Green Chile Cheese Ball
Anaheim’s are very popular in Southwestern US Cuisine.Also called “New Mexican Chile”. These were developed by Dr. Fabian Garcia in New Mexico about 100 yrs ago who was seeking a chile pepper that was bigger, fleshier, and milder.
They got the name “Anaheim” when a farmer named Emilio Ortega brought these seeds to the Anaheim area in the early 1900’s. This chile can be roasted and peeled and used in recipes or stuffed to make chile rellenos just as the Poblano Chile.
Ingredients:
4 large Anaheim chile peppers
1 1/2 lbs shredded pepper jack cheese
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups finely chopped pecans
Instructions:
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate. Cook chiles on the preheated grill until the skin of the peppers has blackened and blistered, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the peppers, or the skin will not come off easily. Turn the peppers often to cook evenly. Place the blackened peppers into a bowl, and tightly seal with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to steam as they cool, about 20 minutes. Once cool, remove the skins and seeds. Chop the peppers.
Combine the chopped peppers with the pepper jack, cream cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. Form the the mixture into a ball and place on a plate covered with wax paper. Place the cheese ball in the freezer until very cold, about 15 minutes.
Spread the chopped pecans on a large cutting board or baking sheet. Roll the frozen cheese ball in the pecans. Use your hand to pack any areas that are not covered by pecans, making sure the entire outside of the cheese ball is covered with a nice layer of pecans.
From allrecipes.com