Mind-Bendingly Easy Green Chili Stew Recipe

I was rather stunned when I actually sat down to make a grocery list for this recipe sent in by Maggie Towne. It was missing some measurements and I hadn’t even noticed that! You all know what growth that is, right? I was so excited about making it that I didn’t even see some proportions were being left for me to decide! And I went right ahead with my plans, not batting an eye at the prospect of using my budding, new, cooking instincts. I figured I would simply know intuitively, or however (divine guidance perhaps?) what proportions would be good. Unbelievable! Mind-bending, in fact. Where’s Jeane and what have you done with her, right?

I followed Maggie’s suggestion and made this the night before, although I didn’t use a crock pot. I just simmered it on the stove top all evening and put it back on to simmer again in the morning. My friend, Kim Moss, (see previous post Leaving As Arrival, Kim Leaves Truchas, NM) was coming for a visit and I decided to make this for our lunch.

I ended up having to make a rather big substitution. I couldn’t find canned hominy at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, and wasn’t certain I’d find it if I stopped at another store, so I bought Bueno frozen posole (hominy). I measured it using the 2 empty bean cans, filling them with chicken stock for the juice. I used what I thought was the equivalent of 2 cans. But the posole seemed like it was only partly cooked, if at all, and then frozen. So it ended up absorbing a lot of the liquid as it, also, expanded dramatically in size. I ended up having to add quite a bit of chicken stock to compensate. We really liked this dish, but I’m certain it would be even better if the posole hadn’t overtaken so much.

I emailed Maggie to ask her where she gets the canned hominy and this is what she said: “Any Albertsons or supermarket would have it… but really Jeane, the dried hominy is best (soak it overnight in water and cook it like you do dried beans, but for less time) and I’ll bet the frozen (dried) is better than the canned. You can tweak this dish in all kinds of ways. To make it spicier (I usually use mild) use the hotter frozen green chiles. Try fresh tomato instead of canned, spicy Italian chicken sausage (Whole Foods has a good one), chunks of lean browned pork shoulder… whatever. Or no meat at all. Recently I added roasted chunks of butternut squash to it. ‘Kitchen sink’ green chile stew.”

So that’s where I went wrong. I needed to soak and cook the posole before measuring it out and adding it to the stew. I think I’ll try using the canned next time around.

And Maggie is right: it’s incredibly easy to make. And, I might add, quite delicious. I recommend it to you all.

Maggie says:

Borrowed from my old work-in-the-kitchen days at Dory’s Restaurant in Taos….

Easy Green Chile Stew

Brown good spicy chorizo (drain if very fatty) (I used 1 lb)

Saute chopped onions and garlic (I used 1 good-sized onion and 3 cloves garlic)

Add 1 carton of Bueno green chiles (in the freezer section of the grocery store—roasted and packed only in New Mexico: http://www.buenofoods.com/)

1-2 cans black or pinto beans w/juice (I used 1 can of each)

1-2 cans tomatoes chopped w/juice (I used 2)

1-2 cans hominy w/juice (I would use 2 next time, once I know where to buy them)

Cook cook cook till all flavors meld (crock pot great for this overnight with lid on low heat)

Serve with shredded sharp cheddar in the bottom of the bowl and with warm good corn tortillas…

Love to you all,
Jeane

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