Hatch Chile Salsa Verde
New Mexico Chiles are the dried form of the Red Anaheim Pepper. This chile has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This chile ranges from 2 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. The New Mexico Chile may be referred to as the California Chile or Chile Colorado. New Mexico Chiles are commonly used in Red Mexican or Southwestern sauces. This is a mildly hot chile. Scoville heat units 8,000 – 12,000.
Yields 4 Cups
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2-4 roasted hatch chiles, or one fresh jalapeño, stemmed
- ⅓ cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Cotija cheese for garnish
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and place the tomatillos, quartered onion and garlic cloves on the baking tray. If using a jalapeño, add it to the baking tray with the other vegetables.
- Roast the vegetables for 20 minutes flipping the vegetables at the 10 minute mark. The tomatillos should be lightly charred and the onion beginning to brown.
- Transfer the roasted vegetables and roasted Hatch chiles (or jalapeño) and any remaining juice on the baking sheet to a food processor or blender. Blend until almost smooth. Add the cilantro leaves and kosher salt and pulse a few more times until mixed.
- Serve the salsa topped with cotija cheese if desired and yellow or white corn tortilla chips for dipping.