Green Chile Verde

Every year for our wedding anniversary, Mr. DD and I try to follow the guidelines of what the traditional gifts should be.  For example the first anniversary gift is traditionally paper.  I gave him a book about Oklahoma Football and he gave me a Martha Stewart Cookbook.  Some years are easier than others.  Sometimes the traditional gifts are a little odd and we have to be creative.  For anniversary number seven (wool) I gifted him 7 pairs of wool socks.  This past year was 19 years and one of the suggested gifts was chili peppers.  So I made him the cutest gift basket with a bottle of 19th Anniversary Ale, a copy of Chile Pepper Magazine, a really cute green chile-themed flour sack towel and a few packages of Santa Fe Snack Mix.  The running joke for years has been that he always out does me with gifts.  This year he says, "Happy Anniversary, we are going to Santa Fe for Valentine's Day.  Our nephew and his girlfriend will be flying in to spend the weekend with us."  So yeah, once again my cute little gift basket idea was completely overshadowed by the fact we were visiting my favorite place on earth.  It turned out to be a Santa Fe themed Christmas around here too.  We gave our nephew and his girlfriend some Made in New Mexico food products and she gave us a New Mexico Chile Cookbook.  I spent the entire month of January cooking with green chiles in anticipation of visiting Santa Fe.  One of the recipes we tried was Green Chile Verde.  It's a very simple dish, made with pork and just a few ingredients.  But lots and lots of flavor.  If you're looking for a dish that has all of the flavors of New Mexico, this is it.  Even if you don't get a trip there for your anniversary,  you can pretend by making this wonderful stew!

Green Chile Verde,
the taste of New Mexico!

Here it is before the cooking takes place.
You can see from the finished product how
rich and dark the broth gets.

Some people give trips to Santa Fe.
I give cute little gift baskets.

Try this traditional green chile. 
You won't be disappointed.

Green Chile Verde

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 white onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound whole roasted green chiles, peeled and cut into 2-inch slices
2 (15 ounce cans) whole tomatoes
3 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.  Place flour in a zip top bag and add pork cubes.  Shake to coat with flour.  Add pork cubes to oil, a few at a time and cook until browned evenly on all sides.  Set pork aside.  Add onions and garlic to Dutch oven and cook until soft.  Return pork to pot with onions and stir in remaining ingredients.  Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 45 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.  Cook an additional 30 minutes. 

Prep Time:  Approximately 25 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 1 hour, 15 minutes

You can have roasted green chiles shipped direct to you from New Mexico!  Check HERE for more information: