A Green Chile By Any Other Name Just Isn't A Hatch...

We in the South love green chile peppers, especially Hatch Green Chile peppers. And to quote one of the lovely "Foodies" from foodie heaven (aka Central Market), "we will put a Hatch green chile in anything". And that they will.

Central Market is currently offering products such as (just to name a few) Hatch Green Chile corn bread, Hatch Green Chile hamburger patties, Hatch Green Chile tortilla chips, Hatch Green Chile sourdough bread, Hatch Green Chile popcorn and Hatch Green Chile gelato. Yes, you read right, Hatch Green Chile gelato. And I'll just tell you, don't knock until you try it!

A little history on Hatch. Hatch chiles come from the small village of Hatch, New Mexico. The BBC World News claims Hatch is the home of "the world's best chile pepper". If that isn't enough Hatch is also known as the chile capital of the world and is home to the annual Hatch Chile Festival which is held every Labor Day. With an average population of approximately 1700 people the festival has been known to bring as many of 30,000 visitors to the village for this event.

Coinciding with the Hatch festival is Central Market's Annual Hatch Chile Fest. This is their 16th annual and as our visit yesterday proved, it is in full swing.

Lined along the outside of the front of the store were three or four huge chile roasters and hundreds of boxes of chiles ready to be blistered in the flaming-hot barrels. It was 105 degrees in our neighborhood yesterday which seemed quiet cool compared to the roasting area. How those poor folks doing the roasting were able to bear the temperatures in front of the roasters is beyond me.

Central Market's roasting area...

Check out this super cool old truck they used as a part of their promo....

For those of you who are interested in roasting your own chiles you can simply roast them under the broiler. However, if you wish to become a die-hard-chile-roaster you will need one of these (no, not the man - the roaster!)...

Or you can buy them already roasted by the nice folks at Central Market which is exactly what we did.

Our purchase complete we brought our chiles home and the Senor quickly commenced to cooking.

On the menu, Chile Rellenos with Ranchero Sauce, Pork Chile Verde, flour tortillas and guacamole. There were two variations of the Rellenos, stuffed with chorizo or stuffed with Colby-Jack cheese. I must say, he out did himself on all accounts.

Here's a shot of the Chile Relleno with Ranchero Sauce for your viewing pleasure...

And the Chile Verde...

Let me tell you something, that man can cook!

The Relleno crust was light, fluffy and golden brown. The peppers perfectly roasted and the cheese hot and gooey. I prefer a cheese Relleno to a chorizo but our guests loved the chorizo. It's all a matter of preference! I consider myself a Ranchero Sauce aficionado and for the Senor's first effort it was very, very good.

The Chile Verde was pure perfection! Yes, I realize by saying this he may become near impossible to live with! He said he tweaked a couple of things in his recipe and it was pure, creamy, spicy goodness. The - Perfect - Comfort - Food.

So this my friends is my very own homage to the Hatch Green Chile.

If you're fortunate enough to live near a Central Market head on over and sample all the goodness they have to offer. Or, perhaps your local market is having a Hatch Green Chile festival of their own. Check it out! And let's not forget that Labor Day is just around the corner. Have you ever been to Hatch New Mexico? You might want to check it out!

Bottom line is this. If you've never had the pleasure of tasting a Hatch Green Chile I suggest you add it to your bucket list.