October 26, 2004

Green chile!

Not just any green chile but green chile that will remind me of the green chile I recently had at the El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, New Mexico. We'd stopped there on our way out to Texas as my research had turned up two interesting places to eat in Gallup: the El Rancho and Panz Allegra.

By the time we got to Gallup, it was later than we'd hoped for and the El Rancho made an easy landmark. In other words, we found it first.

Like the rooms in the hotel, the items on the menu are all named after famous movie stars who spent time at the El Rancho during its heyday. There, on the lunch menu, was the Anthony Quinn...a bowl of chile, your choice of red or green.

I asked for a bowl of the green and was asked in return if I wanted beans with it or not. My first impulse was to say "no" but, I must have looked hesitant, as our waitress asked if I'd like to try a small taste of it before I committed to ordering it. As she said, "It's not like chili con carne and you might as well try it out first."

I agreed and soon enough she came back with a small bowl of green chile.

It was fabulous. Unbelievably good. (Apparently, I'm not the only one in the world who thinks it's incredible.) I definitely had to have some more of it and I wanted it with beans.

The dish came in a deep soup bowl...a mound of perfectly cooked pinto beans covered with the green chile and served with two warm tortillas. Heaven!

The waitress had said that it contained hamburger where I'd been expecting ground pork. To me, this means that I can use whatever meat I want in my attempts and so, since I have chicken breasts in the freezer, I will be making mine with chicken.

I bought some Anaheim peppers at the market on the weekend and I will be roasting them on the Weber. My plan is to eat this for lunch tomorrow (doesn't chile always taste better the second day?).

And so my quest begins...

The peppers, waiting to be roasted:



And all the ingredients, ready to go:



For those who desire recipe format, here it is:

2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. chili powder (see Note 1)
1 tsp. cumin seed, toasted and crushed (see Note 2)
8 Anaheim peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 chicken breast, minced (see Note 3)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Notes:
1. I just added this for colour and a little oomph. I usually buy California chili powder and New Mexico chili powder from the Hispanic foods aisle and then blend them at home.
2. Feel free to substitute ground cumin for this. I happen to be out of it at the moment so I toasted 1 tsp of seeds in a frying pan and then crushed them with the back of a spoon.
3. Again, this is a case of using what's on hand. Feel free to substitute 6 oz. of ground chicken if you like.

Directions:
1. Heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and reduce heat to medium-low. Sweat the onion mixture until the onions are translucent and soft but not brown.

2. Stir in the spices. Then add the peppers. Stir until well mixed. Add the chicken and stir.

3. Add chicken broth and bring mixture to a good simmer.

4. Reduce heat, cover, and let cook for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

And here it is, simmering: