Hatch chiles are back! For a few short weeks in August, you’ll find large roasters stationed outside our favorite grocery store chain, with the smell of the charred New Mexican peppers in the air. They’ll roast and bag up hundreds of pounds of hatch chiles…

And then, just like that, they’ll be gone.

I picked up a couple of pounds of chiles, most of which were frozen for a rainy day. But we wouldn’t be doing hatch season any justice if we didn’t drown a pile of chopped chiles in melted cheese.

I whipped up a batch of our favorite white queso dip, substituting the usual tomato, jalapeno, and cilantro with a mound of hatch chiles. With fewer ingredients to get in the way, the flavors of the roasted chiles and the cheese made it hard to resist going back for seconds. And double-dipping.

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Hatch Chile con Queso

The restaurant favorite white chile con queso dip made with late summer hatch chiles.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped white onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 hatch chiles, roasted, seeded, and chopped (directions here)*
• 4-6 Tbsp milk
• 8 oz white American cheese, shredded
• 2 oz Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
• Salt
• Pepper
• *If using canned, draind extremely well.

Instructions

1. Heat oil in small sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Saute onion until translucent, 3-5 minutes.
3. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
4. Add chiles and 4 Tbsp milk, stirring until heated.
5. Add grated cheese one handful at a time, occasionally stirring between additions to incorporate melted cheese with the milk.
6. Add additional milk by the tablespoon, if necessary.
7. Salt and pepper to taste, serve warm with chips.
8. It will get thicker as it cools but it can easily be thinned with a short trip through the microwave.

Notes

Yields: ~1 1/4 cups

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Estimated time: 15 minutes