HATCH CHILE SOUP RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• Rinse the Hatch chiles and roast them in the oven at 400F for 30 minutes or so. You can alternatively roast them on the grill.
• As the chiles roast you can start building the rest of the soup. Add 3 tablespoons butter to a saucepan over medium heat.  Roughly chop an onion and add it to the saucepan along with 4 peeled garlic cloves. Snce we're blending all of this eventually I usually just leave the garlic cloves whole.
• Once the onion has softened you can add 3 tablespoons of flour to the mixture. Stir well until the flour absorbs most of the liquid -- this step will help thicken up the soup but you can consider it optional if you want to avoid flour.
• Add 4 cups of stock along with 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano, 1/4 teaspoon cumin (optional), 1/2 teaspoon salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. Simmer for a few minutes or until the chiles are fully roasted.
• Once the roasted chiles have cooled a bit you can pull off as much skin as you can, but don't worry about getting rid of all of it. You can also de-stem and de-seed the chiles at this point.
• Add the Hatch chile pieces to your soup mixture and bring everything up to a uniform temp. Then transfer everything to a blender and combine well. Be sure to use caution when blending hot liquids -- I usually just hold a paper towel over any openings just in case you get a geyser.
• Return the blended soup to the saucepan. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and be sure to do lots of taste testing! I added more salt to this batch (about 1.5 teaspoons total) but keep in mind the salt level will depend on which stock you use. I also added another generous pinch of cumin to this batch. At this point I also added 1 can of corn (drained and rinsed) but this is optional.
• Serve immediately but don't forget to garnish! I used finely chopped cilantro stems and a couple dashes of Valentina hot sauce. A squeeze of lime and Mexican Crema are good options as well.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge where it will keep for a few days.