There’s nothing more comforting to a New Mexican than a bowl of Green Chile Stew. On our recent visit to Santa Fe, Joe and I sat down at a little sidewalk cafe to share a tamale and a bowl of green chile stew. It was a rainy day with a chill in the air so a bowl of stew sounded wonderful. The pork was tender, the chile was hot with big chunks of potato and a hint of cilantro. It really hit the spot. Joe mentioned again and again how good that stew was that I took it as a hint that I should make up a pot when we got home. I started making this recipe years ago when Joe and I lived in Albuquerque and it always reminds me of home.
You’ll need a pound of pork roast cut into bite size pieces, 2 onions, 2 potatoes, 4 cloves garlic, 2 tomatoes, 8 – 10 Hatch green chiles, a quart of chicken stock, salt and about 1/3 cup of cilantro.
Drizzle olive oil in a dutch oven or a slow cooker. Season the pork with a sprinkle of salt and brown meat. If using a slow cooker it may be easier to brown in a skillet first, then transfer meat to the slow cooker.
As the meat begins to brown, add the diced onion, and grate garlic cloves into the pot.
Stir the pot and then add a quart of stock.
Add the diced green chile to the pot.
I diced 2 unpeeled medium potatoes to go into the stew next.
Add the potatoes, then bring the stew just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and let simmer for 4 – 5 hours. The aroma over the next few hours fills the house.
This has simmered for 4 hours and the pork and veggies are tender and tasty. Time to add some more flavors to the pot.
Chop 2 tomatoes and about 1/3 cup of cilantro to add for the last hour of cook time.
Add the colorful red and green to the pot.
Simmer with the tomatoes and cilantro for 1 hour.
A buttered flour tortilla is just the thing to serve with a big bowl of Green Chile Stew!
Green Chile Stew
1 pound lean Pork, cut into bite size pieces
2 Onions, diced
4 cloves Garlic, grated on a microplane grater
8 – 10 Hatch Green Chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced
2 Tomatoes, diced
2 medium Potatoes, diced
1/3 cup fresh Cilantro, roughly chopped
1 quart Chicken Stock
Drizzle olive oil in a dutch oven and brown pork. Add the diced onions and grated garlic to the pot. Cook for a couple minutes more, then add chicken stock, diced green chile and diced potato. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer and cover the pot for 4 hours. After the 4 hours have passed, add the diced tomato and cilantro to the pot and simmer 1 additional hour.
Ladle into bowls and serve with buttered flour tortillas.
An Inspired Cook 