Reconstructing from memory.

When I was working in Colorado I used to eat lunch at this burrito place called Illegal Pete's. They had this thing called a smothered burrito, which was a burrito of your own creation smothered in green chili. The burritos were pretty standard but once covered in green chili, they were fantastic. I recently had a craving for green chili but had never made it before so I did some research and tried to recreate the same taste at home. Unlike southern chili, which is red in color from either tomatoes or dried peppers, green chili forgoes the tomatoes and dried peppers for fresh green peppers. Green chili is typically a western American dish. This was not one of those dishes I could just whip up with things from the home I really had to go out and specially shop for certain ingredients. Through much tinkering, combining of different recipes and remembering the chili at Illegal Pete's, this is what I came up with:

Note: Chili with an "i" refers to the dish, Chile with an "e" refers to the peppers

Green Chili

6 poblano peppers
8 tomatillos diced (check here if you're unfamiliar with tomatillos)
1 medium onion diced
2 jalapenos diced
4 cloves of garlic minced
1.5 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into small cubes
1 cup of chicken broth
1 tbsp. of cumin
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup cilantro
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 handful of tortilla chips, crushed
sour cream or yogurt for serving

First, roast and skin the poblano peppers. In order to do this place the peppers directly over the stove flame and rotate them until they are completely blackened.



If you have an electric stove top place the peppers under the broiler in your oven and rotate accordingly. Once the peppers are mostly blackened place them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand for 10 minutes. This will allow the peppers to steam and release their skins. After 10 minutes remove the peppers and peel off their skins with your hands. They should look like this:



Pull out the seeds and remove the tops of the peppers. Dice the peppers and set them aside. Set a heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the olive oil. Once it begins to smoke add the chicken and saute until browned, 10 minutes. Add the jalapeno, onion and garlic and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the peppers, tomatillos, chicken broth, cumin, oregano, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low for 1 hour. Add the crushed tortilla chips and simmer for another 30 minutes. Serve with rice, by itself, or on top of a burrito. This recipe was a shot in the dark; I have never made this before. But, it came out really well. It tasted awesome.