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 3. Slow Burn: A Family History of...

Green Chile Stew Credit: Vanessa Baca

Vanessa Baca


SLOW BURN: A FAMILY HISTORY OF GREEN CHILE STEW 

Thu, Dec 1, 2022, 11:20am | By Vanessa Baca

Wintertime in New Mexico is unique. The relatively mild weather, the smell of
pine-scented woodsmoke in the air, the farolitos and luminarias that light up
the nights throughout the holidays, and of course, the food, all contribute to
this sense of magic. Ubiquitous in our state, chile is a staple in our recipes
year-round, but in the winter, it truly stakes its claim. 

Red chile gravy is part of the Thanksgiving meal for every New Mexican I have
ever known, including my own family. Green chile is roasted, peeled, bagged and
frozen in the late summer or early autumn for use throughout the winter and
spring, usually hoarded in that second freezer that many of us have just for the
purpose of having a perpetual stash on hand. In my house in the winter, this
frozen treasure makes a regular appearance in one of my favorite family recipes,
green chile stew. 

The methods of making green chile stew are as varied as the culture and
people of New Mexico itself. Some folks stick to the most well-known tradition
and use pork. Some families prefer beef or even lamb. Others omit the meat
entirely for a vegetarian version. Flour is sometimes used to thicken the liquid
into a gravy sauce. The addition of chicken broth, beer or wine is always a
welcome augmentation to the hot water generally used as the stew base.  

Most New Mexico restaurants have some version of green chile stew on their
menus, and here in Albuquerque, many a late night has ended with a Styrofoam
bowlful of steaming-hot green chile stew from institutions like The Frontier or
Golden Pride. There is nothing like a bowl of Frontier green chile stew,
lavishly studded with chunks of meat and potato and the pungent scent of
green chile wafting up your nose to blast away the cobwebs of one too many
last-call cocktails. It’s an example of being able to take a dish that is a
staple of New Mexico family food and turn it into a dish that anyone and
everyone can enjoy on a regular basis. 

In my own family, my Nana Jean passed her recipes down in a cookbook she made
for all of her grandchildren, detailing the variety of home-cooked meals that
she cooked on a regular basis and that we all adored. More generic recipes such
as rum cake, chocolate-chip cookies, and rice pudding were combined with
traditional New Mexican dishes like enchiladas, caldito, natillas and of course,
green chile stew. I vividly remember her browning chunks of pork, chopping
onions and garlic, opening cans of stewed tomatoes, and thawing out a precious
bag of roasted and peeled green chile to add to the stew simmering on the stove,
or later, in the Crock-Pot. The remembered taste of her green chile stew, the
warmth as it went down my throat and landed in my stomach, the slow burn of the 
chile that made my ears tingle and my nose run … these memories bring back the
joy and comfort of being with her and give an overall sense of well-being and
happiness.  

Stews are found in every single culture throughout time. After all, there is no
easier way to stretch a pricier ingredient such as meat than to combine it
with less expensive vegetables such as potatoes, onions, garlic and tomatoes,
add some liquid such as water, broth or even beer, and cook it over low heat for
several hours. In rural and agrarian communities, the making of stews was an
essential way to feed large families while also utilizing the food harvested on
the farm. As well, the method of low, slow cooking dates back thousands of
years and actually contributed to the invention of the Crock-Pot itself, which
is frequently used to make green chile stew. 

According to the Smithsonian Magazine, the Crock-Pot first made its appearance
in the 1950s, an invention created by a Jewish immigrant named
Irving Nachumsohm, originally from the Lithuanian village of Vilnius. Vilnius
was once regarded as the “Jerusalem of the North,” where the many Jewish
families who lived there readied for the Sabbath by preparing stews made up of
meat, beans, and vegetables in earthenware crocks. These crocks would be taken
to the town bakeries where the stews would cook slowly overnight in the hot
ovens. Nachumsohm, who later changed his name to Naxon when he immigrated to the
United States, had learned of this cooking method from a relative, and put his
engineering and scientific mind to work inventing a modern slow cooker. The end
result was the Crock-Pot that we know and use today.  

My own method of making green chile stew has evolved from the recipe given to me
by my Nana. Rather than use a Crock-Pot to achieve that slow burn that long, low
cooking comports(?) to a stew, I instead cook mine in a huge stock pot over a
very low flame for up to seven hours. At its heart, this dish retains the base
of meat, potatoes, onion, and green chile cooked in liquid. However, as all
recipes should, mine has its own additions that make it both an homage to the
original and a unique dish that reflects the taste of the cook. I am not a huge
fan of pork, so I use chicken instead. I use homemade chicken stock as the
liquid base and I always add a cup of white wine. Being a garlic lover, I add 10
chopped cloves, and a packet of Lipton onion soup mix augments the taste. But to
me, it’s that lengthy simmer time that gives green chile stew its richly unique
flavor. This is how I make mine. 

Dice a large onion and six cloves of garlic and brown them in olive oil. Cube
six boneless, skinless chicken thighs and brown them with the garlic and onion.
Add two cans of chopped tomatoes and three heaping cups of chopped green chile.
Pour over five cups of chicken broth and a cup of white wine, add in a packet of
Lipton’s onion soup mix, and add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low
for seven hours, stirring occasionally. During the last two hours of
cooking, add in three (or more) cubed potatoes. The potato starch will slightly
thicken the stew as it continues to bubble away. When you’re ready to eat, serve
the stew with a warm, buttered tortilla and enjoy your bowl of New Mexico comida
de alma. 

NOTE: This is a recipe that can be adjusted for more or fewer people, so add
more chicken, more potatoes, more broth or more green chile as needed. 

 

Vanessa Baca is a cook, writer, public relations professional, blogger and
podcaster. Her food blog: www.foodinbooks.com, reviews various works of
literature and recreates the food references in these books. Her podcast:
www.anchor.fm./cookingthebooks, showcases literary cuisine with a variety of
guests. She is a native New Mexican, lived briefly in Spain, travels
extensively, and has taken cooking lessons in several countries.

Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this blog
post/article does not necessarily represent those of the New Mexico Humanities
Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Tags 4new mexico traditionsgreen chilegreen chile stewfood lover


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« Previous Column: Little brown bags: A brief meditation on a Nuevo Mexico
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Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these blog
posts/articles do not necessarily represent those of the New Mexico Humanities
Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SLOW BURN: A FAMILY HISTORY OF GREEN CHILE STEW 

Thu, Dec 1, 2022, 11:20am
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