Ingredients:

2 cups potatoes cut in 1 inch cubes

1 lb. tender beef.   Sirlion or other lean steak cut in 1/2 inch cubes

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 clove of garlic diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups red chile sauce

1 ½ cups chicken broth, white wine or water

¼ cup red vermouth wine

¼  teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon oregano

Salt, pepper

Directions:

I prefer to precook potatoes in boiling salted water for 4 minutes.  Cooking potatoes in the sauce with the meat requires longer cooking time and results in drying out tender beef.

Season the meat generously with salt and pepper then brown in a 10 inch sauté pan in 2 tablespoons of oil at medium high heat. Set browned meat aside and in the same pan, sauté the onions for 4 minutes and garlic for 1 minute.  Add potatoes, red chile sauce, spices and sufficient broth to cover the potatoes  ½ inch above. Add vermouth and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, then add meat and simmer to thicken sauce for 15 more minutes.  Salt to taste and serve with corn or flour tortillas.

Notes:

Chile colorado is an authentic and old school traditional dish. Eliminate the beef and it is just as good as a vegetarian dish. It’s easy to  make, uses simple ingredients but it just packs a ton of complex flavors.  You will find this dish in many southwest Mexican American restaurants; not usually with potato and never with red vermouth wine.  I once made a Mario Batali recipe for clam stew that uses Cinzano and the sauce was awesome. It lead me to think red vermouth would add complexity to red chile with pork or beef. Yes it does!

Enjoy !!