New Mexican Red Chile Stew
New Mexico Chiles are the dried form of the Red Anaheim Pepper. This chile has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This chile ranges from 2 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. The New Mexico Chile may be referred to as the California Chile or Chile Colorado. New Mexico Chiles are commonly used in Red Mexican or Southwestern sauces and is grown in Mexico. This mildly hot chile. Scoville heat units 8,000 – 12,000.
Suggested Use:
New Mexico Chiles are mildly hot and very popular in Southwest cooking. Great in sauces, salsa, rice dishes, stews and soups. Add directly to the cooking liquid along with other spices. Use in stir fry, or add to chicken or fish marinades.
Ingredients:
18 dried New Mexico red chiles
2 large cloves garlic
1 small white onion
Salt and ground black pepper
1 tsp all-purpose flour
2 lbs (about 6) bone-in pork chops
3 large russet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 2 cups)
Instructions:
Soaking pods and seasoning chile puree: Lightly rinse the chiles under running water. Wearing gloves, remove the seeds, stems, and veins (the more seeds and veins you leave in, the hotter the sauce will be). Place the chile pods in a pot and cover with boiling water. Cover and let the chiles soak until plump, about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving 2 cups of soaking liquid. In small batches, blend the softened chiles, garlic, onion, 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper, and the flour until just smooth, using reserved liquid if necessary. Strain the chile puree through a wire mesh sieve and discard stray seeds and skin. Puree should be consistency of tomato paste.
Frying and simmering the meat: Remove the pork meat from the bone. Set bones aside. Cut the meat into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, fry the meat and bones in their own fat over medium heat. After the pork has browned, pour the chile puree into the skillet. Bring to a boil. Add the potatoes. Lower the heat and simmer covered until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, or garlic.
Serves 8.
From Celebracion by Regina Cordova.