Green Chile

Ah, the joys of late summer: tomatoes turning colors, school bus traffic, sweet corn, back to school specials, Oktoberfest on the shelves, the peak of wedding season and of course, my personal favorite, Mexicans roasting countless bushels of green chiles on Federal.  Oh how I look forward to the painful scorch from hours of chile peeling.  

Last year we got three bushels, and have only one small zip lock baggy left in the freezer, talk about perfect timing!  Its not an exact science, but I think one bushel weighs about 15 pounds, just for reference.  We always have green chiles, but I’ve never actually made a green chile sauce/stew.  Well, I decided I’d give it a try with some of the fresh chilies from the first two bushels we got a few days ago.  HUGE success!  I’ve ceded that it’s pretty hard to put a lot of green chile in something and have it NOT taste amazing, but I was impressed regardless.  This is what I did:

10-20 (depending on your desired hotness) roasted, peeled, chopped New Mexico hatch green chiles

1 red onion chopped

1 squash cubed

2 tsp cornstarch

4 cloves garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

5 cups vegetable broth (5 cups water 2 cubes bouillon)

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

First in a large pot, sauté the onions, chiles, and squash in the olive oil until soft.  Add the vegetable broth and remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour.  I pureed the mixture at the end to make a sauce with good consistency. It seems so very simple and yet so amazing.