Recipe - Chile Verde (Basic Green Chile Sauce)

2 tablespoon Vegetable oil; or olive oil
One half small Onion; minced
1 lg Garlic clove; minced
2 tablespoon Flour
One fourth teaspoon Ground cumin
One fourth teaspoon Black pepper
1 One half cup Chicken broth
1 cup Green chiles; roasted &
peeled
One fourth teaspoon Oregano
One half teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoon Jalapenos; if you want it
hot

Heat the oil in a 12 qt saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic,
cover and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes to wilt the onions. Don't
let them brown. Raise heat to medium, stir in flour, cumin and black
pepper. Cook, stirring about 2 min. When the onion/flour mix just begins to
color, remove from heat and add broth, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
Add rest of ingredients. Return pan to heat, bring to a boil, cover and
simmer over low heat another 30 minutes. The finished sauce should not be
too thick; dilute with more broth or water if needed. You can puree it if
it's not smooth enough. Will keep in fridge for a week; heat before using.

Green chile (or chili), or chile verde can mean different things, and
knowing one from another is a distinction that marks one as an insider (or
_real_ chilehead!). The term applies to:

1) the fresh green chiles picked before they turn red.

2)A paste made from roasted green chiles and garlic presented at the table
to flavor 'frijoles' (= beans),

3) The thickened cooking sauce served over enchiladas, burritos, etc.,

4) The same sauce with chunks of cooked pork (or other meat) The following
recipe is for the chile verde sauce (#3). It can also include tomatoes
and/or tomatillos (now that we've discussed epazote and cilantro, how about
tomatillos!?)

Serving Ideas : Served as a soup/stew or a sauce for bean burritos.

Recipe by: mikeb@radonc.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu

Posted to recipeludigest by "Christopher E. Eaves" cea260@airmail.net on
Mar 03, 1998