book of the week
Hot take: 'The Big Book of Hatch Chile' features 180 recipes starring 'The World's Favorite Chile Pepper'
In New Mexico, you can get a license plate adorned with green and red chile, trumpeting the state as the Chile Capital of the World.
Now you, or anyone, can get a book that鈥檚 all about New Mexico鈥檚 famous Hatch chile.
It鈥檚 called 鈥淭he Big Book of Hatch Chile: 180 Great Recipes Featuring the World鈥檚 Favorite Chile Pepper.鈥� The author is Kelley Cleary Coffeen of Las Cruces.
To call it a cookbook is too narrow label.
That鈥檚 because Hatch chile is a ubiquitous ingredient in recipes she created for more than just eatables.
Innovative, mouth-watering recipes bound. In the 鈥淐ocktails and Beverages鈥� chapter are lots of drinkables, among them Chile Lemonitas (lemonade) with hot Hatch green chile roasted, peeled and seeded; Hatch Chile Caramel Ice Cream Shake with Hatch red chile powder; Chile Dirty Martini with Hatch green chile brine; and a Bloody Mary with Hatch red chile salt and Hatch red chile puree.
In the chapter 鈥淪alsas, Sauces and Culinary Accents鈥� are such chile-flavored recipes as a rich corn relish, pickled onions, orange chile glaze, Hatch hot honey, Hatch red chile BBQ sauce, and Hatch chile dipping oil.
Hot take: 'The Big Book of Hatch Chile' features 180 recipes starring 'The World's Favorite Chile Pepper'
There are also chapters on 鈥淎ppetizers and Shareables,鈥� 鈥淪alads and Sides,鈥� 鈥淪oups and Stews,鈥� 鈥淓ntr茅es,鈥� 鈥淏reakfast,鈥� 鈥淒esserts鈥� and 鈥淏urgers, Sandwiches, and Flatbreads鈥�; of course, you鈥檒l find several takes on the classic green chile cheeseburger.
The 鈥淒esserts鈥� chapter has, for example, a spicy bananas flamb茅, chile pecan brittle, and creamy Mexican chocolate fudge.
鈥淭he focus of the book is to show how Hatch chile can be used to flavor and elevate all different types of food,鈥� Coffeen said in a phone interview.
Throughout the book Coffeen sprinkles in a number of chile-related subjects 鈥� the ritual of roasting chile, the varieties of chile grown in the Hatch Valley, the history of the valley in southern New Mexico and some of its prominent farming families.
A page of 鈥渃hile facts鈥� compiled by the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University, reveals that chile peppers are fruits, not vegetables; that one teaspoon of dried red chile powder equals the daily requirements of vitamin A; and that green and red chile are very high in dietary fiber.
For Coffeen, an important element of the book are the two pages under the title 鈥淗atch Chile Marketplace.鈥� It lists a number of retailers that ship Hatch chile products directly to the consumers and retailers. For a more extensive list, it recommends visiting the website .
鈥淚f (people) can鈥檛 come to Hatch for its annual Labor Day Weekend Chile Festival, they can order year-round,鈥� she said.
Coffeen said Hatch chile has gained national recognition because valley growers have teamed up with the New Mexico Agriculture Department to nationally market Hatch Valley chile.
Coffeen said she created all the recipes in the book and took all but a few of the book鈥檚 photographs.
She has also authored five Mexican cookbooks, including 鈥�200 Easy Mexican Recipes: Authentic Recipes from Burritos to Enchiladas.鈥�
Coffeen is an assistant professor at NMSU, where she teaches the retailing side of fashion and commerce in the Family and Consumer Sciences department.
She grew up in southern Colorado and has lived in Las Cruces for about 32 years.
If you鈥檙e planning a New Year鈥檚 Eve party, Coffeen recommends her Chile Lemon Drop Martini recipe: 鈥淚t鈥檚 elegant. It鈥檚 smooth. It鈥檚 festive. It鈥檚 a good way to show that the chile doesn鈥檛 have to be just with margaritas and beer.鈥�
The martini recipe contains Hatch Simple Syrup. Coffeen writes that she created the syrup to be also used to flavor iced tea and other nonalcoholic drinks, and sauces as shown in the book.
