Chile verde

Photo credit: GourmetSleuth.com

That's Green Chili for all you gringos out there.

First, a note about salsa verde. The first time I was introduced to green salsa was in the summer of 1996 in Santa Barbara, a tiny rancho outside of Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico. I was participating in BYU's Mexico Literacy program, the economical, third-world, hands-on version of study-abroad.

One of my GED students (the Mexican equivalent) showed me how to make salsa verde while I took detailed notes and then relied mostly on my memory to make it when I got back to Texas.

The instructions consisted of "about this many tomatillos and a serrano pepper boiled until they change color, blended in a blender with a clove of garlic and about this much salt." I tried to estimate how many "this many" and "this much" was as I looked at the pot of tomatillos and the salt in her hand.

When I started making it for my family, the hotter (spicier) it was, the better. Why use one pepper when I can use three or four? Since then I've lost interest in burning the feeling out of my tongue, but I still love green salsa.

When I came across this recipe for chile verde, I fell in love with it the first time I tried it. It's like a very, very glorified, meal-version of salsa verde. Once you have it simmering, cook some rice, warm up some corn tortillas in a hot pan, and enjoy one of the best meals ever invented. Thank you Simply Recipes!!