Hatch Chiles Are Bae

Ok so maybe I'm trying too hard to be cool and hip with that title, but it cannot be denied that the hatch chile is one versatile pepper. Sweet and heat come together in ways that are hard to describe. When I saw them recently at my local Central Market I couldn't resist finally getting around to cooking with them. What happened that night is a story of inspiration, and great satisfaction with the end result.

I started of course with roasting the chiles under the broiler for about 16 minutes total time, eight minutes per side. After pulling them out of the oven and letting the chiles steam in a ziploc bag for 20 minutes, peeling them was nooooo problem. From there it was about chopping them and preparing to use them in various ways.

I decided to begin with a hatch chile and lime compound butter. I softened one stick of butter (real butter, not margarine or any other substitute please), and then squeezed about a quarter of a lime into it, and adding chopped hatch chiles into it. Fold together and then form into a roll on wax paper, then allow to chill in the refrigerator. That compound butter ended up on the corn on the cob i oven roasted for that meal.

Next I topped a nicely grilled chicken breast, seasoned with only salt and pepper, with a hatch chile guacamole. Once again a very simple recipe. Take two nicely ripened avocados and mash them in a bowl. Add a 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper, 1/4 tsp of garlic powder and the juice of half a lime. add in the chopped roasted hatch chiles and stir until smooth. Remember that all of this can be adjusted to your taste. After the chicken was grilled I topped it with a generous spoonful of the guacamole and a touch of parmesan cheese.

Finally, the piece de resistance, was a hatch chile mac and cheese. Two different cheeses went into making the cheese sauce (I normally use 5) and a lot of chopped roasted hatch chiles joined garlic powder and pepper in the final product. What's that? You want the recipe for the hatch chile mac and cheese? Well, in the future I will be doing a post on my thoughts and views on the beauty that is mac and cheese, so you'll have to wait til then! I promise though, the wait will be worth it!

As an ingredient, hatch chiles are seasonal (their season runs from early August to September), and as such you have plenty of time to plan and create ideas for how to use them next year! Get creative, come up with ideas and then get in the kitchen and try it out. There is much to be said for the value of a beautiful ingredient. You do not have to be a trained chef to be able to make great use of such a fantastic item. Just let yourself imagine, let your inner chef out and all will be well.

Until next time remember, eat with a passion, cook with your heart and remember,

Food Is Love.