Hatch chiles have arrived in Seattle. These are the state chiles of New Mexico, and come in medium and hot varieties. (This is by New Mexico standards. By Seattle standards, Hatches come in hot and incendiary varieties.) Central Market offered a recipe for chiles relleños using Hatches. It looked feasible and didn’t require deep-frying.
Hatches require roasting to remove the rather tough skins. Some stores will do the roasting for you; however, it’s easy to do on an outdoor grill. Roast them over medium coals or flame until they’re blackened on all sides. Put the chiles in a paper bag to steam for a few minutes before peeling off the skin. DO NOT do the roasting indoors unless you love the smell of pepper spray in the evening. While the chiles were steaming in the bag, I sautéed some onion and bell pepper. I then added a little ground beef and let it brown. I added a little salsa to the meat mixture and went back to peel the chiles.
Most standard chiles relleños recipes call for Anaheim or poblano chiles rather than Hatches. There’s a good reason – Hatches are thinner-walled than the other chiles and more prone to tearing. I wound up using the chile pieces more like lasagne noodles and putting the meat mixture in between the layers. I topped the casserole with some grated Monterey Jack cheese and put it in the oven at 400°F for 20 minutes. We served it with a salad. You can top the chiles with sour cream to abate the heat a little.
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