Hatch chiles, that is! It’s time for Hatch chile season. Last year I showed you how to roast your own chiles here (you can roast any pepper this way, not just Hatchs). But you might not feel like roasting your own. If you are lucky enough to live in Texas near an HEB grocery store, you can find them roasting big drums of Hatch chiles over an open fire in front of the store. You should smell the air! It would make you drool, even if you’re not a big chile lover. Right now is the Hatch Chile Festival so get on over.
HEB has you covered if you’d like to try products with Hatch chiles but you don’t feel like cooking. Hatch chiles are kind of spicy but the products they carry that are made from Hatch peppers are pretty mild. I tried their Hatch chips and both their red and green salsas and they are really, really good. They all have a lovely flavor full of spices without being spicy. You know what I mean? Lots of taste without sizzling your tongue. The green salsa, ironically enough, has a little bit of zing but nothing to make you feel like your mouth is on fire. My boys polished off the chips in about twenty minutes and keep reminding me to get another bag.
India is eating paleo these days so she was happy to have some new salsas to jazz up her meat. There’s only so much you can do with chicken, right? The Hatch salsas are mighty tasty slathered over eggs too. Go India!
We also tried the tortilla soup and Green Chile Stew. We’ve bought the Tortilla soup several times already because my husband is a big fan of it. The Hatch chips crumbled over the top make a nice addition, as does a bit of canned chicken to make it a little heartier. It’s not necessary but I like soup to be super filling so my kids don’t get hungry an hour later.
Make sure you stop by HEB this week to catch the rest of the Hatch Chile Fest. It’s definitely a Texas thing! (Although technically Hatch peppers come from New Mexico. But like everything else, we Texans make everything better.) And don’t forget some truly texas sodas like Dr. Pepper or Big Red to wash it all down.
I was compensated for trying these products but the opinions are totally my own. I’m not about to lie to help anybody out.