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Beef Stew with Butternut Squash

February weekend is the time to turn on the stew pot and walk away. It's the season to simmer soup for hours while reading a good book or tackling the project that's been on the "to-do" list for months.

Stews and soup are fine fare for family and friends, with the added advantage that there is no stopwatch cooking. It can be ready when you are.

Fellow food writers Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven, who write for the Boston Globe, explore such winter comfort food in their book The Way We Cook. A chapter on "Simmering Pots" includes possibilities from Yankee Gumbo to Veal Stew With Bacon and Potatoes.

I was drawn to the untraditional beef stew, which has a Latin slant. Chunks of beef chuck are paired with chunks of butternut squash and some roasted poblano chiles.

It does take some up-front work in the kitchen, roasting the chiles and the usual chop/mince/dice that is the basis of many a soup. But once you've put the beef in to simmer, you have 2 hours to turn your attention elsewhere. Unless you're going to serve the stew that night, it is best made in two stages, refrigerating after the beef is cooked, then reheating after the fat is skimmed. That's the time to add the squash and final seasonings. Dinner will be on the table in less than a half hour.

Poblano chiles, like many chiles, are not uniform in their heat. I have tasted some that would sear your esophagus. But when I tested this recipe, the chiles were virtually neuter. Taste the broth before adding the squash and feel free to bump up the heat by increasing the amount of crushed red pepper.

The original recipe called for serving the stew with flour tortillas, but I liked using Trader Joe's Chile Flavor Tortillas.

Makes 6 servings

2 poblano or other large, medium-hot fresh chiles

2 pounds boneless chuck roast

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 quarts water

1 20-ounce package fresh-peeled butternut squash*

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

12 Chile Flavor Tortillas

Preheat the broiler. Rub the chiles with a bit of oil and set them on the broiler pan. Broil, turning, until the skin is blistered and blackened all over. Place in a small paper bag and fold top over. Let rest for 10 minutes; the steam will help loosen the skin. Peel or scrape off the blackened skin, then pull out the stem and discard the seeds. Cut into half-inch slices.

Meanwhile, trim excess fat from the chuck roast and cut into 1 inch chunks.

Heat the 2 tablespoons oil in a large flameproof casserole and cook the onion and salt over medium heat about 5 minutes, until the onion is softened. Add the garlic and roasted peppers and cook 2 or 3 minutes more. Spoon the onion pepper mixture into a small bowl and set aside. In the same pan, add the meat and increase heat to high. Cook, turning the cubes, just until the meat loses its pink color. Pour a little of the water into the pan and scrape any accumulated bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the rest of the water and the onion/pepper mixture. Partially cover the pan (do not cover completely), reduce heat and simmer slowly for 2 hours (check after 2 hours; the meat should be soft but not falling apart).

The recipe can be prepared ahead to this point. Cool the beef in the cooking pot (this time of year you can take the whole covered pot out to the patio to chill quickly in the sub-freezing weather). Or ladle into two smaller containers and refrigerate overnight. The next day remove the fat that has solidified on top. Thirty minutes before serving, reheat and add the squash, oregano, red and black pepper. Cover completely and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes, until the squash is tender. Season with more salt if desired.

FOR THE TORTILLAS: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wrap the tortillas in foil, 6 to a package and set them on a baking sheet. Warm for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tortillas in the center of the package are warm. Quickly fold the tortillas into quarters and arrange them overlapping on a plate.

NOTE: The original recipe also called for 1/4 cup rice to be added with the squash, but the rice will absorb too much liquid if leftovers are refrigerated and reheated.

*Available at Trader Joe's, 328 E. Stroop Road, Kettering.

Adapted from The Way We Cook by Sheryl Julian & Julie Riven (Houghton Mifflin, $27).