Green Chili Adventure

One of my favorite southwest foods is green chili stew. The chilies used are Hatch, a local chili that packs a wallop. I love spicy food, but haven't had much of it for a while, so trying out a bowl of green chili chicken soup sent me running for the milk. But these chilies are so flavorful, they don't need much to make them shine. It's not just about the heat, it's about the flavor. I'm determined to get my body adjusted to spice again,  and to help me to my goal, I went in search of green chilies.

Hatch chilies seem to be everywhere in Santa Fe, if you know where to look. The local farmer's market, the big supermarkets, even the health food stores carry bags and bags of them. I stopped off at a local market that caters to healthy foods and was overjoyed to see one of the employees re-stocking a display of Hatch chilies. Another shopper was waiting for him, as well, and started talking to him about the display of roasted chilies that he was also re-stocking. He encouraged her to try one, so she opened a box, pulled out a roasted chili that was easily 4 inches long and ate the whole thing right there, no problem. Oh for the day when I can do that!

For my first time working with these chilies, I decided to go for the roasted ones, rather than the fresh. I picked up a box, which was a ridiculous price of just over $2 for a pound and started devising what I was going to do with them. I was getting pretty hungry, and it was just at lunch time, so I grabbed a roasted chicken from the store to help speed along my lunch. When I got home, I decided to cook up some kale with the chilies and have that as a side to the chicken. I cut up some onion, sauteed the onions and chilies with olive oil, added just a tiny bit of salt and garlic powder, the kale, a tablespoon or two of chicken broth and a splash of Braggs. The kitchen filled up with a wonderful aroma. In 15 minutes, my lunch was ready, and armored with a glass of milk, so was I. I used two chilies for the kale dish, and there were about 1 1/2 servings. It was incredibly hot. And really delicious.

My next dish was dinner. I decided to go for rainbow trout with a green chili chutney and salad. Again I sauteed the chilies with onions, garlic, mushrooms, salt and lemon juice, then let it sit and come to room temperature. I seasoned the fish with salt and pepper then put the two fillets in a pan with olive oil and ladled the chili mixture on top. I covered the pan and refrigerated it for 30 minutes or so. Then it was into the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, and the result was another amazing dish. The flavor of the chilies didn't overpower the fish, but added to a delicate but very spicy flavor. I might let my body calm down a bit after such an infusion of spice, but I'm excited for the next installment of chili bliss.