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Green Chili with Beef and Chipotle

It was a mild summer evening in the hills above Santa Fe when Hektor Maille cooked this «Chile verde» for the first time. The simple Stew lives of the flavors that develop during the long cooking time, the sharpness and the slightly smoky taste, that comes from roasting the peppers and even more from the Chipotles.

1. Soak the chipotle chilies for an hour in warm water, then remove stalk and cut into thin strips. (If you want to give the dish a particularly smoky flavor, then continue to use the soaking liquid within the recipe - for example, with some salt added, instead of the chicken broth or in combination with the latter.)
2. Roast the peppers in the oven, preheated to 220°, for 30 minutes or more. The peppers should be dark brown and wrinkled on all sides. Immediately put them into a plastic bag (freezer bag) and let them sweat for 20 to 30 minutes. Pull off the skins, remove stem and seeds, cut into strips.
3. In a larger pot or pan heat 2 tablespoons of the oil, fry the beef until it has adopted a light brown color. Remove from the pot.
4. Heat again 1 tablespoon of oil in the pot, add onions, garlic, chipotle chilies and normal chilies with a pinch of salt and fry until the onions are translucent. Add meat, cumin and pepper, mix, heat up briefly and deglaze with chicken broth. Stir in tomatoes, add the pepper strips, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours, half covered, stirring occasionally.
5. Towards the end of cooking time add the parsley and cilantro. If it seems too liquid towards the end, than remove the lid for certain amount of time. Add salt to taste and serve with rice, polenta or pita bread, tortillas, etc.

How many chilies one would like to add in plus of the Chipotles depends of course on how hot one likes to eat – but it also depends on the sharpness of the Chipotle used, which can vary greatly. We've never met hellishly hot Chipotle - and many of them are only slightly sharp. But there are some characters that can have a sharpness that needs to be respected in the context of such a recipe.

The chilies one uses do not only have an influence on the sharpness, but also on the aroma of the finished dish. Preferably one experiments with the fresh or dried chilies, which are at one's own reach. So one will find his own personal «Chile verde». The Chili page contains certain references about the taste and sharpness of some chili varieties.

One can, of course, prepare «Chile verde» without Chipotle too – but the dish will not have the same smoky flavor then.

More about the travel adventure of Secret Agent Hektor Maille:

• Episode 17: Wordy Wild West
• Startpage of «Mission Kaki» (with overview map)
• More Recipes of the Secret Agent

On the road from Denver to Los Angeles Hektor Maille sees himself featuring in a variety of heroic tales, which superimpose his own story like projections. This, of course, does not prevent him from sampling the cuisines of the regions through which he travels – nor from falling in love with a few specialties from New Mexico:

• Tomato sauce «New Mexico» (Dipping sauce with garlic and chili)
• Chile verde (Green chili with beef and chipotle)
• New Mexico Bizcochitos (Cookies with Lard and Anise)

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