Green Chile Chicken Stew

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

Chicken Green Chili Soup

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.

Green Chili Soup Ingredients

• Oil. A small amount of neutral oil for sautéing the vegetables: anything like vegetable oil, canola oil, or grapeseed oil is fine.
• Onion. This is a smaller batch soup recipe, so we only need 1/2 of a yellow or white onion. You can easily double this recipe, however.
• Garlic. Three cloves of fresh garlic, minced. If you don’t have fresh, using 1.5 teaspoons of dried garlic powder.
• Chicken Broth. The base of our soup is chicken broth. You can use a homemade version, canned chicken broth or chicken stock. Chicken stock is usually richer (because it is made with bones), so that’s usually what I use.
• Potato. One large russet potato, peeled and chopped into bite-size pieces. The starch of the potatoes will lightly thicken our soup.
• Green Chiles. We need 1/2 cup of roasted green chiles. This can be canned, fresh or frozen. It’s your choice to use mild or hot. The best green chiles in the world are from Hatch, New Mexico.
• Chicken. One large (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast. We will add it whole to the pot and then shred it before serving.
• Corn. Stirring in frozen corn kernels brings a touch of sweetness to this green chili soup.
• For serving: fresh cilantro and lime wedges are optional.

How to make this Green Chili Stew Recipe

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.

1. In a small soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. 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.
3. Next, stir in the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add the chicken broth, salt, pepper, chopped potatoes, and green chiles to the pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
5. 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.
6. Stir in the frozen corn and let everything cook on a gentle simmer for about 5 more minutes.

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.

Green Chili Chicken Soup Storage

To store leftovers, let cool slightly, and then transfer to air-tight food storage containers. It will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer. To reheat, either place in the microwave or in a small saucepan and heat through. You may need to add extra chicken stock to help it along.

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!