Rojos Y Verde (Red and Green)


Ingredients: 

3 lb lean roast (sholder) 
28 oz canned green chilies (7 4-oz cans) 
7 tomatillos (canned or fresh) 
1 can condensed chicken broth 
handful of dried red peppers (arbol, finger-hots, pequins, or tai peppers) 
1 large white onion 
1 tomato 
2 cloves garlic 
2 tsp paprika 
1 tsp ground comino (cumin seed) 
1/2 tsp Mexican oregano 
1 bay leaf 

This chili is in the style of New Mexico green chile stew.

Remove stems from red peppers and chop into parts to separate out the seeds and expose
interiors. Cover with boiling water and let sit for an hour. Blend into smooth sauce
with blender. Don't get this stuff in your eyes! Better yet, wear protective clothing
during handling (I'm only half joking!).

Brown the roast as if making pot roast - cut the meat into 1-inch slabs across the grain,
coat meat with flour and brown every surface in olive oil. (Theresa says I can do this
almost as well as her Aunt Tia, the Goddess of Pot Roast - but she's just being kind.)
Add chicken broth and water up to one inch deep and cover. Simmer meat by itself for one
hour over low heat.

Lightly blend the tomatillos and three green chilies in blender. Dice the remaining green
chilies, garlic, onion, and tomatoes. Add the sauces, vegetables, and spices to the pot
with enough water to cover. When the meat is falling-apart-tender (several more hours,
typically), use two forks to shred it into small chunks.

Serve topped with slices of avacado and white cheese, along with sides of beans and
jalapeno cornbread.

Alternate Version - Instead of a beef roast, use buffalo! I tried this recipe with ground
buffalo ("100% American Bison!"), and was mighty surprised and pleased. I found this meat
and a few other exotics at Whole Foods Grocery, a health food store in Austin. I'll
continue to experiment and report the results.