Green Chile Chicken Stew

Green Chile Chicken Stew with potatoes, corn, and fresh Hatch green chiles!

On the long list of reasons I was so excited to move back to my home state of Texas, 'food' was quite high. And somewhere, underneath the subheading of food, 'Hatch green chile season' found its place.

While Hatch chiles come from New Mexico, Texas imports a fair share of them, as we are known to love our chiles. Green chile chicken enchiladas for two, anyone?

When my parents told me that Central Market was hosting their annual Hatch chile fest, and the giant rotating drum roasters were in full-force, I grabbed my husband and daughter to see the sights. And to eat them, too!

After green chile cheeseburgers, green chile quesadillas, green chile queso, and green chile Po' boys, they see the light. Welcome my toddler and husband, two new chile heads, to the club, please.

Hatch green chiles are worth celebrating each year. I bought two one-pound packages of the roasted ones, and shoved green chiles into almost everything we had for dinner last week. While stirring green chiles into my macaroni and cheese recipe is great, this green chile chicken stew is where it's at.

I should mention that I buy the green chiles labeled 'mild,' but if hot ones are more your style, go for it! I'm having trouble convincing a 3-year old to eat hot foods, but I guess I should be more patient.

This green chile chicken stew is so good that I will make it with canned green chiles when the Hatch ones aren't in season. Serve it with a small batch of cornbread, and enjoy it all season long.

Method for this green chile chicken stew:

My chicken stew method comes from Christy Jordan. Her cookbook has a wonderful simple chicken stew with potato chunks, sweet corn kernels, and an excess of freshly ground black pepper. The potatoes lend a starchy creaminess to the stew that lets the rest of the flavors shine through.

I adapted her recipe to include green chiles, while leaving out the tomatoes in her original recipe.

How to clean fire-roasted Hatch green chiles:

When you bring home whole roasted green chiles from the store, or if you roast them yourself over a gas flame, you still have a small amount of prep work to do. I know that this is much more labor-intensive and messy than buying canned green chiles, but I promise that the fresh flavor is so worth it!

First, use the back of a knife to scrape off the black skin. Try to get most of it off, but don't worry about a few black flecks here and there.

Next, split the chile open and remove the stem and seeds. It's easiest to do this while rinsing under running water, but I don't actually do this because I don't want to wash off the roasted flavor. Use a paper towel to grab tear the stem out and grab the seeds instead.

That's it! Now you're ready to chop the chiles and use them in any recipe that calls for them.

Also, if you buy slightly more fresh green chiles than you need, they freeze best already roasted and cleaned in this way. I divide up my clean chopped roasted chiles into 4-ounce portions (because most recipes call for as 4-ounce cans), and seal them in my Food Saver for using the rest of the year.

I know that it might still be summer weather where you live, but please save this recipe for Fall. It's a great recipe to double (or triple), and serve on Game Day!

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Yield: 2 big bowls

Green Chile Chicken Stew

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No cream green chile chicken stew.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• ½ yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 3 cups chicken broth
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large Russet potato, peeled and chopped
• ½ cup (8 ounces) diced fire-roasted Hatch green chiles*
• 1 large chicken breast
• ½ cup frozen corn kernels
• fresh cilantro, for serving
• fresh lime wedges, optional, for serving

Instructions

In a small 3-quart soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.

Add the onion to the pot, and cook while stirring occasionally until softened and starting to turn golden brown on the edges, about 5 minutes.

Next, stir in the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the chicken broth, salt, pepper, chopped potatoes, and green chiles to the pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer.

Add the chicken breast (whole), cover and let cook until it's done, about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken to a cutting board, and use two forks to shred the meat. Add it back to the pot.

Stir in the frozen corn and let everything cook on a gentle simmer for about 5 more minutes.

Divide between two soup bowls, and serve garnished with fresh cilantro and lime wedges.

Notes

*The chiles should already be cleaned, peeled and diced here. Refer to post for directions on how to clean your chiles if they're whole after being roasted. If you're not using fresh chiles, use two 4-ounce cans of fire-roasted diced green chiles.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 201Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 992mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 14g

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