Beyond Words

Happy first day of fall! And, even though it’s still hot here in Texas we’ve at least seem to have left the 100+ degrees behind us. Woohoo!

Fall is my favorite season. I love fall clothes, I love traditional fall weather, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and I love football! When I think of fall, I think of all of those things but I also think of something else: chile. Yep, not pumpkin spice, but chile. Fall is when that scrumptious green chile is harvested and roasted in New Mexico towns like Hatch and Chimayo. If I close my eyes, I can smell the distinct aroma.

Another fall tradition is all things pumpkin spice. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of that legendary beverage, the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. The drink was a huge hit from the moment that it was introduced, and it’s now Starbucks’s best-selling seasonal beverage and apparently, it’s every company’s dream is to create the next Pumpkin Spice. And just for fun, when I do venture into a Starbucks, I love giving the barista any name but my own. My favorite is Natasha. Give it a try! You can be anyone you want in Starbucks!

But back to chile.

August through October is green chile harvesting season and it’s around this time of year that grocery stores start hosting Hatch chile roasting events with chile roasters out front presiding over big steel and mesh cylinder roasters and turning green chile peppers around and around until they are just right to be packaged and sold. Inside the stores you’ll find green chile infused bacon, cookies, breads, cheeses, and even wines. I stock up on all of them. I’m also a sucker for green chile cheeseburgers.

Growing up in Santa Fe, we’d roast the chiles at home either on the grill or in the oven. I’ve done both as I’ve grown up, but now that they’re conveniently at my nearby grocer, I leave the roasting to them. I do remember, however, my husband and I bringing home burlap sacks full of chile from Santa Fe…a couple of times on a plane! Those days are over but our freezer is still stocked full of both frozen whole green chile and chopped.

If you buy the chile whole, you need to peel each roasted pepper before using them in any recipes. This is easily done in a sink. Simply run light water, peel the roasted skin off much as you would a banana, then hold the pepper and pull off the stem. This will allow you to open up the pepper and remove any remaining seeds. From there, you just chop it up and use it as you wish. Word of caution: be sure to wash your hands after peeling the peppers!

Not many states have a food that is as closely related to them as chile is to New Mexico save for maybe lobster in Maine, gumbo in Louisiana, chowder in Massachusetts, and pizza in New York. The self-proclaimed “Chile Capital of the World,” New Mexico takes its chile seriously. But what is so distinctive about it and why is it so famous?

First of all, it’s different then other peppers like Serrano or Poblano and it’s unique to NM. In fact, many consider the 10-mile-long Hatch Valley; near Las Cruces, New Mexico and not far from El Paso, Texas; the best chile growing region on Earth. Yep, Earth. The area’s high elevation at just over 4,000 feet, intense heat, dry weather, and slightly alkaline soil all contribute to making the perfect blend for growing the chile. It’s been said that the area’s soil and climate do for chiles what Champagne’s does for sparkling wine and Parma’s does for cheese. Hmmmm…a bottle of bubbly with some green chile cheese sounds pretty good right now!

Hatch chile may be the most famous, but Northern New Mexico has its own, albeit a bit more “best kept secret” chile hot spot. Chimayo, just north of Santa Fe, is well-known for its variety of chile and its James Beard Award winning restaurant Rancho de Chimayo has what I consider the pictured above and best stacked chicken enchiladas anywhere. Maybe even on Earth!

So how on Earth did two small villages in New Mexico come upon a harvest unlike any other?

According to the information displayed at the New World Cuisine exhibit at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, it was Spanish colonizers who founded Santa Fe in 1610 and immigrated into New Mexico in the 1500’s and brought chile with them. They introduced chile to Indigenous Pueblo people and converted the Nahuatl name, chilli, to chile. Unlike the chili in Texas and other places (which I also love), chile in New Mexico is both a plant and a dish.

When you order a dish like enchiladas in New Mexico you will often be asked if you want red, green, or Christmas, the latter being both. I’d say green chile is more famous and the only one my husband will eat (and he ADORES his green chile especially in his scrambled eggs and breakfast tacos) but red is my favorite in tamales, Frito pies, and for breakfast with eggs. For enchiladas, it’s only green for me and green is what you make chile rellenos with. Both can be made into sauces, which are called green chile and red chile.

And quick note on those amazing enchiladas: they are “stacked,” not rolled. This means they come to you on a plate like pancakes do and if you’re really a native or enchilada expert, you know to order them with blue corn tortillas. Above is a sample of my mom’s enchiladas, which try as I may, I can never fully duplicate.

Red chile is perhaps most famous for those often-considered decorative ristras that hang on many a porch and door in New Mexico. Traditionally they actually serve a purpose. They are ripened green chile peppers that are strung together then hung in the sun to dry. The dried pods are then ground up into a flour-like powder, which is used to make red chile sauce.

If you ever get a chance, go to the Hatch Chile Festival, held annually now for 51 years. At it, you’ll get your fill of all things chile and enjoy a parade headed by The Chile Queen and her Red and Green Princesses. What’s not to love about that?!

Not only is green chile delectable, but a steaming pot of the peppers is also healthy and chalk full of Vitamins C, A, and K as well as potassium and are excellent and natural sources of iron. They also speed up one’s metabolism as much as 50 percent for up to three hours after eating, have zero calories, and are loaded with antioxidants. The capsaicin in them is also said to be beneficial in combating the common cold or sinus infections. Lastly, they actually make you feel good! The heat produced by chile acts as an effective pain reliever as the endorphins released when you eat them boost your mood. Yummy and healthy. I’m in!

When it comes to chile, I’m all in for all of it. Just writing this makes me crave some stacked enchiladas smothered in green chile with a side of whole beans. I better get cooking!