Golden Desert Fritters

The New Mexico state motto is “The Land of Enchantment,” and we believe it. If you’ve ever had a batch of fire-roasted green chile from Hatch, New Mexico you believe it too. See, that state’s big open sky and unimaginably arid climate make for the only proper place to grow authentic green chile–like what native medicine men used to use like crack, not the shit that comes on your Denny’s omelet. And while it may make cooking with this New Mexican gold hard to do, fuck it. Cuz if you could grow this stuff anywhere, where would the enchantment be in that?
Here, we’ve fried up these critter-free fritters and served them with a cilantro aioli. The result is almost like a New Mexican hush puppy. If you can’t take a road trip to the Land of Enchantment, don’t fret. Use the wussy Ortega stuff with a roasted jalapeno to make up for it in spice.
Green Chile Fritters
1 tube polenta
6 cloves garlic
6 spears asparagus
1 yukon gold potato
1 cup green chiles, diced
1/2 white onion
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup beer (pale ale)
1 jalapeño
2 Tbs. salt
1 Tbs. pepper
1 tsp. cumin
2 cups canola oil
2 eggs
Cilantro Aioli
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs. water
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. mustard
1 bunch cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
Bring a pot of water to a boil and toss in the potato. After 5 minutes, toss in the asparagus and let boil for another few minutes, until they turn bright green. Remove, strain and set aside.
Roasting your jalapeño is simple: Turn on a gas burner and hold the pepper over a high flame with tongs, turning it slightly every 30 seconds. You want to char the skin. Once the entire pepper is charred black and bubbly (about 5 minutes) dump it in ice water, let sit for a minute and then remove the filmy pepper skin to reveal a dark green pepper. Chop finely.
In a large mixing bowl dump the polenta tube and mash aggressively until it resembles corn mush. Add salt, pepper and cumin. Chop the asparagus, potato, garlic and onion and add them to the mix (the smaller the chop the better). Add the chiles and the jalapeño. Stir thoroughly, then add the flour and beer in small increments until mixture is soupy but thick. Add egg and stir again. Heat 2 cups of canola oil in a wok or a deep frying pan. Should be sizzlin’ before you start. Then drop big blobs of batter, about the size of a small fist, into the oil. Turn after 2 minutes, or when crispy. Remove and set on paper towels to blot. To make the dipping aioli, combine ingredients, whip and serve.

Beverage: Poleeko Gold Pale Ale
Soundtrack: The Sea and Cake’s self-titled.