Title: Karen's Green Chile Stew (Chiles Verdes Con Carne)
Categories: Spice Southwest Chili Pork
Yield: 1 Servings

2	ts	Olive oil**
1/2	lb	Pork loin (1/2" chunks,
		Remove fat)
3	sm	Garlic cloves, finely
		Minced
1		Red onion, finely chopped
		(optional)
2	tb	Flour (preferably masa
		Flour)
2	tb	Cornstarch
4	tb	Water
28	oz	New Mexican chiles***
2	tb	Chopped jalapeno pepper
		(optional and preferably
		Fresh)
1	ts	Cumin
1/8	ts	Salt
1/8	ts	White pepper
2 3/4	c	Chicken broth**
2	lg	Fresh tomatoes, pureed (or
		Peeled and chopped)
		(optional)****

(4 good-sized servings) Freezes very well. Serve over plain or mexican rice, burritos, chile rellenos, chimichangas, etc.

WARNING: Do NOT touch your eyes after handling chiles, even after washing your hands very well. The oils will take a while to wear off even after the briefest touch ... as a contact lens wearer, i can *personally* attest to the importance of removing them BEFORE you get started!!

In skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute pork until all pink is gone (about 5 minutes). Move meat aside and add garlic (and onion). As soon as garlic sizzles, stir together with pork. Put into crockpot on high.

In a small bowl, make thickener by adding water to flour and cornstarch. (Add another tablespoon of cornstarch and a tablespoon of water if you prefer a thicker sauce, but wait until later in the cooking to decide if the texture is what you want, or you may accidentally make it too thick.) Add mixture to crockpot.

Add chiles, spices, chicken broth to crockpot. Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and add tomatoes. (puree the tomatoes if you like a very smooth sauce; peel and chop 'em if you like more texture). Simmer on very low heat, covered, for at least 1 hour (preferably all day).

*Note: Mexican food is a big part of my diet, so I finally spent an entire weekend preparing 10 different green chili recipes from several of my Mexican/Southwestern cookbooks and newspaper clippings, and had my family and friends (even neighbors) pick their favorite version. This recipe is the result of merging and very slightly modifying the three favorites (all three were "classic New Mexican" versions). (I'll keep fiddling with it, though!)

**Note: This green chili is already pretty low-fat, but if you prefer, eliminate or diminish the olive oil when frying your pork, and use non-fat chicken broth.

***Note: (already roasted, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped) The flavor of green chili is influenced most by the kind of green chiles you decide to use. There are about 200 varieties of chiles, only three or four of which are commonly used in green chili.

Traditional New Mexican green chiles are a special variety that were originally bred in New Mexico from Anaheims, and which (last I knew) aren't grown outside that state. The growing climate and the varietal breeding has created chiles that are both hotter and more flavorful. Of these, my personal favorites are "Big Jim" New Mexican chiles ... plenty of fire but also lots of flavor. Anaheims have some flavor but very little fire, so they're usually mixed with the much hotter Jalapenos. Other chiles such as Poblanos or Habaneros (a/k/a Scotch Bonnets) have incredible fire (literally thousands of times hotter than any Anaheim, by scientific measure, as seen below), but not all will have equivalent flavor. Nonetheless, there is no reason to limit yourself to these, if you enjoy experimentation. It's similar to choosing what variety of apples you prefer.

****Note: A completely traditional Mexican Chile Verde is a green chile stew without any tomatoes at all; however, in practice it is far more common to include some tomatoes ... some "green" chilis use so many the color becomes red and the flavor becomes heavily tomato, but that's definitely overdoing it! This recipe has just a couple of tomatoes, to lend the richer, smoother flavor they impart, but not so many to adulterate the green chile character.

BONUS SUGGESTION: A popular hors d'oevre in this area is pickled jalapeno peppers stuffed with lots of peanut butter. Buy a jar of *pickled* whole jalapenos; cut off the stem and slice the pepper in half. Deseed it with a spoon, then dollop a great pile of peanut butter onto each half. You DO have to like the hot stuff! (I know, I know ... sounds strange and awful. Trust me.)

From the Chile-Heads Recipe Collection URL: http://chile.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu:8000/www/recipe.html

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