Hatch chiles for beginners 2: salsa

A lot of Hatch chile recipes seem to require advanced manual dexterity and a free afternoon (e.g. chiles rellenos - heavenly, but ain't no one got time for that). These ones - not so much. Max 15 minutes of active prep time - once you've got your chiles ready.

Having said that, none of these is a whole meal by any stretch of the imagination. (Future posts coming up will be, though, so keep an eye out.)

Salsa tends to be a chop-and-mix dish. The secret to a nice looking dish is to keep all the pieces the same size. That won't matter quite so much with a blended salsa so if you want to practice before blending it, why not.

When adjusting the ingredients to taste, I consider how it will be used on our table. Here are a few adjustments I make:

• low carb - ordinary onion bulbs have quite a bit of carb, so don't use much onion, or none. Instead, green onion/spring onion and a bit more garlic
• people who don't like things. For example, we recently had a guest who doesn't like onion. No problem - check the seasoning carefully though to make sure it's balanced. Without onion it might need a bit more chile heat, salt, or less acidity
• how much is one serving? I choose a different level of chile, salt, and acidity for by-the-teaspoon salsa compared with by-the-scoop salsa. I generally taste it. When a serving is less than a teaspoonful, taste a tiny bit on the end of a finger and you should - as my old cooking teacher said - blink both eyes and squint (not cough and gag!). It should taste a bit glaring. That flavour, once diluted and accompanying, will be correct. When a serving is half a cup, taste a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful and it should taste about right. (These are more the latter than the former.)
• what needs using up? If the coriander/cilantro is starting to wilt, I'll try and find a way to use the whole bunch rather than waste it. Yes, you can put a whole bunch, up to a cup or so, into either of the raw salsas below - add a little more lime juice to compensate and let it stand a few extra minutes to avoid that green dish-scrubber texture

A green salsa, raw or cooked

Raw

1/4 large onion or 2 - 3 spring onions/green onions
2 limes, cut for juicing
3 cloves garlic or to taste
1 cup approx Hatch chiles, peeled and seeded
4 medium tomatillos (or 3 med tomatoes, if you have to)
fresh jalapeno, finely chopped, to taste
2 - 3 T cilantro/coriander leaf, or to taste
1 t salt or to taste
pinch ground toasted cumin seed

• If using onion, start by slicing it thinly and cutting the slices into small strips. Squeeze over about half a lime and mix. Put it in one corner of the chopping board or into a 2 cup bowl.
• Smash the garlic with the side of a heavy knife and cut as finely as possible. Leave it on the board.
• Put the chiles on top of the garlic and cut into strips the same size as the onion.
• If using green onion, chop into small pieces. Keep everything the same size.
• Peel the husks from the tomatillos and rinse under hot water to remove the natural gum from the surface. Chop into small pieces. Sprinkle the salt over and mix. 
• Chop the coriander leaf finely. 
• Mix all ingredients together except limes. Juice the remaining lime over the mixture and mix to combine evenly. Check the seasoning. Serve without too much delay.

Cooked

Canned tomatillos are okay here. Don't sub with tomatoes unless they are green; red ones will spoil the colour of the finished dish.

1/4 large onion (preferably) or 2 - 3 spring onions/green onions
3 cloves garlic or to taste
fresh or pickled jalapeno, finely chopped, to taste
1 cup approx Hatch chiles, peeled and seeded
4 - 6 medium tomatillos
1 t salt or to taste
1 t ground toasted cumin seed
2 limes, cut for juicing, or a lemon, or cider vinegar, to taste

• Take everything except the limes and prepare into similar size chunks. 
• Put together in a wide pan and bring to a fast boil, stirring to prevent sticking. 
• Boil quickly until much of the liquid evaporates - again, stir as needed. 
• Remove from heat and scrape into a blender jug or bowl. Let cool according to your comfort level of blending hot things. 
• Blend until all one texture and mostly smooth (there will be tomatillo seeds.) 
• Check the seasoning, adding lime juice to sharpen the flavour.   

Will keep in fridge for ten days.

Guacamole with Hatch chiles

Okay, non-canonical ... but unlike the green pea travesty, avocado and Hatch is pretty good. You could call this an avocado dip, sauce or salsa if it's not your idea of guacamole (that which we call a rose ...) And there's another guacamole recipe here without peppers.

1/4 large onion or 2 - 3 spring onions/green onions
2 limes, cut for juicing
3 cloves garlic or to taste
fresh jalapeno, finely chopped, to taste
1/2 cup approx Hatch chiles, peeled and seeded
2 medium ripe, soft, avocados
2 - 3 T cilantro/coriander leaf or to taste
1 t salt or to taste
pinch ground toasted cumin seed

• If using onion, start by slicing it thinly and cutting the slices into small dice. Squeeze over about half a lime and mix. Put it in one corner of the chopping board or into a 2 cup bowl.
• Smash the garlic with the side of a heavy knife and cut as finely as possible. Leave it on the board.
• If using green onion, chop into small pieces. Keep everything the same size.
• Put the chiles on top of the garlic and cut into little strips or dice.
• Chop the coriander leaf finely. 
• Halve the avocado(s). Peel; remove the stone(s). Use a fork to crush them into a paste.
• Sprinkle over the salt and juice of one lime and mix all together. 
• Juice the remaining lime over the mixture and mix to combine evenly. Check the seasoning. 

Best to serve without too much delay, but will keep okay for lunch the next day. Keeps better with more lime juice rather than less.