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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 quite hot. 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 meals I’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 a gas 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.

beefcornbreadhatch chileswaffles