It’s Sunday! You know what that means: it’s time for Sunday Brunch. Why don’t you skip the line and make brunch at home this week? The coffee’s truly bottomless, the booze doesn’t have a crazy markup and you can chill out in your pajamas. Every Sunday I’ll post a brunch recipe. Soon you won’t be asking, where should we go for brunch– instead it’ll be, what should we make for brunch today?
It’s September now, which means the start of fall and all things pumpkin and pumpkin spice related. But, it also means hatch chile season!I’m sure you’ve seen them popping up at your local grocery store for the last little while, at least if you live down South. Their season is short (I think it may almost be over) but their spice is mighty. Hatch chiles are one of my favourite chiles, especially when roasted. They’re bright, acidic and range from slightly hot to quitehot. I always chose the spicy ones. When you roast them, the smell is absolutely enticing.
I’m not to sure what hatch chiles are traditionally used for but when I saw them at the store I immediately thought chili. Even thought the weather outside is still sunny, I’m going to get my fall on and fall means extra spicy chili. I kept it extremely simple with just onions, beef, crushed tomatoes, cumin and the star, the hatches.
I could eat this chili on its own but I wanted to brunch-ify it so I made some cornbread waffles and threw an obligatory egg on top. Result: one of the best mealsI’ve had in a while. The cornbread waffles were crisp and the chili spicy. It’s a super-hearty, fall worthy brunch. I can’t wait until the weather turns. I’ve got my sweaters and fuzzy socks ready. Pumpkin spice, I’m coming for you next!
Hatch Chili Recipe
serves 4
- 1-3 hatch chiles, based on spice preference
- oil, as needed
- 3/4 – 1 lb boneless beef shank cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Start off by charring the chilis. You can either do them directly on the grates of your gas grill or you can do it in your oven using the broil function. If using agas grill, place the chili directly on the grate and turn the gas up to high and let the skin blister and turn black. Use a pair of tongs to flip and char evenly. If using the oven, turn the oven to broil and place the chilis on the rack closest to the top of the oven. Keep and eye on them as they turn black and turn, using tongs, as needed.
When all the skin is charred, place the chili in a bowl, cover and let sit. The steam will help the skins slip off more easily. When the chilis are cool, rub away the charred peel and cut away the stem. If you are adverse to spice, remove the seeds and ribs. Chop into small pieces and set aside.
In a deep pot, heat up a bit of oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the beef cubes and sear on all sides until a deep brown. Remove from the pot and set aside. Add the onions to the pot and brown slightly, 1-2 minutes. Add the meat back in as well as the peppers, cumin and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and stew, covered on low for 1 hour. Stir occasionally. After an hour the meat should be tender. If not, continue to simmer for another 30 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. At this point, you can refrigerate the chili until the next morning.
Cornbread Waffle Recipe
serves 4
- 2/3 cups flour
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick)butter, melted and cooled
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup milk
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a liquid measuring cup, mix the melted butter, egg, and milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring until just combined. Let sit while you heat up your waffle iron.
Grease your waffle iron if needed and cook waffles according to waffle iron instructions or until the waffles are golden brown and crispy.
Hatch Chili and Cornbread Waffle Recipe
serves 4-6, depending on hunger
- 1 batch hatch chili
- cornbread waffles, as needed
- fried eggs, as needed
- sour cream, to garnish
- shredded cheese, to garnish
- sliced green onions, to garnish
Top waffles with chili, fried eggs, sour cream, cheese and green onions. Enjoy immediately.
26 Comments
Lily says:
September 7, 2014 at 1:55 pm
Hatch chile is AMAZING and I miss it so much, though I love that it’s no longer sold exclusively in New Mexico. You can throw it on just about anything, but I especially love green chile in green chile stew, chile rellenos, savory breakfasts of all kinds, burritos and enchiladas of course, green chile cheeseburgers, and green chile pizza. I imagine it would even be delicious as an ice cream, though I haven’t had much green chile in non-savory preparations.
This recipe looks delicious!
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Jeanine says:
September 7, 2014 at 2:48 pm
Wow, this looks so beautiful – love that photo of the pepper roasting (and also your chile pepper icon! so cute!).
Congrats on your book launch – I can’t wait to get my hands on it. I flipped out over your flipping pages animation… and the end pages are so cool :) Gorgeous gorgeous work!
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September 7, 2014 at 5:55 pm
Stop this madness! Spent the whole day in the kitchen and SO wish it would’ve been for these bad boys.
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Bryan says:
September 8, 2014 at 5:08 am
This is brilliant! I’ve enjoyed chicken and waffles but never chili and waffles!
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Erika says:
September 8, 2014 at 5:32 am
Give me all the cornbread waffles and chili… OMG this looks amazing!
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J.S. @ Sun Diego Eats says:
September 8, 2014 at 9:52 am
Ummm I love this! Cornbread waffles is the best idea/I want to add bacon to the waffle batter! This post creates another strong argument for buying a waffle maker… I wonder which gadget has the most food blog posts supporting it, donut pan has a might long list of recipes behind it too!
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September 8, 2014 at 11:11 am
This right here, is why I love weekends, and even more LOVE LOVE LOVE brunch!! Such a perfect recipe, I can’t wait to give it a try!!
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May says:
September 8, 2014 at 2:47 pm
I love this idea of having a Sunday brunch alternative! Can’t wait for all the pumpkin stuff :)
Connor says:
September 8, 2014 at 6:11 pm
Any recommendation on the cornmeal? Fine ground imparts some flavor while coarse gives good texture, but coarse can be too much if not given proper opportunity to cook?
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Kathryn says:
September 9, 2014 at 3:54 am
I don’t know that you can get hatch chile here which makes me so unbelievably sad because I don’t like to think of there being a chile that I can’t consume in scarily large quantities :/ That said, I’m pretty sure these super awesome waffles would still be mega tasty even with a poor chile substitute and I can’t wait to make them!
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Donna says:
September 9, 2014 at 6:19 am
They are still available and this time of year roadside stands and grocery stores are roasting chiles outside! The aroma is almost intoxicating! We put up a box of mild and hot each year…such a treat to dive into a bag in February!!
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Shikha @ Shikha la mode says:
September 9, 2014 at 4:53 pm
I don’t know a lot about chiles, but I do know that I love them, and for brunch, they are a great way to wake me up!
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Darla Karchella says:
September 9, 2014 at 6:10 pm
Hello. Just read the article about your blog being chosen by Saveur magazine as best blog, so I looked it up. Amazing job on your photos and how easy you describe your recipes. Could you please add me to your blog subscribers?
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Serena says:
September 10, 2014 at 3:39 am
I sometimes try random brunch recipes that I find on blogs and I must say that this one looks delicious and perfect for my Mexican brunch I’ve been planning. I wanted to get inspired so I tried a Mexican restaurant in Toronto where I live now. I had something similar to your recipe there but I really like your version with waffles. Me and my friends organize brunch sessions from time to time. The host chooses the topic and I’ve chosen Mexican for mine. Thank you for this idea! I hope I will prepare it well.
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Sophie says:
September 10, 2014 at 9:05 am
I am totally on Team Savory Brunch. YES to this! I love this bean-less chile, and soooo simple!
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September 10, 2014 at 10:10 am
Sunday brunch is such a right of passage for the weekend! So excited to have found your blog :)
Chelsea
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Kate @ ¡Hola! Jalapeño says:
September 11, 2014 at 8:11 am
I am Sunday brunchin’ it right now (and yes I realize it is Thursday, but who cares?) I am going to make this instead of my originally planned pancakes, it looks too good to resist!
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Renee @ Awesome on $20 says:
September 27, 2014 at 10:58 am
You’ve just made me so hungry. I love all the flavors and textures you’ve got going on in this dish. I can feel fall even though I live in Hawaii and it was 93 degrees yesterday. I’m definitely making a version of this dish. Love it!
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