Proving once again that “even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut,” I have discovered a fabulous food combination: roasted Hatch green chiles and Pure Luck goat cheese. More specifically, an omelet or scrambled eggs with said ingredients. It happened the other day when it was—ohmigod—RAINING and I didn’t want to go out. By coincidence I had (as I frequently do) some Pure Luck cheese in the fridge. (If you are not familiar with it, Pure Luck is an award-winning chèvre handmade in Dripping Springs. The small dairy has limited distribution, so you might have to substitute another fresh goat cheese. That would work fine, I’m sure, but might not be as spot-on, flavorwise.) Poking around the fridge some more, I found eggs and a plastic bag of Central Market’s roasted mild Hatch chiles, which I had bought on a whim after smelling the fabulous aroma of them roasting in the market’s parking lot. Perfect: I could make a scramble. I like a lot of flavor, so I used one chile per two eggs. First, I sliced the chile crosswise in thick pieces (leaving in the seeds and charred skin) and warmed them up in a buttered skillet for a minute. I took them out, added a little more butter, and started scrambling a couple of beaten eggs mixed with some salt and a teaspoon of liquid from the chile bag. Right before the eggs started to set, I tossed in the chiles and finished the cooking (don’t overdo them—there’s nothing worse than dried-out eggs). Then, the finishing touch: the goat cheese. Ambitious cooks might want to melt it in with the eggs. Being lazy, I just dabbed some on top. Then I ate my creation, looking out the kitchen window and watching the rain come down. Fabulous.
