Green Chili and Matcha Chimichurri Recipe

It’s the end of August – have you seen chile roasting happening in your neighborhood? Every August, a wonderful local market in our area sets up a couple of weekends for Hatch chile roasting. Bushels of fresh, green chiles arrive and get loaded into a big, rotating drum over a propane flame. The roasted chiles emerge, fragrant and savory, after a few minutes. I always buy enough to put on burgers and chop up in eggs, and more to freeze for the year. The end of August is also grilling time! Since green tea has so many flavor and health advantages for grilling meat, I was inspired to add Yu Matcha tea powder to one of my favorite Hatch chile sauces – a version of tangy, garlicky Chimichurri Sauce. This super-green sauce is a wonderful accent to all kinds of grilled meats and makes a great marinade (thinned with a bit more olive oil). Not only do you get the health benefits of matcha, it adds a rich umami flavor (richer, deeper grilled flavors without adding more salt); also, marinating with olive oil and mathca tea powder reduces the carcinogen effects that can come with grilling.