Green Chile - It's a Southwest thing!

Those of us who are natives to the American Southwest get a certain feeling when green chile harvest time is approaching.  A twinge starts mid-August, especially if the weather has turned mercifully cooler, even for a few days.  We check our freezers to count how many quart packages of last year's chile harvest are still left.  Yes!  We can just make it to Labor Day, the traditional start of the chile season.  

Preserving the green chile harvest is truly a tradition in my home town of El Paso, Texas, located on the borders of Texas, New Mexico and Mexico.  A shared understanding about the importance of buying and freezing exists among longtime El Pasoans.  Without even asking if I freeze green chiles, a new acquaintance sitting next to me at a dinner party recently shared her green chile success story.  She had found fresh, plump chiles at a Walmart store. Her husband had roasted them himself on a grill in their backyard (much preferable to having store employees roast them! ) And a friend texted me yesterday with information about where her husband had found the best chiles at the best price.

Many decisions are involved in the preservation of green chile. First, do you make the four hour round trip drive to Hatch, New Mexico, 

billed as the Chile Capital of the World, to buy chiles at the source, or do you trust local markets advertising they sell Hatch chiles? Chile in quantities is usually sold by the box, so will a  20-lb. box last a whole year, or should you go for the 40-lb. box?  Probably the biggest decision of all is the classification of chile as mild, medium or hot.  We bought mild last year; this year my husband, Wayne is trying to talk me into medium.  We gave up on hot chiles years ago. 

The next decision is the best way to roast chiles to remove the outer skin.  Many grocery stores set up propane roasters in front of the store when they are ready to offer that service to customers for a few extra dollars (plus a tip for the young man roasting them —it's a hot job.) 

Chiles can also be roasted at home, outside on a grill or even inside in the oven. We no longer roast our own chiles.  But Wayne watches the roasting process like a hawk to make sure the chiles are not over roasted. Over-blackened chiles are hard to peel and lose much of the "meat" inside. 

Don't forget to buy quart size plastic bags at the store because you will want to freeze the chiles as soon as possible.  Some people take the skins off before freezing; others leave them on until they are defrosted for use.  Also be sure you have fresh flour tortillas on hand.  A drive home from the store with a box of roasted chiles in the back has an enticing aroma. When you arrive home, a newly roasted green chile, peeled, salted, and wrapped in a warm tortilla for a snack is a little bit of heaven. 

A quick peel, and these chiles are ready!

   

With the freezer shelves full of neatly stacked packages of green chiles, the next decision is what to do with them.  At our house, we make chile con queso, add chiles to scrambled eggs, use them as a side vegetable, bake them into cornbread, make salsa, prepare chiles rellenos (stuffed chiles), add them to a bean burrito, or put chiles on hamburgers and sandwiches. 

This season I may look for more exotic recipes on the web site Hatch Green Chile Recipes. Green Chile Pumpkin Pie?  Sinfully Spicy Apple Pie?  Green Chile Pasta Salad?  Green Chile Fritatta?  Why not?  I have a whole freezer full of green chiles and the rest of the year to enjoy them.

gave up on hot years ago.

Savoring the Green Chile Harvest

If only someone could bottle the aroma of roasting green chiles in the Desert Southwest! Labor Day Weekend signals the start of Green Chile Season.. Large boxes of fresh green chiles are stacked in produce departments of local supermarkets, ready for purchase by dyed in the wool green chile lovers.

My husband Wayne and I are among those chile devotees who feel that we must have at least 25 lbs. of roasted and peeled green chiles in the freezer to last a whole year. It is a secure feeling to know that we have chiles to add to whatever we choose for a burst of flavor. No more bland food!

One of the big decisions of the chile shopper is whether to buy hot, medium or mild green chiles. Each degree of chile heat has it proponents, and some diners are tougher than others.  Last year we allowed ourselves to be convinced to buy a large box of chiles labeled "Medium/hot".  Bad decision! What were we thinking?  

The chiles were so hot that after a few attempts to tone down the heat we committed the sacrilege of throwing all the remaining chiles in the trash can.  This year we didn't care if the produce manager thought we were wimps.   We pounced on and purchased one of the few remaining boxes of mild green chiles.

Some shoppers choose to have their chiles roasted at the store in a cooker set up on the sidewalk in front of the store.  

Here is what the roasted chiles look like after a turn in the cooking cage.

Other shoppers prefer to roast the chiles at home, on a grill, a griddle, or a baking sheet in the oven. 

One option is to remove the blackened peel before storing the chiles in freezer bags.  Other chile lovers leave the peel on and freeze the chiles immediately in bags.  The peel comes off easily when the frozen chiles are defrosted under warm water.  The stem, veins and seeds are also removed.  The chile is ready to use.

I just finished making bacon, tomato, and green chile sandwiches for supper.  The bacon was pre-cooked, the bread was whole grain, the tomato was still warm from our garden, and the green chile was indeed mild, but with a wonderful flavor.

Eat more vegetables!  We hear this admonition every day.  Green chile is a great way to eat your vegetables.  Green chile hamburgers, scrambled eggs with green chile, chile con queso, bean burritos with green chile, green chile salsa, green chile enchiladas,  green chile quiche...   

I wonder if that 25 lb. bag is really going to last  our family until next Labor Day?

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