Serve New Mexican Cabbage Stew with your choice of toppings such as avocado, sour cream, queso fresco, cilantro, or lime.
Cool weather is fast approaching, and this recipe makes the most of fall crops, including crisp cabbage, sweet carrots, flavorful onions, and spicy chiles. Full of healthful vitamins and minerals, this stew is very versatile; you can leave out the meat for a vegetarian dish, or add other seasonal vegetables such as turnips or potatoes as they are available. However you choose to prepare it, serve up bowls of New Mexican Cabbage Stew with a side of tortillas, avocado, fresh cilantro, sour cream, or your favorite condiments.
Ingredients
(4 servings)
- 1 pound meat (We used chicken thighs, but you can select from any cut of chicken, beef, or pork. Just make sure it’s local!)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 1 Poblano chile, chopped
- 1 cup chopped red chile (or green…or a mix of both)
- 1/2 of a medium head of green cabbage, chopped
- 2 tablespoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (2 chiles, but you can add more to taste)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (try this recipe for making your own)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 5 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon homemade bouillon
- Choose queso fresco, sour cream, diced avocado, fresh cilantro, or lime for garnish
New Mexico-grown cabbage is gorgeous, green, and leafy compared to cabbage that’s been shipped for hundreds of miles.
Directions
- Heat oil in a large pot (about 8-quart) over medium heat.
- Brown your meat on all sides. Remove from pot and set aside.
- To the pot add the chopped carrots, onions, poblano chile, and chopped garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes or until soft, stirring frequently to make sure the vegetables don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the chopped cabbage and cook until soft (about another 10 minutes).
- Add the tomato paste, chopped chipotles, cumin, and salt and stir until incorporated with the other ingredients. Stir in the chicken broth.
- Add the browned meat, if using, back to the pot. Bring the stew to a simmer, then cover and cook until the meat is cooked through (how long depends upon the meat used, but for chicken thighs it will be about 30 minutes).
- Remove the soup from the heat and serve! Dish into individual bowls and top with your choice of fresh cilantro, chopped avocado, slices of lime, sour cream, or queso fresco.
Note: This is not a very spicy dish, but is is flavorful! Add more (or less) chiles to taste.
Choose chicken, pork, or beef as your meat in this stew, or leave it out for a vegetarian (or vegan) option!
Recipe and photos by Christina Keibler.
