Pasillo Ancho Steak – Slow Cooker Recipe

Pasilla Ancho Steak

Tender steak with rich sauce – a delicious recipe for this busy season!

This one was inspired by my nephew Jason’s interest in slow cooking recipes.  His motivation is to have dinners ready when he & his fiance come home from work.  He has the right idea – with just a little bit of prep before a busy day, the payoff is huge!

Recipe by: Designs by Jeanne R

Ingredients:

1 – 1/2 lbs round steak, trimmed

1 – 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 dried pasilla ancho pods

1 cup boiling water

several garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

fresh ground pepper

2 dried pasilla ancho pods

1 cup boiling water

1 14.5 oz can green beans, drained (optional)

1 – 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

a pinch of sugar

Directions:

Place the steak in the bottom of the slow cooker, add the canned tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic, oregano & cumin.  Cover with the lid & cook for about 4 hours on the high setting of the slow cooker, or low setting if you’re leaving it all day.

After the meat has cooked, soak the dried chile pods in the boiling water, allowing them to soften & the water to cool (see Recipe Notes below for an optional method).  Add the chile water to a blender with the cornstarch.  Cut off the stems of the chile pods & add them to the blender – skins, seeds & all.  Blend until you have a smooth sauce, and add back to the slow cooker, mixing with the tomato & meat juices.  Add a pinch of sugar, taste & adjust the seasonings. (I end up adding more of all of the seasonings – let your taste buds be your guide)!  Stir in the green beans, & cook for about 10 minutes more until the sauce has thickened a little.  You can leave the steak whole, or slice it into strips as I’ve done here.  Serve hot over rice.

Recipe Notes:

You could soak & blend the chile pods ahead of time, & add them to the slow cooker at the very beginning, the result would be delicious, but may end up quite a bit more spicy-hot depending on the heat of the chiles.  If you choose this method, don’t add the corn starch until 10 minutes before serving – just mix it with a little cold water first, then mix it into the sauce.

This could be served over a baked potato instead of rice, a sturdy pasta like penne, or polenta.