Introduction to Chili

Depression Steak

New Mexican
Green Chile Soup

Beef Slickers

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This recipe uses only New Mexico green chilies which come into season during late July and the middle of August. Sometimes they are called Hatch's Chilies.

Roasting the Peppers
You might want to wear rubber gloves to handle the peppers as the “hot” can be felt. It is very much to your benefit to never touch your mouth or eyes while working with peppers. Milk will neutralize the hotness. Wash hands well with soap and water after working with peppers.

Cut the tops off, pull out the core and remove as many seeds as possible. Lay out in a shallow flat bake pan.
Roast fifteen to twenty peppers under the broiler until the skin bubbles up or they turn brown or black. Turn them over with tongs and let the other side brown.

You have to be thorough in the roasting process turning the peppers and roasting the entire surface on all sides. Although they bubble, whistle and pop, you have to be ruthless in the roasting process! Some people who have gas stoves stick each pepper on a fork and rotate it over the gas flame until brown or black on all sides. Others deep fry them in hot oil until they are brown on all sides.

When roasted, put them into a brown paper bag letting them steam and cool. When cooled, slit them open and remove any seeds and peel off the skins.

Making the Soup
The original recipe calls for a pork broth but I have used Campbell's Chicken broth and it works well. I have found two cans of chicken broth plus one can of water is about right for twelve to fourteen peppers —makes a little over a quart of soup.

( If you use a pork broth, boil the pork roast with seasonings until done. Cool and slice off pieces to use for making stock. Skim the broth if necessary before adding to the peppers and garlic.)

Put the peppers into the blender with several garlic cloves. I tend to be generous and use six to ten cloves. You may want to add a little salt. If you use a prepared chicken stock, it usually is fairly salty so take that into consideration.

Add some stock to the peppers and garlic and put the blender on puree. Add stock until you reach the desired soup consistency. The soup should be a little thick.

It is optional, but if you wish, you can add a half to one teaspoon of ground cumin.

Let the soup simmer on low heat for an hour. If you want a decorative effect and a little extra zing, cut Jalepeño peppers crosswise into thin slices and float on top of the soup.

Surprisingly good soup—tastes hot while eating, but it is not unpleasantly so, and it has a marvelous aftertaste. In New Mexico, the soup is usually accompanied with rolled flour tortillas.