This has become our “You’re sick, get better” soup. Naturally gluten and dairy free, this soup has the goodness of chicken stock and the kick of pablano and Anaheim peppers. When my youngest brought home Strep throat and shared it with me, my dear friend Melissa from Gluten Free For Good suggested a chicken and green chile soup. I thought that sounded great.
The only problem was I was sick on the couch and my husband doesn’t really know how to cook. He figures why should he with me at home. But he became my hero and got into the kitchen. I had no idea what was in a traditional chicken and green chile soup and I still don’t know but I made up a list of ingredients and gave him directions as I hovered under a blanket on the couch. He was amazing and that evening we had soup.
So I thought I would recreate it and kick this cold out of town. The only problem is I never asked what type of green chile was being used in Colorado. From my search on the web I’m still not positive but I’m thinking a Hatch New Mexican pepper or Pasilla. Around here in Northern VA when you say green chile your choices are Anaheim or Pablano. I’m still not sure what you get in Colorado. If you are reading this and you have the answer please share it. Either way I’ve decided I’m growing green chilies next summer.
While searching for information on how to roast green chilies I came across Denver Green Chili site. Like I said, people in Colorado love their chilies. They show a chili roaster which I think is the coolest thing ever. I think I should add that to my holiday wish list. Oh the fun I could have with one of those and a chili garden!
If you are one of those folks that hears something is spicy and runs the other way, there are ways around that. First, you can use only Aneheim peppers as they have a little less heat than the Pablanos. But they still have heat so start with half of what the recipe calls for and add from there. Now if you buy a can of green chilies at the grocery store, I’ve never found them to be spicy at all. I used a total of 1 cup of green chilies but I’m not sure if you would use the same amount from a can. I myself don’t like those cans of green chilies so before you add it to your entire soup pull a little out of the pot and add these chilies and give it a taste. That is better than ruining a whole pot of soup. Please remember to not taste the soup if your chicken is not cooked.
Now besides the chicken and the green chilies, a key ingredient is the chicken stock. Keep in mind that stock and broth are similar but different in a very key way. A stock is made with bones often with a little meat on them in water, in this case chicken bones, and a broth is made from meat, fish or vegetables in water. To make a brown or deeper colored stock, brown the bones or roast the vegetables first.
I hope by now you are ready to get busy making yourself a nice big pot of this soup. Make extra and then freeze it so you have it on hand when you need it! It did clear out my sinuses.
Ingredients:
2 tsp organic coconut oil
1 tsp organic extra virgin olive oil
1 large white onion, diced
1 large clove of elephant garlic or 2-3 cloves regular, diced
3 full chicken breasts (6 individual), cut into bite size cubes
2 roasted pablano peppers, skinned, seeded and diced
1/4 cup roasted Anaheim peppers, skinned, seeded and diced
4 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size cubes
1 tsp dried cilantro or 1 small handful fresh chopped fine
1 tsp cumin seeds
6 cups chicken stock
Sea Salt and Fresh Cracked Black Pepper to taste
Directions:
In a large heavy stock pot heated to medium high, add the oils and saute the onions until soft. If you are using elephant garlic add it in the beginning but is using regular garlic wait until the onions have started to sweat out or start to soften before adding it.
Remove this mixture and add in the chicken. After that has cook until slightly firm to the touch, add the green chilies, onion and garlic, potatoes, chicken stock and seasonings to the pot.
Let this simmer for at least 20 minutes. Give it a taste and adjust the seasonings to your preferences.
Yield: 6-8 servings
Notes:
If you don’t have a white onion feel free to use whatever type onion you have on hand.
Also if you don’t have cumin seeds you can use ground cumin.
If you want to make this in the crockpot you can put everything but the potatoes. Cook on high 4 hours or low 6 hours. For the last hour of cooking add in the potatoes and put on high. If you leave them in all day long the potatoes can melt into the soup. This of course will give you a thick stew but I personally don’t like the taste.
This soup looks fabulous!! It would for sure be a favorite of my hubby's since he LOVES Anaheim peppers!! I should make up a bunch of this now with my bone broth (the reason I call it bone broth instead of stock is because I got my inspiration from Sally Fallon who has always called it that) and then freeze some of it for when we are fighting off the winter buggies!
This looks SO good. I love a tasty chicken soup. Will definitely put this on the list of things to try out. Thanks Diane!
Nice job, Scott!
I've been making green chile soups and stews since I lived in Taos, New Mexico (back in my hippie girl days). When you emailed me that you were sick, this was the first thing that came to mind. In fact, my daughter who lives in NYC, emails or calls me when she's sick whining that she needs some of "mom's green chile soup" to get better. It's a tradition around our house. Yes, commercial chile roasters are great and definitely makes the job of roasting much easier, but you can do it several different ways, including on an outdoor grill. I buy fresh green chile by the bushel and roast, peel and freeze it in batches. It's a fall tradition in the southwest. You can smell it roasting from miles away. I love Hatch green chile (Hatch is a town in NM), but Pueblo green chile is just as good. You can add some dried red chile powder (the kind you use to make red chile enchilada sauce) to the soup as well. It gives it a nice color and adds some depth to the blend. I make it different every time, but it's my version of grandma's healing chicken noodle soup! Glad you're on the green chile bandwagon. Good stuff for sure!
Peace, love and fire roasted chiles!
Melissa
Yummy! I love the combo of chicken and green chilis. I always think of it more along the lines of shredded chicken and stew-like consistency, but this looks really great.
Well, that does look amazing for sure and I can totally imagine how great it tastes, Diane. Thank you and Melissa! I've heard that the Whole Foods in Northern Virginia get in the big sacks of Hatch green chilies towards the end of summer. One of my friends from New Mexico always gets her daughter to get as many as they can buy and then they have a huge party roasting the green chilies. So you might not have to grow any. Are they easy to grow? Does VA have necessary climate? Inquiring minds want to know … oh, and, any soup leftover? 😉
Shirley
I love a spicy soup when I am feeling sick. This would be so good, illness or not!
I wonder what it is about the spices and feeling better? Not sure but I too enjoy them when sick or anytime.
that looks fantastic! I bet it would be perfect with white beans, too.
I love the idea of adding beans too!