Recipe: Hatch Green Chile Tortilla Soup

My friends, hatch green chili season is upon us! Depending on where you live they may be difficult to find, they are 100% worth it, if you can track them down. (If you can’t, you can use this recipe with regular Anaheim or poblano peppers. If you like it extra spicy, roast one or two jalapeños too.)
 
Although the hatch chiles I get from the local farmers market are already roasted, you can easily roast them yourself in the oven.

To do so, preheat your broiler, wash and dry your chiles, then arrange them in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Put the chiles under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, until the skin is 60-70% charred (but not completely blackened!) Flip them over with tongs and roast the other side for another 3-5 minutes. Once they’re done, grab the tongs again and place your peppers in a paper bag, food-safe plastic bag, or heat-safe container with a lid. You’ll want to cover them to help steam the skins off for about 10-15 minutes. After steaming, peel, seed, and chop your peppers. You may want to wear gloves, depending on how many peppers you’re working with at once.
 
Now, for the rest.
 

Photo and recipe modified from The Wicked Noodle.
 
Hatch Green Chile Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 large summer tomatoes
• 1 C extra-virgin olive oil, divided (tbsp)
• ½ white onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 32 oz (1 L) chicken broth
• 4 hatch chiles, roasted, stemmed and seeded, then diced
• 4 C shredded chicken (or as much as one whole rotisserie chicken)
• ¼ C cilantro, chopped
• 1 package corn tortillas (or tortilla chips, if you don’t want to fry your own strips)
• Toppings: sour cream, chopped cilantro, sliced avocado

 
 
The Nitty Gritty
 

1. Preheat broiler. Slice tomatoes in half then place cut side down onto baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil, season with salt. Broil for about 5 minutes or until the skins are starting to blacken.
2. Preheat a dutch oven or preferred soup pot over medium heat. Add another 2 tbsp olive oil then add onions, cooking for about five minutes or until starting to soften.
3. Add garlic and cumin, cook for another minute or two, stirring frequently.
4. Add tomatoes and their juices to pan.
5. Pour in chicken broth and stir well. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
6. Blend the soup mixture well with a hand blender (or pour it all into a blender in batches, then pour back into the pot).
7. Stir in shredded chicken and roasted chiles. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes, or to desired thickness.
8. In the meantime, heat your remaining oil and cut 4-5 tortillas into ½-inch thick strips. Fry them in batches until crispy.
9. After the soup is done simmering, stir in chopped cilantro and ladle into soup bowls.
10. Garnish with your freshly fried tortilla strips and add further toppings as desired. Serve immediately.

 
Delicious and healthy, this recipe is a keeper. Incidentally, you can also use shredded pork instead of chicken. Or, on the chance that you are vegetarian, this recipe is equally delicious with vegetable broth and a poached egg, beans, corn, and/or additional avocado. And no matter how you make it, it pairs exceedingly well an ice cold adult beverage, such as a margarita or a lighter lager. Buen provecho!