Love That New Mexico Chile

This recipe is from my father-in-law Harry who has been enjoying New Mexico chile for over 75 years. Besides the green chile, this recipe is a good way to use country style pork ribs when you see them on sale.

You’ll need:

2 lbs country style pork ribs trimmed of bone and fat, cut to bite sized pieces
2 medium potatoes diced
1 small or 1/2 medium onion, white or yellow chopped
4 oz chopped green chile preferably Hatch
1 can green enchilada sauce preferably Hatch
1/2 tsp each garlic powder and cumin
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tbs olive or vegetable oil

In a large skillet over medium heat add oil and brown the pork, drain.  Add onions, cook to soften. Add green chile, enchilada sauce, potatoes and seasonings. Cover and simmer until pork is done and the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve with warm tortillas and a salad or fresh fruit.

This is a super easy casserole dish that my late mother-in-law Ruth Schneider used to make. It combines a common summer veggie with the zing of New Mexico green chile. You may even have the veggie in your home garden. The list of ingredients is short:

2 good sized zucchini squash
1 cup or 2 4 oz cans of green chile preferably Hatch
1 cup of Colby or Cheddar cheese shredded
1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Peel, slice and boil until tender the zucchini.  Drain well.  Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Olive oil would be good.  Layer the squash, cheese and green chile. Add the seasoned bread crumbs to the top of the final layer.  Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and the top is a golden brown.

Here is a quick and easy way to use up some left-over ham and get your fix of New Mexico green chile.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and fetch a 2 quart casserole dish. Here is what else you’ll need:

1 package of scalloped potatoes with sauce pack in the box
2 cups of hot water
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups of cooked diced ham (or chicken if that is what’s on hand)
1 cup of your favorite cheese shredded, about 4 ounces
1  4 oz can of of sliced mushrooms, drained
2  4 oz cans of chopped green chile or to taste.  Hatch chile if available .

Mix the potatoes, sauce mix and hot water in ungreased 2-quart casserole dish.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Bake uncovered 40 to 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Let casserole rest 5 minutes and serve.

My wife is among those who out of tradition want to have some black-eyed peas on New Year’s day. She likes them and wants to eat them for “good luck.” I’m less enthusiastic about the peas and believe that it is bad luck to be superstitious.

After seeing a recipe that suggested adding black-eyed peas to home made salsa to keep the New Year tradition alive I decided to try the same with Pico de Gallo and of course include New Mexico green chile.

In a medium bowl, combine the following ingredients. The amount of each item to use is only a rough guide. Feel free to adjust the amounts to suite your own taste. For example, if you aren’t real familiar with cilantro, use it sparingly at first. It can be an acquired taste. It is best to mix it all up then cover and refrigerate overnight to let the flavors marinate. Chop everything fine.

5 Roma tomatoes or about 2 cups of your favorite tomatoe
2 fresh jalapeno peppers. De-seed and de-vein one of them to control heat. Or don’t, your call.
4 oz or 1/2 cup chopped green chile, preferably Hatch
1/4 cup each white, red, and green onion. Include tops of green onion
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
Juice of one lime
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt plus a few grinds of fresh black pepper
1/2 cup of canned black-eyed peas rinsed

Mix well with a spoon to combine. Serve with tortilla chips. It can also be used to top hamburgers or sandwiches. Throw some on your eggs in the morning and give your day a zesty start.

There is a recurring bit in “The Simpsons” where Homer eats some kind of fiery spicy hot food, has a cartoonish physical reaction like flaming smoke rings flying out of his mouth while shrieking, then promptly and calmly says “more please.”

Not so when Dr. Paul Bosland of the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University bit into a Bhut Jolokia, now considered the world’s hottest chile pepper. One bite was enough to convince him that this pepper packed some record setting heat and what he’d really like was a glass of milk and not another helping of that pod.

The Bhut Jolokia is indigenous to north eastern India and the name translates into “ghost pepper.” Seeds were sent to New Mexico by a colleague of Dr. Bosland. Plants were raised under controlled conditions and the heat levels tested in laboratories. Would you believe a pepper three times hotter than a habanero? Over a million Scoville Heat Units? Dude, that is hot!

You can read more about it here.