A few easy steps and you, too, can be putting up green like a native
By Carrie Seidman
Journal Staff Writer
With apologies to you natives who have been eating green chile stew since you were toddling at your abuela's knee, this column is dedicated to green chile neophytes, those who don't know a Big Jim from a New Mexico 6-4 and haven't got a clue what people are talking about this month when they say, "Have you bought yours yet?"

Now, for something to do with your bounty. This sauce is good for huevos rancheros, over enchiladas or burritos, or as a burger topping. For carnivores, the addition of meat makes this into a green chile stew that can stand on its own. (See below.) BASIC GREEN CHILE SAUCE 1 tablespoon oil, lard or butter 2 large onions, chopped 4 to 6 cloves garlic, pushed through press 1 14-ounce cans chicken or vegetable broth 24-ounces prepared green chile, chopped 1 teaspoon celery salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon leaf oregano 1 tablespoon cumin Optional: 1 cup diced tomatoes 2 potatoes, peeled and diced Sauté onion and garlic in oil, lard or butter until limp and golden. Add broth, seasonings and spices. Simmer over low heat 1 hour. Add green chile and cook { hour more. If a thicker sauce is desired, melt additional tablespoon of oil or butter and stir in one tablespoon flour to make a roux. Stir chile sauce into roux and continue to stir until sauce thickens. This is a basic, no frills version that can easily be altered. For a meat version, brown up to 2 pounds of meat (diced pork or ground beef or pork) as a first step and then proceed as directed, sautéing the onions and garlic in the meat drippings. You will probably need to add water or additional broth -- enough to keep the meat covered during the simmering period. If desired, diced potatoes may be added just before the long simmering period. Diced tomatoes should be added with the green chile before the final cooking stage. Cooked pinto beans may also be added at serving time. Here's an unusual vegetarian version of enchiladas. GREEN CHILE SPINACH ENCHILADAS 11/2 pounds trimmed spinach (or 2 packages frozen) 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 large onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced salt to taste 3/4 pound Swiss or Monterey Jack cheese, grated 10 fresh corn tortillas Sauce: 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon flour 1 cup milk, heated 1 cup low-fat sour cream 3/4 cup chopped green chile 1/4 cup grated Swiss or Jack cheese Heat olive oil and butter and sauté onions and garlic until golden. Add spinach, stirring until liquid is evaporated. Take tortilla and spread a heaping tablespoon of grated cheese in a line down the center. Then add a heaping tablespoon of spinach mixture over the cheese. Roll up tortilla and place in casserole, seam side down. Repeat with other tortillas until filling is used up. To make the sauce: Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and stir with a wire wisk to form a roux. Add heated milk slowly, continually stirring with whisk until sauce is creamy and beginning to thicken. Stir in sour cream and green chile and remove from heat. Taste sauce and add salt or other seasoning if desired. Pour sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake covered in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Just before serving place casserole under broiler for a few minutes to brown top. Serves 4 to 5. Basic Green Chile Sauce Good for huevos rancheros, over enchiladas or burritos, or as a burger topping. Adding meat makes this into a green chile stew that can stand on its own. (See below.) 1 tablespoon oil, lard or butter 2 large onions, chopped 4 to 6 cloves garlic, pushed through press 1 14-ounce can chicken or vegetable broth 24 ounces prepared green chile, chopped 1 teaspoon celery salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon leaf oregano 1 Tablespoon cumin OPTIONAL: 1 cup diced tomatoes 2 potatoes, peeled and diced How to prepare Sauté onion and garlic in oil, lard or butter until limp and golden. Add broth, seasonings and spices. Simmer over low heat 1 hour. Add green chile and cook 1Ž2 hour more. If a thicker sauce is desired, melt additional tablespoon of oil or butter and stir in one tablespoon flour to make a roux. Stir chile sauce into roux and continue to stir until sauce thickens. This is a basic, no frills version that can easily be altered. For a meat version, brown up to 2 pounds of meat (diced pork or ground beef or pork) as a first step and then proceed as directed, sautéing the onions and garlic in the meat drippings. You will probably need to add water or additional broth -- enough to keep the meat covered during the simmering period. If desired, diced potatoes may be added just before the long simmering period. Diced tomatoes should be added with the green chile before the final cooking stage. Cooked pinto beans may also be added at serving time.

This ignorance is nothing to be embarrassed about. All of us who didn't grow up here went through a transition period of discovering -- and eventually becoming addicted to -- New Mexico's most salient characteristic.
I, myself, used to buy green chiles in those little teeny cans and use half. I used to wonder how someone could call something chile that was green and soupy, and had no beans. And frankly, for a while everything that was served around here seemed too darn hot.
Of course, this naiveté created a state of shame when you rubbed elbows with true chile connoisseurs. To get by, I use to fake comments like, "Oh, uh yeah, their green is fabulous," or "No, I haven't -- yet. But I always buy mine at the end of the season when it's hotter."
But eventually I, too, began to crave the stuff, ordering it at restaurants and buying quantities of the prepared frozen kind in little tubs at considerable expense in the grocery store. Then finally came the day when I could proudly claim to have stopped at a roadside stand, stood by while the roasting smell made my mouth water and brought a sack home to "put up" on my own. (OK, I admit, the first year I split a bag with my sister.)
Which brings us to today's lesson. Most New Mexicans opt for the easiest storage method, freezing, so here are some basic instructions to get you through preparing your first batch -- with, no doubt, many more to come. And a recipe to give you something to do with all those neat little bags of green you'll have lined up in the freezer, waiting for delicious things to happen.
Congratulations. You are now an official New Mexican.

Step-by-step

BUYING: Green chile is available, most commonly in 35-pound sacks, from roadside stands, produce markets and grocery stores. Choose chile that is mature, full-sized, heavy for its size, smooth, crisp and bright green in color.
Make sure you know what type and intensity you want -- from mild to super hot. Big Jim (medium to hot) and New Mexico 6-4 (mild to medium) are two popular area chiles. Most sellers will allow you to taste a slice of the raw chile to determine its degree of heat. Remember that the heat can increase with freezing and cooking.

ROASTING: In order to be edible, the tough outer skin of the chile must be removed. Heat blistering, commonly done by roasting, is the easiest way to perform the deed.
Personally, why anyone would take on this job at home when it is usually offered by the seller for $3 to $5 a sack is beyond me. (But you might want to provide your own sack; garbage bags often contain deodorants and chemicals that could affect the chile -- an old pillowcase brought from home is a safer bet.) If you insist on going the whole way yourself, or if you want to roast a much smaller amount of chile, here are your options.
Oven: Place chiles in a hot oven or broiler, 400° to 450° for six to eight minutes until skin begins to blister. Turn until the blistering evenly covers the surface of the chile.
Range top: Cover gas or electric burner with a layer of heavy wire mesh. Place chiles on mesh, turning frequently, until entire surface is blistered.
Outdoor grill: Place chiles on a charcoal grill about 5 to 6 inches above glowing coals and turn often for even blistering. Wood chips can be used to impart a smoky flavor to the chile.
After heating, spritz chile with water and cover with paper towels or place inside a brown paper or plastic bag to "sweat" until cool enough to handle. This makes skins easier to slip off.
You have approximately two hours to "put up" your chile after commercial roasting before bad things might begin to happen in the bacteria department. Go to it.

PEELING: There are two schools of thought here: one, that you peel before freezing; two, that you peel after freezing. The "after" proponents say the skin comes off easier after freezing and defrosting. The "befores" (that's me) want a product that's recipe-ready straight from the freezer. It will take you about two hours to peel and bag a bushel, so plan accordingly.
Either way, here's what you need to do. Before you start: Take out your contacts. Keep a clean damp towel close by. Wear rubber gloves (if you can stand them). Ventilate the fumes. Kick the kids out unless you want to listen to, "P.U. What stinks?" for two hours.
If you have roasted and "sweated" your chile properly, the outer skin should peel off fairly easily in large pieces -- which are likely to clog your disposal if fed down en masse, so gather and put them in the compost pile or garbage instead. Once peeled, slit the chile down one side and remove seeds and any inner strings. Remove stem (unless you're freezing chiles whole for rellenos) and chop, if desired, on cutting board.
You can rinse the chiles with water to assist in the cleaning, but don't let an expert catch you doing so. They say it robs the chile of its essential oils, heat and flavor.

FREEZING: Load in portions adequate for your recipes or the size of your family in heavy-duty zip-lock freezer bags. Once unfrozen, chile will keep in the refrigerator for only two to three days, so don't put too much in each bag.
Freeze at 0° F or below and put no more chile into the freezer than will freeze within 24 hours.
Now wash your hands with a copious amount of salt and water or a good strong handyman soap to absorb any oil remaining on your hands. If you don't, you'll regret it when you go to put your contacts back in.

Chile myths
People swear that the seeds contain the chile's greatest heat, but in truth, the fire comes from an oil in the chile's veins called capsaicin. This oil is released when the chile is cut, which is why preparing and freezing makes the chile seem hotter. As for longer cooking increasing the chile's heat, that's because prolonged heat causes the oil to permeate an entire dish, making the heat more pronounced in each bite.
Also, don't believe those who would tell you that chile is a high-acid food. In reality, it is classified as a low-acid vegetable; if you're stomach doesn't like it, it's probably due to the heat, not the acidity.