Green Chile Chicken Stew

By David Tanis

Green Chile Chicken Stew
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Iah Pinkney.
Total Time
1½ hours
Rating
4(974)
Comments
Read comments

Many agree the best green chiles are grown in the Hatch Valley in southern New Mexico, so it’s great to make this delicious chicken stew in early fall when they’re are available. (Get a friend to send you some, or order them online.) But you can also make it throughout the year using frozen or canned green chiles. Though pork, beef or lamb are more traditional for green chile stew, this chicken version is a bit lighter, quicker to cook and still packs a punch. It’s not a dish for the faint of heart.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • 6large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, legs, or a cut-up whole chicken (about 3 pounds)
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 2tablespoons olive oil or lard
  • Flour, for dredging
  • 1medium yellow onion, diced
  • 3large garlic cloves, minced
  • ½teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
  • 1cup chopped roasted New Mexico green chile, fresh or frozen and thawed
  • 3cups chicken stock or water
  • 2large potatoes, peeled, cut in 1-inch cubes
  • 3large carrots, peeled, cut in 2-inch slices
  • 3tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water (optional)
  • Chopped cilantro, for garnish
  • Warm flour or corn tortillas, for serving
  • Lime wedges, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

613 calories; 33 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 45 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 34 grams protein; 1344 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Season chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess. Brown chicken well on both sides, then remove and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Add onions to pot, season lightly with salt and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and cumin, and cook for 1 minute. Then add chopped chiles and chicken stock and bring to a boil.

  3. Step 3

    Return chicken to pot; reduce heat to a brisk simmer, and cook, covered with lid ajar, for 30 minutes. Add potatoes and carrots and cook for 20 to 25 minutes more, until vegetables are soft but not falling apart.

  4. Step 4

    Skim fat from surface of sauce. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt. For a thicker sauce, add dissolved cornstarch and stir well. Cook for 1 minute more.

  5. Step 5

    Serve in deep wide soup plates with plenty of sauce. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serve with warm tortillas and lime wedges.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
974 user ratings
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Comments

K. Ortega

This is not a good recipe for GCCS. New Mexicans use little to no cumin in our cooking and even less cilantro. Onion, carrots, potatoes diced. Saute w/a little s&p for ten min, add chopped garlic and green chillies. Toss in 2tbs flour, cook a few minutes and add homemade chicken stock. Let it come to a boil them turn down. Finish w/ a little cream and shredded roasted chicken breast. S&p to taste. Serve with shredded cheddar, corn & flour tortillas. My grandma's recipe 505 till I die 😂

Suzanne z

This raised as New Mexican says, no to cilantro. I like cilantro, but it does not go with this dish. And, surely NYT foodie writer, you know that many many grocery stores across the US host traveling Hatch roasters? You can buy it fresh by the case and roasted out front. It’s pretty dang legit. I get a case each year in Virgina and seal-a-meal a few pods per package, freeze. Very economical.

Susan from New Mexco

New Mexicans in the know buy chile from Lemitar...more flavorful and grown more organically. We make our green chile chicken stew with chicken breasts which we shred with two forks after they've cooked in the broth. Carrots? Cilantro? Dredging in flour? Cornstarch? No way. Saute onions, add potatoes, a can of diced tomatoes, chile, chicken stock, a couple of chicken breasts, S and P and a little garlic, simmer until breasts are cooked, shred and put back in pot and simmer. Easy!

N. Collins

Don't tell the food police, but I made this. My changes: used rotisserie chicken, added Cranberry beans and did not use cilantro, flour, or cornstarch. Turned out perfectly. Loved the cumin (used 2 TBSP)! Usually, I make the Pink Adobe recipe when I have Green Hatch chile, but didn't have the wine, so decided to do something different. So many variations and fusions out there, cannot understand why people make such a big fuss when there are differences to what they are used to.

Cat

Loving all the New Mexican purists here. I also live in NM - great green chilie recipe to me. Also ditched the cilantro and served with fresh blue corn tortillas. Froze well for round 2 a few weeks later.

Andy

Santa Fean here. I don't know anyone who would serve green chile chicken stew with whole pieces of bone-in, skin-on chicken. I certainly wouldn't. Roast the chicken, shred the chicken, make the stew - but leave out the cumin. It has no place in New Mexican cooking.

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