It is truly the best time of year here in New Mexico. Why, you ask? It is green chile harvest time! For those of you who have never ventured to the land of enchantment, chile is everything around here. To me, the New Mexican chile is what distinguishes the local cuisine from any Mexican/Mexican-American dishes you may be used to, and in my opinion...what makes it better! That's right Texans... I said New Mexican food is better than Tex-Mex. The official state question in NM is "Red or Green?" and that is what you are asked when ordering at a restaurant because chile goes well on anything! P.S you don't have to decide, you can order both...just say "Christmas!" Here's a fun fact: Red and green chile are actually the same chile but the green is picked prematurely and the red left on the vine to fully ripen. Red chile is popularly seen tied on a string and dried to make what is known as a Ristra...
While you can find fresh green chile anywhere this time of year, the best green chile comes from Hatch, NM. I don't know why, just take my word for it. So, my husband was driving through Hatch on a business trip, stopped at a local vendor and purchased a 50 pound bag of Authentic Hatch Green Chile! When you have a 50 pound bag of green chile taking up your kitchen counter there is only one way to handle it...Split it with friends and have a roasting party! We roasted the whole bag of chiles, then peeled, chopped and divided into freezer bags and we are set for the year.
Our Professional Roasters!
Having fun at the roasting party!
Even Peanut likes green chile!
We (and by we I mean everyone but me) chopped and added a little garlic powder and salt before putting into freezer bags...mmmm!
