Bring on the Green Chile Stew!

It’s autumn and here in New Mexico and that means chile season. La Montañita is roasting organic chile from the Hatch Valley, and I made some green chile stew with the hot stuff.  This is an excellent time of the year for our local grass fed beef & lamb, as the animals have been on beautiful & nutritious pasture the whole summer. I made this stew with lamb, which may or may not be the most “traditional” way to make it, as lambs have been raised in New Mexico for hundreds of years. Variations of this recipe are encouraged; add pinto beans, squash, kale, sweet potatoes, posole or anything else as you see fit. Make it vegetarian if you prefer. I like to serve this stew with quesadillas; make mine extra crispy please.

1# local (Sweetgrass Co-0p) grass fed lamb, beef, or Beeler’s pork
1 tablespoon flour
1 med onion chopped
4 cloves garlic chopped
2 ribs celery chopped
2 carrots chopped
1 ear corn, kernels cut from cob
1# green chile, peeled, chopped
1 large can Bionature whole tomatoes, drained (I reserve the tomato juice for other uses)
1 qt pacific organic free range chicken or vegetable broth

Brown stew meat. Add flour, stir to coat stew meat. Add chopped onion, garlic, celery & carrots. Sautee 3 minutes. Add corn, green chile, tomatoes & chicken broth. Simmer for 1 hour. Salt/pepper to taste.