Football and the Green Chile Harvest are Here!

Living in this region of the United States means that August and September are magical months as they brings some of the best green chile in the nation from the Hatch Valley.  This time of the year is also special because football is officially back too.  The combination of green chile and America's favorite sport, are quite simply two pleasures that are loved by millions.

Let's consider the fact that so many of the delicious snacks we eat during football games have green chile from burgers to nachos, quesadillas, cheese dip, enchiladas and much more.  It is a vital ingredient to our game-day noshes and fortunately for us, the best of the best is found virtually in our back yards.

Since the harvest is officially here, one should know a couple of pieces of crucial information such as how to properly prepare green chile and what really makes them hot.  To prepare hatch green chile simply preheat your oven to 425 degrees, and lightly coat the peppers with olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and place them on the baking tray in a single layer.  Place the baking tray in the upper third of your oven, and roast for about 10 minutes, until the they start to blister and blacken.

Next, turn the chile peppers over to roast on the other side for another 10-15 minutes and once the pepper skins have blistered and blackened, remove from the oven.  Finally, you will place the roasted Hatch chile peppers in a bowl, right out of the oven, and cover with foil or plastic wrap and let the them steam.  If you're using the chile right away, go ahead and peel them as soon as they cool down a bit and enjoy!

Why are Hatch green chiles hot?  Their heat comes from the amount of capsaicin present in a given pod.  Capsaicin is a key component of chili peppers that make them hot and your mouth subsequently burn after eating it.  This is indeed one of the best times of the year, as I tell people, once the Hatch green chile harvest occurs, two things are certain; football season is near and delicious aspects that make up some of the best food to accompany it are ready for us to enjoy!