It is safe to say that the Land of Enchantment's culinary colors are green, and later in the season, red. New Mexicans treat their chile fields as seriously as Napa Valley winemakers cherish their vineyards. The smell of roasting green chile in the fall, the intoxicating pull to the large roasting drums at the supermarket — not many locals or tourists can resist taking home a burlap bag or two to enjoy throughout the year.

"The dirt, air and sunshine are different here than anywhere else in the country," said Santa Fe School of Cooking culinary director and New Mexico native Rocky Durham. Real New Mexico chile just doesn't grow anywhere else, and Durham learned this the hard way. When opening up restaurants in the U.K., Durham tried to grow New Mexico green chiles in Holland. "They produced big fruit, but it was mild and flavorless," he said. Eventually, to get real green chile to Europe, Durham had to ship frozen containers from Hatch, with the chiles traveling through the Panama Canal and across the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, one container went overboard in heavy seas — a maritime tragedy for any native New Mexican.

The different microclimates that helped create the more than 200 varieties of Capsicum annuum we call New Mexico green chile are what makes our ages-old tradition one of the most successful agricultural advancements in the United States. New Mexico harvested 12,300 acres of chile last year. And outsourced, corporate-value chile is having a hard time competing with New Mexico's big flavor.

Hatch, a village in Doña Ana County, has come to be known as the mecca of the obsession. "The Chile Capital of the World," as Hatch is known, hosts an annual chile fiesta every Labor Day weekend that draws visitors and news stations from around the globe. Hatch chile is generally known to be the hottest New Mexico chile, though many separate species are grown in the Southern Río Grande Valley, including NuMex Big Jim and New Mexico No. 9.

A good rule of thumb regarding chile heat is that the narrower the shoulders of the chile, the hotter it is; conversely, the more triangular, the milder. If attempting to grow hot chile, Chef Katharine Kagel from Café Pasqual's says it is important to "stress out" the chile to some extent, with more sun and less water.

Many restaurants in Santa Fe prefer a medium-heat chile, and they serve a lot of it every year. In fact, Pasqual's takes its green chile so seriously that it employs someone exclusively to roast, peel and seed fresh chile all winter long when Anaheim chiles (from New Mexico seed) are imported from California.

The Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University rigorously tests and crossbreeds complex varieties of chile in order to ensure the success and health of this versatile plant. The average heat of a New Mexico green chile is between 500 and 1500 on the Scoville Heat Unit Scale.

Family-farm chile growers thrive throughout Northern and Southern New Mexico, and some have been in business for generations. The farmers market is a great place to taste the subtle differences in cultivation. Chef Estevan Garcia at Tabla de Los Santos at
St. Francis Hotel prefers the unique flavor combination of Chimayó chiles.

"It's just like going to Burgundy; everywhere you go there's a different fruit," he said. Other varieties from the Farmers Market include Nambé, Velarde and the incredibly easy-to-peel Alcalde-Improved, from Romero Farms. Each chile has a unique flavor and heat according to its carefully monitored set of growing conditions. (When you taste them all, you will understand.)

It must be said, though, that grilling or roasting green chile over a fire, allowing the sugars to caramelize and letting the fruit steam naturally before peeling creates an entirely different flavor experience than the method many commercial chile processors employ — blistering the skin by dipping the chiles in hot oil, then blowing the peels off before the chiles are chopped, frozen and delivered. That said, if ill-prepared and forced to buy store- brand chile, Bueno Foods' Autumn Roast is the closest a frozen brand comes to the roadside or do-it-yourself roasting method. (Chile flesh is relatively fragile and if possible should be used right away or frozen within two hours of roasting).

Many prefer to stick with more traditional New Mexican recipes when using chiles — think burritos liberally smothered with chile sauce, huevos rancheros, green-chile stew, menudo.

"My advice is don't mess with the chile," said George Gundrey, owner of Atrisco Cafe & Bar in DeVargas Center. He follows the footsteps of the great cooks who have come before him.

"I'm a chile purist," he said. "I don't want cilantro in there, and no cumin. Just give me a bowl of green chile with a little bit of meat, onions, and cheese, and I'm great."

Thankfully, die-hard chile fans have these traditional-recipe restaurants and cafes to turn to, but those of us who have ever been displaced from New Mexico for a year or two know the desperation involved once chile withdrawal sets in and no amount of spicy fried chicken, Tabasco or shrimp etouffee will cut it.

Durham knows this pain first hand.

"Hatch Green Chile is the George Clooney of New Mexico," he said. Once away at cooking school, Durham was so desperate for green chile that he convinced a friend to ship him a tub from an undisclosed popular restaurant in Santa Fe.

Although he had planned to share, he became worried his contemporaries would catch on to the sauce's appeal. He ate two-thirds of the tub over the next couple days, at which point he found an adhesive bandage in his prized possession. Scorching reprimand or not, he finished the remains.


VARIATION OF CHILE RELLENO DEL CIELO

Courtesy of Chef Estevan Garcia, Tabla de Los Santos at Hotel
St. Francis; serves 2

2 green chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded (not chopped)
20 diced button mushrooms
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and white pepper to taste
1 cup pinto beans
1/2 cup chicos (dried corn)
1 piece of bacon
1 white onion, diced
2 1/2 tablespoons tomato puree
2 cups vegetable or beef stock

Preparation: Boil beans, chicos, bacon and onion in water for 3 hours or until beans are cooked. Let cool and drain broth into saucepan. (Set beans and chicos aside for tomorrow's lunch). Combine broth, tomato purée and vegetable or beef stock.

Reduce until it thickens. In a separate pot, simmer mushrooms, cream, white pepper and salt until juices have completely evaporated. Do not burn. Slice whole peeled, roasted, and seeded chiles vertically and stuff with mushroom mixture. Pour hot bean/stock reduction omnto center of a warm serving plate. Gently place hot chile stuffed with mushrooms in the middle of the plate, on top of the sauce, and serve.


HEIRLOOM BEAN AND GREEN CHILE SUCCOTASH

Courtesy of Luminaria Restaurant, Inn and Spa at Loretto; makes 1 quart

2 ounces olive oil
1/2 cup onions, minced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 cup red bell peppers, 1/4-inch dice
3/4 cup green chiles (roasted, peeled and seeded), 1/4-inch dice
1 cup fresh corn kernels
3 cups cooked heirloom beans (fava, kidney, etc.)
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 ounces roasted red chile purée
6 ounces heavy cream
Salt to taste

Preparation: Heat oil in pan. Sauté all vegetables quickly. Add beans then red chile purée and cream. Cook until thick. Fold in thyme and season with salt.