green chile

I was first exposed to green chile on my way to a Taos, NM. I flew to Albuquerque and caught a ride to Taos with the family I sat next to on the plane. They took me to a restaurant in Santa Fe and explained to me all about green chile and red chile and how the official state question is "red or green?" I like when regions have their own food specialties or trademarks: Chicago has deep-dish pizza; the Southwest (or more specifically New Mexico) has red and green chile.

So, when I saw tomatillos and smelled roasting green chiles at the farmers market last week, I decided I wanted to try making green chile for myself. If you've never eaten a raw tomatillo, do it. Inside the papery husk, the surface of the fruit is sticky and sweet, like honey. And the fruit itself is almost like a grape or berry (well, technically, it is a berry). Well, they have now all been mixed with chiles we roasted on the grill, along with onions, garlic, vegetable stock, and flour loosely following this recipe. We've been enjoying it on egg sandwiches, hashed cauliflower, and burritos. We also made a delicious uncooked tomatillo salsa.