Hatch Chiles and aloof cooking on crutches

A few days after my accident I was plunged on my couch with my foot propped up, trying to read in post-traumatic scooter crash state.  The physical and emotional shock of the crash combined with a touch of stir-craziness, late summer heat, and the influence of about twelve hours of sleep had me in a real hazy state.  My eyelids were becoming a bit heavy as the words in my book started to blur.  I hadn’t taken any of the Vicodin that doctor gave me, but I may as well have.  Soon, my foggy state was interrupted by a text message from a friend reading that he just picked up a twenty-five pound box of freshly roasted Hatch Chiles and wanted to see if I’d like to help create something with them.  While, I hardly felt that I could scramble an egg in my state, I really couldn’t pass up Hatch Chiles and the chance to cook with a friend.  Why couldn’t I pass up Hatch Chiles?  (Check the side bar below.)  So, with a million ideas of what we could do with the chiles and not single solid one of what we will do with them, we headed to Top Value, (a great Mexican market,) on Tenth and Cherry and started weaving through the produce section.  So, many options!

Side Bar: Okay, so what are Hatch Chiles?  

• Origin: New Mexican Hatch Chiles are named after the original growing area in Hatch, New Mexico.  While the Hatch valley which stretches along the Rio Grande’s southern-most bend before crossing into Texas and Mexico, is the original home of these chiles, the chiles also grow in other regions of New Mexico.
• Season: Planted in the early spring and harvested in late summer around Labor Day.
• What makes them special: Growing conditions and a short season – evidently the intense sunlight during the day followed by the cool climate of the evening create a wonderful and unique flavor in these chiles.  So wonderful, that Hatch, New Mexico is considered the “Chile capitol of the world,” and every year The Hatch Valley Chile Festival attracts over 30,000 visitors! Chile lovers usually buy a bulk portion of Hatch Chiles and freeze them for later use.
• Flavor Profile: Hatch Chiles are kind of like Anaheim Chiles on steroids.  These peppers have a very meaty flesh that becomes almost buttery when roasted.  A Hatch chile’s heat level can range from mild to spicy.
• Applications: Most often the Hatch Chiles are roasted after harvest.  Once roasted, anything goes because they are so versatile.  The meaty flesh of these peppers makes them great for hearty soups and stews as well as chile rellenos.  Dice them up and throw them in a fresh salsa.  Stuff tamales with them and some good cheese, as they go wonderfully with the sweetness of corn.   Hatch Chiles are also great in an omelet, a taco, a burrito, cornbread, possibly some ice cream… The list goes on and on.

I really start to laugh out loud as I recall this particular shopping and cooking process because it was so wonderfully unfocused.  It was no joke when I said that I felt completely out-of –it.  When we entered the store I immediately threw back a Powerade with the intention of hydrating and getting some synapses firing- it didn’t really work, but that’s okay.  Seriously, I may have been firing on more cylinders if I had taken one of those Vicodin.

My friend Adam loves potatoes, so a bag of those went into the cart at the jump.  Beyond that, we had lots of ideas and very little direction or commitment.  During our hobble and stroll session we bounced around ideas ranging from vanilla honey Hatch Chile ice cream to enchiladas, to tamales to salsa, to a tamale pie, to Hatch Chile and potato tacos.  With this, “make it up as we go along mentality,” we just started throwing enough stuff in the cart to possibly make this and or that.  So, we had a pretty open canvas and a lot of paint.

Well, the benefit of this type of shopping is that you can keep your options open, yet a side effect of this method is forgetting ingredients necessary to make your options come to life.  So, when we got into the kitchen and finally decided on enchiladas, a salsa and ice cream as an after thought, we realized that we didn’t have everything that we needed to make the enchiladas.  Oops… It became a new game in which our ingredients and time-line determined our creation.  Again, I am laughing out loud at this comedic cooking affair. After a bit of deducing, we came to a very simple Hatch Chile and cheese tamale pie and a Pico de Gallo style Hatch Chile salsa.  Finally with a plan, we could start chopping it up (both the chiles and the conversation).  And let me tell you, after lying around the house for a few days it sure felt good to balance all my weight on my right leg, to hold my self at the cutting board and “chop it up,” a bit.