GREEN CHILE PORK STEW

Feeds 6

When Danny and I visited New Mexico for the first time, we fell in love. We fell in love with the high clear light, the vibrant arts community, and the food. Oh, the food. We were particularly crazy about New Mexico Hatch green chiles, which are milder in heat than jalapeños and almost creamy when roasted. We brought home a bag of frozen green chiles and started playing right away. We made this stew with pork we marinated overnight in some of the spices we tasted in New Mexico, then cooked it up with green chiles, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes. Oh my.

• For the spice rub
• 1 tablespoon toasted ground cumin (see Tip)
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2½ pounds pork butt, cut into 1-inch cubes
• For the stew
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons lard
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 18 grams All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend
• One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 8 ounces green chiles
• 4 cups chicken stock (if you’re using boxed stock, make sure it’s gluten-free)
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

Rub the pork. In a small bowl, combine the cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, and cloves. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork butt cubes. Let the pork sit in the refrigerator overnight to marinate.

Sear the pork. The next day, take the pork out of the refrigerator and season it with salt and pepper. Set a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the lard. When the lard is melted, lay enough pork cubes into the hot fat to lightly cover the bottom of the pot. (Don’t crowd it; you’ll have to sear the pork in batches.) Cook until the bottoms of the pork cubes are browned, about 3 minutes. Flip over the cubes and sear the other side. Repeat this until all four sides are seared. Take the pork out of the Dutch oven.

Cook the aromatics. Put the onions and garlic into the hot fat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, and cinnamon and cook, stirring, until the scent is released, about 1 minute.

Cook the tomatoes and chiles. Add the flour to the vegetables. Cook, stirring frequently, until the flour is cooked, about 3 minutes (be careful to not burn the flour). Add the tomatoes and chiles and cook, stirring, until they have started to soften and break down, about 3 minutes.

Simmer the stew. Add the stock to the Dutch oven. Bring the stock to a boil, then turn the heat down to low. Simmer the stew, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender enough that you can break it apart with a fork, about 2½ hours.

Finish the stew. When the stew is almost finished simmering, add the sweet potatoes to a large pot of salted water. Set the pot over high heat. Bring the water to a boil and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender to a knife, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain immediately. When the stew is ready, add the cooked sweet potatoes and serve.

Tip: To roast spices, set a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spice (in this case, cumin). Cook, tossing the spice in the pan once in a while, until it begins to smell toasty, about 3 minutes.

Feel like playing?

You could use any meat you want here: venison, bison, beef, chicken, or veal. They would all work. You could remove the meat altogether and have great vegetarian stew.