New Mexico Green Chile Stew

In November, 1992, my friend Christine Hall taught me to make this. We made it together for some Tibetan monks who were visiting Albuquerque. Christine got the recipe from her friend, long-time Albuquerque resident, Joe Sanchez. I think it was something his family made often. Charlie and I have modified it some over the years. The recipe below uses an already-prepared roasted pork or chicken, but, see the notes at end for how to prepare both the chicken and broth yourself. That's how Christine and I originally made it.

Course Main Course, Soup/Stew

Servings 6

Ingredients

2 to 4 cups roasted chicken and/or pork, cut into bite-sized pieces (can use white and/or dark meat)
1 quart chicken broth (or more)
olive oil (as needed)
8 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium onions, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup roasted green chile, peeled and chopped (frozen is fine; adjust quantity according to the hotness of the chile)
1 cup diced potatoes (optional)
1 or 2 tomatoes, chopped (optional)
4 cups cooked pinto beans or black beans, drained and rinsed (If you use canned beans, this is 2 or 3 cans. If you'd like to cook the beans yourself, see notes below for link to recipe.)
salt and pepper (don't add salt if the chicken broth is salty)
grated cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Instructions

At any step below, you can salt and pepper to taste. Be careful not to over-salt if the chicken broth is already salty.
Bring the broth to a boil.
If you are using potatoes, add to the broth.
Saute the onions and garlic with a little oil in a skillet.
Add the sauteed onions and thawed green chile to the broth.
If you are using tomatoes, add to the broth.
If you added potatoes, boil till potatoes are tender.
Stir in the beans and chicken. Cook just till it returns to a boil.
Serve with warm flour tortillas or tortilla chips or corn bread and (optional) grated cheese and sour cream.

Notes:

We’ve found the most inexpensive cuts of pork (e.g. pork butt) roast nicely and are good in stews.
It is easy to roast a chicken. We often roast a couple of chickens and a pork butt in the same big pan, at the same time.
And be sure to make broth from the bones and drippings after you roast your chicken or pork.

Variations:

Adjust any of the ingredients to taste. E.g., more beans, more chile.
If you are making the beans yourself and the juice in the beans tastes good, use it in place of some of the broth. (But don’t overdo the bean juice.)

Notes

Recipe to make your own pinto beans: Mom’s pinto beans.

One way to prepare chicken and broth yourself:

Bone 2 lb. chicken and remove skin. As you remove bones, add them to a covered pot of 1-1/2 quart boiling water to make broth. Use this broth for the chicken broth in above recipe. Cut chicken into bite size pieces and put in a heavy dutch oven or skillet. Saute the chicken along with the garlic and onions till the onions are done. (Probably no need to add any oil.) Be careful not to overcook the chicken (that will make it tough). Use this mixture for the chicken, garlic, onions, and oil in the above recipe.