Spicy Hatch Green Chili

Writing a food blog has a side benefit.  Friends and family are always bringing me unusual or hard-to-find foods from their travels.  Last September, my friend, Nola, was out in Denver on vacation.  She and her friend, Vilma, road-tripped back to Florida.  On their drive, they made a pit stop specifically to buy a bushel of seasonal and freshly roasted hatch chili peppers.  Ohmagawd!

They babied their chilies all the way back to Florida.  Keeping them chilled in a cooler, changing out the melted water for fresh bags of ice and generally doting over their precious cargo.  To my delight, I was the lucky recipient of five quart-sized bags absolutely brimming with these tingly peppers.  (How lucky am I?)

So far, I’ve used 2 of the bags — one in a very large pan of chile rellenos and the second one here, in this chunky, spicy Hatch green chili with pork.  I think the chili is my favorite, only because the rellenos take more time and effort and I like instant gratification.

This also happens to be a very figure friendly chili.  Instead of a big pork shoulder or ground pork, I used a pork tenderloin, cut into cubes. It’s a very lean cut, that doesn’t need to simmer for hours to be perfectly tender.  

Cans of black beans and great northern beans add heft and fresh tomatillos help to mellow out the fiery kick of the hatch chilies.

Just a quick simmer for all the flavors to marry and you’ve got a hearty and healthy meal to feed  the family.  If you can get your hands on roasted hatch chilies, do it!  Otherwise, some fire roasted poblanos would work in a pinch.    With the Super Bowl coming up, this is the perfect way to celebrate.

Hatch Green Chili

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chili, hatch chiles, pork

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 440 kcal

If you can't find hatch chilies, use another canned mild chile - preferably fire roasted.

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Ingredients

• 1 1- pound pork tenderloin cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup green pepper about 1 medium pepper, diced
• 1 cup onion about 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 cup roasted hatch chilies or poblanos, peeled and seeded
• 1/2 pound tomatillos husks removed, cut into wedges
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 15- ounce can black beans rinsed and drained
• 1 15- ounce can great northern or cannelini beans, rinsed and drained

serve with

• sour cream
• green onions diced
• cilantro fresh
• monterey jack or cheddar cheeseor cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions

1. Finely chop the hatch chilies and set aside.
2. Add the tomatillos to a small food processor and pulse several times until finely chopped. Set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot. Add the cubed pork, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until the pork is browned on all sides.
4. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic and cook, stirring several times, until the vegetables are tender and slightly translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cumin and chili powder and cook for one minute. Stir in the chopped chilies, tomatillos and chicken broth. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and stir in the black beans and great northern beans. Simmer for 30 minutes with the lid slightly askew, stirring occasionally.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Serve chili plain or over cooked rice or noodles, with an assortment of toppings (listed above).

Nutrition Facts

Hatch Green Chili

Amount Per Serving

Calories 440 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 9g 14%

Saturated Fat 2g 10%

Cholesterol 98mg 33%

Sodium 618mg 26%

Potassium 1468mg 42%

Total Carbohydrates 44g 15%

Dietary Fiber 14g 56%

Sugars 4g

Protein 45g 90%

Vitamin A 15.1%

Vitamin C 38.4%

Calcium 12.2%

Iron 35.3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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