Green Chile Crema
If you’ve been following along, you know that we just got back from Arizona and are still reeling from the beauty of the Sonoran desert and all the great food we ate in Scottsdale and Phoenix.
One of the must eat dishes on our list was Roaring Fork’s Green Chile Macaroni. After trying for two nights, without avail, to get into the packed restaurant, we managed to slide in on the third afternoon just as the bar was opening at 4:30. We took a table on the patio and shared this most delicious Mac & Cheese. It was well worth the wait. I determined on the spot to recreate the dish as soon as I got back to the LunaCafe OtherWorldly Kitchen.
I created this sauce as a green chile flavor element for the Green Chile Mac & Cheese Throw Down (which will post next) and then got to thinking how useful it would be in a good number of other dishes. For instance, it would be dynamite served with grilled fish or chicken or as an adjunct to enchiladas. It could also be used as a base for a silky soup, either hot or cold. I’d love to see it spiked with lime and served as a kind of Mexican Green Gazpacho.
Green Chile Crema
A creamy, silky sauce with a perfect balance of fiery heat, rich creaminess, and acidic and herbaceous counterpoints.
2 cups heavy cream
26 ounces fresh, stemmed, seeded, roasted, peeled green Anaheim chiles (about 3 cups) (or two 13-ounce cartons of Bueno Mild Organic Green Chile, available frozen from Whole Foods)
1 tomatillo, papery skin removed, sticky coating rinsed off, stemmed, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 green onions, green parts only, chopped
sea salt, to taste
- In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and add the chiles, tomatillo, and garlic. Simmer gently for 2-4 minutes and then remove from the heat. Let cool.
- Using a blender, pour the cream and chile mixture into the container and liquefy.
- Add the green onion and liquefy.
- Season with salt to taste.
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Pour the crema through a single mesh strainer to remove any remaining coarse particles. The crema should be very smooth.
Makes about 3 cups.
You need to use freshly roasted Hatch, New Mexico green chili…. end of September is our chile season! The whole state of NM smells delicious!
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Stephanie Reply:
August 24th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
Chile season starts in early August. First week of August this year there were vendors and roasters set up in all the usual places in Santa Fe.
Fresh is best but Bueno is a decent substitute…at least it’s not Ortega’s canned!
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Susan S. Bradley Reply:
August 25th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
Stephanie, that sounds wonderful! The Portland Farmers Market has a chile roaster vendor in August/Septembver as well. Oh the aroma!
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Stephanie Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:42 am
LOL – yep! You can’t go to a grocery store around here at this time of year w/o that aroma. There’s just nothing like it! I also love seeing the huge burlap sacks of green chile inside the grocery stores and outside at the vendors. If I had the time and freezer space, I would buy one of those huge bags, get it roasted & freeze it as a stockpile. But, alas…no time or space! I’ve found a decent substitute though. The Costco’s in Albuquerque carry frozen green chile. The best form is a pack of 12 individual green chile packets. Each packet is 7 oz. I usually defrost by submersing a packet in warm water. They’re the perfect size for every day use. One is enough for a couple of omelets or to top 4 cheeseburgers. Can’t get more convenient than that.
My goal is to try the green chile mac & cheese recipe this weekend. I have a feeling I’ll be putting my own spin on it since I prefer diced green chile in things (modifying the crema recipe – no liquefying I don’t think).
Susan S. Bradley Reply:
August 16th, 2010 at 7:37 pm
Oh heavenly! I’ll hop a flight tonight.
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Just got back from AZ and was craving this exact dish. Did a google search and this site popped up. Psyched to try it!! Great site.
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sms bradley Reply:
May 31st, 2010 at 10:45 am
Mike, thanks! Do let me know how it goes. (Missed Arizona break this past winter. Love the dessert!)
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I cannot wait to make this. I can see it as the sauce for my green chile enchiladas. Also am anxious to make the chile mac and cheese. I always have chile in my freezer. Every summer end we buy a tow sack of green chile. Roasted and waiting on me to peel and seed it before putting in the freezer. I also make a lot of rellenos that we really love. Mostly I put half a dozen chiles in a freezer bag, but we also freeze it on a cookie sheet and then I fill gallon bags. In a pinch I can go grab these individual chiles and use right away.
Sorry, didn’t mean to go on so much.
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sms bradley Reply:
December 6th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Wow, nmsusieg, can I come over to your house for dinner?
It’s a great idea to freeze a good supply of chiles while they are plentiful and affordable. At the Portland Farmers Market in late summer there is a fellow with a huge gas-fired chile roaster. The aroma is amazing. It didn’t occur to me to buy a boatload and freeze them. Next year! P.S. Yes, this sauce will be awesome on your enchiladas.
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Stephanie Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:46 am
as nmsusieq, pointed out, it’s great to buy a bunch of chile and freeze them however, when I’ve done it in the past, I never bother to seed or peel prior to freezing. It’s actually easier to peel the roasted chiles after they’ve been defrosted (a friend taught me that trick many years ago). I wish I had the freezer space for a sack of green chile. Nothing’s as good as the roasted chile you get from the vendors.
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I made this Mac and Cheese and really the only thing I changed was adding some serrano peppers for more heat. It was AWESOME! Thanks so much for the recipe!!!
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sms bradley Reply:
June 10th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Wonderful, wonderful! Thanks so much, Amy, for sharing this.
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I’m glad I am full as I look at these gorgeous pictures! Dang girl, you are good!I have got to make this dish and try to lighten it up a bit. Good luck, huh?
Dana Zia´s last blog post..Taking a Bite out of Stinging Nettles
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Susan Reply:
April 2nd, 2009 at 4:14 am
Thanks Dana! Did I mention that I developed recipes for years for Cooking Light magazine? But I still prefer cream.
You can of course make a roux here and then use stock or milk as the liquid. That will cut down the fat content considerably.
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Oh my, this looks right up my alley! I can’t WAIT to make this!
the wicked noodle´s last blog post..hummus…not just for crackers anymore
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Susan Reply:
March 31st, 2009 at 9:13 am
A frig full of Hummus AND Mac & Cheese! Does it get better than this?
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