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Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009

Amanda De Jager Friedman: 'Secret' chili verde

This is one of the easiest, most mouth-watering and family-friendly meals in my repertoire.

It takes a few hours to cook, which makes it a perfect Sunday afternoon project.

It makes enough to use it all week, which is perfect because it's great on tortillas, baked potatoes, with eggs, on nachos, or all by itself with a little cheese!

It's also a great opportunity to get familiar with dried beans, if you don't use them often. Dried beans are not only inexpensive, but they are a blank slate for flavor. Because you get to bring them from dry to cooked, you have total control over the flavor, sodium and cooking temperatures, unlike canned beans.

Before you get down and dirty with the details, I should explain a few things.

I have several internal struggles regarding this recipe:

1. I actually had no idea what to call it!

In Colorado, it would be referred to as "pork green chile," but here, it's closer to chile verde, except that it includes beans. At home we call it "green chile." I've also heard it called "chalupa," which is technically incorrect, as chalupa means "little boat," and just so happens to be a menu item at Taco Bell. Essentially, it is pork and beans, with decidedly New Mexican flavors.

I almost decided on "pork and beans," for the recipe title, but for many of you, that conjures up images of brightly colored cans containing some version of shiny, tin-flavored beans surrounded by goop and heaven-only-knows what kind of pork. Thus, I resolved to give the recipe a locally appreciated name, "chile verde with beans."

If you've got a better idea, I'm open to suggestions!

2. This is one of the recipes I've always hesitated to give away. In fact, like many of my recipes, I've never even written it out, or bothered to measure when I make it. When people rave about it and ask how I make it, I typically respond with the classic "little o' this, little o' that" quip, which confuses the listener just enough so that they'll never ask again.

See, this is my strategy for shunning requests for my "secret" recipes. Secret recipes, in turn, give me leverage with those close to me. Whether they are used to showing compassion, as a peace offering, or for blatant bribery, an arsenal of secret recipes is something any decent cook should possess.

Thanks for your patience concerning the ridiculous psychology of a chef.

Now, get to cooking!

Warning: The smell of this will drive your whole household wild!