Whether you’re an obsessed Hatch chile freak or merely a mild-mannered fan of the New Mexican green pepper’s wide-ranging flavor, we can all get behind covering something spicy in thick, sweet chocolate. It’s a no-brainer.
Whole Foods is among the local grocers who make Hatch chiles available each year in season—both raw and roasted—and they’ve upgraded their game this year. They’re sneaking some of the sweeter peppers out of the batch, roasting them to make spicy edges smoother, and drenching them in milk chocolate. The result is a pretty fresh flavor. Typically you would roast the chiles a lot longer to draw out smoky tones, but these peppers need a little more firmness to stand up to the chocolate and still look pretty in their little individual boxes. Of course, the closer you eat toward the stem, the more seeds you’ll find, and the more your mouth will sizzle.
If there’s any quibble with this brilliant idea, perhaps a deeper, darker, more robust chocolate could have been used. The Hatch chili has its own sweetness, another reason why we love it so much. But we’re not complaining, Whole Foods crew—carry on.
