Stuffed Hatched Peppers

Hatch Peppers are my favorite chile. They come from Hatch Valley, New Mexico for a couple months (typically from August to September) each year. I cherish every bite when I get some, and you will too after you taste this flavorful recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

4½ Teaspoons Smokin' Chipotle**
1 Pounds ground turkey, dark meat and white meat
5 Hatch Chile Peppers (5 or 6 depending on size)
1½ Cups Cotija cheese, diced
½ Cups cilantro, chopped
1 Lime, juiced
2 Tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

Here is everything you need for this recipe. I got my Hatch peppers at Whole Foods.

Dice your onion small, about 1/8" thick. You could use red onion if you prefer, they will add a bit more sweetness to this recipe. Use a small to medium sized onion. You only need about 1 cup or so.

Using a sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp Smokin' Chipotle and place over medium-high heat. You want to sauté the onions until they start to release the sugars and are translucent, 5-7 minutes or so.

Add the ground turkey along with 3 teaspoons of Smokin' Chipotle. Mix the onions, turkey and seasoning together, browning the meat and breaking it into smaller chunks. Don't over cook it.

You should have a little liquid in your pan. That's good. It will help keep the turkey moist while it bakes. Add turkey and juices to a large bowl and let it cool.

Carefully slice down the middle of the peppers. At your sink, rinse the inside of the pepper out to remove the seeds. With your thumb and forefinger, pull the seed sack out of pepper. I realized after making this recipe for the first time that the pepper were still a bit crunchy when finished. The next time I made them, I precooked the peppers for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Then I stuffed them and baked for 25 minutes more.

I love Cotija cheese, it's a bit salty. I took 1/2 of the round cheese block that I bought for this recipe. Cut the cheese into 1/8" little cubes so it will mix evenly with the turkey and onions.

Using just your fingers, break some of cheese cubes up so you have some left over to sprinkle on the top of the pepper after its bakes and ready to serve.

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Wash the cilantro, and then pull the leaves from the stems. Roughly chop the cilantro and place into the large bowl that you used for the ground turkey to cool down with.

Mix the cooled turkey with the cheese and cilantro. Squeeze the lime juice into the mixture and give it a good stir.

Hold the pepper in one hand. Fill it with as much of the turkey mixture as you can. I like to over stuff them a little. Place the pepper in a baking dish and repeat until all peppers are stuffed.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, or until the pepper is soft. Sprinkle with Cotija cheese and enjoy!

**Mexican in a Minute would be a good substitute for this recipe if you don't have Smokin' Chipotle.