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!
Green Chile Chicken Stew
No cream green chile chicken stew.
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:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 201Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 992mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 14g
Arturo GARCIA says
I am from New Mexico and I love green chilies .... And I made this green chili chicken stew today October 21st... And it was amazing thank you for your recipe it's awesome you are an awesome cook I appreciate it I will keep following you for more recipes thanks again
Dee says
I made this tonight for the first time. My boyfriend said it is the best thing he’s ever had....truly. That’s not a reflection on my cooking (lol), but on the recipe. Thanks so much for sharing it with us! 😍
Cammy says
This is a delicious recipe. I did leave the corn out since it hurts my stomach for some reason. I have also made it using pork. I love the clearness of the broth without the cream. Thank you for a great recipe. And it's' only 3-4 months till Central Market fires up those roasters again! I drive to Dallas each fall and buy 1 or 2 cases and have them roasted. I spend about 2 afternoons peeling, seeding, freezing or chopping and freezing them. I use a muffin pan to freeze my chopped ones. I make food saver bags and put a seal vertically in the middle so once I load each side with a frozen batch of chopped ones I seal the bag and can cut just one side open at a time. I also layer whole, seeded ones between layers of wax paper and freeze in amounts of 6 per bag. That is the amount I normally use for chili rellenos.
Morgan says
I just made this recipe two days ago, and I have been eating it for every meal! It is comforting with the perfect amount of spice. I also love that it's a hearty and delicious soup without an abundance of fat and calories! I added cumin and cilantro to the broth to enhance the flavors, and I highly recommend it. I am a cilantro junkie, so I top my soup with additional cilantro and fresh lime juice. Thank you for the recipe!
Crack says
I made this recipe tonight and I used baby gold potatoes and shoepeg corn, and it turned out wonderful! Thanks so much!
C'eirra Stockwell says
Has anyone done this in the crockpot?
Stephanie says
Yes I prefer it!! I let it cook on low all day about 8 hours
Lisa says
I was given some fire-roasted chiles and wasn't sure what to do with them. I am so glad I found this recipe! Delicious!!