Named after the Hatch Valley where they're grown in New Mexico, this chile has become very popular here in Texas.
You can find hatch chile flavored items all over H-E-B right now from popcorn to sushi rolls to cheeses - love it.
As a new resident of Texas, I was excited to get my hands on some of these peppers, especially since they have a short growing season where you can get them fresh (usually from the beginning of August to the end of September).
I wanted to see what the hype was all about.
I made stuffed hatch green chiles with a ground pork, corn and rice filling. I topped it off with an easy cilantro sauce. The beauty of these peppers is that they are so versatile. You can make adjustments to the filling and sauce as you see fit!
I read that they are 3x less than a jalapeno on the scoville scale (units used to measure the spiciness of a pepper) for comparison.
Here's how I made it:
These hatch green chiles are no joke! One stuffed chile is pretty much a whole meal!!
STUFFED HATCH GREEN CHILES
Protein: pork
Prep Time: 30 minutes prepping peppers, chopping ingredients for sauce and filing, mixing sauce
Cook Time: 20 minutes to roast peppers, 20 minutes to cook the filling, 5-10 minutes to reheat with cheese
INGREDIENTS (11):
hatch chiles (12 - depending on size)
pork sausage (1 lb.)
corn (2 ears or ~ 1 c)
onion (1 medium)
rice (1 1/2 c)
cooking oil/spray for frying filling and to coat peppers for roasting
seasoning of choice or salt + pepper
FOR SAUCE:
sour cream (1/2 c)
barbecue sauce of choice (3 tbsp)
cilantro (1/4 c minced)
lemon juice (few tsp to taste)
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Wash chiles and cut a window in the pepper for stuffing on the top surface.
-Remove all seeds from inside the pepper.
Be sure to keep your hands away from your face- even after you're done and have washed your hands. Noted from personal experience...
Green hatch chiles all clean and ready to be roasted.
-Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray or brush the peppers with some cooking oil for roasting.
We used a small amount of canola spray because of its high smoke point.
-Put the peppers in the oven to roast.
This took about 20 minutes.
***While the peppers are roasting, start cooking the filling - these steps can be performed in any order that works for you!***
-Mince onion and cut kernels of corn off the cob.
You can also used canned corn and/or add any other ingredients you prefer!
-Saute onion and corn and add your seasoning of choice until cooked.
I actually used a taco seasoning I had in the pantry - paprika, cumin, chile powder would all be good flavor choices!
-Once veggies are cooked, remove from heat and pour into a large mixing bowl.
-Next, cook the pork.
I opted to use pork sausage I had from a local producer - so I removed the casing and fried the meat.
-While the meat was cooking, I started the rice.
Again, this is an optional ingredient. I found it added another layer of flavor and made it a well rounded dish by adding a carb. This recipe was already involved for me, so I decided to microwave a ready pack of Uncle Ben's rice.
-Once the meat was cooked, I mixed everything together- the meat, rice packet, onion and corn.
-Around this time, the peppers should be roasted.
I waited until the peppers looked softer and starting to blister. If you leave them too long, the peppers blister too much, the skin starts to separate and becomes tough/chewy.
-When the peppers and filling are prepared, distribute the filling between the chiles.
Roasted hatch green chiles stuffed with pork, corn, onion + rice
***This is a good place to stop if you're planning to eat the chiles later***
-Sprinkle a layer of cheese on top of the filled chiles.
We used Monterey Jack.
-If making the chiles to eat right away, pop them back under the broiler to melt the cheese quick, since the insides and chiles should still be warm. If eating after the initial prep, put the stuffed chiles back in the oven with the sprinkled cheese at 350F. It may take 15-20 minutes for the cheese to melt and the insides to get warm again.
***While melting the cheese on the chiles, prep the cilantro sauce***
-Add ~1/2 c sour cream to a mixing bowl.
Plain greek yogurt can also be substituted here.
-Wash and mince ~1/4 c cilantro - then add to the sour cream.
-Measure 3 tsp of lemon juice and 3 tbsp of barbeque sauce, then add to the mixture.
I like the barbeque sauce addition to give a hint of smoky taste.
-Add water to the sauce until it reaches the consistency desired.
-Once the sauce is complete, drizzle over the peppers and serve hot.
Finish product: stuffed hatch chili peppers
-Dig in!
-Living for Three
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