I had leftover chilies from the chili recipe I posted a week or so ago and used them to make this recipe. I am not sure how authentic this is for southwestern cuisine(New Mexico to be exact), but I think it tastes good and that is what matters.
Hatch Chili Sauce
6 hatch chiliesolive oil
- Heat the oven to 400 F
- Place parchment paper or aluminum foil on a cooking tray
- Place the chilies on the tray and lightly brush with oil
- Roast the chilies for about 20 minutes, turning over halfway through
- Remove the chilies and carefully scrape the skin off as well as you can
- When they have cooled, dice them. Use some or all of the seeds
4 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp Mexican oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper, more or less
- Heat the oil on medium-ish heat in a small pan
- Add the oinion and garlic
- Stir until the onion is soft and translucent
- Pour the chicken stock into the pan and whisk until it thickens
- Stir in the Mexican oregano, salt and pepper
- Dice the chilies
- Stir in the chilies and blend until it is the thickness you want
- Take it off the heat and let it cool for 10-20 minutes
- Pour the mixture in a food proccessor and blend it to the smoothness that you like
Is Mexican oregano the same as oregano used in Italian dishes? Short answer: no. Longer answer: No, Mexican oregano is not related to the more famous oregano. More traditional oregano is part of the mint family. Mexican oregano is not. It has a flowery and citrus-like smell with a small amount of licorice. If you can’t get any, marjoram with a touch of coriander will be a close substitute, I would think. Amazon might have it and The Spice House definitely will.
So, what can one do with this? Lots of things!
As I mentioned in the chili recipe, the heat from individual hatch chilies seem to vary wildly. They range from the very-mild poblano pepper up to jalapeños. So, even at their hottest they are not too hot. If you want to knock up the heat, roast and add one or two serrano peppers, which are roughly twice-as-hot as jalapeños or a single habanero which is significantly hotter. Definitely use gloves to handle habaneros.
What I did was mix it into shredded chicken that I made for a taco salad. It is good in almost any Mexican dish, as a dip for tortilla chips - homemade are best, and whatever else you can think of.
