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Daughter called me up and asked if she should buy some Hatch Chile's? Of course you should was the answer. .89/lb. in Arizona, $2.49/lb out here in Illinois. So that inspired me to make some Hatch Chile Pork Stew.

Roast up some Hatch chile's.



Blend up some tomatillos, cilantro & garlic. Will it Blend?



Peel and cut up.



Add to the stew. Almost done...



Dish it up with some cheese, limes & tortillas. Good stuff Maynard!

The addition of tomatillos will add a richness and citrusy flavor to any salsa. This is perhaps the major difference between a green chile salsa or sauce made Mexican style (with tomatillos), or New Mexican style (without). To my mind (living 30+ years in NM), Hatch chiles deserve their own sauce without flavor competition from anything but a little chopped fresh onion and garlic, a pinch of oregano and cumin, and a little salt. That said, Hatch is not the only great chile producing region in NM. In northern NM the Big Jims, Sandia Select, and the Alcalde Improved are fabulous. Check out the web site of the Chile Pepper Institute of New Mexico State University for great information, product descriptions, and seeds if you want to grow your own.
Gumbo, I start with my go-to green chile sauce, for which I use:
1 pt roasted. peeled, stemmed and seeded, and chopped fresh green chiles (Hatch or other NM medium or hot variety)

1/4 cup medium diced sweet onion.

2 chopped cloves garlic

1 Tbl ground cumin

1 Tbl dried cilantro leaves

1/2 Tbl dried Mexican oregano.

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

2 Cups or more water or broth (depending on final use, I prefer water for flexibility on future dishes)

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat until soft. Add chiles, cumin, cilantro, oregano, salt, and pepper, and saute another few minutes to blend flavors. Add water or broth and simmer on low covered about 20 minutes. Add more liquid or reduce a little over low heat if desired for consistency. Let cool and transfer to containers to use or freeze (freezes well for a few months).

I use this sauce to add to sauteed squash (with some heavy cream at the very end), to make a topping sauce for chiles rellenos, for any enchiladas or enchilada casseroles, for Huevos Rancheros in the morning, for topping a burger, or even a steak, and then adding slices of cheese to melt over it (steak verde), to add to sauteed hominy with some cheese, etc. etc. If you love green chile, this will go very fast.

For classic New Mexican posole, I cheat a little. I use canned white hominy (instead of soaking and cooking dried hominy for hours). I simmer boneless pork butt with garlic cumin and onion for about 2 - 3 hours until it pulls apart, then drain, reserving liquid. Saute onions and garlic, add meat and spices as above, hominy, chiles (just roasted and finished, not stewed as above) and add back broth until the consistency you want, and simmer for an hour or so.

Just a note: I prefer red chile posole, where I just leave out the green chile altogether and add NM red chile powder (not "chili powder") at the end before simmering. Whatever you try let us know, I always enjoy when I hear a good variation on one of my recipes!

(everybody - sorry for the long post.)

Please let me know if you try anything and how you like it.
Last edited by jay1924

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