One of the many great things about a home exchange vacation is immersing yourself
into a local culture, and what better way than trying a local food
favourite. We recently saw this road
side sign for ‘best roasted chilies’ and wondered what is this all about. Loving spicy foods and having enjoyed green
chili in the past we thought we would stop and check it out.
We quickly learned about the chilies from Hatch New Mexico. How exciting, they sell chilies by the bushel, ranging from mild, to hot and very hot. There was even a ‘blow your mouth out’ Dynamite strength chili. As these chilies are fresh, you have the option of having them immediately roasted – now this was a great experience to watch – watch the video.
We quickly learned about the chilies from Hatch New Mexico. How exciting, they sell chilies by the bushel, ranging from mild, to hot and very hot. There was even a ‘blow your mouth out’ Dynamite strength chili. As these chilies are fresh, you have the option of having them immediately roasted – now this was a great experience to watch – watch the video.
Green Chili with
Chicken
Poached Chicken:
1 whole chicken or chicken portions, about 3 1/2 pounds
1 large onion, peeled
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 bunch fresh thyme or 1 tsp of dried
1 bay leaf
Put the chicken, onion, in a large stockpot. Pour in enough cold water just to cover by 1 inch (about 3 quarts). Toss in the garlic and herbs and allow the water to slowly come to a boil over medium heat. Skim off the foam then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1 hour, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through. Skim any impurities that rise to the surface; add more water if necessary to keep the chicken covered.
1 whole chicken or chicken portions, about 3 1/2 pounds
1 large onion, peeled
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 bunch fresh thyme or 1 tsp of dried
1 bay leaf
Put the chicken, onion, in a large stockpot. Pour in enough cold water just to cover by 1 inch (about 3 quarts). Toss in the garlic and herbs and allow the water to slowly come to a boil over medium heat. Skim off the foam then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1 hour, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through. Skim any impurities that rise to the surface; add more water if necessary to keep the chicken covered.
Remove the chicken to
a cutting board and let it cool. Remove fresh stalks and bay leaf from the pot
and discard. Put the rest of the broth in a blender add half of the Gabanzo
beans. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones;
shred the meat by hand.
To finish
4 Green chillies
1 Can of Gabanzo beans
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Leaves from 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro & fresh parsley - chopped
4 Green chillies
1 Can of Gabanzo beans
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Leaves from 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro & fresh parsley - chopped
Seed, core, and thinly
slice the Green Chillies. Heat olive oil, add the onion and garlic and cook
until softened, about 5 minutes. Dust the vegetables with the ground cumin,
coriander, and oregano, and stir; cook 1 minute. Pour in the reserved chicken
broth and the rest of the Gabanzo beans, season and cook 20 minutes. Now add
the shredded chicken and chillies, and the cilantro and cook 5 more minutes.
Taste for seasoning.
You might be asking, so what happened to the bushel of
chilies? Well the fact is we bought two
(2) bushels! The evening we bought them
we quickly cleaned them up – removed most of the charred skin and then put a
handful into individual freezer bags, so we can preserve them and use
later. Little did we know how addicted
to them we would become. We prepared about
30 freezer bags, but today about a month later, checking our freezer, there is
less than 10 bags left. Good news is
that we have really enjoy our new found local delight. Bad news is that the fresh chili season has
come to an end, we’ll just have to plan another home
exchange vacation to this region again next year.
To learn more about other great advantages of home exchange
vacations – like having a full kitchen to try preparing local foods – visit www.ivhe.com.
You can also download a Free Home Exchange Guide, full of
hints and tips.
Special thanks to Suzie for her great green chili recipe and making it for us, yum.
Special thanks to Suzie for her great green chili recipe and making it for us, yum.
Interesting! I would love to try this!
ReplyDeleteI love chili!!! If I could eat chili all day, I would. I am def. going to try this recipe. :)
ReplyDelete