This green chile stew takes me back to my first travel nurse assignment out in Taos, New Mexico. When my recruiter called and asked me about New Mexico, I said I had never been—she then asked if I would like to, and I said “sure!” It honestly had never crossed my mind and I am so grateful this was my first stop. I had no idea such a little gem was hiding right here in the states and I quickly fell in love with the town, the mountains, the food, and most importantly, the people.

A sweet little couple lovingly took me under their wing while I stayed in their casita, the nurses I worked with became friends I am still in touch with today. I met my fiancé during this assignment and I became a lot more confident in my abilities—my ability and knowledge as a nurse and just being able to leave everything and everyone I knew as familiar, drive across the country and still make friends. And now I find that Taos, New Mexico feels like a second home to me.

Ugh, I love it so much I could write pages! Buuut, the real reason we are here is to talk Chile.

When I first arrived, I went to Church on Sunday and after talking with a few members, the same question kept popping up, “will you be here in the fall?” Finally, someone followed it up with, “too bad, you’ll miss green chile season…” Like instead of fall you get this, instead of football, it’s chiles. And he was right! The whole town smells of fire roasted chiles when you drive down the paseo. It’s magical.

Even more magical is the experience of getting together with friends and peeling the chiles. You’re outside, the mountains surrounding you and you’re sitting around a table with friends and prepping your chiles for the year to come. Shout-out to Leah for inviting me to this😊.

So, when I make this stew and can smell the green chiles roasting, I’m taken back in time to a very specific place, with very special people and while this stew will warm you up, it warms my heart thinking of them! Enjoy this recipe and book your trip to New Mexico ASAP!

Ingredient List:

-1.5 lbs chicken breasts—cooked and shredded

-1/2 lb hatch green chiles *See note below

-1 8oz. can of diced tomatoes

-2 cloves of garlic minced

-1 medium yellow onion diced

-2 sweet potatoes cubed

-1 16oz box of chicken stock

-1 bag frozen yellow corn

-1 tbsp cumin

-1 tbsp Chili powder

-1 tsp of salt—extra for seasoning peppers + potatoes

-Olive oil

-Garnish: radishes, cilantro, sour cream and cheddar cheese.

* If you can not find hatch green chilies in your local supermarket, the brand 505 has pretty good flame roasted hatch green chiles in a jar. You can find it at Costco, amazon, and some other grocery stores. I would recommend about 1 cup-1.5 cups as a substitute. It does have some kick to it, so make sure its not too hot for you before adding a bunch.

1. To start, you want to broil your green chiles if you live in a region where you cannot get them fire roasted for you. To do so, lightly coat your green chiles with olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and place them in the top rack of your oven. Usually broiling takes approx. 10 minutes per side or until they start to blister and blacken. Once you remove them from the oven, let cool and then place the chiles in a bowl for peeling. I have found that using cold water helps when peeling back the skins of the peppers. Gently peel back the skins until your peppers look like the picture.

2. Set the peppers aside and bring the oven temp down to 375⁰. On a cutting board, cube your sweet potatoes into even chucks, spread on to a baking sheet and lightly cover in olive oil. I just take my hands and spread them around in the oil so it is evenly distributed. Lightly salt the cubes and pop in the oven for about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a stockpot or Dutch oven and sauté your onions over medium to high heat until translucent. Add your frozen corn and garlic. Add cumin, salt, Chili powder and diced green Chiles.

4.      Remove sweet potatoes from oven, add to pot along with the shredded chicken, diced tomatoes w/ liquid and chicken stock. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes.

5.      Serve warm and add sour cream, cheese on top. Garnish with cilantro and radishes to taste.