A January gift: Michelle's Green Chile Recipe
This used to be on the message board and was lost when the archives were lost. Now it will always be available.

A few weeks ago, I awakened one morning with a powerful hunger for green chile stew. Since it was the tail end of the holiday season and I was trying to avoid hefty foods, I resisted.

The next morning, the craving was stronger, and all day I considered the possibility that I should get some if I wasn't going to cook it. Stopped in that evening to buy a bottle of wine and the smell of chile wafted through the winter night like La Llorona's lure, but I'd just missed closing time. The next morning, a Friday, I just didn't have time. The weekend crush wrapped me up and although I was nearly obsessed with the idea of green chile, I didn't make any or buy any.

Sunday morning, I was feeling out of sorts, maybe like a cold or the flu. Monday morning, it was a full-blown sinus infection, requiring a trip to the doctor and a round of antibiotics and all the rest.

If I'd just listened to my body the Wednesday before, saying, "Hey, we need some chile! Now!" I suspect the sinus infection would have been avoided. Or lessened. It's not folklore--it really helps with colds/upper respitory infections. I made a big pot of chile from my sister in law's recipe and ate some every day. If you're feeling the blues, maybe it will help you, too.

Enjoy.

MICHELLE'S GREEN CHILE

1 lb of pork (chop or shoulder), cubed
2 T olive oil
2 medium sized yellow onions, chopped
1-1/2 T flour
3 cups fresh Anaheim (or Pueblo, or any other mildish green chile) chiles, roasted and chopped
OR
3 large cans (7-oz) of canned green chiles (my favorite brand is Ortega)
1 small can of jalapeno peppers
1 large can peeled, whole tomatoes
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
Water as necessary

Brown the cubed pork in the olive oil, then brown the onions slowly until transluscent. Stir in flour and brown. Add chiles and stock, then whole tomatoes, with juices. The trick to a good broth is to cut the tomatoes open and chop them roughly while they're in the stew. (If you like I suppose you could chop them in a bowl, preserving the juices, before you add them to the stew.) Let stew simmer for an hour or two, until flavors are blended and rich, adding small amounts of water if the broth gets too thick.

Can be served in a bowl with home style warm tortillas. Or in a bowl with a half a cup of ground beef in the bowl. And tortillas. Or over burritos.

Till next time,
Barbara