Cocinar en la cocina mexicana

While in Mexico, I was lucky enough to have a new friend ask la dama at the B&B where she is staying if she would be willing to teach me to cook.  What a fantastic opportunity: to see a local B&B, to kick it with a Mexican family and speak Spanish for a few hours, to learn how to cook some favorites, and to eat said favorites.
Sra. Garcia and I agreed upon $400 pesos ($32US), and I headed over after class.  We made arroz verde, salsa verde (roasted tomatillo salsa), salsa de aguacate, milanesas de cerdo, and a salad of pepino y yerba buena (cucumbers and mint).   When I mentioned how our entire meal was green; la dama added some jitomates to the ensalada.
Se una comida muy sabroso.  Se sirven con tortillas de maize, por supuesto.

I realize my recipes don't use exact amounts and well, you can just get over it, or check out the links that I include with each recipe for similar recipes that I found on the interwebs.  And no, these aren't my photos; click on them to whisk yourself off to the triple dub from whence they came.
Something I am finding out as I cook here; Mexicans LOVE their liquedoras.  Love love love.  How they ever managed with solamente molcajetes I will never know.  So if you want to get cooking Mexican style, you might want to invest in a decent liquedora.  Every dish I have made here has used one.

our rice was nowhere near this green - I think this image is arroz con espinacas

Arroz Verde
rice - enough to serve 10 people, 4 cups maybe?
chicken stock or water
pasilla pepper
onion
garlic
salt
crema (sour cream) or leche (milk)

Put your rice in a bowl of hot water and let sit for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
In the meantime, you can heat up your pot and add some oil.
Drain the rice in a colander and add to the hot oil in the pot.  Stir fry until the rice is no longer opaque, but has started to become translucent.  You only need to stir occasionally to ensure the rice isn't burning onto the bottom of the pan.  You do NOT want to let the rice become golden for arroz blanco, or arroz verde though, so keep an eye on it.  (for arroz blanco, you just omit the pepper from the puree, and then you can add peas and/or carrots toward the end of cooking for color)

While the rice is cooking, pull the seeds out of your chile and chuck it in una liquedora (a blender or food processor) with about 1/4 c onion, 1 clove of garlic, and about 1 cup of water.  Puree until smooth.

Once the rice is ready, pour in the veggie puree and stir.  Now you need to add enough liquid to cook.  Follow the 1 cup of rice = 2 cups of liquid idea, and add as much water as you think you need (you can add more as it cooks if it needs it, so don't go overboard).  La dama used powdered chicken bouillon, but you could also use chicken broth or stock instead of water and bouillon. 

Taste for seasoning.  Adjust as necessary.

Add crema or leche; maybe 1/4 cup.

Stir again, cover, and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes until rice is done.  Stir occasionally so the green bits don't just sit on top, and to check liquid levels.  We did end up adding more water part way through.

Fluff up and serve with more crema on top.

Arroz verde can also be made with broccoli, spinach, or asparagus.  You can add peas or carrots as you wish.   We didn't.

Milanesas de Cerdo

thin cut pork cutlets - you may have to pound yours out if you cannot find them superthin

breadcrumbs

lots of pepper

salt

2 eggs

oil

Scramble the eggs.

Pour the breadcrumbs onto a plate and season generously with pepper, and less generously with salt.  Stir to combine.

Heat a skillet over medium high and add oil.

Dip the pork into the eggs, then into the breadcrumb mixture and then place into the hot oil and cook on both sides until done (about 3 minutes per side).  

Basically like this, but with less stuff.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, aka Salsa Verde

a bunch of tomatillos - maybe 1 to 1 1/2 lbs; papery skins removed (it's easier to do this under water - the tomatillos, not you)

serrano chiles - the quantity depends on you, and the chiles; sometimes the chiles are hotter than others and sometimes people like things spicier than others.  I will recommend starting with two, and you can always add another one later if you like it mas picante.  I think we actually used something similar to these costeno amarillos chiles; but I can't be positive.  If you can find those amarillos, you can use 4-5 since they are not as spicy.  We just cut off the stems and used them seeds and all.

salt - to taste

garlic - 1 clove

cilantro - 2 tbsp

water - about 1 cup

optional: white onion - 1/4 c

Char the tomatillos and peppers a la plancha, or in the oven; turning frequently so all sides get some color.  As the tomates and chiles are finished, remove them from the heat and stick in a bowl of cold water.  Once they're cool to the touch, you can pull off the darkest spots of skin, (as well as the thicker skin off the chiles) so your salsa stays nice and bright green.

Put them in your blender or food processor with the garlic clove, cilantro, water and salt; and the onion if you're using it.  Whir away.  Taste for heat level and salt; now is the time to add another pepper or more salt if necessary.  Done.

Or try this.

Salsa de Aguacate

1 avocado

8-10 tomates (tomatillos)

cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped

salt to taste

water - about 1 cup

serrano chiles - same deal as above; start with 2 and taste; you can always add another one later.  Cut off stems, but use seeds and all.

again, onion is optional, as is garlic - we used neither

Cut the tomatillos in quarters if they're large, half if they're small, and chuck into your blender/food processor with the cilantro, salt, avocado and water.  Puree away.  Done.

Or, try this.  Or this if you're a visual learner.

When I made this at home, I roasted all of the veggies on the grill, and yes, I used about half of a white onion, and a couple of cloves of garlic.  I also used an anaheim chile along with the serranos.  So yeah, it was basically a mix of the two salsas and it was FAB.

Sopa de Tortilla

Sopa de Tortilla
5 q chicken broth
1/2 pasilla chile - fried
6 Roma tomatoes
1 medium white onion
5 cloves of garlic
2 epazote sprigs (the written recipe calls for an additional 1/4 cup of epazote leaves to be blended with the rest of the ingredients, but we didn't do it, so I'm leaving it optional here)
sea salt to taste
3 tbsp veggie oil


Garnishes:
2 c veggie oil
18 corn tortillas, sliced into thin strips and fried (and left to dry for one day according to the written recipe - we just fried ours)
6 pasilla chiles cut into rings and fried in oil

2 avocados, cut into cubes
2 c ranchero cheese in cubes (optional; we didn't use this)
1 c Mexican cream (optional; we didn't use this)


To make the garnishes:
Fry tortilla strips in hot oil until crispy and brown (and bubbles have disappeared).  Drain them on paper towels.
Cut the pasilla chiles into rings and fry in oil as well.


To make the soup:
Roast the tomatoes, onions and garlic in a very hot and dry skillet until blackened.  When dark, put the entire things (garlic skins and all) into the blender with the fried pasilla, one quart of chicken broth, a nice big handful of the fried tortilla strips, and that optional epazote; blend well.  Strain into a hot cazuela or clay pot with a bit of vegetable oil in the bottom and let it fry a little bit to bring the flavors out even more.  Add in the epazote sprigs.  Finally, add chicken stock and sea salt to taste.  Let simmer and check seasoning periodically.


To serve:
In the bottom of each soup bowl, place a small handful of the tortilla strips, the cubed avocado, and the cheese and cream if using.  Ladle some soup into the bowl, and top with pasilla rings.


Serves 4-6

Tortilla Soup

Why do I ALWAYS forget to put this recipe in here? I must have called my Dad 3 times over the last several years (when I haven't made it for a while) to remind me. And it's only the easiest thing in the world, and totally tweakable based on your tastes and preferences.

Dad's Tortilla Soup
1 14 oz can whole tomatoes (if you like really spicy you can use the Herdez brand with tomatoes and peppers together, but I'd skip the jalapeno if you do this - no really)
1 jalapeno (determine your spicy level here carefully, you can't take it back)
48 oz chicken broth
1 large onion
handful of cilantro leaves
corn tortillas
shredded cheese

Decide how spicy you want this in advance - I have made it so spicy that it was almost unpleasant to eat (damn Herdez), and so bland it would be good for an ulcer patient. The spice from jalapenos comes from the white ribs and the seeds, so get rid of them if you're white. Ha, just kidding. :o)

Anyway, put the chook broth into a large pot and heat over med-hi. In the meantime, cut the onion into big chunks, and put it in the food processor with the jalapeno and tomatoes. Buzz them all together until they're pureed. You can also put the cilantro in for this step, but I like my pieces a bit larger, so I chop it by hand and add it to the pot directly.
Bring to a boil, then cover and turn down heat to a simmer. Simmer for 2o minutes.

While the soup is simmering, you can make the tortillas (or just use chips if you're lazy, but HONESTLY). My Dad fries them in a pan with oil, but I'm Little Miss Healthy, so I usually bake mine. I slice them into 1/2 - 3/4" strips to start, then spray a cookie sheet with Pam, lay the strips down and then spray them with Pam again. Into a 350 oven for I dunno, however long until they're crispy but not scorched (which is a fine line, believe me). Keep checking on them - maybe around 10 minutes? You can use flour tortillas here as well, but I feel like they get soggy and break down much faster, plus I love corn tortillas.

Once everything is done, put some of the tortillas in the bottom of a bowl and top with cheese. Ladle the soup on top and die in heaven.

Also amazing with additions: chicken, avocado, corn. . .
I wish this is what I was having for dinner now, yum.

Jalapeno Cornbread & Tortilla Soup

Ina Garten does it again, tempting me with her tasty treats. Under the ruse of "getting away with something" while her husband is away, she plans a wild night of bridge with her gay boyfriends. Rockin, right? At least there were pineapple margaritas.
She made chicken tortilla soup and these yummy cornbreads. I have a pretty kick ass tortilla soup recipe from my dad but hers looked pretty good too. Yum, tortilla soup. Her recipe is way more involved than mine, and if I could think of it right now, I'd post it, but that might have to wait a bit while my early onset Alzheimer's settles down.

Jalapeno Cornbread

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 cups milk
• 3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
• 8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided
• 1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions
• 3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't overmix! Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tortilla Soup
nocoupons

• 4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
• Good olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)
• 1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
• 2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
• 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 1/2 quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed
• 2 to 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional
• 6 (6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas

For serving: sliced avocado, sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts skin side up on a sheet pan. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until done. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. Cover and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 tablespoon salt (depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock), 1 teaspoon pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Cut the tortillas in 1/2, then cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and broken tortilla chips.