LATE SUMMER FLAVORS: ROASTED GREEN CHILES

It’s a rainy day in Likely, California, a tiny town on Hwy 395 in the northeast corner of the state.  We stopped for two nights at the Likely Place RV Resort and Golf Course (click here to read our review and see photos), where Odel dreamed he would be out on the links.  Not today!  Staying warm and dry inside, I’m going to share another recipe with you – it’s the season for chiles!

Roasted chiles… yum.  Walking through a late summer farmers market, the fragrance of roasting green chile peppers is unmistakable.  Draw closer to the roaster and you’ll hear the crackle and pop of chile skins blistering as they tumble over the hot flame of the roaster.  I never pass up roasted chiles, so usually head into winter with several bags and varieties in our freezer, most of which disappear into posole.

I make cream soups less than once a year – with so many delicious soup recipes, why consume the extra calories and cholesterol added with cream or half and half?  Recently, I made an exception – a very delicious exception. 

When we saw roasted chiles in the Eugene farmers market last month, I bought several baggies full (NOT the bags on the left, a photo I took in Santa Fe, NM), then went looking for a new recipe to try.  I don’t remember where I originally found the recipe for Green Chile Chowder, but it’s been in my “recipes to try” file for a long time, waiting for someone else to do the chile roasting.  Bingo!  Motive and opportunity, as they say on the crime shows.

The original recipe calls for two Jalapenos and four Poblanos.  I bought and roasted one LARGE red Jalapeno, and replaced the four Poblanos with what I had in my freezer: two Poblanos and four Anaheims.  The soup was rich and spicy, with a smooth flavor; we rated it medium-hot with the combination of chiles I used.  It made 8 servings, which meant two dinners for Odel and me; delicious the first night, even more complex and yummy gently warmed two nights later. 

This chowder would make a delicious centerpiece for a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner: Green Chile Chowder, a corn dish (or cornbread), roasted butternut squash or yams, cranberry sauce… and maybe a Green Chile Apple Crisp for dessert (along with the pumpkin and pecan pies).  Never had green chiles in your apple crisp?  Well, eat your ice cream with strawberries, balsamic vinegar, and black pepper, then we’ll move on to our next dessert adventure.  :)

If you can’t pass up a roasted chile, give this chowder a try.  It’s the season.