A New Mexico Christmas

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A Goldfinch in an Apple Tree

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Dad’s Quick Chile con Carne with Homemade Fries and Flour Tortillas

My dad sent me this great recipe today and I had to give it a try.  It’s getting cold here in Minnesota, so some hot New-Mexico-style cooking was just what we needed.  This is a quick and easy recipe that you can throw together without a lot of cooking time.  Thanks, Dad!

In New Mexico, what we call “chile con carne” (chile with meat) is basically the same as what a lot of people just call “chili.”  Just trying to clarify, not trying to start a “chili war.”

Dad’s Quick Chile con Carne

¾-1 pound 90% lean ground beef (Certified Hereford Beef recommended)
2 cans plain, unseasoned pinto beans (or make your own, but that defeats the quickness of this recipe)
1 small can diced tomatoes
10-12 roasted green chilies, peeled, cleaned and chopped (medium-hot recommended such as Joe Parker or Big Jim)
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 can beef broth (or substitute the juice from a good pot roast or prime rib roast)
2 cups of your favorite salsa (El Pinto or Sadie’s, both from New Mexico, are great for this)
Suggested seasonings:  Garlic salt such as California blend, Lawry’s seasoned salt or Great American Land & Cattle Steak & Meat Seasoning, Hot Shot Red and Black Pepper Blend, Bueno Chile Shakers New Mexico Seasoning, freshly ground black pepper.

In a medium skillet (cast iron is good for this), coat with olive oil, shake in a good amount of garlic salt, and lightly brown the ground beef.  Season the meat with more garlic salt, seasoning salt such as Lawry’s, and a generous amount of Hot Shot Red & Black Pepper Blend.

In a large pot, combine pinto beans, diced tomatoes, green chilies, garlic, beef broth and salsa. Pour in the browned ground beef and put the pot on medium heat and allow to boil slowly for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Seasoned to taste with more garlic salt, Hot Shot, Bueno Chile Shakers New Mexico Seasoning & Rub, and freshly-ground black pepper.

Serve with hot buttered flour tortillas or quesadillas, or with good hot whole wheat rolls.  It’s pretty hard to beat on a cold, windy day, or watching football.

I served this with another favorite from home – homemade fries. I just let the chile con carne simmer along the whole time I was making the fries – probably 20-30 minutes or so.  The chile con carne has enough liquid, so it would take a long time to overcook it, and you can reduce it down to the consistency you want.

I heated the oven to 350 and threw some flour tortillas in a piece of foil and warmed them while everything else was cooking.  I was impressed with the flour tortillas I found at Cub here in Minneapolis.  This was the first time I’d tried Ibarra’s — they were nice and soft and pliable.  If you are ambitious enough to make your own, a fellow New Mexican’s blog called The Joe Review has a recipe for Grandma’s Homemade Flour Tortillas.  I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks pretty good.

Huevos Rancheros with Hash Browns

Huevos Rancheros (Country-Style Eggs) are a New Mexico favorite and are rumored to have great hangover-curing powers.   The sauce can be made ahead and stored – just add a little bit of water when you reheat it.  I could see using this sauce on top of grilled chicken or steak with some cheese, or in a hot flour tortilla with cheese.  This recipe makes four servings.

Sauce

1 cup chopped onion
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1 cup chopped roasted green chile
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon vinegar
salt and pepper
fresh lime juice and wedges and cilantro (optional)

Cook onions and garlic in a large skillet until soft.  Add other ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer approximately 15 minutes.  Just before serving, a squeeze of fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro can be added.

Eggs and Tortillas

8 corn tortillas
8 eggs
¼ cup cooking oil
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside an oven-safe dish for tortillas and put paper towels in the bottom for draining. Cover the bottom of a sauce pan with cooking oil and heat on medium-high until bubbly.  Dip tortillas one-by-one into the hot oil, just for a few seconds, until softened.  Put the tortillas into the dish, layering with additional paper towels as needed and then put the dish in the oven to stay warm.

Pour out excess oil in the pan so that just a couple tablespoons remain. Reduce heat to medium.  Add a teaspoon or two of butter and let it melt in the pan.  Fry eggs two at a time (or however many will fit in your pan).  Spoon some of the oil/butter mixture over the eggs whites to help them cook evenly. Add more butter to the pan as needed. The frying usually takes around two minutes.  I like to leave the yolks soft.

Assemble plates by putting two slightly overlapping corn tortillas on each plate.  Put two fried eggs on each plate on top of the tortillas.  Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of the eggs.  Spoon sauce over the whole thing.  Garnish with a lime wedge and cilantro spring.  I also like serving this with a plate of warm flour tortillas – they’re great for soaking up extra sauce and the liquid of the eggs.  You can wrap some in foil and put them in the oven while the corn tortillas are warming.

Hash Browns

12-15 small red-or-white skinned potatoes, cooked, with skin on
¼ cup chopped onions
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper

I used the leftover potatoes from last night’s Grilled Potato and Shallot Packages.  Left over baked or boiled potatoes work well, too.

Chop up cooked potatoes and mix with onions.  Melt one tablespoon of butter in a pan on medium-high heat.  Add potato and onion mixture.  Allow potatoes to brown on one side before turning (usually about 10 minutes).  Turn potatoes and add more butter.  Season with salt and freshly-ground pepper.  Cook until potatoes are evenly golden brown on the outside and onions are soft.

Roasted Green Chile

I can’t begin to list all the good things you can make with green chile.  Growing up in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico, the chile capital of the world, there’s not much we ate that didn’t have green chile in it.  Even McDonald’s had a green chile cheeseburger on the menu.  Here in Minnesota I found some nice green chile at the farmer’s market – not sure what variety it is, but it’s mild to medium as far as heat.  After the chile has been roasted, you can either freeze it with the blistered skin still on, or peel and clean it and use it fresh.

To start out, heat up the grill to at least 400 degrees and put the chile on.  When one side is blackened and blistered (3-5 minutes), turn the chile and do the other side.  Continue turning the chile until the entire outside surface is evenly blackened and blistered.

An alternative method for roasting chile is to do it directly over the flame on a gas stove.  This is a more time consuming way to do it unless you just want one or two chiles.

The next step is to remove the chile from grill or flame and plunge into bowl of ice water.  Make sure the chile is totally immersed and leave it in the water for a minute or so.  This loosens the skin for easy peeling.

Soak some old (but clean) kitchen towels in ice water and spread them on a plate.  Wrap the chile in the cold towels when it comes out of the ice water.

If you are freezing the chile for future use, you can leave the skins on to give them a little more protection.  Leaving the skin on until the chile is used also helps it retain a little more of that good smoky roasted flavor.  Make sure the chile is totally cool and pat it dry with a paper towel before putting it in a freezer bag to freeze.

If you want to use the chile fresh, go ahead and peel the skin off and remove the seeds and veins.  If you want to use the chile for chiles rellenos, leave the tops on.  Try to maintain the integrity of the chile – leave it one piece if possible and just pull out the seeds and veins through a slit in the side.  This helps keep the cheese filling inside the chiles rellenos when you are deep frying them. If all you need are green chile strips for cooking, remove the tops and don’t worry about the chile falling apart as you clean it.  WARNING:  Do not touch your eyes while you’re peeling and cleaning the chile!  If you’re dealing with a really hot variety, you might even want to wear surgical gloves.

Chile varies in heat by variety but a good rule of thumb for knowing how hot your chile will be is to check the color of the seeds.  When the seeds are pure whitish-yellow, the chile will tend to be on the milder side for whatever variety you’re using.  If the seeds are tinged with grey, as in the picture above, watch out — these will be hotter.

What do I have in store for this batch of roasted green chile?  I’m thinking some chile con queso, chiles rellenos, zucchini with green chile and cheese, and a new breakfast recipe — Shirred Eggs with Green Chile.

Here are some ideas for what to make with your roasted green chile:

Huevos Rancheros with Hash Browns

Zucchini with Green Chile and Cheese

Shirred Eggs with Green Chile and Cheese

Herbed Chicken Breasts with Tomatillo Salsa and Queso Fresco

Dad’s Quick Chile con Carne