Hatch Chile, Egg & Potato Casserole

Breakfast casserole of eggs spiced with Hatch chiles in a mashed potato crust.

I'll admit years ago I thought all the Hatch Chile Madness was a bunch of hype, but sheer laziness compelled me to try them after we moved here. See, my local grocery store fires up a round roaster in the parking lot each August and sells quarts of freshly roasted Hatch chiles. [Um, if I don't have to do anything more than walk the dog a mile down the road to buy a quart of already roasted chiles . . . why would I expend more energy? Laziness!] Then I found out they taste really good, too.

I must point out that I've not been compensated to rave about these chiles--I bought mine on my own dime because I was curious and lazy. Simon came along for the ride--and because he likes to get a drink halfway through his walks.

Year 1, I used some of the quart of chiles to make a batch of salsa verde along with the tomatillos from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, then gave the rest of the quart to our neighbors. Silly me. Year 2, I bought a quart, made my batch of salsa verde, and froze the rest, sticking them into chili here and there. Year 3, I picked up 2 quarts, made lots of batches of salsa verde, and stuck chiles in a whole host of dishes (listed below).
This year, Year 4, I will be buying 3 quarts. When will it stop?

The recipe I'm sharing today is great for breakfast or dinner. The only crazy thing is that it calls for leftover mashed potatoes and my family usually inhales my Make Ahead Irish Mashed Potato Casserole so I never have leftovers to play with unless I resort to trickery and deceit [which I did, hence this recipe]. I just had the idea that using potatoes instead of a pie crust or bread cubes would make a tasty, and gluten free, breakfast casserole. It does.  I've made this both in the oven and in my bread machine. I recommend baking it in the oven primarily for ease of serving. I mean, dumping the loaf of bread out of the bread machine is one thing, but a layered casserole? What was I thinking?

NOTE:  I created this recipe to be gluten free through my choice of ingredients. Check labels to confirm that your products are also gluten free. Good sources for determining that your products are gluten free can be found here:

http://knowgluten.me/2012/03/31/other-names-for-gluten/

http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free/

http://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Gluten%252dFree-Food-List-%7B47%7D-Unsafe-Foods-%26amp%3B-Ingredients/

Hatch Chile, Egg & Potato Casserole (serves 6-8, takes forever, like 90 minutes, to make)

2 ½ cups mashed potatoes (here's a link to my Make Ahead--slow cooker too--Mashed Potatoes)
4 eggs
½ cup half and half
1 Tablespoon cornmeal
½ cup roasted Hatch chiles, chopped
1 ½ cups shredded Mexican blend, divided
¼ cup crumbled queso fresco

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In an 8 inch square baking pan, press mashed potatoes on bottom and up sides. Bake for 20 minutes. In a large measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, and cornmeal. Set aside. Scatter chiles across potatoes, top with ¾ cup shredded cheese. Pour eggs over, and top with queso and the rest of the shredded cheese. Bake for an hour until the eggs are set.

Other recipes on the blog using Hatch chiles and/or salsa verde made with Hatch chiles:

Sweet & Spicy Peach, BBQ Chicken and Hatch Chile Pizza

Easy Cheesy Vegetable Rice Enchiladas

Cantina Style Strawberry Salsa with Hatch Chiles

Creamy Avocado, Bell Pepper and Hatch Chile Enchiladas

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili with Hatch Chiles

Harvest Sweet Potato Salsa

Shrimp and Salsa Verde Cornbread Pizza

Mexican Chicken Lentil Rice Bake (Salad?)

Fish Taco Enchiladas

Salsa Verde, Pork Steak, and Oaxaca Cheese Pizza

Hmm, I'm feeling another Clickable Collage coming on . . .

This post is shared on What's Cookin' Wednesday, Fresh Foods Wednesday