No, this is not a medical recommendation. This is simply a common way many in our broader community choose sooth the symptoms of the “Common Cold”.
A Las Cruces Digest Report
Citing information from the NMSU College of ACES Cooperative Extension Service
We have a first grader in the house, and this time every year we seem to catch a Cold–and there seems to be no avoiding it. It hit our family again this school year, but we were prepared. In addition to the treatments recommended by our child’s pediatrician, we have green chile in the freezer for some Green Chile Stew.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center reports: “Studies have shown that a hearty bowl of chicken noodle soup may help clear nasal congestion and ease cold symptoms.” If that can be said about plain old chicken noodle soup, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence in our broader community to say one could fare even better if he had a bowl of Green Chile Stew. [Please Note: We are aware of the debate over whether menudo is actually the better option; however, we will leave this debate for another time.]
Below, please find the basic version of “Green Chile Stew” published by the NMSU Agricultural Extension Service. There are two blocks, one version in English and one version in Spanish. These are fantastic recipes to play with; however, we do things a little different in our kitchen (READ BELOW).
The unofficial start of green chile season in New Mexico is here! Kick off the season with this delicious Green Chile Stew recipe.
¡La temporada no oficial del chile verde en Nuevo México ha comenzado! Da inicio a la temporada con esta deliciosa receta de Guiso de Chile Verde.
How we modify this recipe
First of all, we use an InstaPot, so cooking time is relegated to hitting the “Stew” button. Second, we cut the amount of Cumin by half, and add ground oregano (also called “Mexican Oregano”). We play with the vegetables, depending on what we have. If we have calabasitas, in they go. We prefer fresh chopped tomatoes over canned. The more finely chopped fresh vegetables we can add to the stew, the better. We find that when we add the chopped fresh vegetables to the InstaPot in the sauteé phase of the cook, they often release enough moisture to keep us from having to add extra water. The little bit of flour added before closing helps the broth to develop a little body–BUT DON’T OVERDO THE FLOUR. It’s not a cake recipe, and if the broth is thin, it is still DELICIOUS!
There is no need to add garlic. It is perfectly balanced without it. It will likely need more salt and pepper, depending on your preferences. It really is a difficult recipe to go wrong with, even in the mental haze of a Cold–the resulting relief makes it worth the effort to push through. I wish I could say we saved this recipe for when we come down with Colds. Alas, we never can wait that long.
Maybe this year we have enough green chile stored for winter. Hope springs eternal.
A note on the pictures on the NMSU Recipes: Green Chile Stew, even if cooked to their recipe, does not look like that. I don’t know what that’s a picture of, but it’s not Green Chile Stew.
