by Heidi Eisenhour

This time of year, as the days start to get shorter and chillier, I imagine the chiles being roasted and sold in the markets in New Mexico. Many of our local crops have come on late this year and a number of the ingredients in this recipe are available from our local farmers now – including chiles.

HARVEST CHILE STEW

4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 6 poblano chiles -or other favorite chilies) – sliced in one inch rounds, including seeds
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 lb Wildwood Farm ground pork
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup diced squash – use your favorite – summer or winter
• 1 cup diced potatoes
• 1 # fresh or frozen corn
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
• Toasted pumpkin seeds and crumbled goat cheese or feta for garnish

Instructions:

1. Purée onion, chiles, and garlic with 1/2 cup chicken broth in a blender.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, brown pork, stirring and breaking up clumps with a fork, just until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot.
3. Add remaining 3 tablespoons oil to pot and heat over moderately high heat until hot, then carefully add purée, flour, cumin, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes.
4. Add squash, potatoes, 1 cup stock – and continue cooking until potatoes and squash are tender.
5. Add pork, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, and remaining 1 cup stock and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.
6. Serve chili sprinkled with pumpkin seeds and cheese.

Notes:

A note about chiles and heat. I like my chiles medium to hot. If you don’t appreciate a lingering burn on your lips use sweet peppers. They still have that nice chile flavor. Another substitution tip – you can use ground beef or turkey if pork is not your thing. We served this stew with Finnriver’s sparkling pear cider. It was a great match. We also had some warmed corn tortillas.