Green Chile Stew, the Santa Fe Way
[Sample copy — Dale will write his own introduction here.] The first September I lived in Santa Fe, I followed my nose across a parking lot to a propane-fired chile roaster tumbling a bushel of Hatch greens. I bought a sack on the spot, without the faintest plan. This stew is what became of it, and I've made it nearly every week of every chile season since.
📷 Your photo here — the finished stew, shot by a sunny window
Altitude note: At Santa Fe's 7,000 feet, water simmers around 198°F instead of 212°F, so the pork needs closer to 90 minutes than the hour a sea-level recipe would call for. Taste for tenderness; don't trust the clock.
Ingredients
- 2½ pounds pork shoulder, cut into ¾-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups roasted, peeled, chopped green chile (Hatch or Chimayó, medium-hot)
- 1½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, in chunks
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- Salt to taste; warm flour tortillas for serving
Method
- Pat the pork dry and brown it in oil over medium-high heat, in batches, until deeply colored. Don't rush this — it's the backbone of the stew.
- Lower the heat, add the onion, and cook until translucent. Add the garlic for the final minute.
- Return the pork with the chile, oregano, and stock. Bring to a bare simmer.
- Simmer, partly covered, about 60 minutes (90 at altitude — see note above).
- Add the potatoes and simmer until both pork and potatoes are tender, 25–30 minutes more.
- Salt generously, rest ten minutes, and serve with tortillas for mopping.
A critic's postscript
[Sample copy.] Thirty-odd years of reviewing restaurants taught me that the best dishes are rarely the fanciest ones — they're the ones a cook has made so many times the recipe has disappeared into their hands. This stew is my candidate. Make it a dozen times and you'll stop measuring, too.