Are you getting tired of repetitive traditional Thanksgiving recipes? Need some ideas to spice things up?
The Chieftain asked some local chefs for suggestions that incorporate Pueblo chiles in Thanksgiving offerings. It turns out even vegan dishes highlight the green chile as a premiere ingredient.
“Something I have learned over the years is just how versatile the Pueblo chile is. You can add it to almost any dish,” said Chef Mo Montgomery, culinary and education director for Fuel and Iron Pueblo.
Chef Chad Hankins, owner of The Cutting Board, said having grown up in Pueblo, he’s a “firm believer that Pueblo green chile could be added to everything.”
Here’s some spicy suggestions
“If you are going to add chile to any Thanksgiving dish, it should be a creamy dish like nice buttery mashed potatoes with green chile folded into it,” Hankins said.
Montgomery said she likes to use some chopped green chiles in her Thanksgiving stuffing, or dressing.
“Just add as much as you like to your bread, sausage, leek and stock mixture and bake as usual,” she said, noting that the addition of green chile is also a “great way to dress up store-bought dressing.”
Those who like to serve cornbread with their Thanksgiving meal will find fresh Pueblo chile is a nice addition, Montgomery said, but she also adds chile powders to her homemade bread rolls. If fresh or frozen roasted chiles are not readily at hand, Pueblo chile powders, both red and green, are available at local farms like Musso’s.
“I use the chile powders in almost all my seasoning, from a spice rub for the turkey to a garnish for some roasted squash. The squash are also abundantly available at the farms, and will keep for several months,” Montgomery explained.
Hankins uses butternut and acorn squash to make a pie and this year plans to “fold some green chiles into it.”
“That will be delicious,” he said.
For vegan Thanksgiving dishes, Hankins has created a cranberry slaw with green chiles. He also has brainstormed a “play on green bean casserole using mushrooms, layered with green chile and our vegan cream of mushroom soup which has crushed mushrooms, a flour rue, oat milk, onion and garlic seasoning.”
Don’t forget to top it with fried onions, just like the traditional green bean casserole.
What if your guests shy away from green chile?
“A great way to introduce Pueblo chiles without making everyone commit to it is to have some selection on a charcuterie board,” Montgomery suggested. “I make Pueblo Caviar with diced Pueblo chiles, olive oil, and garlic salt that is great on crostini just by itself. “
“You can also pick up some specialty cheese and meats from local stores that feature Pueblo chiles in their products. Some of my go-to places are Springside Cheese, Gagliano’s, and Frank’s Meat Market,” she said.
You don’t have to be vegan to enjoy plant-based dishes
One of Hankins’ earliest childhood food memories was eating a tater tot casserole with green chile. He loved that dish made by his working mom who didn’t have a lot of time to cook.
As an adult he took her recipe and, “veganized it,” he said.
“It has tots, our oat-milk cream of mushroom soup, meat substitute, plant-based cheese,” and of course, Pueblo green chiles.
Through the years as Hankins and his wife Nako haul their Tofurkey to a Thanksgiving gathering, they get a few “looks” from the meat eaters in the family. The Tofurkey is a tofu-based meat substitute patterned after turkey.
“My uncle who made fun of me for 22 years suggested an all-vegan Thanksgiving meal last year. Everybody loved it and he finally stopped making fun of us after a couple of decades,” Hankins said with a laugh.
“Even my cousin who is 6-foot-3 and is a hunter said he loves our food. So you don’t have to be plant-based to eat plant-based food,” Hankins explained.
“The key is to add a ton of oil and salt — that is what makes food taste good, especially at Thanksgiving,” he said.
Two tasty recipes featuring chile to try out for ThanksgivingPueblo Chile BBQ Rub
Courtesy Mo Montgomery
Tips:
“This rub is excellent on Thanksgiving turkey, but I usually use this rub for meats that I am about to put on the smoker, like ribs, pork shoulder, or beef brisket. Sometimes I add it to my homemade biscuits in place of salt and sugar. Without the sugar, this makes a nice savory seasoning for tacos. It’s also great on vegetables like summer or winter squash, roasted with garlic and olive oil,” Montgomery said.
“I usually make it with 1 part being equal to 4 tablespoons and store it in a mason jar with my other spices,” she said.
“You can find red and green chile powders at most Pueblo County Farms. They usually come in 1-pound bags, enough to last about a year at my house. You can make this spice rub hotter by increasing the amount of red chile powder you add, or even by adding an extra-spicy red Pueblo chile powder.”
Ingredients:
2 parts red Pueblo chile powder2 parts green chile powder2 parts garlic powder1 part freshly ground black pepper1 part onion powder1 part cumin2 parts brown sugar4 parts coarse Kosher saltPueblo Chile and Sourdough Dressing (serves 10-12)
Courtesy Mo Montgomery
Tips: “I like to bring this dish to Thanksgiving with my family who lives outside of Pueblo, so they can get a little taste of our home. This is an easy way to introduce Pueblo chiles without smothering the dish. The key to a really good Thanksgiving stuffing is to use homemade turkey stock. You can make this stock with the bones from any holiday turkey, and freeze it for the next time,” Montgomery said.
Ingredients:
1 loaf crusty sourdough bread, cut into bite-sized cubes3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil2-4 cups homemade turkey stock, depending on size of loaf. Chicken stock can be substituted.2 leeks2 stalks celery, cleaned and sliced thinly½ lb. Gagliano’s mild ground pork sausage½ cup diced Pueblo green chiles2 each garlic cloves, minced.1 oz (or 1 small packet of sprigs) fresh culinary sage1 oz (or ¼ bunch) flat-leaf parsley2 sprigs fresh thyme, stem removed.
Equipment:
Cutting board, large kitchen knife and serrated bread knife for cutting up bread and vegetablesBaking sheet lined with parchment paper1-quart pot for turkey stockCasserole dishSmall skillet
Instructions:
Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on the baking sheet and toast in the oven at200°F for 30 minutes. Let cool completely.Heat turkey stock on low heat in a small pot. Add half of the fresh sage and 2 tbsp salt.Bring to a simmer and hold just below a boil.Slice the leeks lengthwise, and trim any dark green leaves and roots from the stalk. Slicelengthwise into quarters. Wash the leeks under running water, making sure to getbetween the layers. Shake dry and slice thinly against the grain.For the herbs, remove the leaves and chop the parsley finely. Remove leaves from thestem of the sage, but keep them whole.Brown the sausage in the extra-virgin olive oil in a small skillet with garlic and leeksand whole sage leaves. Remove from heat. Season to taste.Mix the bread cubes, Pueblo green chiles, and chopped parsley into the skillet. Makesure it is mixed well with the bread absorbing some fat and seasoning from the pork.Pour the entire mixture into the casserole dish.Drizzle the turkey stock over the dressing, soaking the bread cubes.Bake, uncovered, with the rest of the holiday dishes, at least 30 minutes uncovered, untilliquid is absorbed and softening the bread, but not making it soggy, and top of breadpieces are crispy. Serve with holiday turkey.
Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.