One thing that marks the end of the summer and the beginning of fall here in New Mexico is the smell of roasting green chile. It’s one of those scents that marks the change in season and it promises sweet, flavorful, buttery, charred heat—it’s so good. That’s why I’m capturing the Hatch chile harvest in a recipe for Fajita-Stuffed Hatch Green Chile!
If you can find Hatch chile in your local store, you really have to try it! It’s not just heat (and if you can find mild, there won’t be much of that anyway). Hatch chile really has a unique flavor, buttery and sweetly peppery, almost like a spicy bell pepper, but with a bit more tang. Just for fun, I also used all local New Mexican ingredients to celebrate the end-of-summer harvest: the steak is from Sweet Mercy Farms, peppers from Red Tractor Farm, sweet corn from Schwebach’s and the onions from an unnamed booth. This recipe has minimal ingredients and comes together quickly. You’ll have a warm, delicious harvest-time meal in under an hour!
It’s certainly not something you have to do. It’s just a lot of fun for me, especially because we’ve made it a habit to go to the farmer’s market every Saturday morning and I’m like a kid in the candy store! And if you can’t get Hatch green chile, a mild green, large green chile like Anaheim or poblano will work just as well! In fact, Anaheims were developed from Hatch green chile, so you’ll get a similar result (they’re just not quite as flavorful).
We have a law here in New Mexico that to be labeled Hatch green chile, it has to be from Hatch New Mexico, so make sure you look for the real thing if you can!
- 4 Hatch, Anaheim, or poblano chile peppers
- 1 steak of your choice sliced into short strips or ½ pound of ground beef
- 2 medium bell peppers, sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- The kernels from 2 ears of corn, about a cup
- ½ C. cotija cheese, or any type of mild Mexican or Spanish cheese (although cheddar would work well, as well)
- 1 garlic clove, thinly chopped
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- ½ tsp. garlic salt
- ½ tsp. smoked paprika (or regular paprika, if you don’t have smoked)
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Chop the steak into short, thin strips. Chop the peppers and onion into strips and finely chop the garlic clove. Place the large end of the ear of corn into a bowl and cut off the kernels.
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil or other neutral oil into a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Saute the onions and garlic until translucent, then add in the steak, peppers, and corn. Add the spices. Sauté until the outside of the steak is done, but the inside is still red.
- Remove the filling into a bowl and mix with half of the cheese.
- Cut open the chile peppers, but don’t cut the top off. Carefully remove all the seeds. WARNING: Do not touch your skin after handling the chile pods or seeds, especially your eyes, because it will burn you! Wash your hands thoroughly before you touch anything else, or use gloves like I do.
- Place the peppers onto a foil-lined pan and spoon the filling into the peppers.
- Place the peppers into the oven for 30 minutes, or until the peppers are soft and the cheese has browned and/or melted.
- Take out of the oven and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top before serving the peppers.
Wherever you get the ingredients, and whatever ingredients you choose to include, these fajita-stuffed Hatch green chile peppers are the perfect way to use up all the late-summer harvest goodies!
There won’t be a new blog next week because we’re moving, but I’m really excited to share the recipe going up the following weekend, so make sure you check back.
‘Till next time!