If you blink, you might miss Hatch chile season, which typically runs from August to early September. So I consider myself lucky to have come into possession of a handful of these subtly spicy peppers cultivated in the Hatch Valley region of New Mexico.
I’ve never cooked with Hatch chiles and was very excited to see them in my new mystery basket from Whole Foods Market Stevens Creek, along with a bunch of other unique ingredients.
I used four of the chiles to make this sweet and savory dish and added the last to a salad. Of course you could use any type of mild pepper in the recipe and the finished product would be equally tasty.
Recipe adapted from Naturally Ella.
Stuffed Hatch Chiles with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients
Chiles:
- 4 Hatch chiles
- 1¼ cups water, divided
- ½ cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ small red onion, finely diced
- 1 ear corn
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon onion flakes
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon light or dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup grated Colby-Jack cheese
Cilantro yogurt sauce:
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
Instructions
Make the chiles:
- Preheat broiler. Place chiles on a baking sheet and broil, flipping once, until skins are charred, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Add quinoa and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- In a fry pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 2-4 minutes.
- Use a sharp knife to shave off kernels from corn cob. Add corn kernels to the fry pan and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add seasonings (smoked paprika through brown sugar), remaining ¼ cup water and ¾ cup cooked quinoa to the fry pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Leaving stems intact, cut a slit into the side of each chile. Remove seeds. Divide the filling evenly among the chiles and transfer to a baking dish. Sprinkle the cheese over the stuffed chiles.
- Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Make the cilantro yogurt sauce:
- In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients and stir until smooth. Drizzle over chiles.
