Southwest-Style Chicken and Corn Stew

Serves

Four.

Hardware

• 5 qt. sauteuse pan, oven-proof, with cover

Ingredients

2	Tblsp		cornmeal
1/4	tsp		chipotle powder
1 1/2	tsp		cinnamon
1	Tblsp		ground cumin
3	Tblsp		tequila
2	Tblsp		honey
			vegetable oil
1	large		yellow onion, chopped small
8	cloves		garlic, minced
2	cups		chicken stock
20	oz		canned corn
			salt
			black pepper
1 1/2	lbs		chicken, cut into flat chunks

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.


2. In a bowl, combine the corn meal, chipotle powder, cinnamon, cumin, tequila, and honey; mix well and set aside.


3. Heat the oil, then saute the onions ’til soft and just starting to brown; before the onions are finished, add the garlic.


4. Add the cornmeal paste and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.


5. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer; cook until the mixture thickens slightly.


6. Add the corn, salt, and pepper; bring to a fast simmer.


7. Add the chicken, remove from the heat, cover, and put in the oven.


8. Cook until the chicken is done; this could take as long as 45 minutes, but start checking at 20 minutes; be careful not to overcook the chicken!

Notes

Serve with warm tortillas.

Use as little oil as possible; too much and it will be visible when the dish is served.

The original recipe called for 2 Tblsp of “pure chile powder” plus 3 pickled jalapeño peppers; that seems like a lot to me, and it’s way more than my wife can handle. If I wanted to make a spicy version of this, I’d probably use 1 Tblsp of cayenne powder plus 1 or 2 fresh habanero or serrano peppers (I don’t especially like pickled peppers).

I used chipotle powder, but any “pure” chile powder would do: ancho, cayenne, jalapeño – whatever one you like, although I think red powders are better for this dish than green.

Normally I don’t like to put hot sauce on food after it’s been cooked; I just think it tastes better if it’s cooked into the dish from the start. This dish seems to be an exception to that “rule” – which is good for me since my wife won’t eat this if I make it spicy (which is how I want it). As is usually the case, El Yucateco habanero sauce is perfect.

Rating

Difficulty: Easy.

Time: 90 minutes (maybe less).

Precision: 2.

Source

Adapted from Ultimate Shrimp Book, by Bruce Weinstein.