Welcome to New Mexico

I have visited New Mexico many times.  I don't live there.  I am going to hazard a guess though.  Their most celebrated ingredient --  NM chilies, roasted in the parking lot of every grocery store.  They are delicious in just about everything, including Sunday morning scrambled eggs.

But hot on the heels of NM chilies -- Carne Adovada.  A pork stew that shows up in nearly every respectable NM diner, adovada is a wonder of tender pork, chiles and garlic.  For some reason, it has never really jumped the border, so when I crave it, I make it at home.  It is easy, aromatic, and delicious with something cool and crunchy, and some home made flour tortillas.

The dish starts (when I make it) with a roux, toasted to a medium caramel color (equal parts oil and flour, about thrre tablespoons each for 4 pounds of pork)

a caramel colored roux

Into that roux goes about 6 tablespoons of dried NM chile, available on the internet from the Sante Fe Cooking School.  Though I must admit I am struggling at the moment to find this particular product on their website.  http://santafeschoolofcooking.com/cgi-bin/siteman/search.cgi?query=chimayo+red+chile+powder&Go=Go  They do show it in a bag.

an unusual New Mexico chile powder

In a spice grinder I grind a tablespoon of cumin seeds and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt into a powder, then I add about six cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of chipotle pepper flakes (or one canned chipotle pepper,) and two tablespoons of fresh oregano, and grind that into a paste.  That mixture goes into the roux as well, and gets cooked on low heat until it is fragrant.  If you are interested in making this, but you want it to be a quicker process, you could use ground cumin -- a little less than a tablespoon -- and a tablespoon of dried oregano, and about 5 teaspoons of the pre-chopped garlic you can find in a jar in any grocery.  Then you can skip the grinding altogether and just chop up the chipotle.  The addition of cumin to adovada is controversial in the world of New Mexican cooking.  Some consider its addition heretical, but I like the flavor, so in it goes in my house.

I also part company with tradition by adding a sliced onion, which I think adds a nice texture, and some vegetation.  When making onion slices, cut off the ends, slice the onion in half lengthwise, remove the peel, and slice "pole-to pole."

slicing an onion end-to-end makes slices that won't get "wormy" 

looking when cooked

 The onions should be sauteed in a little oil to a nice golden brown.

Traditionally, the pork (I used 4 pounds -- this is wonderful as a leftover, and freezes well) is placed raw into the marinade, and refrigerated overnight.  I have found this step to be unnecessary.  I like to brown the meat, for the extra flavor that browning brings to the party.

  The onions and browned meat are then added to the sauce, and cooked, covered, in a 275 oven for 3 hours or more.  A crockpot works just fine for this as well, and the meat can cook all day on low.

 browned meat and onions being added to the sauce

A nice citrusy jicama slaw is the perfect accompaniment to this spicy stew, as are flour tortillas.  For a real treat, make them yourself.  1 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup lard (you can even use butter if you can't get unhydrogenated lard) and a teaspoon of salt go into the food processor and are mixed together until the mixture looks crumbly.  Then enough warm water is drizzled in, about a half cup or so, until the dough gathers into a ball.  Continue to process for a few more seconds to knead the dough.  The dough should be soft and very pliable.  Divide it into about 10 pieces, and flatten to roll in a little flour.  Baked on a medium hot griddle, the tortillas get browned and puffy.  They only take about a minute and a half per side.

puffy, golden flour tortilla on the griddle

You can eat these traditionally, rolled and eaten as a side dish, or spoon in a bit of the pork, roll it, and eat it like a burrito.  A tasty meal, and just absolutely delicious accompanied by eggs and hash browns for a traditional New Mexico breakfast.  Yes, spicy pork stew for breakfast.  Try it!

Footnote:  If you don't want to order the NM chili powder, which is a bit pricy, Cooks Illustrated has an intriguing looking recipe for replicating the flavor of adovada.  I have not tried it, because I have a supply of the chile powder, but I may give it a whirl some day.  Here is a link:  http://keyingredient.com/recipes/100770/new-mexico-pork-chili-carne-adovada/