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Saturday, September 15, 2012

Hatch Chiles Have Taken Over The Parking Lot

Mena's peppers
The Hatch chile event at Wegmans run through Sunday, and it permeates much of the store.

A roasting machine and tent set up in the parking lot.  Roasted and fresh chiles in produce.  A cream cheese spread in the cheese section.  Even a "floral" arrangement of chiles by the florist.

Roasting in the parking lot
The smell flows right off the roasting tent into the parking lot as you walk to the store. I admit that I passed on the 23-pound box, but mostly because I overbought in the tomato and peach fields last month.  One quixotic canning event is cute.  Two is a problem husband.

But Mena paid $39 for 23 pounds of fresh peppers, which they'll roast for you as well.  Mena reports:
My peppers are are chillin' in the freezer now. House smells amazing.  I put about four peppers in each bundle. When frozen, I will put them in a ziplock. The rest are in the basement freezer.  Bought a pork shoulder and will probably make chile verde.  Couldn't remember what ingredients I needed except tomatillos -- so will have to make another trip.
Wegmans in Columbia is selling two varieties of Hatch peppers -- a spicy and a mild.  The roasted spicy pepper has a real bite, but it's all delicious.  You can buy everything from a few peppers up to the 23-pound boxes.  They're only available for about a month in the fall, so people freeze them like Mena in small batches to pull out for salsas, chili, and all kinds of Southwest dishes.
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3 comments:

  1. Baltimore Beer GuySeptember 17, 2012 at 11:35 PM

    MUST DO: make green chile burgers like from New Mexico. Standard burger but top with the roasted hatch chiles and some cheddar. DELICIOUS and an absolute staple of New Mexico cuisine.

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  2. ZevonistaSeptember 18, 2012 at 7:39 AM

    Funny that BBG should mention green chile cheeseburgers - that's EXACTLY what I made Sunday night! Having lived in NM for five years, I was thrilled that Wegman's was roasting Hatch chiles this weekend. Bought a few pounds, and already used up most of them on the cheeseburgers and some green chile stew.

    That's what I miss most about NM - the green chile and blue skies...both of which were in abundance this past weekend!

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  3. S.September 22, 2012 at 8:40 PM

    Thanks to Howchow's post about the Hatch Chile event at Wegmans, we were able to order 25 lbs roasted - most now safely in the freezer but some already enjoyed this past week in green chile stew, green chile egg squares, green chile chutney, as well as in homemade burritos.

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