Mmm, green chile
December 31, 2009 9:22 AM   Subscribe

What are your best recipes for using New Mexico green chiles?

A generous friend took a spare suitcase home with her to Albuquerque, and brought back green chiles to share with her chile-deprived pals. Not entirely sure what to do with all of my share (though some will be used for making sauce, naturally), so I'd love your suggestions and recipes. Traditional or innovative, what are your favorite ways to use New Mexico green chiles?
posted by amelioration to Food & Drink (16 answers total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
Ohhh, put them in pretty much everything. They're delicious on burgers and in breakfast burritos and kind of in all burritos. Chile rellenos.

Actually, what do you have? Whole chiles, diced, frozen, what?

Will your friend be my friend?
posted by sugarfish at 9:36 AM on December 31, 2009


If they are fresh and whole, you can put them on the bbq and roast them. Then pull off the skin, remove the seeds and enjoy. Most of the chiles sold here in NM are already roasted so you might be able to skip the first step.

This year's crop was supposed to be one of the best in years.
posted by jabo at 9:37 AM on December 31, 2009


I assume they are already peeled, and frozen? There's no way you could have
gotten fresh local chili in Albuquerque at this time of year. When you use this
presumablyl peeled and frozen chili, be sure to drain it before you use it. The commercial
stuff is a little watery, and often still has the skins on it. If it's home prepared, it was
probably roasted, stemmed, veined and frozen, and can be used without draining.

Green chili grilled cheese sandwiches (best if you have big pieces of chili you can lay flat).
This is what we do when we have a fresh batch of chili, immediately.

Chop them, and put them in scrambled eggs.
Make a green chili Denver omlette, using green chili instead of bell peppers.
Make green chili stew.
Make salsa, to eat with tortilla chips (the thin green stuff, or the chunky salsa cruda).
Make posole, with smoked ham hocks.
Green chili gravy is good on mashed potatoes, and anything else.
It's good in turkey stuffing.

Like sugarfish said, you should put them in pretty much everything (except candy. You
have to use chili powder for that).
posted by the Real Dan at 9:43 AM on December 31, 2009


The Real Dan, what's your recipe for green chile gravy? Because that sounds like I need to eat it immediately.

Oh, yes, in stuffing! I put it in my dressing at Thanksgiving.
posted by sugarfish at 9:53 AM on December 31, 2009


Mix them with guacamole.
posted by stresstwig at 9:55 AM on December 31, 2009


When I lived in Santa Fe, I religiously had the veggie breakfast burrito at the Santa Fe Baking Company every weekend. Black beans, potatoes, scallions, cheddar, tomatoes, and green chile. Simple and delicious.

They're also great on pizza.
posted by tellumo at 10:11 AM on December 31, 2009


recipe for green chile gravy? chili verde
posted by hortense at 10:40 AM on December 31, 2009


Our family's favorite casserole:

We use canned Ortega chiles (2 large cans worth), but I think fresher would be even better.

Chile con Queso Casserole
Layer green chiles in a dish with grated cheese
Use about a pound of cheese, 1/2 jack and 1/2 cheddar. Maybe a little less that a pound. definitely not more.

Mix together an pour over all:
1 small can evaporated milk
1 egg
1-2 tablespoons flour
1 little pepper, maybe.

Bake for about an hour 1t 350 F.
After 50 minutes, pour a small can (6oz) of tomato sauce over the top, then let that bake on for the last 10 minutes.

Good served with rice and a salad.

Never make this with mozarella cheese. I did that once and it was a total dud.
posted by SLC Mom at 11:14 AM on December 31, 2009


Potatoes au gratin with green chile.

Burgers, either on top or mixed in the burger.

Green chile pesto: make pesto as normal, add about a third as much chile as basil.

Beans: put in once the onions have finished sauteeing.
posted by PMdixon at 11:41 AM on December 31, 2009


I love making my friend's green chile stew! I modify the recipe by adding alcohol (wine, prosecco, peach liqueur, whatever) and half a lemon's worth of juice as the soup cools off, which adds a nice kick. I like sausage or some weird meat in lieu of chicken, or you can omit meat entirely and it's still tasty. Freezes nicely.

Miriam's Green Chile Stew

* denotes ingredients, in lieu of an ingredient list.

1. sauté (for maybe 5-10 minutes?)
* vegetable oil,
* potatoes (a handful, chopped),
* 3 garlic cloves, crushed,
* touch of green chile,
* onion (1),

2. add in
* a can of hominy, saute for a little while longer,

2.5 optional: While sautéing veggies, in another pan, with some onion, garlic, chile, and oil, saute
* chicken, cut into pieces. Sauté until pretty well cooked, and add to the rest of the mixture.

3. add in
* tomatoes (probably about 6-8 fresh tomatoes, or one large can of canned tomatoes), sauté until the juices start to come out,

4. add in
* green chile. I add in somewhere between 1 and 3, depending on desired hotness.
* vegetable stock to cover the vegetables, or more; I like a fairly watery stew, rather than a thick one. (You can also add water and bouillon; use package directions on how much bouillon to add for your amount of water)

* 3 more cloves of garlic, crushed (or perhaps more, if necessary, and it usually is).
* And the secret ingredients: Curry and smoked paprika. True purists don't like non-green-chile spicing, but I find that a bit of curry and some paprika adds a bit of depth to the taste. The trick is to put in enough that you can taste something, but not enough that you can taste that it's curry (or paprika). Shouldn't overwhelm the green chile taste, but should augment it. But - sshhh! - don't tell!

5. Simmer for a while - at least 45 minutes. Ideally, let it sit overnight before serving (refrigerating it is fine once it's cooled down), so the flavors have a chance to percolate through. It's always better on the day after it's made.

6. Before serving, taste again, adjust seasoning as necessary.
posted by *s at 12:52 PM on December 31, 2009


Everything! Put them in things they don't belong in. This is the New Mexican way!

My favorites:
*Hash browns with cheddar
*Quiches (with cheddar, but you can do 'em however you want)
*Pizza

I made surprisingly good tiny tea sandwiches mixing the green chile with the cream cheese. The more obnoxious the combination, the more authentically New Mexican you're being. (Hello, New Mexico sushi rolls.)
posted by NoraReed at 6:51 PM on December 31, 2009 [2 favorites]


Here's my family green chile stew recipe.
posted by signalnine at 2:41 PM on January 1, 2010 [1 favorite]


I also like to add it to chicken soup when I'm sick. Extra vitamin C AND the heat seems to help me "sweat it out."
posted by answergrape at 6:03 PM on January 1, 2010


I should add that the reason our green chile stew is superior to other green chile stews is because it contains BACON.
posted by signalnine at 7:22 PM on January 1, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks all. So far I've had some really fantastic tomato soup, and a pot of green chile-white bean-chicken chili is burbling away on the stove. I'm saving some to do a pork stew, and the rest... well, it'll probably just get eaten by the spoonful at the rate I'm going.
posted by amelioration at 10:42 AM on January 2, 2010


For the gravy, saute onions and green chili in butter (if the green chili is not too wet), and
add flour to the mix, about a tablespoon of flour per cup of stock that you are going to use; after a couple of minutes of cooking, add garlic and then start adding chicken stock a little at
a time, stirring and cooking between additions. Add cumin seed and organo fairly early, and salt and pepper to taste. It's important not to add the garlic too early, as it will burn (from the Real Cook).
posted by the Real Dan at 12:44 PM on January 4, 2010


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