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I have seen so many people using hatch chilis in their recipes lately. I thought a Hatch Chili Grilled Cheese would be a great way to try them out. But what are they? Since I am a Northerner, I don’t know myself. What I learned is that Hatch Chiles specifically come from a region in New Mexico stretching along the Rio Grande. Yes, there is a Hatch, New Mexico which seems to be the self proclaimed pepper capital of the world. There is an annual chili fest generally held towards the end of the summer to check out.
Hatch Chile Grilled Cheese
The hatch chile was perfect for this sandwich because it is not actually that hot. It provided just a little kick which was a great balance for the sweetness of the cheese.
- 3 - Hatch chili
- 2 - pieces sourdough bread
- 3 - 4 slices smoked gouda (per sandwich)
- 3 - 4 slices mozzarella (per sandwich)
- 1 - 2 tbsp butter (per sandwich)
- Drizzle of canola oil
- Start by cooking the chilis on an outdoor grill. Be sure to get them nice and charred.
- Once charred, put them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap for anywhere from 10 - 30 minutes.
- Next, peel off the blistered skin of the chili and remove the seeds.
- Butter one side of each bread
- Drizzle the oil on the skillet on medium heat
- Assemble by placing 2 pieces of each cheese on the bottom half of the bread
- Add the hatch chilis and top with the remaining cheese
- Place in the hot pan and cook 2 - 3 minutes per side.
- In the final minute of cooking, put a top on the pan to get a good melt.
- Serve and enjoy!
Ingredients
Place the chilies on the grill.
Blistering Hatch Chilies
Peel off the skin with a paring knife.
Skin Peeled Off
Begin assembling the sandwich.
Assembling Sandwich
Grill on medium heat in a lightly oiled pan.
Sandwich Grilling
Cover the pan for the last minute of cooking to get the perfect melt on your cheese.
Serve and enjoy!
Note…be sure and use br BEFORE you peel the chilies! Yikes!
Thx for the warning!
NM green chile is spelled with an e. Chili with an i is that stuff they make in Texas with beans and ground beef.
Thx for letting me know. I will update the post now. Have an awesome day and stay safe!
Just came home (Tucson) from New Mexico with 50 pounds of fresh roasted Hatch green chilies. I put 5-6 chilies in a baggie and freeze them. Have fresh chilies all year. Will certainly try the grilled cheese. Yes, the Chile Festival in Hatch is great.Go if you get a chance.
That is awesome. How fun. I still have a couple of bags of frozen hatch chilies too. Need their warmth in the Chicago winter.
I LOVE green chili, but I’ve never put it in a grilled cheese. I can’t wait to try your recipe!
It added a nice punch and some good color to the sandwich.
It’s great to see a northerner feature our beloved Hatch green chile in their recipe! I lived 30 miles south of Hatch, NM. For 22 years. We managed to get fresh ones in south Texas where we moved recently. Be careful though… The range from mild to extra extra hot! Great post and yummy looking sandwich!
So cool that you lived that close to Hatch. I love chilies and this is a perfect flavored chili.
Cheese and chilis. This, right here, is basically a DREAM grilled cheese for me. I want one. Right now.
Make your dream a reality!
I’m fascinated by the whole Hatch Chile Thing myself – I’m used to calling them New Mexico Chiles!
And yeah, the great thing has always been that they have flavor, but are mild enough you can really use them all over the place. This is certainly a new idea – intriguing!
Me too. I do now appreciate the distinctions and know that it can only be a hatch chili if it comes from Hatch. I have a number of ground chili powders. One being New Mexico chilies. You can taste the subtle differences.
I love this recipe and make it every time I’ve got chile on hand.
Just as a side note….hatch green chile is spelled with an “E.” Chili is like tex-mex stew with meat and beans.
I use hatch chile on pizza, hash owns, eggs, just about everything. I miss living in Albuquerque.
I am embarrassed. Thx for the spelling lesson. Bottom line is we both love Hatch Chiles!
One of my favorite recipes from my mom is a rice dish. It’s rice, green chile, sour cream, cheese, garlic and cumin. Baked until bubbly. Perfect on its own, too!
Chelley, that sounds wonderful. I will need to give that a try sometime.
Saw this on G+, what a wonderful idea. Pinned.
Thanks for coming over from Google and giving me the support!
It’s amazing what a little chile does for a grilled cheese! Love the use of the gouda! I’ll be trying that out very soon because I have lots of green chile in the fridge. 🙂
Let me know if you do try it. Love smoked gouda in almost anything.