Posts Tagged ‘mexican food recipes’

Slow Cooked Ribs in Easy Mole Sauce

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

ribsWhen I tested this recipe it disappeared from the platter before the platter made it to the table. You need a slow cooker for this one and it’s especially easy if you forgo making the Easy Mole sauce from my book and purchasing the paste. The natural oils from all of the nuts in the mole sauce tend to separate so you can take the ribs out, give the sauce a whisk and season, then put the ribs back in.

4 servings

2 ½ cups Easy Mole from Fresh Mexico book
Or 1½ cups low-salt chicken broth and ½ pound purchased mole paste
4 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 disk Mexican chocolate, diced
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
Mexican crema
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Corn tortillas

Heat Easy Mole over low heat or Whisk broth and mole paste in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until paste is dissolved.

Place flour on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle ribs all over with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat (or if you have a heatproof slow-cooker insert you can heat the oil there). Add ribs in two batches and sear until brown, about 6 minutes per batch. Place ribs in slow cooker insert (or place insert in slow cooker base) and pour mole sauce over. Cook according to manufacturers instructions.

Spoon fat from atop the ribs and discard. Stir in chocolate until it melts.

Transfer the ribs to a platter . Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and drizzle with crema and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with warm tortillas for soft tacos.

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Mom’s Strawberry Tartlets

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

piefresa2My mom made a variation of this dessert from the time I was a little girl. I’m not exactly sure where she got the recipe, but I know it came from one of my aunts in Guadalajara. You just need to know that my uncle Ernesto would drive from his house in San Diego across the border into Tijuana to go to my mom’s house when she announced she was making strawberry pie. It’s not traditional or very Mexican, especially in its original form. She used to use a store-bought graham-cracker pie crust (which you are free to use), but I have concocted a much tastier crust using the traditional Maria cracker and piloncillo (unrefined solid cane sugar, usually found in the shape of small truncated cones). What I absolutely left alone is the filling—a fluffy, creamy, perfectly sweet filling that I could eat an entire bowl of if given a spoon. The amounts given will also work with a 9-inch round tart pan with removable bottom if you don’t want to make individual tartlets.

Makes 6 tartlets

1½ cups hulled quartered strawberries
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Nonstick cooking spray
5 ounces Maria crackers (about 32 crackers; see page 205) or graham crackers (about 10 whole crackers)
¼ cup (packed) minced piloncillo (about 2 ounces) or dark brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup sour cream

Mix the strawberries and the 3 tablespoons granulated sugar in a small bowl to combine. Let the strawberries macerate at room temperature for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place six 3½ x ¾-inch tartlet pans with removable bottoms on a baking sheet. Spray the tartlet pans with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the crackers and piloncillo in a food processor, and process to form coarse crumbs. Add the butter and process until the crumbs come together. Press the crumbs into the prepared tartlet pans. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the tartlet shells are golden brown. Let them cool completely.

Using an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese and sour cream in a bowl until fluffy. Add the remaining ½ cup granulated sugar and whip until well combined. Drain the strawberries from the macerating liquid, reserving 2 tablespoons of the liquid. Fold the strawberries and the reserved liquid into the cream cheese mixture. Spoon the strawberry filling into the tartlet shells, dividing it equally. (The tarts can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

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Isabella’s Chile-BBQ Ribs

Friday, April 17th, 2009

marcela-selects_dsc9667bMy niece Isabella happens to be one of my favorite persons in the whole wide world. She’s a finicky eater so I was ecstatic to find that she loved these ribs. They are fairly simple to put together. Add half or none of the chile to keep them simply sweet.

4 servings

1 cone piloncillo
1 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoons asian sesame oil
1 california, stemmed, seeded, finely minced (by hand or in a spice grinder)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
3 pounds St. Louise-style pork baby back ribs
¼ cup minced green onions

Whisk piloncillo, soy sauce, sesame oil, chile, garlic, ginger and ¼ cup water in a heavy medium saucepan over low heat until piloncillo dissolves. Transfer to bowl and cool completely. Add ribs and toss to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and cover and refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.

Heat oven to 450 F. Remove ribs from marinade and place curved-side up on a rack set over a rimmed foil-lined baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir the marinade in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat 20 minutes or until thick and syrupy.

Flip the ribs and cook, basting frequently with reduced marinade, until ribs are tender, about 20 mire minutes. Transfer ribs to platter and sprinkle with green onions.

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Game Hens in Apricot, Tequila, and California Chile Sauce

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

gallinitasThis recipe is one of my favorites ever. It comes from my aunt Marcela, a chef who inspired me to enter the magical world of the culinary arts. We not only share the same name and the same career, we also agree that sweet and spicy is one of the best combinations when preparing Mexican food.

Store-bought apricot preserves, used here, work well; just be sure to buy the best you can find. A kitchen syringe is a useful tool for injecting the hens with a flavorful mixture of broth, butter, and tequila. The result is a moist and succulent dish.

Serves 4

3 cups chicken broth, or more as needed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons golden tequila
Two 2-pound Cornish game hens, thawed if frozen
3 California chiles, stemmed and seeded
½ cup apricot preserves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh apricot halves, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Mix ½ cup of the chicken broth, the melted butter, and 2 tablespoons of the tequila in a small glass bowl. Using a kitchen syringe, inject the mixture all over the hens, about ½ inch deep into the flesh. (If the butter in the mixture solidifies, warm it in a microwave.)

Put the chiles and 2 cups of the broth in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the chiles. Then transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the chile mixture into a small bowl, pressing on the sieve to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard whatever is left in the sieve.

Mix ¼ cup of the preserves and ¼ cup of the chile mixture in a medium bowl. Season heavily with salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the hens, working some of it between the skin and the breast. Put the hens on a rack in a large roasting pan. Add the remaining ½ cup broth to the roasting pan.

Roast, basting with the pan drippings every 20 minutes, for 1 hour, or until a thermometer inserted into a thigh registers 160°F. Add more broth if the juices begin to dry out.

Transfer the hens to a platter. Strain the pan juices into a medium saucepan. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons tequila, ¼ cup apricot preserves, and chile mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce over the hens, garnish the platter with fresh apricot halves, and serve.

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Posted in From the Book | 2 Comments »

Huitlacoche Raviolis with Poblano-Corn Relish

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

marcela-selects_dsc9654bThese are a show stopper. Huitlacoche is an acquired taste so substitute with sautéed wild mushrooms if you can’t find or don’t want to use huitlacoche. Basically it a fungus that attacks corn kernels making them swell and turn charcoal black. They are absolutely delicious when paired with poblanos and this browned butter-pepita sauce. Pair with a dry Riesling.

Makes 6 servings

4 poblano chiles
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
Cornmeal for sprinkling
1/3 cup canned or fresh huitlacoche 1/3 cup sauteed wild mushrooms
2 tablespoons grated queso fresco plus additional for sprinkling
36 wonton wrappers
1 small egg, beaten to blend
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
Toasted pepitas
Chopped fresh green onions

Char poblanos over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Place in paper bag; seal and let stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Peel and seed peppers; chop.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and corn and cook until onion begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low; cook until vegetables are very soft and onion is brown, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add chopped poblanos. Season with salt and pepper.

Lightly sprinkle rimmed baking sheet with cornmeal. Mix huitlacoche and queso fresco in a medium bowl. Arrange 10 wonton wrappers on work surface. Place 1 heaping teaspoon huitlacoche filling in center of each wrapper. Using pastry brush, paint edges of wrappers with beaten egg. Top each with an additional gyoza wrapper. Using round cookie cutter, cut raviolis into rounds. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

Cook butter in large skillet over medium heat until beginning to brown, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in pepitas.

Cook ravioli in pot of gently boiling salted water until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain well. Transfer ravioli to skillet with browned butter. Toss over medium heat.

Meanwhile, re-warm bell pepper mixture; divide among 6 plates. Using slotted spoon, top peppers on each plate with 3 ravioli. Drizzle with any remaining browned butter. Sprinkle with additional queso fresco and green onions and serve.

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