Many moons ago I lived in Taos, New Mexico, for three years. One of the best memories I have from those cowboy-and-Indian days was in the late summer when the heavenly aroma of roasting chile peppers permeated the air. That deliciously smoky air... mmm. Chile vendors in their cowboy hats and boots would be camped out on the roadsides with their huge, circulating gas-powered roasters, selling their verdant treasures by the bagful. Think of that sort of setup here in on the North Shore though... it would be the equivalent of a truck parked on Route 1A in front of the local Stop & Shop or hardware store. Never mind permits and safety issues, right? When I first moved back to New England I would have those famous New Mexican "Hatch" green chiles shipped to me in ten-pound boxes, but over the years I've settled for the mildly hot poblano chile peppers, which are readily available at the aforementioned Stop & Shop and other green grocers. I will always have those New Mexico memories (and my red cowboy boots), but once a month or so I still have the urge to roast up a few to chiles to stuff, dice into scrambled eggs or put into a green chile stew. Shown above is a chile pepper stuffed with black beans, brown rice, corn, scallions, Jack cheese, cilantro and tomatoes. Polka dotted around the chile is a cilantro oil and chipotle crema. Below is a peek at the ugly but beautiful business of blistering the skin off of chile peppers. I highly recommended wearing rubber gloves (and not rubbing your eyes — or other sensitive areas!). Giddyup.
photos, Diane Carnevale
photo from Focus New Mexico
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