I have loved green chili for years, but rarely take the time to make it. (It’s not difficult, but I don’t usually have tomatillos and chilis on hand, and I often put together dinner from what’s “in stock” in my kitchen.) This time I decided to pump it up with some extra veggies for an even healthier dish — no one noticed, and everyone loved it!
Here’s my recipe. I don’t measure everything exactly, as I find with a soup you have some flexibility. That’s one thing I love about cooking!
Equipment:
large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot (not non-stick)
immersion blender
wooden spoon
knife and cutting board
Ingredients:
6-8 organic chicken thighs, chopped into bite sized pieces.
1 smallish head organic cauliflower
2 quarts organic chicken broth
6-8 medium sized tomatillos
2-3 cups chopped chilis of your choice (I used Anaheim this time)
1 large organic onion
about 3 tablespoons organic coconut oil
salt/pepper
ground cumin
dried oregano
dried cilantro
dried parsley
1 bay leaf
fresh herbs for garnish and flavor (cilantro or whatever you prefer)
Directions:
Melt 2 tablespoons coconut oil in pan over medium-high heat just until melted, then add chicken. Stir and saute for a few minutes, until chicken is mostly cooked through. Pour chicken and juices out into a heat-proof bowl and set aside.
Roughly chop onion, and add 2 tablespoons coconut oil to pan set to medium heat. Sprinkle onion with 1/2 teaspoon salt, and stir well, and stir occasionally while you prep other veggies.
Wash, dry and roughly chop chilis, add to onion, stir occasionally. Peel, wash and chop tomatillos and add to pot. Wash and chop cauliflower, add to pot and stir. None of the veggies need to look pretty — you will be blending them up later anyway.
Add a bit more coconut oil if necessary. Stir well, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon (each) of all dried herbs, to your taste, and add bay leaf.
Allow veggies to saute for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
When they’ve begun to soften up and you have a little brown color in the bottom of your pan, add the chicken broth, stir well, scraping up brown bits from pot, and allow to come up to a low simmer. Adjust heat if necessary.
Simmer until veggies are tender, then remove from heat, remove bay leaf, and use the immersion blender to blend up the soup to a creamy consistency with no chunks.
Turn burner back on to medium, and add chicken and juices back into soup. Allow to come up to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Taste for seasoning, and add more if necessary.
Serve sprinkled with fresh herbs for garnish and flavor.
