Hatch chile is a staple ingredient in the Southwest, and New Mexico State University faculty member Kelley Cleary Coffeen has made it the spicy focus of her latest cookbook offering, “The Big Book of Hatch Chile."
Coffeen, an assistant professor in NMSU’s Family and Consumer Sciences Department, is a food enthusiast, cookbook author and culinary expert. She’s published five cookbooks featuring Mexican cuisine and is currently celebrating her newly published cookbook being the number one new release and a top seller on Amazon. The book was released in late October ahead of its official publication date of Nov. 1.
Coffeen has lived in Las Cruces for 32 years, and within that time, she’s explored her passion and love for cooking with New Mexico chile – more specifically, Hatch chile.
“I just fell in love not only with the process of getting fresh chile and having it roasted in early August, but then having chile all winter long,” she said. “Whether it was red or green, I love them both and it was just something I’ve done for a long time for my family. I started writing cookbooks and wrote a lot of different types of cookbooks, but it always Southwest cooking.”
Over the last couple of years, Coffeen said she has spent a lot of time in Hatch, speaking with locals and learning more about the process of growing Hatch chile.
“I spent a lot more time at the chile festival over the years, so I was able to get some interesting background on the farmer families and people who just really support the chile industry in Hatch,” she said. “There are just great little sidebar stories about them, so I think that’s what makes it an interesting book.”
Coffeen said writing and self-publishing cookbooks was a natural progression for her. She’s published an entertainment book, five-ingredient cookbook, family-historic cookbook, and a diabetic cookbook – all with Southwest and Mexican flavors.
Her newest cookbook features 180 detailed and user-friendly recipes specifically with the use of Hatch chile, but with a mix of different genres of food. These unique recipes range from a red chile-crusted salmon and red chile Italian pasta with meatballs to cocktail recipes with fresh green chile syrup.
“I think a lot of people think Hatch chile is only for Mexican food, but it’s really not,” she shared. “I use it in a lot of recipes like a green chile chicken alfredo, or a really great relish with fresh red and green chile that I put on burgers, steak, or just a chip. So, there’s a lot of different ways to use it, and I wanted to show that in this cookbook.”
One useful feature for readers who aren’t able to pick up fresh chile at the grocery store is the “Hatch Marketplace” section of the cookbook.
“That section features key resources that sell Hatch chile products from New Mexico shipped to you – fresh, frozen, spices, freeze-dried, year-round,” Coffeen explained. “There’s no point in selling a Hatch cookbook if you can only get it here in New Mexico. We want people from all around the world to be able to enjoy the world’s favorite chile pepper.”
Coffeen added that she believes this cookbook is an important representation for the state of New Mexico and an important book for agriculture.
“I went up and spent a lot of time out in the fields and took some really great pictures of the actual harvest, so I just feel it’s a really special book for the ag community,” she said. “To see that it’s already gone to number one and top seller in Amazon is really gratifying.
"I didn’t do this by myself – the team at UNM Press is amazing,” Coffeen continued. “Their designers, editors, publisher, marketing – and then I have an amazing agent who walked me through the process. I’m super grateful for the ag community and the support of friends and family, who have been with me on this cooking journey all these years.”
You can find “The Big Book of Hatch Chile” already on the shelves of Barnes & Noble, and online at https://www.amazon.com/Big-Book-Hatch-Chile-Featuring/dp/0826365434 . La Posta Chile Shop and Ol’ Gringo Chile Company will also have the cookbook.
Coffeen will be available for book signings across New Mexico: · Thursday, Nov. 9 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Ice Box Brewery on Picacho Avenue in Las Cruces · Friday, Nov. 10 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Barnes & Noble at Mesilla Valley Mall · Saturday, Nov. 11 from 12 to 3 p.m. at La Posta de Mesilla restaurant · Friday, Dec. 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Collected Works in Santa Fe
The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/nmsu-professor-s-new-hatch-chile-cookbook-is-an-amazon-top-seller/s/cca5dcbe-cd06-4abf-a511-297454582662