Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
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.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 14.5 ounce can low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 large hatch chiles, roasted, stemmed and deseeded (or poblano or anaheim)
- 1 small jalapeno, chopped (optional if you want some spice, leave seeds in for extra spicy)
- 1 tablespoon fresh hot and spicy oregano (or regular oregano)
- 2-3 large pinches kosher salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
- Preheat skillet over medium heat. Add oil, then onions and garlic. Saute for 4-5 minutes or until starting to soften and translucent. Add cumin; saute for a minute or so. Sprinkle flour over onion mixture, cook and stir for a minute or two. Slowly stir in chicken broth until no flour clumps remain. Cook, stirring occasionally, for another five minutes or so until mixture is hot and thickened.
- Add chiles, oregano, sauce from skillet and jalapeno (if using; consider adding a small amount of pepper until you reach desired heat level) to a high-powered blender (such as a Vitamix). Process on high until smooth. Season well with salt and pepper.