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GREEN CHILLI

New Mexico’s Chile Verde or Green Chilli could hardly be more different from the red Chile con Carne of neighbouring Texas; no beef, no beans and often no tomato. There is no official recipe - as long as it contains pork and green chillies, virtually anything goes. Our version is based on the chilli cook-off in the TV series Floyd’s American Pie - Keith Floyd vs the Mayor of Santa Fe – largely based on the Mayor’s recipe, but adding green herbs as suggested by Floyd.

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Ingredients

This should be enough for 2-4 people

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500g pork (diced shoulder, loin or whatever piece you like)

2 tablespoons of lard

1 tablespoon of plain flour

6 green chilli peppers – or more – sliced. Any variety will do – Poblanos, Jalapeños etc. - depending on your preference or level of chilli-immunity

1 medium onion, chopped

2 potatoes, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped (optional)

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

6 bay leaves

Oregano (dried or fresh)

Fresh parsley, chopped

Black pepper

Salt


How to do it

  1. Put the pork in a pan with 150ml of water, bring to the boil, cover and cook on a low heat for an hour or until the meat is tender

  2. Strain the pork – keeping the liquid -  and let it cool. Then shred/pull it either by hand or using two forks, discarding any fatty bits.

  3. In the pan, melt the lard, stir in the flour to make a roux, and keep stirring until it starts to brown. Then stir in the pork cooking liquid.

  4. Add all the remaining ingredients – including the pork

  5. Add enough cold water to just cover the ingredients – bring it all to the boil and simmer until the potatoes are cooked

  6. Stir occasionally. The roux should thicken the liquid; be prepared to add a bit more water if it is too thick or starts to stick

  7.  Check the seasoning at the end and add some salt if needed


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Serving suggestions

  • In a bowl, sprinkled with fresh parsley

  • With tortilla chips, corn bread or on a bed of rice or pasta

  • Guacamole, salsa or sour cream on the side

  • As a filling for fajitas or tacos

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Variations

As we said earlier, there is no official recipe so the permutations are endless. Here are a few ideas.

  • Add any green vegetable, eg. green bell-pepper, courgette (zucchini) or broccoli. A lot of the “authentic” recipes call for tomatillos or “Mexican husk tomato” – tangy fruits, tasting nothing like a tomato, which grow in a papery husk. They are of the genus Physalis, so are a species closely related to Cape gooseberies or lantern fruit. We’d recommend using these if you can get hold of them. In the UK this would have to be from a specialist grocer or by mail order.

  • Instead of the green herbs in our recipe, use green coriander (cilantro)

  • A lot of “authentic” recipes add ground spices such as cumin and coriander

  • Use pork mince instead of diced

  • New Mexican chilli aficionados will roast/grill the chilli peppers until they start to blister and blacken, cover them with a lid or clingfilm for 10-15 minutes and then remove the skins.

CHILE VERDE

With green beans, gren peppers, tomatillos & cactus

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