Charred Green Chile Dip with Feta
If you want to be insanely popular at your end-of-the-summer BBQ, make this dip.
It's inspired by my incredible mother, who lugged a few pounds of assorted chiles up to Ross Lake. She had my dad grill, steam, peel, and seed them. That's always his job. In fact, while I was doing it, I felt like I was channeling him. He has a precise system which results in perfectly seedless, tender strips. Being the multitasking, distracted version of him that I am, I made this with summer ratatouille in the oven, chicken in the grill pan, and all the week's veggies waiting their turn to be washed at the sink.
My mom's was bubbling from the oven and included mozzarella. It was based on a dip she and my dad had at Deschutes Brewery in Oregon. I love that about her. She has something at a restaurant, analyzes it (and steals the menu), then immediately goes home to recreate it. And usually her version is better.
Predictably, mine was dictated by Sunday Fridge Cleaning, and also some beautiful, small Anaheim chiles at MacPherson's. They were something like $1/lb. I didn't know what I was going to do with them, but couldn't pass them up. If you ever find yourself asking "WWTLD?" ("What would the Leftoverist do?" DUH.), one answer is definitely to buy things for which you have no plan. It encourages creativity and variety. The trick here is not to buy too many things without a plan. Not that I've ever done that, of course.
This photo of Loretta and the teacup is from Jordan's party where this dip was speedily consumed. Look at those chubby rubber-band wrists. Coming home from grocery shopping along yesterday (rare treat), I burst into tears thinking about how fast these years are going and how one day I'll miss them. Tomorrow, remind me I said this.
P.S. The teacup is full of soda. And it's not organic.
Charred Green Chili Dip with Feta
You can use any mix of mild or medium heat chiles--Anaheim, Pasilla, whatever else might be coming on at the markets. I threw in a couple jalapenos, and I would done more if I had them. I reached for a lime, then thought better of it. I'm glad. The smokiness of the chiles came through a lot better without any lime. And if you REALLY want to get the paparazzi after you, make a double batch of this. You won't bring any home. Also, I cheated on this photo shoot. There are no roasted onions in this dip. I pulled a couple out of my roasting ratatouille. You can be mad at me if you want. I hate it when magazines and cookbooks do that. Anything for a good photo. A few chopped red onions would do just as well.
1+ lb. Anaheim chiles or mix of Pasilla and Anaheim
2 or 3 jalapenos
1 c. sour cream (no lowfat stuff, either!)
3/4 c. crumbled feta
3 green onions, finely sliced
1/4 c. finely chopped cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
salt
1-2 Tb. heavy cream
cilantro, red chile flakes, and chopped red onions for garnish
Turn your grill on high. Lightly oil chiles and jalapenos and grill until blackened everywhere, about 4 minutes/side. You can also do this under the broiler--you just have to tend to them more. Put the charred chiles in a plastic or paper bag and close it. Let them steam and cool for about 20 minutes. This loosens the skins. Pull the skin and stem off, then lay the chiles flat and scrape the seeds off with a paring knife. Roughly chop all of them. You should end up with a little over a cup of chiles this way.
Combine roasted, chopped chiles with everything else, add a bit of heavy cream as needed to loosen the dip. Garnish with cilantro, chile flakes, red onions, or anything bright. Serve with tortilla chips or fried bread.
August 17, 2009
Reader Comments (17)
Anything for a good photo! I got one bite of this dip, and it happened to be the last of the bowl. It was yummy-licious!
"rubber band wrists"... I LOVE IT! That is one of my favorite things about my niece. Those chubby little arms melt my heart :)
This dip sounds incredible. Anything I can dip a chip or veggie into peaks my interest but add in feta??? Yep, I'm sold!
Nice add with the no low-fat sour cream comment. I've switched back to full-fat dairy and I think the food gods have smiled upon that decision. Still like a cold glass of skim with my afternoon cookie, though...
Oh, Loretta is so precious! She does have adorable wrists. Love her curls, too.
That dip sounds right up my alley. We are smack in the middle of green chile season here, so I'll give this a try.
I did a little gardening this year past my usual herbs and got two gorgeous Anaheim chiles. So this will be lovely. Thanks so much for this site. I am finding myself being ever so much more inventive. I'm packing up my rolling pin to take on the train this weekend so I can make a gallette with my 5.5 year old niece.
I love that "P.S. The teacup is full of soda. And it’s not organic." Ha!
I'm going to try to make this dip with yogurt and a temperamental oven broiler. I know it's not the same, but I'm going to try.
Speaking of rolling pins, I just got my rolling pin back from a fellow reader, across the alley neighbor, and fabulous gallette maker. Julia made a sweet gallette with your dough recipe and an amazing peach/blueberry filling - yum. Send in your pictures and comments Julia! I also got a pizza stone out of the deal so I really have no excuse not to attempt your gallette recipe sometime soon.
I loved this post. I am watching my 2 1/2 year old grow into a little man before my very eyes and it is heartbreaking. You have such a delightful spin with language that is so enjoyable to read. Amazing looking dip too!
You had me at "charred green chilie" - my goodness this looks good.
I made this for a late night appetizer for my family reunion here in Plain. EVERYONE loved it! Thank you Sarah. Your name came up multiple times as we cooked together in the kitchen.
What a mess I made of this dip. I had a list of ingredients, but no instructions. So I pulled out the inverted blender as well as too many jalapenos and peppers instead of chilis. I also think this recipe is one that calls for some fat. So my substitutions didn't really hold up - literally. Of course, not blending it would help too. However, the flavor was wonderful. Even if the consistency was more fluid and it was too damn hot for me! Hello, ring of fire in my mouth. I gave it to a co-workers for use as an enchilada sauce or something.
Big bonus of trying this recipe? I've never roasted a pepper before - so easy! I'll be doing that again.
Thanks for inspiration to try something new.
Big Love.
can I use blue cheese (actually Societe Roquefort) instead of feta in this recipe? I've already got that on hand. I had this dip this summer and it was so good that I remembered it all the way to Thanksgiving and will be making it this Thursday.
Totally. Blue cheese would be delicious.
After making this for Thanksgiving this is definitely one of my faves. So good. I think I could get hooked on roasted green chiles. It was really good with blue cheese.
I got addicted after Sue made it for Thanksgiving too.