Are you ready? It seems that the last few weeks has found our Hatch chile friend, Preston, making the rounds. Lately, I’ve seen so many chile recipes out there and now there is one more. Mine also contains the home made chorizo that I mentioned in my last post but one could also use store bought. Just don’t skip the Hatch chilies. I never say no to chilies even though my freezer is still full from fall, when I went over to Federal and bought a bushel. And yes, those were Big Jim’s, too! I love chilies, but having them arrive on your doorstep already cleaned, is pure luxury. It saves so much time.Time that I can devote to cooking!

Yes, we all know that the Super Bowl is coming up. I know who is not playing in it, but I have no clue who is. Truthfully it matters not to me, though it does give me a great opportunity to eat good junk food-versus junk food that is bad. Know what I mean? Of course I’ve never really tasted junk food that is that bad, because what makes junk food junk, is that it’s good. Or so it seems. Glad we’ve got that cleared up!

Recently Bon Appetit had a little blurb on their web site that linked to a restaurant in Chicago that makes Bing bread. What, you might ask is bing bread? Well, I didn’t know either until they told me that it is similar to the Chinese scallion bread, that I love. It can be sweet or savory and is commonly served for breakfast. Let’s just say that Manservant did eat this for breakfast. And lunch and dinner, often accompanied with a fried or poached egg on top and some beans on the side.

Bing is short for Shaobing and this is a Northern Chinese dish that isn’t very common in the South. It may be related to na’an or pita and one translation called it a barbarian bread. I love that. “Hey man. Let’s have some barbarian bread to go with our yak milk tonight.” I’ve made it before but I’ve never upped the amps like this, which is all thanks to the restaurant in Chicago and Preston who sent me the chilies. My mind does work in odd ways.

Now if you think I’ve upped the amps, I must mention that the original recipe from Chicago contains a pound of bacon and two cups of white cheddar cheese. Sounds fab to me, but like I said-these chilies were on my doorstep and the chorizo was in the fridge. So let’s get this straight. I’ve created a fusion bread. Yes, a Chinese bread filled with a New Mexican filling, that will easily step in for the ubiquitous stromboli or pizza on game day. Got it?

The bread is easy to make, though you must allow a bit of time. It is filled to the brim with chilies and chorizo. Throw in some cheese and potatoes and scallions.Top with a great sun dried tomato butter. Or you could also try a green chile butter or an ancho butter. I’ve got you covered! This makes two breads which slices into about 12 dense wedges. And the filling, which is great in the bread, also works great for quesadillas or tacos. You could stir it into scrambled eggs or spoon it over baked potatoes. Perfect for breakfast burritos, too. My mind just isn’t holding tight today!

Feel free to check out my other green chile postings. And if you ran short on chiles this season, do order from Preston. He makes it easy. Check out his Facebook page for more great recipes. Remember if you aren’t a football lover, you can always cook on game day and be assured a hungry crowd. Preferably one that loves green chilies and barbarian bread. But I’d skip the yak milk!

Green Chile Chorizo Bread

Serves 12

Adapted from: The Parachute, Chicago

Time to Make: About 60 minutes active time

Ingredients:

1 package active dry yeast

2 T sugar

2½ t kosher salt, divided

4 c all-purpose flour, plus more for surface

1 large russet potato, unpeeled, cut into ½” pieces

3 T vegetable oil, divided

1 pound chorizo , cooked and blotted dry

, cooked and blotted dry 1 lb chopped Hatch green chilies, drained

8 oz cheddar, grated (about 2 cups)

1½ c thinly sliced scallions

Your favorite butter for topping



Directions: