Hatch Chile Season

Oh yes, It's that time of year again. Hatch Chile season is upon us. If you're lucky enough to live in a part of the country where you can procure these delights, you'd be wise to stock up. If the Hatch Chile is not available in your neighborhood, be aware that the Hatch Chile is generally any variety of the New Mexico Chile, which happens to be grown in Hatch, NM.

This is the first year where I've noticed all of the local markets carrying both a mild (New Mexico #20) and a hot (Big Jim or Sandia) pepper. In the past (at least at the stores I shop in) you've just had the luck of the draw; this is not the case this year. Both Sprouts and Central Market were advertising fresh chiles in mild and hot. I chose to make my purchases at Central Market, mostly because they roast on site and they make just about everything you could imagine with the Hatch pepper on the "roasting" weekends. For example, in my adventure on Sunday, I procured the following:
2lbs each of hot and mild roasted peppers -- roasted on site, in front of me
1lb each of hot and mild fresh peppers
1lb of Hatch Chile Pork sausage
1 jar Hatch Chile salsa verde
1 package fresh Hatch Chile Hamburger Buns

There were many other options include fresh guacamole, pepper jams and fresh pepper jack cheese made with the delicious Hatch Chile, but I thought I had done enough.

Anyway, the fresh chiles are good for many of your standard chile applications, and the roasted go great in everything; my meal plans include Hatch Manwich and Hatch Chicken Enchiladas. I might make rellenos with the fresh peppers; we'll just have to see.

Tonight, I made Hatch Chile Rice. And it was awesome.
1 Cup Rice
2 Cups Chicken Broth
3 Tbsp minced roasted Hatch Chiles (I used the Hot ones)
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Granulated Garlic
Salt to taste.

Rinse your rice, throw it in your rice cooker, add the broth, chiles and seasoning and fire it up. Don't have a rice cooker? You're on your own. I've forgotten how to cook rice w/out one.

--Brad