Green Chili Chowder

I really love the New Mexican flavors. Especially green chili's. They're not too spicy in their roasted form, and impart a magnificent flavor. Not too much unlike most of you, I'm not fortunate enough to have access to fresh green chili's all year round. Unless you live in New Mexico, you probably won't have the pleasure of getting fresh hatch green chili's. But that's ok, because there's canned ones all year round. Here is a recipe for my favorite use for green chili's.

Green Chili Chowder

Ingredients:

2 small cans green chili's
12 oz. can hominy
5 pieces bacon - chopped
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 sweet yellow onion - diced
2 red potatoes - chopped
2 tsp. flour
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Procedure:

Place a large pot over medium high heat. Once heated add bacon and let cook for about five minutes, so that the bacon starts to render off some of it's fat. Next add the onions and garlic and saute with the bacon for another five minutes, or until the onions start to turn color and the bacon starts to get crispy, and season with pepper (no salt, the bacon has a good deal of salt). Add the flour to the bacon and onion and stir to make a roux, this will help thicken the chowder later.

Immediately add the hominy, green chili's, and chicken stock. Stir together and place a lid on the pot. In about five minutes the mixture should come to a low boil. Once boiling add potatoes and cover again. Let cook for about five more minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Follow that with the cream. Make sure the chowder is good and hot, and add in the cheese. Stir continuously until the cheese melts. At this point the soup will probably need a pinch of salt.

The chowder won't be particularly spicy. If you prefer more heat, saute a diced serrano chili with the onions and bacon, or finish the chowder with a few dashes of Tabasco sauce.