Pumpkin, Rice and Bean Burritos

Cooking Ripe! has moved to: CookingRipe.com – please join us on the new site!

 

The ghosts and goblins have retired for another year, but I bet you still have some sweet pumpkins hanging around the house or you have some frozen or canned pumpkin puree. If you’ve got some puree on hand, this is a super fast, super easy, and super flavorful meal the whole family will adore. You can make it as spicy as you like – or not – and you can get it on the table in a flash! Oh, and the nutritional content is simply amazing: all sorts of fiber from beans and pumpkin, lots of vitamins and it’s very low carb and low fat!

I promise (fingers crossed behind my back) this will be the last pumpkin recipe I’ll share – for a little while, anyway. I have almost used up all of my pumpkin from my little patch, so I actually bought four more little sweet pumpkins during the after-Halloween sale because I just can’t get enough! The Hubs rolled his eyes when we saw the new ones arrive from the store. “Oh… more pumpkin,” he said less-than-gleefully. Whatever. I love the stuff, so I’m going to keep roasting, pureeing and putting it in anything and everything. Hands up if you’re with me!

You might think that a pumpkin burrito would be sweet – which it could be if you made it that way – but these burritos are savory and spicy and definitely not reminiscent of pumpkin pie. I got the idea when I had a pumpkin burrito at a local hole-in-the-wall Mexican kitchen in Durango where the daughter now lives. It was pretty simple: pumpkin and green chile, so I thought I’d whip up my own version of it at home.

Here’s how:

It’s really simple if you have some puree and some rice ready. I swear it was ready in about 15 minutes. I use a rice cooker, so I made some short grain brown rice earlier in the day. Then, simply saute the onions until translucent, then add the garlic and cook for a minute. Finally, add the rest of the ingredients to the skillet and cook over medium-low heat until hot throughout. If you let it sit a little while, the flavors will improve, but if you need to get the troops fed, just move it along. I decided to crisp the burritos in a little canola oil – not a total deep fry – to add a little crunch, but you could serve the burritos soft or you could pour some red or green chile enchilada sauce over the top for an “enchilada style” burrito.

Pumpkin, Rice and Bean Burritos

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients: (don’t be fussy about the ingredients; play around with the flavors to suit your tastes)

• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup cooked rice (I used short grain brown rice)
• 1 can pinto (or whatever beans you prefer) beans, rinsed and drained
• 1-2 tsp chopped green chiles (I used some of my frozen Hatch chiles)
• 1 tsp chipotle in adobo (I keep leftovers frozen in ice cube trays)
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I used one of my frozen discs from this recipe) – skip if you are cilantro averse. Parsley’s always a good substitute.
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 12″ flour or whole wheat tortillas
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Canola oil (optional)
• Garnish options: shredded cheese, avocado/guacamole, sour cream, shredded lettuce, raw onion, chopped tomatoes
• Optional: red or green enchilada sauce for “enchilada style” version

Directions:

1. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Saute onions until translucent, then add garlic and cook one more minute.
2. Lower heat to medium-low, then add pumpkin, beans, rice, green chile, spices, and cilantro. Simmer and stir until the mixture is hot throughout. Keep the heat fairly low so it doesn’t scorch or dry out.
3. Spoon two large scoops of pumpkin mixture into center of a tortilla and fold ends towards center, then roll up from one side.
4. If you want to make crispy burritos, heat up about another skillet with about 1/2″ of canola oil over medium-high heat. Place burrito in pan, cook for a couple of minutes until golden, then flip over and cook the other side until golden. (Note that mine got a little overdone when I became distracted feeding the hounds – oops). Drain on paper towels.
5. If you want enchilada style, spoon sauce over burritos, then warm in oven or microwave.
6. Garnish and serve.

These are pretty spicy, so dial back the chipotle and green chiles if you’re not a heat freak like me – or if you’re serving small children. The Hubs said they were a little too spicy for him, but it was just right for me. He would have enjoyed some meat, like ground beef, in his but overall gave the meal a thumbs up. He was surprised to learn that one of the main ingredients was pumpkin since it just takes on the flavors of the other ingredients.

Notes for next time: this recipe is so versatile that the possibilities are endless – really. You could add some cooked meat, as the Hubs suggested: beef, pork or chicken would work. You could also use a simple taco seasoning combo instead of the spices listed above. Of course, you could use other types of beans – or a combo of more than one type. I might add some enchilada sauce inside the burrito, too. To increase the veg content, I might add some corn or spinach. Basically, anything you’d do to any other burrito, you could do here. I also think the mixture would be awesome as a tostada topper, too! PS: this stuff is even better the next day for a leftover lunch. Mhmm.

I’d love to hear your variations on this simple recipe. Leave a comment!

Related Posts:

• Homemade Pumpkin Puree
• Curried Pumpkin and Bean Soup
• Easiest Pumpkin and Fruit Galette (tart)

• Follow my Pumpkin Board on Pinterest.

Southwestern Green Chile and Corn Potato Chowder

Cooking Ripe! has moved to: CookingRipe.com – please join us on the new site!

 

I took a break from my pumpkin recipes long enough to cook up a new harvest meal. I’ve been thinking about a green chile soup since we roasted our Hatch green chiles last month (how to roast and preserve Hatch chiles), but hadn’t gotten to it yet. Then today I was thinking about an easy meal I could prepare early in the day so the daughter could take some home and then we could reheat later for dinner. The daughter loves potato soup and since I got several ginormous potatoes in my Bountiful Basket yesterday, so I decided it was time to make a green chile and potato soup – or chowder.

What exactly is the difference between a soup and a chowder? I didn’t know either, so I did a little research via Google. I learned that while the traditional definition of chowder is a thick seafood soup (ie. clam chowder), the modern definition seems to be a chunky soup thickened by potatoes, onions, milk or cream (ie. corn chowder). So, because I’m using potatoes to as a thickener I’ve decided to call this recipe a chowder instead of a soup (mostly because I’ve posted two soup recipes recently and I’m proving that I’m not in a rut).

This is an easy, free-form recipe (like the rest of my recipes, right?). It came together pretty quickly and would make an easy weeknight meal. It’s also pretty healthified as we only used a tablespoon or two of butter and no cream, flour or milk – and honestly, I think you could skip the butter and it would be just as good! The daughter took home a container for her dinner and the Hubs and I finished the rest ourselves. The Hubs loved the soup, I mean chowder. He liked the heat and creaminess, but lamented that the addition of bacon or ham would have made it that much better. I rolled my eyes, but feel free to take his advice and add some cooked bacon or ham to make a heartier soup chowder.

Dice onions, garlic, green chiles and potatoes to start chowder

Simmer potatoes with the rest of the ingredients

My frozen disc of cilantro sauce – I use this stuff in EVERYTHING

Hatch Green Chile and Potato Corn Chowder

Southwestern Green Chile & Corn Potato Chowder

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

(Don’t be fussy about measuring anything and add more or less spices or ingredients to taste)

• 3-6 russet potatoes, peeled and diced (I used three HUGE potatoes)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3-4 Hatch green chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded (sub Anaheim or poblano chiles if you don’t have Hatch chiles)
• 3-4 cups vegetable stock or chicken broth (I used my homemade veg stock)
• 2-3 cups water, reserved from boiling potatoes
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1-2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 2-4 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I used some of my frozen cilantro sauce that I learned to make from this genius post) – optional if you aren’t a cilantro-lover
• 1 can sweet corn, drained
• 1 glug of Worcestershire sauce (optional, but I think it adds richness)
• Cracked black pepper to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add potatoes and boil until fork tender. Drain, reserving 2-3 cups of the water.
2. While potatoes drain in a colander, cover the bottom of the pan with with EVOO and warm over medium heat. Add onion and cook until they begin to soften. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Add the vegetable stock or chicken broth to the pan, and bring to a soft boil. Stir in the green chiles, salt, cumin and coriander. Reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes.
4. Return potatoes to the pot and stir. Add reserved potato water, 1 cup at a time until potatoes are covered. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, cilantro and pepper and simmer another 5-10 minutes.
5. Remove pot from heat. Add butter, if using. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup to desired consistency (or pulse in batches in a blender). Our family likes a few chunks, so I don’t blend it very long.
6. Stir in the corn and lime juice and let simmer for a few minutes to heat the corn.

Serve with some crusty bread or warmed tortillas. Garnish with some parsley or cilantro.

Great soup chowder the next day, but you may need to add more stock or water to thin a bit as the potatoes continue to soak up the liquid. If you want a little more creaminess, you could add more butter or even some milk and blend into the mixture.

Notes for next time:

When the soup chowder was almost finished, I realized I should have included some little diced carrots, which would have added some nice color, but also even more texture and flavor. I think I might also play around with adding other peppers – a jalapeno, maybe, or a sweet red bell pepper. Also, I might play with the spices by adding some chile powder or a smidge of chipotle in adobo. Another twist might be to throw in some diced tomatoes, but that might change the chowder back to soup.

Leave a comment and let me know how your soup chowder turns out.

Related Posts:

• Roasting and Preserving Hatch Green Chiles
• Easy Vegetable Stock
• Carrot & Sweet Potato Soup – orange you ready for some soup?
• Curried Pumpkin and Bean Soup
• Mexican Zucchini Succotash (Calabacitas)

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes: Simple Savories

Cooking Ripe! has moved to: CookingRipe.com – please join us on the new site!

 

UPDATED: See bottom of post.

This year I planted tomatoes for the first time. I had planned to only have three plants because I wasn’t convinced that I would enjoy growing them – or be successful. Since I didn’t know a lot about the many plant choices, I ordered a variety pack from Burpees. One of those was called the Super Sweet 100 Hybrid, described as a high-producing sweet cherry variety. Then a friend gave me a couple of additional plants, which turned out to be cherry varieties, as well. So, out of five plants, I have three that are cherry! Know what that means? I have MILLIONS of itty bitties, and I wasn’t prepared for the influx of the little sweeties.

Cherry tomato plants produce MILLIONS of sweet little tomatoes!

I started exploring other food blogs to figure out how to preserve the giant harvest of mini tomatoes and learned that while it is possible to can them, most people don’t because most people don’t like to leave the skin on canned tomatoes and most people refuse to peel 1000 cherry tomatoes in order to get a couple of pints of canned tomatoes. Personally, I’m not terribly averse to skins and I do throw some cherry maters in my salsa, but decided I wanted to do something else with the little guys since I’m canning the big ‘uns.

What to do with all of those little yummies?

I learned a simple, fast and super yummy trick for roasting and then preserving cherry tomatoes. I’ve seen several versions of this technique, so I am by no means claiming to have thought of it myself! As always, I try to put a little of my own spin on it and show you how easy this savory delight is to make and how versatile the finished product can be.

Roasted cherry tomatoes are simple and versatile

I started with about a pound of cherry tomatoes, which fits in one jelly roll pan and makes about one half pint of the mixture. I only have one jelly roll pan so that’s all I make at a time – you could make more if you have multiple pans.

Preheat the oven to about 425 degrees. Prepare the tomatoes by slicing each of them in half. TEDIOUS! I hate tedious! Let’s make this faster. I wish I remember where I saw this trick (somewhere on Pinterest, I’m sure), but the person who invented it is a genius. Here’s what you do: find two plastic lids of the same size. I use the kind from the big Greek yogurt containers (cottage cheese, sour cream, etc.). Set one lid, label side down and fill the lid with tomatoes. I find it works best if you use similar sized tomatoes in each batch.

Fill the first lid with the tomatoes

Fit them in as snugly as you can, then place the other lid, label side facing up on top of the tomatoes, making a little tomato sandwich.

Place the second lid on top of the tomatoes

Now, press down on the sandwich firmly and begin slicing into the tomatoes with an very sharp knife. If you don’t keep the pressure firm, the tomatoes will escape out the backside of the sandwich. Sometimes I do rotate it a bit, but do not pull out the knife, which would make it messy.

Press firmly on the top while slicing through the tomatoes

Viola! Quick work made of slicing up a handful of cherry tomatoes! I told you it was genius!

Like magic, they’re all sliced in one move!

After the tomatoes are halved, place them in a medium sized bowl. Peel, but do not chop a few cloves of garlic and add to the bowl of tomatoes. Remember that garlic mellows out when roasted, so feel free to add more!

Add some garlic cloves to the bowl of tomatoes

Add about a 1/4 cup of EVOO to the bowl and gently stir to coat all tomatoes and garlic cloves. Dump the contents of the bowl onto the pan and spread the tomatoes and garlic out into a single layer. It doesn’t matter if the tomatoes sit cut side up or down.

Spread the garlic and tomatoes into a single layer on the pan

Sprinkle the spices and salt and pepper over the mixture and place in the oven. Roast for about 20-30 minutes. I like a little charring on the edges, so I wait until I see that before I pull them out. Be careful, though, because you can go from a little char to a major scorch in a matter of a minutes. My pan below may have gone a little too long.

Roast until you see a little charring on the edges of the tomatoes

Let the mixture cool on the pan. The second they are cool enough to eat, taste them! (Caution: I have burned my tongue more than once by diving in too soon!). Amazingness, right? Super savory flavors that make you want to lap it up off the pan. Depending on how much you eat off the pan, you now have a nice little batch of roasted yummies to add to tonight’s dinner, or save in a jar for a future recipe.

Cool then taste!

If I want to save them for another day, I scoop the mixture into a half pint (jelly size) jar. Be sure to get all of the drippings and the garlic (you can smash or chop the garlic to make for easier use later). Smoosh the mixture firmly into the jar and top with a splash of EVOO. Fill to nearly the top, but f you’re going to freeze it, leave about 1/2″ headroom. I have kept the mixture in the fridge for up to a week, but if I don’t think I’m going to use it quickly enough, I just pop it in the freezer. Defrost in the fridge overnight when ready to use.

Pour the mixture in a small jar for fridge or freezer

The mixture makes a perfect pasta topping, as is. Just prepare some pasta, warm the tomato mixture in a saute pan (add some pesto and/or a little tomato paste for more body) and then combine the pasta and tomato mixture for a super easy, but very savory supper. I will share my FAVORITE pasta dish with you in a future post soon, and we’ll use this recipe as our basic sauce starter.

Besides pasta, you could use this as a topping or stir it into many other dishes since it’s just a tomato and garlic combo. Think: stews and soups, stir into meatloaf or burgers, cassaroles, bruschetta, pizza, eggs, rice, veggie stir-fries, shrimp or fish topping, bean or green salads, etc. It also occurs to me that it could be pureed to create a smoother texture, making it even more versatile. Oooo…gotta try that!

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Serving size: makes about 1/2 pint

Ingredients:

• 1 lb cherry or grape tomatoes
• 4-6 whole, peeled garlic cloves (more, if you like)
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 1 tsp dry Italian seasoning (or any combo of basil, oregano, thyme, etc. You could also use fresh chopped herbs)
• 1/2 tsp each: salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Slice tomatoes in half, place in medium-sized bowl.
3. Peel garlic, add to bowl with tomatoes.
4. Add EVOO to bowl, gently stir to coat all tomatoes and garlic.
5. Pour mixture onto jelly roll (rimmed baking sheet), spreading mixture into single layer.
6. Roast for 20-30 minutes, until edges of tomatoes are slightly charred. Remove from oven.
7. Cool completely on the pan.
8. Use immediately, or scoop mixture into small jar, packing tightly and topping with EVOO. Leave 1/2″ head space if you plan to freeze.

Notes for next time:

I think it would be fun to try a Mexican spin on the mixture by using Mexican spices instead of Italian and adding some green chiles or jalapenos to the roasting pan. This version could be used as a stir-in to taco filling and other Mexican dishes. Another nice addition to either version would be thick slices of onions and/or green peppers which also roast so nicely and pair well with tomatoes.

Leave a comment with your roasted tomato recipe ideas. Enjoy!

UPDATE:

When I wrote this post, I noted that maybe the roasted tomato mixture could be pureed into a smoother texture, making it even more versatile. I also thought it would be fun to add some onions and bell peppers to the roasting pan to include even more savory flavor. Well! Last night I tried both and it turned out to be simply delicious and got rave reviews from the Hubs. He isn’t quite as enamored with the texture of the plain roasted tomato mixture as I am, so the smoother version works great for him. I just had to share!

Here’s how:

Prepare cherry tomatoes and garlic as above, but add chopped pieces of bell pepper and onions. I had some pearl onions (over-grown green onions) from the garden, so I used those. You can just chunk up about half an onion. Toss with olive oil, as described above and roast the same way.

Next, dump the mixture into a bowl and use the immersion blender to puree to the desired consistency (or cool then use a food processor or blender).

Blend with food processor, blender or immersion blender to desired consistency

I added a dollop of my basil pesto, a little salt and pepper and about 1 Tbsp of sugar, but mostly because I was experimenting with the flavors. It was great, as is, before adding ingredients. Just tweak to your own tastes and you end up with great marinara sauce. I served mine over open-faced (chicken) meatball sandwiches and the Hubs asked for seconds. Enjoy!

Related Posts:

• Roasting and Preserving Hatch Green Chiles
• Adventures in Canning Tomatoes 1.0
• Mexican Zucchini Succotash (Calabacitas)
• Carrot & Sweet Potato Soup – orange you ready for some soup?
• Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Pasta
• Homemade Fresh Marinara Sauce: The No Waste Method
• Homemade Fresh Italian Dressing

Mexican Zucchini Succotash (Calabacitas)

Cooking Ripe! has moved to: CookingRipe.com – please join us on the new site!

 

It’s that time of year when squash is taking over our gardens, kitchens and every other available corner of our lives. It’s great that it’s so easy to grow, but after you’ve made 88 loaves of zucchini bread, it’s time to change things up a bit. Zucchini is a very versatile veg, so you can really put it in most any recipe and it’ll make a great addition. My friend Mary even made a zucchini cobbler for book club once and it was way yummy (it was actually sweet, not savory).

This is some of the squash that is currently hanging around in my kitchen

I have a speedy weeknight, one-pot wonder of a zucchini meal for you that the whole fam will devour. When I first started growing zucchini, my husband kept talking about something his mom used to make with zucchini, corn and cheese. He called it calavacitas, but in doing some research, it looks like calabacitas and calvacitas are the same basic dish – each family just has their own way to say it. The beauty of it all is that there are many versions of the old-school dish, so we can tweak it however we want!

I also use the zucchini, corn and a little cheese, but I add a few more ingredients to make it more of a main dish. I use chicken as the protein, but you could swap that out for pork, ground beef, or shrimp – or you could leave it out and make it a vegetarian meal instead. It is really fast to throw together and it’s one of those recipes where you can sub out any ingredient you don’t have for one you do have and get dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Simple one pot Mexican Succotash!

Start by dicing the chicken into bite-sized pieces. I used some chicken tenders (about 3) I had in the freezer, but you could use breasts or boneless, skinless thighs also. The meat is easier to dice if it is still about half frozen.

I buy a large package of chicken tenders when they’re on sale and then freeze smaller portions to pull out as needed.

While you’re dicing the chicken, heat a large saute pan to medium heat. When hot, add a few swirls of EVOO and let it heat up. Add 3-4 cloves of minced garlic to the pan and cook for a minute – be careful not to scorch it as burned garlic tastes really bitter.  Chop up about a quarter (or more, if you like!) of an onion and add to the garlic.

Add garlic to taste: I used 3 cloves

Now add the corn. If you have fresh corn on the cob, just slice it off the cob straight into the pan. I used two cobs in mine.

Once the corn gets a little sear on it, place the diced chicken in the pan, along with some salt and pepper. Sprinkle in about a 1/2 tsp each of cumin and Mexican oregano. Stir and simmer over medium heat.

I have a lot (a ton) of these little green peppers – we think they’re Sandias – so I chopped up a few and threw them into the pan. You could use bell peppers or whatever type of pepper you might have on hand – or just skip if you don’t.

We received a mystery pepper plant from a friend that we think is a Sandia pepper and it’s very productive, so I threw some in for some flavor.

Next, add some chopped tomatoes, and/or salsa. I had some (or about a thousand) cherry tomatoes and some fresh salsa so I added some of both. Use what you have on hand. If you think you’ll need a little more heat, throw in some red pepper flakes.

Throw in some tomatoes and/or some salsa and let it all simmer together until the chicken is fully cooked and tomatoes are softening.

Then continue by chopping the zucchini (or yellow squash) – I used about two regular sized zuccs to feed two of us. Add more for a larger group (or to use up more of your harvest).

Slice the zucchini in half, then slice each half horizontally.

Repeat with the other half until you have quarters

Chop the quarters up into about 1/2″ slices

Add the zucc to the pan and stir into the mixture. Cover and simmer for about 3-5 minutes. Watch the zucc, though, because you don’t want to let it get overcooked and mushy.

Add the chopped zucc and cover. Simmer 3-4 minutes.

At this point, your meal is complete – well, the Hubs says it’s not complete until you add the cheese! He likes a lot of cheese all mixed up and melted in the pan, but since I’m on the healthy kick, I shred a little on the side so we can each add as much or as little cheese as we like.

I had some sharp cheddar and some Monterrey Jack cheese on hand; use what you have, or skip if you prefer no cheese

Garnish with some green onions and/or cilantro and you’re ready to eat!

Can it get any simpler than that? If you have other veggies you need to use up, go ahead and throw them into the pot as well. I think some diced potatoes or some green beans would be a happy addition – and would add a little more bulk if you’re trying to stretch the meal a little further. I could also see beans – maybe pinto or black – rounding it out nicely, as well. You could also wrap it up in a corn or flour tortilla to make it more kid friendly or portable.

Mexican Zucchini Succotash

Servings: 2-3

• 2-3 medium sized zucchini, diced
• Diced chicken (2-3 tenders/thighs/1 large breast) – or similar quantity of pork, ground beef or shrimp
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Sandia peppers (or 1/2 bell pepper), diced, seeds removed
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
• Corn – 2-3 fresh cobs or 1 small can drained or 1 cup frozen
• Tomatoes, diced (1 handful cherry or two regular) and/or 2 Tbsp salsa (optional)
• 1/4 -1/2 cup grated cheese (optional)
• Red pepper flakes (optional – to taste)
• Salt and pepper + 2 Tbsp EVOO

Directions:

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of EVOO to lightly coat the bottom of pan.

2. Add garlic, saute for 1 minute then add onions. Saute on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove corn from the cob and place in pan with garlic and onions.

4. Stir cumin and oregano, along with salt and pepper into the mixture.

5. Once corn is beginning to sear, add diced chicken to the pan.

6. Let the chicken begin to brown and then stir in tomatoes and/or salsa. Let simmer until chicken is no longer pink. (If you’re using shrimp, add the tomatoes, allow to cook five minutes then add shrimp with zucchini, making sure they are cooked through (pink) before removing from heat.)

7. Add diced zucchini, cover and cook 3-5 minutes until zucchini is tender but not mushy.

8. Remove pan from heat and stir in cheese, if including it – or use as topping for individual portions. Garnish with green onions, cilantro and red pepper flakes to taste.

Notes for next time: The Hubs liked this version of his childhood favorite and endorsed the addition of the chicken. He said I made it a little spicy for him (perfect for me), so taste before adding extra heat with peppers. I will make with shrimp next time (when I’m home alone) because the Hubs is weird about shrimp mixed into other food – he likes it on the side (??). Otherwise, I might also add some beans next time.

I would love to hear your spin on this old, new again classic.

Need other zucchini recipes (who doesn’t?)? See my squash board on Pinterest.

Related Posts:

• Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Pasta
• Southwestern Green Chile & Potato Corn Chowder
• Creamy Acorn Squash Pasta

Roasting and Preserving Hatch Green Chiles

Cooking Ripe! has moved to: CookingRipe.com – please join us on the new site!

Today was a busy food prep and preservation day here at the casa. I worked on preserving garden tomatoes (canned and roasted/frozen – we’ll talk about that later) and the Hubs roasted and packed 25 pounds of Hatch green chiles.

If you are not familiar with Hatch green chiles, you have not been living life! Those of us who live in the Southwest rely on Hatch green chiles to feed our spicy appetites. They are grown in Hatch, New Mexico and they are considered to be the primer chiles in all of North America. You may be more familiar with an Anaheim chile, which is a cousin to the class Hatch chile.  They come in various heat levels, but the medium provides a nice bit of heat that is not going to light your tonsils on fire. Every year around Labor Day, the local big box store offers Hatch chiles by the case. You can even have them roasted outside the store so you can take them home pre-roasted and then just clean and freeze – or even just freeze and clean later. At our house, we have purchased the big box chiles several times and had them roasted for easy preservation. Anytime the Hubs wants to make his famous green chile (stew), he can take out a baggie, peel and seed and be ready to go.

But this year, Bountiful Baskets offered 25 pounds for only $18.00, which was less expensive than the big box’s basic price. With my new “scratch cooking” attitude, I thought it would be prudent to buy the less expensive chiles and roast them at home. And by roast them at home, I mean that the Hubs could roast them out on the grill. He grew up watching his dad do the same, so I knew he could figure it out. He agreed and our box arrived Saturday. 25 pounds looks bigger than it sounds.

25 lbs is…well, a lot!

Because chiles have a tougher outer skin than another type of pepper, like a bell pepper, it is better to remove it before cooking. That’s where the roasting comes in. Roasting blisters the outer skin, making it easier to remove. You can roast them in the oven under the broiler, or out on the grill. Given that it’s still warm in most of the country, the grill is probably the better way to go – and you can probably do more at a time on the grill. The Hubs happily set up his ‘shop’ out in the carport by pre-heating the grill and setting up a card table to use as his workspace. Once the grill was heated to low-medium heat, he loaded up both levels with chiles.

Roast the chiles on a low-medium fire, turning as they blacken.

See the black parts? That’s good! Keep turning the chiles, blackening them on all sides. While you don’t want to become charcoal briquettes, you do want them to be charred all over. Once they are finished, remove from the grill and place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Since we were doing a huge quantity, the Hubs used a big garbage bag. Placing them in the bag or covered bowl allows them to steam, which helps the skin separate from the chile, making removal easier.

Placing the roasted chiles in a big bag or plastic-covered bowl allows the chiles to steam for easier peeling.

Once all of the chiles are roasted, you can either peel and seed them or you can just go ahead and bag them up in freezer bags for immediate freezing. We did a little of both – well, mostly we bagged them up and only peeled and seeded some for easier food prep later. If you bag them, be sure to use freezer bags – or you could always use glass or plastic containers. The little baggies can then be combined into larger freezer bags for double protection from freezer burn. When you place the roasted chiles in the baggies, seal them immediately because it helps that steaming process. Then let cool completely before freezing. The Hubs knows how much he usually uses for making his chile, so he bags up the amount he likes. We don’t weigh or measure much around here, we eye-ball proportions. Here’s what they looked like:

We ended up with 19 little bags of roasted chiles. I took out probably about two bags to peel and seed.

For the chile I wanted to peel and seed before freezing, I put them into a glass bowl and covered with plastic wrap. The longer it sits and steams, the better. Basically, let it sit and cool, then take it out and peel off the blackened skin and pull off the stem. Note: Some recommend wearing gloves while handling chiles, but I like to live on the edge and never do – and had no issues. Finally, scrape out the seeds – I like to rinse the seeds out under some running water. You should end up with chiles that look like this:

Peeled and seeded chiles

Once clean and dry, you can go ahead and cook with them immediately or throw them in the fridge for tomorrow, or freeze for later use. I knew that I would be more likely to use them if they were diced and ready to go – like those little cans from the store. So, I diced them up and packed them tightly into some small glass jars (I think they were marinated artichoke jars). Remember, if you’re freezing, you can use up-cycled jars and lids, but if you’re actually canning, you must use mason jars with new lids. To avoid freezer burn and to allow me scrape spoonfuls of green chile out whenever I need some for a recipe, I mixed in a few teaspoons of olive oil. I packed them really tightly to prevent air bubbles, also. Now I have three little jars of ready-to-go diced chiles in the freezer.

Pack diced chiles with olive oil so you can scrape out spoonfuls as needed.

Very tightly pack the chiles to express air bubbles and prevent freezer burn.

I probably should have taken the time to clean up more of the chiles before freezing, but with the tomato preservation going on simultaneously, I was not up to it. That said, if you do a big batch like this and do take the time to clean more, I would recommend doing a combo of dicing and leaving some whole and then maybe slicing some into strips. That way you would have a variety of options you could pull out of the freezer for later.

What would you do with all of those options? Well, here in the SW, we would argue that you could add green chile to almost anything you cook, but you may not be quite so inclined. Obviously, you can put green chile into anything Mexican: tacos, burritos, enchiladas, guacamole, salsa, pico de gallo, etc. Chile relleno is a classic green chile recipe (the Hubs and I are working on remembering how his mama used to make the non-deep fried, old-school version). I also use green chile to add flavor and a little heat to classic bean chili, and various soups, chowders and stews. You can also wake up boring burgers and other sandwiches with strips of green chiles – I ADORE an occasional classic egg sandwich with green chiles. Basically, like a bell pepper or even an onion, you can throw green chile into anything you want to add a little flavor to. There are many websites dedicated to green chile recipes; I pinned some ideas onto my “Green Chile” board on Pinterest. Also, check out Cooking Ripe’s Facebook page for more green chile tips and tricks. Check out my Southwestern Green Chile & Potato Corn Chowder recipe.

I’ll show you a few of our family recipes that feature green chile soon. Here’s a sneak peek at the Hub’s green chile (which is what we call green chile pork stew). He makes it the way he learned growing up. We usually make it into enchiladas or wrap it up into burritos. I know, I said was mostly going to show you super healthy recipes, but it’s Hatch chile season, so we have to have some old fashioned enchiladas, right? All things in moderation. 🙂

Green Chile (pork stew)

Please reply below to share your favorite green chile recipes.

Related Posts:

• Adventures in Canning Tomatoes 1.0
• Southwestern Green Chile and Potato Corn Chowder
• Homemade Fresh Marinara Sauce: The No Waste Method
• Easy Vegetable Stock