Cooks in Sonora often cut the beef for this guisado into strips, so that it can be rolled into burritos once cooked. This way, the recipe yields a vegetable stew plus beef burritos. In Mexico, ground ancho chile is sold in most large mercados. North of the border, it is sold bottled by McCormick.
Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak, cut into strips
- 1 head garlic, peeled and separated
- 1 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
- salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound roma tomatoes, roasted and peeled, or 1 14-ounce can tomatoes, drained
- 1 tablespoon ground ancho chile, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano, or to taste
- ½ pound green beans, cut in half
- 1 ½ cups cooked garbanzos
Place the meat, half the garlic cloves and half the onion in a large pot with water to cover and salt to taste. Cook until the meat is tender, strain and reserve broth and meat.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Puree the remaining garlic and onion with the tomatoes, chile, cumin and oregano. Cook the puree in the hot oil until it bubbles, lower heat and cook, stirring for an additional 15 minutes.
Add 4 cups of the meat broth, the beans and the garbanzos and cook until the beans are tender. Add the meat to the stew and cook until heated through. Alternatively, serve the meat separately, rolled into tacos or burritos.
Serve in deep soup bowls. Serves 4.
Mexican stews: healthy winter comfort food