bootcamp page here and buy The Professional Chef on Amazon.ca or Amazon.com.
Ahem. It’s even nicer when you get Mr. Neil to make it… 😉
Yes. Even better!
Love this. Your photos and description have me pulling our copy of The Professional Chef off the bookcase (so heavy!). Thanks for inspiring us to dig back into that book.
It’s a big book for sure but it’s got some great recipes!
I have some white beans here…seems to be calling for this recipe!
I love recipes for new salsas – my all time favorite meal topper. This green chile stew looks awesome. Wishing I had a big pot of it in the fridge for meals today 😉
Salsa really can elevate a meal to great heights I find!
This looks like it’s right up my husband’s alley… I’ll have to send this over to him so he can take a crack at it!
It’s pretty easy actually – it’s all about cooking it low and slow!
This looks like a perfect anecdote for winter. Thank you!
This looks fabulous Mardi! Isn’t this cold weather the pits?!
Yes but it’s nice when you come across easy recipes that are healthy and comforting to help you cope with the awful winter!
We’ve had some wonderful green chile stew in Santa Fe and never found a recipe that did it justice. Your version looks like a winner.
I’d be interested to see how it matches up!
Love green chiles!
Love New Mexico!
Thanks for this recipe which sounds authentic!!! I am saving this recipe for the weekend to make.
It is indeed a great recipe – a keeper!
This looks delicious! I love anything that is braised. It’s so comforting and hearty. Yum!
Yes and it’s not that heavy but so warming – a perfect match!
Wow, your dishes are always so impressive!
great take on stew – i love the bright, fresh salsa with it!
And it makes the brown food look pretty too!
I’d like a giant bowl of this right now please ; )
It’s perfect for this weather!
I have made this one from Pro Chef and you are right – it’s a great stew and is better if made a day ahead!!
As most stews are! 😉
Oh… I love this and will keep it for winter. I do love my chillies as well 🙂
They certainly added some flavour to a dish that might not otherwise have much!
We enjoyed an Ontario off-dry Riesling with this stew, by the by…
Comforting and intriguing at the same time.
Yes it was definitely a bright, fresh mouthful in what could be a fairly boring stew. Love the salsa!
I love pork belly – this looks gorgeous.
It’s not pork belly actually though that would make a great stew!
Lovely! I actually thought of making this recipe from TPC… I just love the flavors in the dish.
Thanks for submitting this to the Kitchen Bootcamp challenge this month!
It’s a great dish and I can see it working well with chicken too! thanks for hosting!
Ooh Mardi, DEFINITELY my kind of chilli stew! However, the thought of making/eating it right now is enough to almost make me pass out… if I wasn’t already almost passing out from the heat and humidity combo we’re currently trapped in here. My only consolation is that my sister gave me a SodaStream for my birthday so I can guzzle fizzy tasty treats 😀
Err – trapped? Where? Why? Yikes! And Soda Streams are the BEST! Guzzle away!
Green chiles? YES PLEASE! This sounds so darn good that I don’t think I can run into the kitchen fast enough to make it!
It’s an interesting combination and so tasty!
If you loved this, you really should try making it with Hatch chiles instead of banana peppers. Nothing does New Mexican green chile stew justice like the native grown Hatch chiles. You will not be disappointed. I cut my teeth on my Nana’s stew, growing up in northern NM. I’m anxious to taste your recipe.
Thanks, I used what I had on hand at the time but would definitely try it with hatch peppers another time!