Hatch Chile Season

Lately, when I travel, I’ve gotten in the habit of texting my sister a photo of something with the caption, “guess where I am.” This usually stumps her. Once I sent her a photo of the exterior of the White Horse Tavern in Greenwich Village and her guess was, “Ummm… England?”

On a trip to New Mexico, I sent her the photo below with the usual guess-where-I-am caption and her instantaneous response was, what are you doing in New Mexico?

Hatch chiles are practically the state flower of New Mexico, and during the two months when they are fresh, it is almost impossible to go anywhere without the aroma of fresh-roasted green chiles. Even the grocery store was roasting fresh chiles.

My sister’s immediate connection of green chiles and New Mexico is because our parents met in New Mexico. Growing up elsewhere, we saw our father dump canned Ortega green chiles on almost everything. As a child, I never really understood my father’s penchant for doing this but, now that I have tasted the real thing, I get it. At the time, that was as close as he could get. Also, having had the real thing, I absolutely do not approve of the canned variety. Get them fresh, roasted locally, and enjoy them while the season lasts. Hatch chile season is typically August and September.

For those who are afraid of the spiciness of chiles, Hatch are not a particularly hot chile. Spicy, yes, but also sweet and the flavor of the fresh roasted green chile is wildly different than canned chiles. Go, and taste the real thing before you judge.