Hatch Chile Soup
Hatch Chile season is here!!! (commence overcrowding of every grocery store for the next month). I have been patiently waiting all year for the 2 weeks I get to drive up to central market, open my car door, and have my senses flooded with the sweet smell of hatch peppers roasting in the parking lot. It seems like it leaves us just as quickly as it arrives, so I’m savoring every moment :). For those of you who don’t know about Hatch Peppers… you are in for a treat… here are a few facts to get you started:
-Hatch Chile peppers roll into town early – mid August and disappear late September (they are only harvested four weeks out of the year).
– They are grown in the Hatch valley of New Mexico, the chile capital of the world. This valley is located along the Rio Grande’s southernmost bend before crossing into Texas and Mexico.
– No Chile is prized more than this variety. They have a meaty flesh and range from medium to high heat.
– They say that the intense sunlight and cool nights in this valley result in this unique and beloved flavored chile.
We bought our peppers already roasted, but I have a great post on how to roast them at home here.
I have been thinking about all the things I would make this year with the chiles as soon as they got here, and soup has been on the top of my list. I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to make the soup, so I consulted my boyfriend’s super chef momma, and even convinced her to come over to my house to help me out (although somehow me helping her turned into me assisting while she turned the idea into something incredibly delicious…. no complaints here 🙂 ). The soup came out with the consistency of split pea soup, which I loved, and we used potatoes instead of cream, so I didn’t feel any guilt eating 2 bowls all by myself.
Here we are, all crowded around Rina, as it typically goes when she cooks for us. Poor woman, we barely give her any room to breath while we snacked on every little thing she chopped or cooked… I’m surprised there was any soup even left after all our tasting :).
The sage and tarragon were last minute additions, and they took the soup to a whole other level. She also suggested adding cilantro instead if you like that. (Thanks Natalie for the awesome photos you took while I snacked!!!)
I love this picture!! It was such a fun day having everyone over at my house making Hatch Chile creations.
I think my dogs had more fun than we did… I’m pretty sure they got 3 full meals in scraps that we dropped while cooking.
Ingredients
- 10 roasted hatch peppers, peeled and seeds removed (about 2 cups)
- 3 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into cubes
- 3 leeks, minced
- 1/2 large sweet yellow onion, minced
- 4-5 cups water (can add more if you want it to be more brothy)
- Tarragon, minced
- Sage, minced
- Salt, to taste
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Place a large soup pot on the stove, and turn heat to medium. Drizzle a couple tbsp. of olive oil, and pour in the leeks and onions. Saute for about 10-15 minutes until they are translucent, and season with salt. Then, add in the diced hatch peppers and saute another 5 minutes or so. Add in the cubed potatoes, water, and season again with salt. Cook on medium heat covered, about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
- Once the potatoes are tender, add in the tarragon and sage. Stir well, and cook another few minutes. Then, take an immersion blender and blend until you reach your desired consistency. I like for the soup to have a bit of a chunkier texture, so we didn't blend it all the way through.
- Top with olive oil, a few more sage and tarragon leaves for presentation, and serve!
**** Wondering where to buy the hatch peppers? Almost all grocery stores will be carrying them now – but Whole Foods & Central Market I know ALWAYS carry them!
This sounds delicious! I’ll be on the lookout for hatch chilies so I can make this!
Your soup looks completely amazing! Love hatch chilies – need to make your soup!
yum.
This is a fantastic recipe. I love hatch chiles.
We were just in Austin visiting friends last weekend and I was reminded of how much I love hatch chiles. Whole Foods had hatch chile everything, including hatch chile popcorn. This soup looks wonderful.
This soup looks amazing and it sounds like you all had a great time making it!