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.

A New Twist on Using Green Chiles

Ah !  The aroma of roasting green chiles!  If only that pungent smell could be captured and bottled for future use.  Alas, like many pleasures in life, "essence of green chiles" can be enjoyed only for the moment.  

The chile crop matures around Labor Day each year in the Desert Southwest. Soon roadside stalls and even urban grocery stores are selling large cardboard boxes of long green chiles, roasted on site for an extra fee.

Chile roasting

My family buys and freezes about 50 pounds of these chiles each season.  This year, however, my husband, Wayne, checked our chile supply in the freezer and announced that we still have plenty of chiles left from last season.  How could this be?  Running out of chiles has always been a major household concern.  Now we have such a surplus that we don't have to shop for chiles this year?  Are we getting bored with the same old uses for green chiles?

Every Southwesterner can tick off ten uses for green chiles: Chile con queso, Green chile soup, Green chile stew, Chiles rellenos, Green chile enchiladas, Chiles stuffed with guacamole, Scrambled eggs and green chiles, Southwestern cornbread, and even Cranberry Sauce with green chiles.

Maybe what I need is a new cooking inspiration.  I checked the kitchen cookbook collection and discovered a book I hadn't opened in years:  The Hatch Chile Cookbook (1994) written by David G. Jackson and Mark Preston and published by B Publishers, Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Hatch, New Mexico, known as the Chile Capital of the World, is a small town about a two and a half hour drive from my hometown of El Paso, Texas.  I found three recipes that may make me wish I had replenished our chile supply.

The first is called "Freezer Salsa del Sol "(p. 49).  This recipe appealed to me because it looks incredibly easy.  Into a large stock pot, put the following ingredients:

8 cups chopped tomatoes
2 cups green tomatoes
2 cups chopped onions
3 cups diced green chiles
3 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 half teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cilantro

Bring ingredients to a boil and simmer, uncovered for five minutes.  Set aside to cool and freeze in freezer containers. Will keep for a year frozen or seven days in the refrigerator.

The next recipe for "Robert's Cranberry Chile Cheese Bread" (p. 159)  would be good to mix up on a cool autumn day.

Combine the following dry ingredients:

4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Then cut into the dry mixture 2 tablespoons margarine or shortening.

In another bowl, combine the following ingredients:

4 tablespoons chopped green chiles
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
1 1/2 grated cheddar cheese
1 cup cranberries, halved
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange peel
Juice from 1 orange, mixed with enough water to yield about a cup of liquid.

Combine wet and dry ingredients.  Bake in two greased loaf pans at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes

And finally, I found a recipe for "Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers" (p. 167) that I must have made many years ago, because it had a large check mark and the word "Outstanding!" written beside it. (I often make notes in my cookbooks.)

4 green bell peppers, tops removed, deveined and seeded
4 tablespoons chopped onions
4 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper
4 tablespoons chopped green chiles
2 slices of bacon, fried and crumbled
3 cups tomatoes
3 cups cooked rice
butter or margarine
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice

Prepare bell peppers and set aside.  Saute onions, red bell pepper, green chiles and bacon.  Add tomatoes and break up with a spoon.  Add cooked rice.  If you like a spicier mixture, add a liquid hot sauce.  Fill bell peppers, top with butter, and sprinkle with brown sugar and lemon juice.  Bake in a glass casserole to which a little warm water has been added.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Long green chiles are plentiful, affordable, nutritious, and, of course, delicious.  They combine well with other tastes, even sweet tastes.

May your chiles last until next season!