No, no; this recipe is not named for that city in Texas, no, indeed… it’s named for that staple of Peruvian cuisine, the Aji Amarillo – which, translated, means yellow chile pepper (tho’ they’re not always yellow… it gets complicated).
Anyway, the recipe I came across called for a can of green chiles and a can of mushroom soup, along with some red bell pepper and stuff.
I thought I could do a bit better.
INGREDIENTS
‘Shroom Stock:
•8 oz sliced ‘shrooms
•1 cup water
•1 cups whole milk
•1/4 to 1/2 cup sweet red vermouth
•Green peppercorns
•Sea salt
Cream of ‘Shroom Soup Substitute:
•6 tbsp butter
•6 tbsp flour
•1/2 medium onion, diced
•1 tsp hot sauce
•1 tsp paprika
•1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
•1/2 tsp dried minced garlic
•1 tsp Aleppo pepper
•Pinch of sea salt
•1 (4 oz) can green chilies chopped
•1 (2-1/4 oz) can sliced black olives, drained
•Reserved ‘shrooms and stock
Amarillo Ground Beef:
•3 tbsp unsalted butter
•1 pound ground beef
•1 red or sweet onion, diced
•1 red bell pepper chopped
•1 tsp Gateway to the North (or your favorite smoky steak seasoning)
•1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
•1 tsp Cajun Power (or other hot sauce)
•1/2 tsp oregano
•1 batch cream of ‘shroom substitute (or, 1 can cream of mushroom soup)
•1 cup water
•1 tbsp dried parsley
•4 oz cream cheese, cuved
•1/4 cup Perky Pickled Peppers (or jalapeño nacho slices), drained
First, make the ‘shroom stock by covering the sliced ‘shrooms with the milk, water, vermouth, and seasonings in a large, flat bottomed pan (my tagine worked a treat for this whole recipe). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the pan and separate the ‘shrooms from the stock.
In the same pan, melt the butter, then add the onion and sauté for five minutes or so over medium high heat, until the onion is tender.
Reduce the heat a bit and add the flour, stirring constantly, and cook until the mixture is thick and the color has deepened.
Add a bit of the reserved ‘shroom stock, stirring until smooth.
Add a bit more and do the same, you should have a very thick, smooth textured mixture.
Add the remaining ‘shroom stock and the seasonings, then stir well and heat through over low-ish heat.
Give it a taste and add additional salt and pepper, if you think it needs it.
Stir the drained, sliced olives and green chiles into the soup along with the reserved ‘shrooms, then transfer the whole shebang to a large bowl or remove from the heat and grab another large pan.
Melt the butter over medium high heat, then add the ground beef, diced onion, and red pepper. Season with the Gateway to the North, Worcestershire, Cajun Power sauce, and oregano and cook, stirring and breaking up the beef, until cooked through.
Drain well, then return to the pan along with the cream of ‘shroom soup substitute, the water, and the dried parsley.
Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat for ten minutes, then taste, and correct the seasonings, if needed.
Reduce the heat to low, then stir in the cream cheese and drained pickled peppers.
Cover and let rest, stirring every couple of minutes, until the cheese is melted and your Amarillo beef is heated through.
Taste. I thought it could use a bit of good black pepper, so added a teaspoon or so.
The recipe I came across said to serve this over rice, toast, or potatoes (and the traditional recipe seems to be more of a hash, so potatoes make a lot of sense here), but I had some English muffing that needed using up, so we had ours over them, lightly toasted.
All in all, a nice dinner, tho’ I’m thinkin’ next time, I would probably try it over biscuits; kinda like a Peruvian influenced biscuits and gravy.