The Green Chile Harvest- Can You Smell Those Chiles Roasting?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbum/2834468157/tion

Oh, if I could only include aromas in this blog with the ease that images and sound can be posted. In the technology of the future, I would post a picture taken outdoors by a large chile roaster and let you share in an aroma that is unique to the Southwest. 

My husband and I have had many adventures with the fall chile harvest each year, from picking our own chiles and roasting them on a grill in the backyard, to buying chiles that were so over roasted that no green chile was left (just blackened skins), to sharing the excitement of chile harvest with friends.

This is what happend one chile season.

It’s usually around mid-August when my husband Wayne starts asking me how many packages of green chiles we have left in the freezer.  “It’s almost chile season,” he observes ominously.  “We’d better be sure to get a good supply this year.”

One of the joys of living in El Paso, Texas is celebrating the chile harvest of our neighboring state of New Mexico.  During the waning days of summer, chile pods ripen to a bright green until they are ready to be picked and sold at roadside stands.  Many El Pasoans pride themselves on buying large quantities of green chiles to store in the freezer.  A quick defrosting and peeling of the chiles produces the basis for unforgettable dishes and sauces.  Fresh salsa, chiles rellenos, green chile cornbread, chiles fríos, chile con queso, and even green chile cranberry sauce come to mind.

For several years, our family ritual was to drive the 60 miles to Las Cruces, New Mexico on a warm autumn day and buy a 50 pound bag of green chiles at a roadside stand.  For a few extra dollars, the vendor would roast the chiles on the spot using a round metal cage mounted on a propane burner. 

propane chile roaster

With the chiles stowed in cardboard boxes in the trunk of the car, we would drive to the nearest convenience store to buy a package of flour tortillas.  The next step in the ritual would be to stop under a shady cottonwood tree on the side of the road.  We would pull over quickly, anticipating our first taste of the season’s green chiles. The procedure never varied.  Standing by the trunk of the car, we peeled the blackened skin off of a chile, wrapped the chile in a tortilla, rolling it up expertly by tucking in the ends as we rolled, and took a large bite, oohing and aahing over the flavor.

One year we invited our friends David and his wife Linda, who were raised on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, to join our chile harvest celebration.  “Do you just eat the chiles straight on the tortilla?  Aren’t they too hot?” they questioned cautiously.  “Naah.  You’ll love them,” Wayne replied confidently. 

The first part of the trip went as planned.  Drive to New Mexico, find a chile vendor, buy a large bag of chiles, have them roasted, buy  tortillas, and drive to a shady spot.  The aroma of chiles tantalized us on the short drive down a leafy back road.  We hopped out of the car and ran around to the trunk.  Wayne was the host, directing the ceremony and postponing his first bit of chile until everyone else had theirs.

David, Linda and I were happily munching on our tortilla and chile when we saw Wayne’s face change color as he took a big bite.  He started hopping around and gasping for breath.  “That’s the hottest chile I ever put in my mouth,” he managed to croak.  Wayne mopped his head and forehead, wet with perspiration, searching for something to put out the fire in his mouth.  We had water and cokes in a cooler, but as veteran chile lovers know, those liquids only spread the hot sensation throughout the lips and mouth.  “I’m dying,” Wayne moaned. 

We didn’t have any milk or butter, but bread is supposed to dampen the hotness, so we urged Wayne to eat several tortillas.  As with many bad experiences in life, the only real solution was letting time do its healing.  By the time we arrived home in El Paso an hour later, Wayne was back to normal, if a little shaken that his beloved green chiles had betrayed him.

What a great feeling to have a freezer shelf full of chiles.  I can make fresh salsa by chopping green chiles and adding chopped onions, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, and salt and pepper.  If I want a hot dish, I combine the above ingredients (minus the cilantro) and cook them at a low heat on the stove in a large cast iron skillet.  The cooked chiles can be spread over grilled chicken or beef.  But, not being a carnivore, my favorite dish is to add a little white cheese to the cooked chile mixture along with a dash of evaporated milk to give the dish a soupy texture.  This chile con queso is great with tostadas or warmed tortillas. 

Another dish I like to make when I have a little extra time is chiles fríos.  I stuff the chiles with guacamole and chill them in the refrigerator.  I imagine that they could also be stuffed with other ingredients as well.  At Thanksgiving, I add some chopped green chiles to homemade cranberry sauce.  The hotness of the chiles and sweetness of the sauce make a great taste experience. 

I love chiles rellenos, but since we aren’t using the frying technique much in our house these days, I haven’t made them in a while.  Before we decided that we had better get healthy, I would make a modified chile relleno by stuffing a chile with cheese, wrapping it in a won ton wrapper, and frying it in oil.  Green chiles and cheese added to a corn bread recipe make a complete meal in one.  And, although I don’t cook them myself, I used to love buying green chile bagels in Las Cruces on my way home from teaching classes there.  Somehow I always start out with half a dozen bagels and make it to El Paso about an hour later with only four left in the bag.

They say that the sense of smell is one of the most evocative of human experiences.  The aroma of roasting green chiles in autumn, even more than the actual taste, takes my mind to warm, sunshiny days, crisp mornings and nights, and outdoor festivals with food booths and music.  I also feel a little sad that we are enjoying the bountiful harvest now, but in a few short months our world will turn cold again as the cycle of life continues.

Bountiful harvest of green chiles