Hatch Green Chile Pizza with Soyrizo and Goat Cheese

Over the past few years, I've read countless entries by Bridget and Shawnda about Hatch Green Chiles. Being from the Midwest and South, I didn't realize the seemily cult following they have. When I got to Boise a month ago and went to our amazing Whole Foods, I saw a man in the parking lot turning a giant drum, fresh fire roasting the chiles. I couldn't not buy some! I took home a few pounds, peeled them and then was stumped on what to do with them. 

So I decided to just make my first batch of chiles into an enchilada sauce and use it in a few dishes (another will be posted this week). Sunday has become our new pizza night, since I don't have my kitchen aid, I just buy Whole Foods' amazing prepared dough. I had half a package of soy-chorizo in the freezer, and decided to google pizza with chorizo, and came across this recipe from Rick Bayless. The pizza calls for a salsa verde sauce as the base, but I knew my Hatch Green Chile enchilada sauce would be perfect, and it was! 

As I said, I have no appliances out here, no blender, food processor, magic bullet, kitchen aid, you name it, I don't have it! So I have to utilize my knife skills and box grater as much as possible. To make the sauce, rather than puree most of it and leave some small bits of chile, I finely minced it all and cooked it down for a while to hopefully mash the chiles even more. 

The remainder of the pizza was topped with even more deliciousness: goat cheese, thinly sliced red onion and bell peppers, and soy-chorizo. This pizza was full of flavor and definitely will be a new regular for us. The Hatch Green Chiles definitely were spicy, smokey, and live up to the hype!

Hatch Green Chile Pizza with Soyrizo and Goat Cheese

adapted from Rick Bayless

1 lb. pizza dough, homemade or purchased

1 c. Hatch Green Chile enchilada sauce (recipe follows)

6 oz. crumbled chorizo or soy-chorizo, cooked, crumbled and drained on paper towels

1/4 red onion, sliced thinly

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thinly

6 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 large red onion (half minced, half grated directly into pan)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp. flour

2 c. vegetable stock

2 c. roasted, peeled and seeded Hatch Green Chiles

2 tbsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

kosher salt and black pepper

To make enchilada sauce:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil, bring to temperature.

Add onions and garlic, season with salt, and saute for 5 minutes, until softened.

Sprinkle flour over onions and garlic, whisk to coat, once flour is absorbed, add stock.

Whisk well, then add chiles, cumin and coriander.

Bring to a simmer, then turn to low, taste and adjust salt and pepper.

Cook for 20-30 minutes, then transfer some or all to a blender and puree, if desired.

Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer.

To make pizza:

Preheat oven to 425*

Stretch dough over a pan dusted with cornmeal or semolina flour.

Top with Hatch Green Chile enchilada sauce, goat cheese, crumbled coy-chorizo, sliced onion and peppers.

Bake for 18-24 minutes, until crust is crisp, golden and puffed.

Slice and serve immediately, garnish with fresh chopped cilantro, if desired.

Farmer's Casserole, Mexican Style

From time to time, I have readers email me with questions, recommendations, and recipe suggestions. Recently, Leela emailed me the recipe for Farmer's Casserole, Mexican Style. She thought it sounded like something I would enjoy, and she was correct! This is an easy meal to assemble, and is like breakfast for dinner. I made a few changes from Leela's recipe because I wanted to add in more veggies to make this a one pan dinner. Also, I used Trader Joe's Soyrizo in place of chorizo, one of the only faux meat products I just can't quit! The dish has so much flavor, few ingredients, easy prep and clean up. Aside from the length of cooking time, it's a perfect weeknight meal (though while I waited for it to cook, I was able to do some chores around the house!)

Farmer's Casserole Mexican Style
from Leela

4 corn tortillas

1/2 c. shredded Monterey jack cheese (or any Mexican style cheese)

1 c. crumbled chorizo/soyrizo

2 scallions, sliced then (white and green parts)

1/2 c. chopped cilantro

1 4 oz. can diced green chiles

1/4 c. picked jalapenos

1 zucchini, halved and sliced

1 green bell pepper, finely diced

4 eggs (or 2 eggs and 4 whites)

1 cup milk (I used skim)

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350*

Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Line the bottom with tortilla strips, criss-crossing them to leave no gaps.

Sprinkle the chorizo, green onions, chilies, cilantro, zucchini and peppers over the tortillas.

In a small dish, combine the eggs, milk, salt and pepper.

Pour over the casserole, sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until eggs are set.

*Because I added raw zucchini and peppers, the dish was a little wet, next time I might sauté the vegetables first to release a bit of the liquid.