Kitchen Bootcamp: Braising and stewing

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.

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.

40 thoughts on “Kitchen Bootcamp: Braising and stewing”

  1. 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 😉

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  2. 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!

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  3. 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.

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  4. 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 😀

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  5. 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.

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