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.

Hatch chiles for beginners 1: prep them up

It's nearly chile season again, so the last few packages in the freezer are fair game. And since I was writing elsewhere about the happy-making experience of having Hatch chiles fresh roasted, I thought I'd also write about how to prepare and use them.

Strictly speaking it's optional to remove the seeds. I do, though, as they can taste bitter and at the best of times don't add much to a dish other than heat. To peel and seed half-thawed chiles is pretty quick once you get in the rhythm. Here are two ways.

If you're finicky about that kind of thing or if your chiles are spicy, you may like to wear gloves while you do this.

1 Under running water

Easier, but it does use a lot of water and it does also lose some of the flavour ... good for beginners, though.

• Hold the chile by the stem end with one hand. 
• Under water, pull the skin off with the other hand. 
• Use your fingers to pull the stem end off
• Split the chile lengthwise with your fingers
• Hold it by the pointy end and open it out into a wedge. Wash away the seeds, removing bits of membrane if you can without breaking the whole chile. 

2 With water at hand for rinsing

A bit messier, goes fast once you've got the knack. Basically it's a similar  process, but you're going to keep one hand clean as you only use it to hold the chile by one end. The other will get covered in blackened bits of chile skin, juices, and seeds. Dip or rinse your hand in water when it gets too grubby to do the job.

• Hold the chile by the stem end with one hand. 
• Use your other hand almost like a squeegee to scrape the skin off
• Use your fingers to pull the stem end off
• Split the chile lengthwise with your fingers
• Hold it by the pointy end and open it out into a wedge. 
• Squeegee away the seeds by running the flesh of the chile between two fingers. Pick away large bits of membrane if you can without breaking the whole chile. 

Substitutions

If you aren't fortunate enough to have these specific peppers in your area, you can use other peeled and roasted green chiles or even regular bell peppers (I'd go with red rather than green there). The flavour will be different but probably still pretty nice. Hatch chiles are a vegetable rather than a condiment, so if you're substituting some other capsicum, choose accordingly. Maybe not ghost peppers, for instance.

Coming up: Hatch chile recipes for beginners.

Two salads

Pahranagat lake NV

Oh hi again.

Two salads, to be eaten at a picnic table overlooking a lake or under pines. These will travel well and keep well but must be kept cold.

Red ranch salad

1 large beetroot (or thereabouts)
2 medium purple sweet potatoes

For the dressing
2T of ranch seasoning
about a cup of sour cream (proper sour cream. Aim for the shortest ingredient list.)

1. Cook beetroot and purple sweet potato until tender. (Boil or microwave or bake. Beetroot is good baked.)
2. While the veges cook, make the dressing by mixing the ingredients together
3. While still warm, peel veges and cut into pieces. Mix with the dressing. If needed, thin with milk or water. 
4. Chill. Stir a few times as the veges cool so their colour bleeds into the dressing, turning it a fabulous fuchsia shade.
5. Once cold, correct the seasoning - it will likely need a little salt. 

Ranch seasoning 

Mixed the following dried herbs and spices to taste - I use about half as much dill and twice as much chives as the rest. Stores well if it gets the chance. (cool, dry, airtight unless you're lucky enough to live in the desert)
dried chopped chives
chopped dill leaf
garlic powder
onion flakes
parsley flakes
(optional, I add it later) salt

Raw Kale and Parsley Salad

Yeah I know, it sounds so healthy. But it's so delicious. The lemon juice 'cooks' it a little.

handful of kale
1/4 as much parsley as kale
juice of at least one lemon
cooked white beans about 1/2 cup (I used these beautiful tepary beans)
quarter each of a red and a yellow pepper
olive oil (don't stint!)
salt to taste

The greens 

Remove the stems from the kale
Slice the kale leaves into thin strips width-wise (chiffonade style, about 1/4 inch thick)
Chop the parsley about the same size as the kale.
Mix them together
Squeeze the lemon juice over the greens and mix thoroughly to coat. Add a little salt and mix again. you want to really rub the lemon juice in.
leave to stand in a bowl or on a board at room temperature while you do the peppers

The peppers

Two ways, pick one:
Slice super thin like a chef, by splitting it with the knife held almost parallel to the chopping board, and cut into little wisps
OR
Slice about 1/4 inch thick and quickly sauté til limp.

The mix

Mix the beans, greens and peppers together. Dress with extra virgin olive oil and mix again. Cover and chill.