Chili Verde Soup
A jar of Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Co. Green Chili Paste
has been sitting right at eye level on the pantry shelf since Christmas. Whenever I focus on it, a vision of chili
verde comes to mind.
When I was a kid there was little or no Mexican food available
here in Oregon. There wasn’t much of a Hispanic population,
but as that population grew, here came the spicy food. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I have total food recall.
I can tell you where I was and how old when I ate something fabulous for
the first time. Case in point: 1967 out
with my boyfriend, 90th & Powell in Portland, discovered Taco Bell and ate my
first tostado. It was a sensory delight
of crisp corn tortilla, creamy refried beans, shredded cheese and hot
sauce.
On to the chili verde.
Twenty odd years later, living in Salem, I made friends with a girl from
Colorado – which I suspect had more access to Mexican food since its right
above New Mexico - Linda introduced me to her family’s version of chili
verde: As many 27 oz cans of green
chilis as you can find/afford, a couple pounds of pork shoulder, onions,
garlic, stewed tomatoes, cumin. Cook it
all up and it’s wickedly delicious. A dollop of sour cream is an excellent counterpoint.
This basic recipe morphed over time – this example is more
of a soup. I topped off a helping of
Spanish rice with a ladle-full, and it was excellent.
Approximate ingredients for this version:
2 lbs pork shoulder or any meaty cut, cubed.
1 16 oz jar Green Chili Paste (heaven in a jar)
1 27 oz can Whole Green Chilis
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 tsp cumin
Salt & pepper
2 cups chicken broth
Brown pork cubes.
Saute onions and garlic, if using.
(I was too unmotivated) Add pork and onions to soup pot. Add remaining ingredients to pot. Cook until pork is fork tender.
I had this for breakfast today
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