Green chile stew

As tradition built it

Serves 8. About 3 hours.

Ingredients

• 60ml oil or lard
• 1.2kg stewing beef or pork, cubed
• 60g plain flour
• to taste salt
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
• 1 litre stock
• 500ml water
• 450g roasted, peeled, seeded green chile, chopped
• 700g Yukon Gold or other waxy potatoes, chunked
• to taste hot sauce, to finish

Method

1. Salt the meat and dust with the flour. Brown thoroughly in batches in the oil, then set aside.
2. In the same pot, brown the onions properly, this stage alone taking a genuine 30 minutes or more, since a pale onion gives a pale, flat stew.
3. Add the garlic, cumin and oregano, and cook for a further minute.
4. Return the meat, add the stock and water, and simmer for 1 to 3 hours, until the meat is tender.
5. Add the potatoes and the chile, and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through. Finish with hot sauce to taste.

What a modern chef changes

The chile's roasted flavour, layered in twice rather than once.

Rung 4

Method

1. Roast the green chile over an open flame or a very hot grill until fully blackened, rather than lightly charred, then steam, peel and blend half into the broth and keep half in rough chunks, giving the finished stew both a deep roasted broth and pieces with real bite.
2. Cook the meat sous vide at 75°C for 8 hours separately from the vegetable base, then combine only at the final simmer, so the meat reaches a precise, fall-apart texture without the onions and potatoes overcooking alongside it.