2 red bell peppers
5 green anaheim chiles
1/4 cup sunflower oil
1 lb venison, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 carrots, sliced
3 cup cooked indian hominy
8 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 cup tumbleweed greens, thoroughly clean, ed, or cu
Directions
Roast the peppers, then peel, seed, and cut into long strips. Roast
the chiles, then peel, seed, devein and dice.
Heat the oil in a large stew pot over medium-high heat. When the oil
is almost smoking, add the venison and cook until the meat is lightly
browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and saute 2
minutes more.
Stir in the carrots, peppers, and chiles and cook 1 minute more. Add
the hominy, water, salt, and pepper and bring the mixture ot a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and let the stew simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring
occasionally to prevent burning, until the meat is very tender. Just
before serving, add the tumbleweed greens, stir 1 minute and spoon
into bowls. *****
The Apache people lived in many regions throughout southeastern
Arizona and New Mexico. The men hunted the animals that roamed the
mountains, and the women gathered and harvested both wild foods and
the foods that they cultivated on the land.
This recipe is based on a traditional stew that was taught to me by a
San Carlos medicine man during one of my visits to his ranch. When I
prepare the stew now, I can vividly remember the tapping of his
traditional water drum and the songs he chanted in his native Apache
tongue. Through his songs, he asked for all people to walk in harmony
with Mother Earth and be guided by the spirit of the mountains and
the spirit of his drum. I still remember the sincerity and yearning
of his songs.
Depending on what type of produce was available, the ingredients
added to the venison varied each time the stew was prepared. This
recipe includes the basics of the stew, but you can substitute other
vegetables.
From "Native American Cooking," by Lois Ellen Frank
Servings: 8 servings
Apache Stew Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Soup; Stew
The History of Recipes
Food historians have tracked the existence of recipes far back into distant history, in fact as far back into history as early Egypt, and possibly even further than that. In practice though, in the main part, these ancient recipes were just very simple hieroglyphic recipes for preparing food.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe in existence, according to experts are some ancient tablets in Sumerian describing the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made those who drank it feel exhilarated and blissful. As we move into Roman times 25BC a man called Apicius created a number of scripts showing how to cook the recipes cooked by wealthy Romans. In his works, he describes how the meals were split into appetizers, main meal and afters, a very modern way of dining. Additionally, he informs us how the ancient chefs were skilled in the use of a wide range of spices, including some that we all recognise for example bay, mint and asafoetida. Later, in the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought us a variety of foods and spices from Arab countries, including parsley and basil. These new herbs and spices created an eruption in manuscripts on cooking, most of which still exist in private collections. During the next few centuries, the rich families of the West strove to serve up the most extravagent banquests, and as a consequence, the best cooks and their recipe collections were highly sought after. Nevertheless, it was during the 19th century that formal cookery and recipe books really came of age. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, spent years to assembling, testing, and writing down recipes common in their social group. The revolution that is television brings us TV chefs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the invention of the internet, permitting us all to access massive numbers of recipes just like those on this web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Apache Stew recipe.
