BOSQUE CHEF SERVES UP OLD WORLD AZTEC STEW, CHILE RELLENOS & OLD WORLD SALSA
ADVENTURE CLUB CHILE SURPRISE
The Adventure Club, of which I am a member, is a small cadre of cronies that gather monthly to explore beautiful southern New Mexico and its surrounds. We have sojourned to the petroglyph sites, the Space Center in Alamogordo, watched the moon rise at White Sands and have trekked moderately challenging hiking trails. A couple of weeks ago we traveled to El Paso to visit the Holocaust Museum, a very moving and educational experience. In April we'll visit the City of Rocks and Faywood Hot Springs.
Although all of our adventures have been notable, one shines. And the earnest chile pod was involved. In January the Adventurers visited the Bosque Del Apache National Refuge, a spectacular 57,000-acre spread near Socorro and home to some 400 species of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians and at least 300 species of birds, including 10,000 sandhill cranes. Our tour guide was Nancy Daniel, a feisty, engaging volunteer who knows her subject. The Santa Fe resident, a naturalist and vegetarian, is also a landscape architect. Nancy owns Native Landscapes, a firm that makes use of only indigenous plants and materials.
The day of the event was nippy. Gloomy stratus clouds hovered above, intermittently obscuring the desert sun. After the five-hour expedition, we were ravenous and ready for some hot, comforting food. Just as the sun dropped behind a fiery horizon, Nancy ushered us to her on-site pad, where crockpotfulls of Aztec stew awaited. The visually enticing and hearty dish is so-named because of its richly textured Old World veggies - chile-with-zip, fresh pumpkin, yellow summer squash, pine nuts and posole. Nancy serves the highly satisfying, seasoned potpourri garnished with fried corn tortilla strips, shredded lettuce and cheese. Optional is roasted pumpkin seeds and sour cream or yogurt. I recommend all the trimmings. Nancy suggests serving the stew in hallowed out pumpkin shells, reserving the seeds for roasting. She also served an Old World, pleasing salsa, topped with scads of cilantro bits and loaded with jicama, summer squash and for a sweet kick, a touch of cinnamon and cloves.
Nancy, who hails from southern California, has seldom been without chile. "I had it a long time before I moved to New Mexico," she said. Nancy began cooking at the age of 16, her first semester at UCLA. "It was a necessity. I think my first chile dish was chile rellenos. I make it with a soufflé-like batter." Other favorites include tamales, chilaquiles and a chocolate and chile flour-free torte, the latter she gleaned from Anna Thomas' cookbook, "The New Vegetarian Epicure" [Knopf, 1996]. The recipe calls for pasilla, a mildly pungent chile often used to prepare mole. Chile-inspired dishes aren't her only forte, however. Italian, French, and East Indian cuisine are other galley creations.
"I really enjoy birds, plants and cooking," she said with pride.
And it's obvious.
AZTEC STEW (serves 8)
1 small to medium pumpkin (optional - can be cooked one or two days in advance)
Cut pumpkin into pieces. Place on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with water. Place in a 400-degree F. oven for 45 minutes. Peel skin from pumpkin pieces and cut meat into cubes.
Stock (can be made one or two days in advance)
Ingredients don't include quantities. Add amounts that please your palate.
3 quarts of water
hominy, fresh or canned (if using canned, add juice to water, adjusting water)
dry bay leafs
celery leaves and hearts
onion, peeled and studded with whole cloves
oregano
several cinnamon sticks
whole peppercorns (about 1 dozen)
Boil until stock is reduced. Strain, reserving stock. Taste stock. Add salt, if necessary, and "a good portion of good wine," says Nancy.
Stew
In a Dutch oven or other large kettle, add:
2 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
16 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 quarts of reserved stock
4 carrots, cut into bite size pieces
4 new red potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
2 yellow summer squash, cut into bite size pieces
4 zucchini, cut into bite size pieces
Simmer until tender.
Then add:
1 or 2 bell peppers, chopped (red or green or both)
diced pumpkin (optional),
2 or more roasted, peeled green chiles (as hot as you like), chopped
3-4 cups hominy, cooked posole, fresh corn (remove corn from cob), or chicos
Simmer until vegetables are just tender. Add more stock as needed. Taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. If the stew tastes bitter, you've probably added too much wine. If so, add a little brandy. Best when served the next day. Garnish with your choice (I like them all!) of fried corn tortilla strips, grated Jack, Muenster or asadero cheese, shredded lettuce, pumpkin seeds, sour cream or yogurt.
CHILE RELLENOS
6 large chiles, roasted, peeled and sliced lengthwise. Remove seeds and membranes and stuff with Jack, Muenster or asadero cheese.
3 egg whites
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup white flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
vegetable oil
Put all but the egg whites in a blender and mix. Place in medium size bowl. Beat egg whites into soft peaks. Fold gently into flour mixture. Pour oil (at least 1/2 to 3/4 inch deep) into a large skillet. Coat each stuffed chile pod with the batter and sizzle in hot oil until golden brown. Keep each relleno warm on a heat proof platter in a warm oven. Serve with mole, or red or green chile sauce.
OLD WORLD SALSA
1 10-ounce jar of your favorite salsa
Add according to taste:
chopped roasted and peeled chiles
fresh jalapenos, diced
red and/or green bell peppers, diced
fresh tomatoes, in-season only, chopped
cucumbers, chopped
jicama, chopped
summer squash or zucchini, raw, chopped
red or green onions, chopped (include bulb)
cumin
oregano
cinnamon
ground cloves
Before serving, scatter with fresh cilantro leaves and a dash of lemon juice.
Mix well. Refrigerate overnight.
