What's Cooking Wednesday - New Mexico Green Chili

What I'm reading: True Grit (book club)

Thanks to Cicily for yesterday's most informative post.

The other day, I wanted to make this recipe for New Mexico Green Chili. However, I didn't have all the ingredients, and I was only willing to go as far as the local grocery store in Divide. When I couldn't find poblano chiles, I used what they had: Anaheim. And, after a little time with Google and Facebook, I determined they'd be acceptable substitutes.

Here's the original recipe with my notations. I made it with the beans as a vegetarian dish, but the recipe also says you can used cooked chicken. Or, I would imagine, any other meat of choice.

4 poblano chiles (I used Anaheims)
1 T olive oil
1 large onion, cut into ¼ inch dice
2 jalapeño chiles, seeded & minced (Mine were huge, so I used one. Heat varies from one pepper to the next. You might want to sample a bit to decide how much you want to use)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
½ c packed fresh cilantro, chopped (Substituted a little chopped parsley; I don't like cilantro)
1 t cumin
¾ t salt
2 lb tomatillos, husked, rinsed and cut into quarters or eighths if large (see note and pictures below)
1 can vegetable broth
2 cans (15-19 oz each) white kidney beans,(My store only had Great Northerns) rinsed & drained
(or 12 oz. cooked chicken)



Roast poblano peppers, peel and cut into 1 inch pieces. (I also discovered during my research that poblanos and Anaheims are the chiles used for those cans of green chiles, so feel free to avoid all this work and use those. I probably will next time!)

To roast the peppers, put them in a hot (425) oven for about 30-45 minutes, until the skins are blistered. Then put them in either a paper bag or a bowl with a cover so the steam helps separate the peppers from the skin. Or, you can grill them or just stick them right on the burner if you have a gas stove. Or open a can!

Tomatillos aren't tomatoes at all. Like tomatoes, they're in the nightshade family, but they're more closely related to cape gooseberries

You have to peel the husk off and then wash them until they're not so sticky. There's kind of a foamy residue, so when the water is just about clear, I figure that's enough.

In 6 quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add onion, jalapeños, garlic, cilantro, cumin and salt. Cook 5 minutes.

Stir in tomatillos, broth and roasted peppers; heat to boiling over high heat.

Reduce heat to low; comer and simmer 20 minutes or until tomatillos are tender. Stir in beans and cook 5 minutes longer until heated through.

Followup - since this recipe is designed to serve 8, and there are only the two of us, I figured we'd have enough for at least two meals.  But I decided that for the next go-round, I'd change it up a bit. So, I made some pasta (little tube thingies) and then combined that with the leftover chili and some cheese and baked it in the oven until everything was hot and the cheese was melted. A great casserole.


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