Though I’ve spent the vast majority of my adult life outside of the USA, I grew up in the state of Arizona, which borders the Mexican state Sonora, and the cuisine is heavily influenced by that. So while Texans may love their red chili – this AZ girl will always prefer a green chili. Or, to use the Spanish, chile verde.
Traditionally made with pork, I wanted to task myself with making a version that was just as delicious and nostalgic without using any meat products – and I think I did it! This chile verde is fully vegan, but no less complexly flavoured or hearty than one made with pork or chicken.
How to Make Vegetarian Chile Verde
This is a pretty involved recipe that requires a fair amount of active cooking time, so it’s not something I would recommend on a busy weeknight. It’s better to make it as a fun weekend meal.
That being said, it’s every bit as worth the work that goes into making it!
Start with roasting your peppers, which adds a complex flavour to the chile. This is typically done over an open flame or on an outdoor grill.
However, I have an electric stove and I’m sure I’m not the only one, so I developed this recipe to be done under the broiler (aka grill). If you have a gas stove, by all means char the peppers over the flame.
If you’re using the broiler method, preheat it to high and move the rack to the top position. Add some poblano and jalapeño peppers to a baking tray and set it under the broiler. Roast them until they’re charred – about 10 minutes.
Remove them from the oven and place an inverted bowl over the peppers to trap in the steam – this will make it easier to remove the peels when the time comes.
Moving on, it’s also time to roast your tomatillos. I cannot find fresh tomatillos in Australia but canned are readily available, so that’s what this recipe was developed with. I found it works great!
Drain your tomatillos and pat them dry as best as you can before adding them to a rimmed baking sheet. Toss on a few cloves of garlic, as well. There’s no need to peel them just yet – they’ll be easier to peel once they’re roasted.
Set the tomatillos under the grill and roast them until charred – again, about 10 minutes. Once they’re done, move the oven rack to the centre and switch your oven to bake mode. Set it to 220°C/425°F.
After the tomatillos are done, remove the inverted bowl and use your fingers to peel off the charred skin from the peppers. Also, make sure to remove the stems and take out the ribs and seeds of the poblanos.
If you want to curb the heat, you can remove some or all of the seeds and ribs from the jalapeños, as well. Add the peeled peppers to the bowl of a food processor.
Add the charred tomatillos to the food processor, as well, along with the garlic – make sure to peel it first, though! Pulse the veggies a few times just to thoroughly puree them. Set the tomatillo mixture aside for later.
Now, you need to contend with your mushrooms! I like using a mixture of oyster and shitake mushrooms as both flavour-wise and texture-wise, I find they’re most similar to meat. Unlike in my mushroom ragu recipe, I simply call to shred and slice them – no need to grind them up. This is similar to my process in my tinga de hongos recipe.
Add your mushrooms to a bowl and season with salt and drizzle with a bit of oil. Toss to combine and spread out over a baking tray. Move them to the oven and roast until they’re golden and reduced significantly in size – about 20-30 minutes. Go ahead and stir them once or twice throughout cooking.
It’s finally time now to move to the stove top! Add a bit of neutral oil to a large saucepan and set it over medium heat. Once shimmering, add a diced onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook this until softened – 5-10 minutes.
To the onion, add in a bit of ground cumin and, if you want to increase the heat, one or two chopped dried chiles de arbol. Leave the chiles out if you want a milder finished product.
Cook everything for a bit longer – just until fragrant – before scraping in the tomatillo mixture, the mushrooms and pouring in a bit of veggie stock. Stir this to combine and bring to a simmer.
Let the chile simmer for about 15 minutes, just to bring the flavours together. Now, if you want a thicker chile, add in a bit of masa harina at this point along with some chopped fresh cilantro. Then, it’s time to serve!
This is great served with either corn or flour tortillas – it’s up to you!
Vegetarian Chile Verde With Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 3-4 poblano peppers
- 2-3 jalapeños
- 1 (800g/28oz) can tomatillos drained and patted dry
- 5 cloves garlic
- 300 g (10 oz) oyster mushrooms torn into small strips
- 200 g (7 oz) shitake mushrooms thinly sliced
- 60 ml neutral oil such as sunflower, canola or avocado, divided
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1-2 chiles de arbol finely chopped, optional
- 250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock
- 2-3 tbsp masa harina optional
- 15 g (¼ cup) cilantro roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat broiler/grill to high and move the oven rack to the top position. Add the poblanos and jalapeños to a rimmed baking sheet. Place under the broiler and cook until blackened and charred – a few minutes. Remove from the oven and place the peppers underneath an inverted bowl for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the tomatillos and garlic to a rimmed baking sheet and set under the broiler. Cook until charred – about 10 minutes. Set aside. Once cool enough to touch, remove the peels from the garlic.
- Move the oven rack to the centre. Switch it to bake mode and reduce the temperature to 220°C/425°F. Add the oyster and shitake mushrooms to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with 2 tbsp of neutral oil and season generously with salt. Stir to evenly coat then spread over a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast until golden and reduced in size – about 20-30 minutes – stirring halfway through.
- Remove the upside down bowl from the peppers. Peel away the charred skin and discard. Remove the stems and seeds from the poblano. Remove the stem from the jalapeño and the seeds if desired (this will reduce the heat).
- Add the poblanos, jalapeños, tomatillos, garlic and ¼ tsp of salt to the bowl of a food processor (see note 1). Pulse several times in order to thoroughly puree the vegetables. Set aside.
- Add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil to a large saucepan and set it over medium heat. Once shimmering, add the onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring ocassionally, until the onion is softened and transluscent – about 5 mintues.
- Add the cumin and chiles de arbol, if using. Stir and cook until very fragrant – about 30 seconds.
- Scrape in the pureed tomatillo mixture. Add the roasted mushrooms and pour over the vegetable stock. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, just to allow the flavours to mellow and come together.
- If using, stir in 2 tbsp of masa harina to thicken the chile (see note 2), adding up to 1 more tbsp to reach the desired consistency. Cook for a minute or two longer, tasting to adjust for seasoning. Remove from the heat and serve.
Notes
- If you do not have a food processor, the peppers, tomatillos and garlic can be chopped very finely with a sharp chef’s knife. Just note that the finished texture of the chile be a bit more chunky.
- Masa harina – which is a Mexican flour made of ground nixtamalised corn – works very well as a thickening agent here. The chile is still good without it, however, if you do have it, it adds a nice thickness and corn flavour. Regular wheat flour cannot be used in its stead as it behaves differently.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chile verde isn’t hard to make vegetarian and the umami qualities brought by the mushrooms really highlight this!
Are you after a vegetarian green chili recipe? Have any questions? Let me know in the comments!
