Hatch Green Chile

When I say the word "chili" most people think of this...

Unless you grew up in New Mexico like I did, then "chili" is not a stew. It is a chili pepper; specifically, a Hatch green chile.

These tasty, spicy green chiles are grown in Hatch, New Mexico and are an essential ingredient in most foods we eat. Yes, a true New Mexican eats these chiles for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We eat it on pizza, hamburgers, with eggs, or smothering any other food we can think of. The peppers are harvested in fall and every grocery has them outside roasting. They can be purchased by the pound and usually they are brought home in a burlap sack after the roasting process is complete. I have lived outside of New Mexico for the bulk of my adult life and have never found a substitute for Hatch chile. Thankfully, in Virginia I don't have to.

A local grocery story in the town where we live held a chili festival one weekend in September.

They even had the authentic roaster sitting outside, which resulted in the same aroma of roasting chiles that I remember from my younger years.

They were selling the chiles by the pound or the case.

I brought home a case. My car held the aroma for weeks.

Then I hosted a party. All of the dishes served that evening contained this special ingredient: green chile, chicken enchiladas; spanish rice; fresh salsa; and posole. I also made some frijoles and had tamales shipped in for the event. I enjoyed sharing a bit of my homeleand with our friends here.

just Sheri, a green chile enthusiast