Sheri's stew is very forgiving. I have made it twice now. Both times, I
brushed the bottom of my giant frying pan with olive oil and sauted the
onions, garlic, and spices, then tipped the whole thing into the crockpot
with all the rest of the ingredients. The first time I cooked it on high
for about 5 hours for that evening's dinner, and the second time I cooked it
on low all night and most of the morning for a noontime potluck. The first
time I cut the sweet potatoes into chunks and the second time I just
quartered them and threw them into the food processor until they were all
more or less cut up. The first time the stew came out very thick and the
sweet potatoes were melt-in-your-mouth tender, and the second time the stew
was more like soup. (I actually dipped out some of the liquid and saved it
at home so I could transport the crockpot safely without getting stew all
over my car. Then when I brought the leftovers home I recombined them and
had just the right consistency for the lunch.) The first time I used about
1 tsp of chili powder and no crushed chiles, and the second time I used 2
tsp of chili powder and about 1 Tbsp of green chiles from a little tin I had
already opened and needed to use up.
Moral of the story: adapt the recipe to your needs. The stew needs to come
to a boil and then simmer for an hour or so on a conventional stovetop, I
should think; or cook in a slow cooker for 4-12 hours. You can control how
long it will take by cutting the sweet potatoes larger or smaller. In a
hurry? Chop smaller. A lot of the simmering time goes to meld the flavors.
Enjoy!
Ruth
Ruth C. Hoffman ruth.hoffman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Language Resources
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