Cook: Green Chile Spaghetti

It’s no secret that we love green chile in our household. I grew up in Colorado where green chile is on the menu everywhere. I was so perplexed once I got to California, I remember calling my mom and asking her why I couldn’t find it here. That’s when I realized it was a very localized food central to Colorado and New Mexico. Most green chile is made from hatch green chili variety that comes from New Mexico. I was more than thrilled when I saw it in a jar (already cleaned, cut, and roasted) at Whole Foods. I decided that I’d try a recipe I saw in Roy Choi’s cookbook where he made spaghetti sauce with more of a chili flair. I’ve made a few modifications from his original recipe, which you’ll find below. My opinion is that you can also eat this just as chili with a tortilla, topped with shredded cheese, raw diced onions, cilantro and plenty of Tabasco sauce!

The ingredient list might seem long, but most of the ingredients are pantry and spice rack staples.

Photo from Wikipedia Commons

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Serves: 4-6

Prep time: 20 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

• 2 lbs ground beef (recommended 85% lean)

• 1/2 to 1 whole yellow onions (diced)

• 1 bell pepper (diced, also optional)

• 5-6 or or more garlic cloves (minced)

• 4 oz tomato paste

• 1 can tomato sauce

• 1 large can of whole tomatoes (fire-roasted if possible)

• 1 tbsp cider vinegar

• 2 1/2 cups beef stock (homemade, can, or box will work)

• 4 oz can of diced green chilis (I recommend Zia’s Green Chili Company Hot Hatch Green Chile from Whole Foods) - if you can’t find it, any canned green chili will work (eg: Rotel)

• 1 jalapeno (diced with seeds, if you like it spicier)

• 1 tbsp ancho chili powder

• 1 tbsp cayenne powder (substitute any spicy spice you like)

• 3 tbsp cumin

• 2 tbsp dried oregano

• 3 tbsp crushed pineapple (if you don’t want to buy crushed pineapple just use a little more brown sugar)

• 1 tbsp brown sugar

• 1 tbsp Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

• Spaghetti noodles

Toppings: (Optional)

• Shredded cheese, cilantro, chopped raw red onions, sour cream, Tabasco and cilantro

Directions:

• Heat your oil in a large pot on med-high heat, brown beef and season with Kosher salt and pepper. Once browned, remove to a bowl. Reserve oil and liquid in the pot.

• Cook onions, bell pepper, and garlic in the pot until lightly browned for a couple of minutes.

• Add in tomato paste and stir for a few minutes until mixed. Add vinegar to deglaze. Add the stock, ground beef, and both tomato sauces. Bring this mixture to a boil. Reduce and simmer for 30 minutes.

• After the initial 30 minutes, add in green chili, diced jalapeno, and the rest of the seasonings plus crushed pineapple and brown sugar.

• Simmer for another 30 minutes and adjust to taste.

• While the sauce is simmering, prepare your noodles.

• Add noodles to your bowl and top with sauce and additional toppings listed above.

Substitutions:

• Vegetarian: Swap out the ground beef for a meat replacement (or just leave it out). Use veggie broth. If you’re not using red meat, ground turkey is a great substitution.

• Low Carb: instead of noodles, you can use zucchini or eat it just as chile mentioned above.

I highly recommend this type of hatch green chile if you can find it! I found ours at Whole Foods, it’s super spicy and adds a great kick.