use real butter

Recipe: the roadrunner (green chile and pepperoni) pizza

They’re here! Hatch green chiles from New Mexico have arrived in our markets and I snagged a huge bag just the other day. You can tell who knows what to do with them and who doesn’t. The people who know buy a lot. The people who don’t know look at the long green chiles with uncertainty and buy like… two. Of course, those of us buying one huge bag were in denial, because we’re just going to march right back and buy more. MORE GREEN CHILES. You can never have enough. As soon as we got home, Jeremy roasted them up on the grill and then we sweated them in a plastic bag and removed the charred skins.

a bowl full of chiles

You can see the process from fresh to roasted chiles from when we made green chile cheeseburgers. Most of the roasted chiles will be squirreled away in the freezer to use throughout the year when the precious chiles are not in season. But after roasting a batch, it is customary to eat some (or a lot) of the chiles. My favorite way to enjoy them is admittedly in chile rellenos. However, I didn’t feel like frying anything in the heat of the day, so we opted for grilling pizza.

stem and de-seed the chiles

dice them up

In New Mexico, they put green chiles on EVERYTHING. A pepperoni pizza with green chiles is called a Roadrunner. The roadrunner is the New Mexico state bird and they are funny creatures, known as the clowns of the desert. Jeremy recounted how they used to perch on the 6-foot high fence of his family’s yard and taunt their dogs by leaning forward as if they were going to fall in. It is only fitting that a great pizza would be named for this awesome bird.

pepperoni, diced green chiles, mozzarella, pizza dough, pizza sauce, salt, pepper

Now, if you do not have access to freshly roasted green chiles, you can use the canned variety. It won’t be as awesome, but it’s a start. I used the same dough as I make for The Woodward pizza because it is simply lovely and super easy. We like making thin crust pizzas at home, which means not being heavy handed with the toppings.

enough sauce to coat, but not douse the dough

**Jump for more butter**

Happy birthday, Kris.

You are still missed, every day.

Here’s to you, beautiful Barbara.

Here’s to your strength and determination.

To your kindness and compassion.

To your pragmatism and wit.

To your bravery and selflessness.

To your wisdom and advice.

To your love and friendship.

To being a class act through and through.

To hiking Rangitoto.

To Veuve and beautiful pink flowers and tears and no more pain.

Here is to your remarkable life and the grace and passion with which you lived it. You will forever be a part of my heart. Be at peace, my dear friend.