How To Make Roasted Green Chile Sauce

Fire roasted green chile, fresh from a roadside roaster.

How to make a roasted green chile sauce New Mexico style? First you start with bags of fresh roasted Hatch chiles.

The Fall Equinox is right around the corner. And in our small corner of the world that means only one thing- it's chile roasting time. New Mexicans are passionate about their state's most distinctive crop. Smoky, spicy and sweet all at once is the best way I can describe the complex flavor of New Mexican roasted chiles.

Roasters are ubiquitous now- along the roadsides and in parking lots- stoking their fires outside Whole Foods and Walmart alike, turning barrels of fresh Hatch chiles over open flames.

The aroma is enough to make you weep.

With fiery-sweet chile happiness, that is.

Vegetarian roasted green chile sauce.

Neuvo Mexico Roasted Green Chile Recipe

Here in New Mexico green chile is a sauce or a stew. You can use this recipe as a base for both. Use hot or mild chiles, to taste. Roasted green chile makes a fabulous sauce on enchiladas. Add it to casseroles and stews. Spoon it over fried eggs, beans and tortillas- especially huevos rancheros. Try it on rice, cooked quinoa and beans. Omnivores love it on steak, burgers, chicken and fish.

I can't imagine anything that wouldn't cozy up to green chile. Well, chocolate chip cookies- maybe not so much.

Ingredients:

Roasted Hatch chiles- two heaping cups, skinned, stemmed, seeded, chopped

5-6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

2 ripe tomatoes, seeded, chopped- I used Roma (plum) tomatoes

3 cups chicken or beef broth- reserve 4-5 tablespoons

Pinch of sea salt, to taste

Fresh ground pepper, to taste

A dash of balsamic or sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon agave syrup

2 tablespoons cornstarch (or potato starch/arrowroot, if you are corn-free)

Instructions:

In a large saucepan, combine the chiles, garlic, tomatoes, broth, sea salt and pepper, vinegar and agave syrup. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; reduce the heat a bit and maintain a gentle, constant low simmer for ten minutes.

Add the cornstarch to the reserved broth and whisk to make a slurry or thickening paste. If you are using arrowroot starch instead make sure the broth is cool- it will work better if the reserved broth isn't hot.

Stir the slurry into the green chile and continue to cook- stirring- for another 7 to 10 minutes until the sauce is thickened (but not gluey, still pourable).

As always, taste test. If you used very hot chiles and the sauce is too spicy add a touch more sugar to soften the heat.

Remove from the stove and set aside.

Use as a base for a stew (add cooked ground pork or beef or turkey) or chili con carne.

Or use as a sauce for eggs, burgers of all persuasions, grilled chicken or salmon, and even casseroles (thin a bit if you need to).

Makes about four servings.