Green Chile Sauce

Until home refrigerators and freezers became common kitchen appliances, green chile was a seasonal treat. Cooks made sauce from the green pods only for a few weeks at the end of the summer, before the maturing chiles would turn red. It might seem that there couldn’t be much difference in the character of red and green sauces, since they come from the same pod and are prepared in similar ways. In fact the taste of green is more vegetal and the texture more substantial because of the chopped bits of the thicker-walled pods. Red is smooth and a touch earthier and sweeter, in the same ways that a red bell pepper differs from a green.

½ pound lean ground beef, preferably coarse ground

4 cups water

2 cups chopped roasted mild to medium New Mexican green chile, preferably fresh or thawed frozen

2 medium tomatoes, chopped, or 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon minced onion

1 teaspoon garlic salt, or more to taste

2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in an additional 2 tablespoons water

Makes approximately 5 cups, enough for a couple of batches of most main dishes

1. Brown the ground beef over medium heat in a high-sided nonreactive skillet until all pink color is gone. Pour in the water and add the chile, tomatoes, onion, and garlic salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture, and cook for about 5 minutes more. The sauce should be thickened but quite pourable, with no taste of raw cornstarch.

2. Serve warm with Burrell Tortillas (page 94), burritos, enchiladas, or other dishes.

Ahead-of-time note: Green chile sauce keeps in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. It freezes well. When reheating, add a little extra water if needed.

If the heat of a chile sauce begins to set your mouth ablaze, don’t drink water—it just inflames the heat. Reach for something sweet or creamy, like one of the Rancho’s sopaipillas with honey or a bite of cheese or sour cream.