It’s HATCH CHILE Time!!! The one special seasonal event of the year for chile-heads at least. People who love hatch chiles go bonkers and rush out to @Northgate to stock up on their roasted HATCH Chiles from now to mid September. During this time of year, you can enjoy hatch chile on a wide assortment of products sold at Northgate: Hatch tortillas, Hatch mac & cheese, Hatch aguas frescas, and even Hatch bolillos! It’s all yummy.
One of the things I find especially clever about these New Mexico grown chiles are they labeled by HOT or MILD. It’s your choice if you want to have a super spicy dish or a more mellow one. I personally like to use a combination of both. This time I made a Roasted Hatch Chile Salsa – it was so chunky and perfectly spiced. I served my salsa with fried up cheese sticks, and puffed flour tortilla dippers. GAWD… what a treat! I just don’t know how I’m expected to go without for the rest of the year. Better enjoy while we can.
Roasted Hatch Chile Salsa:
- 4 cloves of garlic (peeled)
- 1/2 white onion
- 8 small tomatillos OR 4 large tomatillos (peeled)
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- A pinch of oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 hatch chiles
Puffed Flour Tortilla Dippers:
- 5 Northgate Flour Tortillas
- 1 cup Vegetable oil
Fried Cheese Sticks:
- 16 – 2 inch triangles of cheese ( I used Monterey Jack and Cheddar)
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1 cup panko
- Vegetable oil
- Dipping sticks (lollipop, popsicle, or skewers)
Directions:
Roasted Hatch Chile Salsa:
- Generously oil hatch chiles with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and place on an open flame to roast. Turning every so often till all sides are charred. Remove from flame and place in a air tight bag to steam for 30 minutes.
- In a large frying pan over a medium high flame add 1 tablespoon of oil and allow to get hot. Place onion, garlic cloves and tomatillos in pan. Fry on all sides until browned. About 5 minutes for the garlic cloves and 10 to 15 minutes for the onion and tomatillos.
- Place garlic cloves, onion, tomatillos, salt, oregano, and black pepper in the blender and blend until smooth.
- Remove hatch chiles from bag and carefully remove skin under a slow stream of running water.
- Cut stem off the top and place in the blender.
- Pulse 3 times. Make sure not to over blend. You want your salsa chucky.
Puffed Flour Tortilla Dippers:
- Heat 1 cup of oil in a large frying pan over a medium flame. Allow to get hot.
- Cut Northgate flour tortillas in the desired shape.
- Fry on each side until gold crisp about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Remove from oil and allow to drain on a paper towel lined plate.
Fried Cheese Sticks:
- Cut cheese into 2 inch triangle pieces.
- In three separate bowls. In bowl one (1) mix together flour and salt. In bowl two (2) whisk eggs and water together. In bowl three (3) combine bread crumbs and panko together.
- Dredge 1 cheese triangle in flour mixture, shake off excess. Dip into egg , let excess drip off. Dredge in breading mixture, pressing lightly to adhere. Place on a parchment paper lined tray. Repeat process until all cheese triangles are coated.
- Freeze cheese triangle for an hour.
- Pour oil to a 4 inch depth in a small pot or Dutch oven. Heat oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Working in batches fry cheese for 60 seconds or until golden on the outside.
- Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain.
- Allow to cool for 1 minute then insert stick into the bottom on the fried cheese.
- Enjoy!
