you know you love it … Hatch Chile Queso Dip

Queso. Chile con Queso. Cheese Dip. As a kid we called it Dip Dip. Whatever you call it, it’s damn good. We all know this. And we all know one other thing, though some may be ashamed to admit it. Skip the real cheese. It has to be made with melty, smooth processed cheese. Yes, the beloved Velveeta. This is not the place for fancy cheese. I’ve tried. Boy have I tried. I may make macaroni & cheese with a béchamel and handfuls upon handfuls of sharp cheddar but when it comes to queso, I track down the Velveeta. Because that’s just what it needs to be.

My love of queso started young and I have long had a soft spot for the melty, cheesy dip. As a kid, Dip Dip was a block of Velveeta, a can of diced chilies and a can of cream of chicken soup served in a chafing dish I’m sure was a wedding present. And plain, unflavored Doritos because that was a thing and the extent of the Doritos product line at the time. These days I usually make the classic recipe, often for big football get togethers: one big block of Velveeta mixed with one can of Rotel tomatoes. Sometimes I’ll melt it in the microwave if it’s just a small bowl or I’ll throw it on the stove for a bigger batch. Sometimes I’ll even throw in an extra can of diced green chilies or some hot sauce for little zip. And since plain Doritos haven’t been a thing in a long long while, I serve it with those Tostitos corn chips that are the small circles because they are the best for dipping and getting the right chip-to-dip ratio. No fancy cheese, no fancy corn chips.

hatch, anaheim and serrano chilies

A dear friend recently gifted me with a massive bag of chilies from her garden: Hungarian yellow, Anaheim, poblano, jalapeno and serrano. I left them on the counter for about a week, not entirely sure what to do with them. That I also had a bag of Hatch green chilies hanging out in my produce drawer compounded the situation. These things needed to be dealt with so I started with the Hatch/Anaheim. To be clear Hatch and Anaheim chilies, while similar, are different. It comes down to what the French call terroir, all the environmental factors that affect a crop. They come from the same seeds; Hatch are from the Hatch Valley in New Mexico and decades ago seeds were taken to grow in California, outside of Anaheim and are now grown all over. The soil and climate are different; therefore, the chilies are different with the Hatch being a little more flavorful and a little hotter. Hatch are also a bit of an obsession for many, spawning festivals and brisk mail order businesses and I snap them up whenever I see them in my stores. My Anaheim were from Wisconsin and the Hatch were labeled New Mexican and since I had both I can confirm that they were a bit different. Similar enough to substitute but the Hatch were indeed more flavorful and a tad spicier.

So I thought, let’s take those Hatch chilies and make some queso dip. Come up with some combination of things to substitute for the Rotel tomatoes in the classic recipe, because that Velveeta is going nowhere. First, I roasted those chilies in a hot oven, just enough to blacken the skins and make the flesh tender. If I had a grill, I would have gone that route. I threw a Serrano chile in there too, for a little zip. Then I seeded and peeled the damn things. Tedious but unavoidable. A nice trick is to have a bowl of water nearby to continually dip and rinse your fingers. Those seeds are stubborn and stick to everything.

Then I built the base that would stand in for the Rotel tomatoes: onion, garlic, tomato, tomatillo, cumin, and cilantro. It smelled heavenly and tasted far better than the can. In went the chillies then the Velveeta where it melted to a very satisfying creaminess. I sat by the stove with a handful of chips and methodically dipped and ate. It was familiar in the way that melted processed cheese can be but even more delicious with the nicest kick from the chilies. Quite lovely and definitely worth the effort.

One thing I’d like to know. Why the hell is Velveeta so damn hard to locate in the grocery store? Is it in the refrigerated cheese section? With the chips? By the macaroni and cheese? On the shelf with the crackers? On some random end cap between “ethnic” foods and the soda? Yes. Yes to them all. I have found the stuff in all the places at one time or another. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even waste my time searching; I just grab a store employee right from the start and ask. Turns out no one really knows where to put a shelf stable cheese food product. I prefer not too think too much about that.

And another thing I’d like to point out on the subject of queso … the talented Lisa Fain, of Homesick Texan, wrote a whole book on the subject. You should get it. I should get it. We should both get it because everyone needs 50 versions of queso in their life. One for nearly every week of the year (we’ll take the first two weeks of January off for “resolutions” of course.)

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: DIP AWAY TO YOUR HEARTS CONTENT. Why yes, yes I have taken a terrifically simple two-ingredient recipe and complicated it. Totally worth it. It’s good and it’s worth doing. It’s fresh and fuller flavored than the classic and I love it. I traded most of it away at a Food Swap this weekend and good thing I did because I would have eaten the whole pot with absolutely no shame. So track down those Hatch chilies or failing that, round up some Anaheim and make this. Make this now.

Ten years ago: Corn Pudding, Fresh Tomato Pasta, Gazpacho,Spicy Garlic Refrigerator Pickles, Buttermilk Pancakes, Panzanella,Empanadas -Two Ways, Chilled Cavillion Melon Soup
Nine years ago: Peach Blackberry Cobbler, Ginger Peach Hand Pies, Bacon Waffles, Peach Pandowdy
Eight years ago: Raspberry Crème Croustilant, Vinegary Cole Slaw, Fresh Tomato Tart, Tomato Confit
Seven years ago: Breaking Bread with Emmanuel Hadjiandreou, Bastille Day Lunch – Figgy BBQ Sauce
Six years ago: Sunday Lunch – Pimento Cheese, Quick Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce, Apricot Pistachio Frangipane Tart, Apricot Jam, Tomato Chile Jam, Yunnan Pineapple & Tomato Salad
Five years ago: Coming Home, Plum Upside Down Cake, Modern Three Bean Salad, Fresh Mint Limeade, Deep Dish Plum Almond Tart
Four years ago: Iced Tisane, Summer Corn & Tomato Salad, Bombay Potato Wraps, Stuffed Round Zucchini, Pickled Cherry Tomatoes, Melon Feta & Prosciutto Salad, Mexican Corn Salad, Taking Advantage of the Last Bits of Summer
Three years ago: Fresh Mango Coconut Tea Cake, Brazilian Coconut Quindim (Coconut Flan), Brazilian Seafood Stew (Moqueca), Caraway Spiced Cottage Cheese,
Chicken Wing Friday – Sticky Spicy Sweet Chicken Wings, Borlotti Beans with Italian Sausages and Fennel-Pepper Relish
Two years ago: Roasted Canned Tomatoes, Quick Zucchini Pickles, Roasted Peach Sour Cream Ice Cream, Cowboy Beans, Homestyle Creamed Corn
Last year: Watermelon Jicama Salad

HATCH CHILE CON QUESO DIP
Makes about 5 cups
If you can’t find Hatch chilies, use Anaheim, which are more readily available. I haven’t made this with canned chilies but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work; it just won’t be quite as flavorful. The Serrano adds a nice heat but feel free to omit if you like.

5 large fresh hatch chiles (¾ cup roasted chopped)
1 fresh serrano chile
vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons finely minced onion
1 plum tomato, cored and diced (¾ cup/5oz)
2 medium tomatillos, husked cored and diced (¾ cup/5oz)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
3 garlic cloves, finely grated with a microplane
32 ounces Velveeta or other processed American cheese, ½” cubes
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
tortilla chips for serving

1. Roast the chilies: Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a sheet pan with foil. (Alternatively, use the grill.)
2. Place the whole chilies on the prepared sheetpan, drizzle with oil and turn to coat.
3. Roast for 15 minutes, rotate the tray and continue roasting for another 15 minutes. The chilies should be lightly blackened and soft.
4. Transfer the hot chilies to a glass or metal bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let steam 20 minutes.
5. Clean the chilies: have a small bowl of water off to the side.
6. Remove and discard the stems from all the Hatch chilies then carefully split each down one side.
7. Gently open up and remove/discard the seeds. Dip your fingers into the bowl of water to wash off any seeds as they have a tendency to stick to everything. Place the seeded chile to the side and continue with the rest.
8. Remove the skin, or as much as you can, from each chile by rubbing with your fingers and gently peeling and discarding the skins. If the chile is thin and/or the skin if difficult to remove, don’t worry about it. Move on.
9. Slice the seeded/skinned chilies into long, thin strips then dice – you should have around ¾ cup. Place in a bowl and set aside.
10. Remove and discard the stem and seeds from the Serrano chile and finely chop (don’t bother skinning). Transfer to the bowl with the diced chilies. Set aside until needed.
11. For the queso: In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter.
12. Sauté the onion, tomato, tomatillo and salt until just starting to break down, about 5 minutes.
13. Add the cumin and garlic; sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute then add the water.
14. Let cook down until tomatillos start to break apart, about 5 minutes.
15. Add the chopped chilies and stir to combine.
16. Add the cheese, ¼ at a time, stirring each addition until melted.
17. Stir in the cilantro; taste and adjust seasoning.
18. Serve immediately with tortilla chips; keep the dip warm.
19. Do ahead: you can make the vegetable base and the queso dip several days ahead. Store both in the refrigerator. Reheat gently over low heat until hot and bubbly.

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