Tuesday, September 20, 2011
hatch green chile stew
What else can you do with the fabulous pods? What about Hatch Green Chili Stew? I make mine with a combination of roasted and unroasted Hatch chilies. To roast them at home, I place the chilies on a meat fork and rotate them slowly over a gas burner until they start to pop, let them cool on a metal rack or paper towel, then peel the tougher outer skin. I throw garlic and onions into a cast iron kettle, braise any meat or tofu I intend to add, then add plenty of chopped Hatch chilies (at least six), along with a chopped potato, cilantro, cumin, black pepper, four cups to six cups of stock, and eventually, a chopped tomato or two. Tomatillos are great if you have any on hand, and canned tomatoes can also be used. For another fun dot of color, I sometimes add chunks of butternut squash. Like the potato, the squash helps to even out the fire of the hotter chilies, while it absorbs the melded flavors in the stew. As ever, the fragrant, slightly spicy meal is better the next day.
# posted by Chelsea @ 9:17 PM 
