Hatch Chile Chicken Salad - It's Hatch Chile Season!

This past weekend, I picked up half a dozen fresh Hatch Chiles. I've bought salsa made from them before and loved it but I wanted to use fresh Hatch chiles and roast, peel and seed them myself and use them in some new recipes. Hatch green chiles are grown exclusively in the Hatch Valley located in Hatch, New Mexico. They have a very short growing season that lasts from August to September. I was so excited when I stumbled upon them at The Fresh Market this past weekend. I was in the mood for chicken salad which is one of my favorite things, especially in these dog days of summer, so I decided to incorporate them into a recipe for Hatch Chili Chicken Salad. It only takes about 10 minutes to roast them on the grill, turning them every few minutes. I then placed them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap for about 15 minutes until they cooled down and the steam helped loosen the skins. The skins came off easily, then I split them lengthwise and removed the seeds. I used 3 in this recipe (use more or less, to taste) and have 3 roasted Hatch chiles left to do something else with. It turned out great and hubby enjoyed it too. If you want to give these peppers a try while they are available fresh, you'd better get them soon. I snapped a few photos below and included the easy peasy recipe. To save time, rather than poaching chicken breasts like I did, a rotisserie chicken would make this a super quick and easy meal. Enjoy!

Roasted, peeled, and seeded

Hatch Chile Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

3 large cooked boneless chicken breasts, chopped
1/3 cup mayonnaise, slightly rounded
1 to 2 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 teaspoon roasted ground cumin (or regular cumin)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Zest of 1/2 of a large lime
Juice of 1/2 of a large lime
1 - 2 tablespoons pickle juice (I used bread and butter pickle juice), optional
2 or 3 finely chopped roasted, peeled and seeded Hatch green chiles
1 thinly sliced green spring onion

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk mayonnaise, sour cream, cumin, salt, lime zest and juice, pickle juice and green onion. Taste dressing for seasoning and adjust, if necessary. Fold mixture into chicken and refrigerate.