As the end of August approaches, a hot ingredient to cook with is the Hatch chile pepper, which now is at the peak of its season. This chile pepper is a very flavorful chile that comes mainly from a small village in New Mexico named Hatch and known as the "chile capital of the world". Every Labor Day weekend, Hatch holds an annual Hatch Chile Festival, a very popular event attracting chile fans from all over the world.
I first read about Hatch chiles on Gloria Chadwick's Foods and Flavors of San Antonio. Gloria also created a new site dedicated to this special chile pepper, Hatch Chile Heaven. I had never seen these chile peppers on the East Coast until to my surprise in my last shopping trip to Wegman's I discovered a stand of gorgeous Hatch chile peppers greeting me right in the front of the store! I learned coincidentally that this was the first time Wegmans had had a delivery of Hatch chiles (read about it more on Washington Post). Of course I grabbed a whole bunch of these beauties to bring home with me.
The green Hatch chiles were sweet and juicy with just a little bit of a spicy kick, and perfect as a featured ingredient for a refreshing gazpacho. This Hatch chile gazpacho is delightful for these hot August days.
Ingredients: (yields 16 oz of soup, 2-4 servings)
2 hatch chiles
1 large tomato
1 small seedless cucumber
1 green onion
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons tomato paste
1 slice bread, soaked (I used brioche which added a bit of sweetness)
1/2 cup stock
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt, pepper to taste
Directions:
Cut up the Hatch chiles in small slices and reserve a few slices for each bowl for garnish. Peel and slice tomato and cucumber into small chunks. Chop garlic and green onion. In a blender, combine Hatch chiles, tomato, cucumber, garlic, and green onion. Then, add lime juice, oil, tomato paste, and bread. Pour in the stock. Blend all ingredients together and season with smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Chill for at least two hours. Pour into individual bowls/cups and garnish with remaining slices of Hatch chile.
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I would like to send this soup for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen.
Check out other recipes with Hatch chiles posted by my foodie friends this week:
