Authentic New Mexico Hatch Chiles are a favorite Southwestern chile. These chiles are named after the original growing area in Hatch, New Mexico. Growers say that the intense sunlight and cool nights in this valley result in a uniquely flavored chile. The valley, which stretches along the Rio Grande’s southern-most bend before crossing into Texas and Mexico, is covered with row after row of green leafy Hatch chile plants for most of the summer. Hatch chiles are a distant parent to the Anaheim chile with a meaty flesh and mild to medium hot heat.
Hatch chiles can be used in a broad range of Latin dishes. They can be easily seeded and added to soups, stews, and dips or enjoyed whole when roasted with meats or stuffed with cheese. Unlike other chile varieties, New Mexico Hatch Chiles are only available for 6 weeks each year during the months of August and September. Click here for a great recipe by Chef Jamie Gwen.
In the Southwest, it is not uncommon to see consumers buying 30 to 40 pounds of Hatch chiles at one time due to the short growing season. Then the chiles get roasted at home or even roasted in large chile roasters outside the store to prepare them for storage. The storage of these chiles handles well in the freezer and then they can be taken out as needed for recipes.
Three exciting New Mexico Hatch Chile Roasting events are being held in front of selected Bristol Farms stores. Below are the locations, dates, and times in Southern California. Although we will be roasting in three locations only, product will be available in all stores starting August 20, 2011.
Long Beach – Saturday, August 27th
8:00am – 2:00pm
2080 Bellflower Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90815
Newport Beach – Saturday, September 3rd & Sunday, September 4th
Join us for a live radio broadcast Sunday, Sept. 4th with Chef Jamie Gwen from 8 – 10am in Bristol Farms Newport Beach.
8:00am – 2:00pm
810 Avocado Avenue
Newport Beach, CA 92660
South Pasadena – Saturday, September 10th
8:00am – 2:00pm
606 Fair Oaks Avenue
South Pasadena, CA 91030
As the providers of the New Mexico Hatch chiles, Melissa’s Produce team will be on hand to help the roasting stations at each of the Bristol Farms select locations and available to answer questions about this exciting chile variety.
