Hatch chilies have been a newer addition to the summer garden in the last few years. They are very easy to grow (at least where I live in the rural Portland, Oregon area) and are such a nice addition to my current garden favs (tomatoes, zucchini, sugar snap peas, beans, onions, garlic).
From Fresh Market a few facts about Hatch chilies:
- One fresh, medium-sized pepper has as much Vitamin C as six oranges.
- How hot is a Hatch? The Scoville Scale measures the relative heat of hot peppers, and most Hatch chiles score between 1,500 and 2,500 units—about the same level of heat as poblano or Anaheim peppers.
- Hatch chilis are named for the region they are typically grown in the Hatch Valley of New Mexico.
A few favorite ways to use these peppers:
- Add chopped chilies into scrambled eggs, omelets, or frittatas
- Finely chop and add to homemade salsa and relish
- Fold into your biscuits, breads, and cornbread batters
- Blend with your favorite Bloody Mary mix for an extra kick
- And add to soup ingredients (see below)
The cooler weather of December begs for soups and warm meals. And having a batch of hatch chilies and tomatillo tomatoes in the freezer from our summer harvest I had the perfect ingredients to create this dish.
Yum!
Hatch a Batch of Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 4 medium tomatillo tomatoes
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1/2 cup white or yellow onion chopped
- 1-2 garlic cloves (about 1 tablespoon) minced
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin, ground
- 1 14 1/2 oz chicken broth
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup hatch chilies, roasted, seeded (about 2) diced
- 1 cup cooked chicken shredded
- 2 corn tortillas torn into large strips
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
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Slice tomatoes in half and place cut side down onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Broil for about 5 minutes or until the skins char.
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Preheat a dutch oven over medium heat. Add remaining olive oil and onions, cooking for about 5 minutes or until onions soften. Add garlic and cumin, cooking for another minute.
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Add the tomatoes and their juices to the pan. Pour in chicken broth and stir well. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. If desired, blend half the soup ingredients in a blender and add them back to the pot. Stir in chicken and roasted chilies.
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Simmer for another 10-15 minutes adding the corn tortillas to melt into the soup. Top with chopped cilantro.