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Roberta Ontiveros de Hearn-San Luis Potosi, Mexico
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Now on to the RECIPES!!
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Jim's Devilish Chili
Submitted by James L Baker
....
2 lb Stew meat, chopped coarse
14 oz Chorizo (a Mexican blend of pork sausage)
1 lg Spanish onion, chopped coarse
2 TBS Olive oil (extra light)
3 cloves Garlic - large cloves
12 oz Beer - not lite beer
1/2 cup Bourbon - Jim Beam (any good sippin bourbon will do for the spirit of the corn to bless the other ingredients)
* 1 Jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped finely
1 lg Bell pepper (green), chopped coarse
1 Pasilla pepper, chopped coarse
1 tsp Salt
2 lg Roma tomatoes, fresh
1/2 tsp Tabasco
1 can Tomato paste (8 oz)
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 TBS Molasses
2 TBS Cumin
* Use 2 jalapeno peppers if you like to breathe fire like a dragon.
Sauté onions, garlic, and chopped bell peppers in olive oil.
Add chorizo and stew meat, and brown well.
Add beer and bourbon, bring to boil.
Lower heat to simmer & add other ingredients except for cumin.
After about 30 minutes cooking add 1 tb cumin, then after 1 hour
add the last tablespoon of cumin and cook for at least 15 more minutes.
Serve with warm tortillas, lots of cool beverage, and enjoy.
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Chile Relleno Tamales
Recipe By : Vegetarian Times, October 1996;
Serving Size: 20
2 tomatoes -- diced
2 canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce -- minced
2 tablespoons cilantro -- minced
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 Anaheim chili peppers
22 corn husks, soaked in hot water -- until pliable
masa dough for savory tamales -- see recipe
2/3 cup cubed jalapeno soy cheese
Combine tomatoes, chipotle chilies, onion, cilantro and salt in medium bowl. Toss until mixed. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Cut small slit in each Anaheim chili. Over an open flame or under broiler, roast chilies until their skins turn dark brown. Place chilies in paper bag; allow to steam for 5 minutes. Cool, peel and seed. Cut each chili into 4 pieces.
Tear 2 corn husks into 16 long strips for frying tamales; set aside.
To assemble tamales, spread 1 to 2 tablespoons masa dough in the center of each husk; spread with fingers to form a rectangle, leaving sides, top and bottom of husk exposed. Place 1 piece of chili and 2 cheese cubes over masa. Spread 1 tablespoon masa dough over filling. Fold corn husk over filling and masa dough, beginning with right and left sides and ending with the non-pointed husk end. Tie the tamale "package" together with corn husk strips. Make sure filling is fulling enclosed and strips are securely knotted.
Place tamales not touching each other in steamer over boiling water. Cover and steam for 1 hour over medium high heat, adding more water if necessary.
Makes about 20 tamales.
Masa for Savory Tamales
Recipe By : Vegetarian Times, October 1996;
Serving Size : 16 Preparation Time :0:30
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups masa harina
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon baking powder
Beat shortening in mixing bowl with electric mixer until fluffy.
In small bowl mix together masa harina and salt. In separate bowl, mix together stock and water. With electric mixer or wooden spoon, alternately beat in masa mixture and stock mixture, adding just enough stock mixture to make a firm dough. Beat in baking powder. Makes enough dough for 16 to 20 tamales.
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Flour TortillasIngredients
6 cups All purpose flour
1 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp.Salt
1/2 cup Vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
2-1/2 cups Warm water
Directions
Place the flour in the bowl of a mixer. Add baking powder and salt. Mix well. Add shortening. Mix on low while slowly adding water. Mix on low for 90 seconds or until well mixed.
Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a floured surface.
Divide dough into 2 equal portions.
Cover with plastic wrap, set aside at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Divide each half into 8 equal portions. Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin.
Roll each ball into an 8-inch round.
Stack rounds on baking sheet with plastic wrap between each tortilla.
Let set for 10 minutes.
Heat a griddle or large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, lightly coating the surface with vegetable oil cooking spray.
Cook the tortillas for 1 minute on each side or until light brown spots form on the surface.
Yield: 16 8-inch tortillas
Tortilla Tips
-- Once you've rolled the dough into balls, don't skip the resting stage. It helps the dough relax so it can be rolled out more easily.
-- Rotating the dough circle as you roll it out will help it spread into a nice even circle.
-- If using an electric griddle, set at 350 degrees F.
-- To keep fresh tortillas warm, wrap in a kitchen towel or stack in a tortilla server with lid.
-- To make fresh sopaipillas (Southwest-style fried pastries), roll out tortilla dough rounds as directed, deep fry in vegetable oil heated to 350 degrees F, drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with ground cinnamon and sugar.
Serve with honey.
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CORN TORTILLASIn most every recipe for corn tortillas, the proportion of ingredients called for is 2 cups of Masa Harina to 1-¼ to 1-1/3 cups of water. However, the difference between ¼ cup and 1/3 cup, while only 4 teaspoons, can be critical.
The process is this:
Mix the Masa Harina and the water; knead to form your masa (dough)
Pinch off a golf-ball sized piece of masa and roll it into a ball
Set the masa on a piece of plastic in the tortilla press; cover with another piece of plastic
Transfer the tortilla to a hot, dry skillet
Cook for about 30 seconds on one side; gently turn
Cook for about 60 seconds (it should puff slightly); turn back to the first side
Cook for another 30 seconds on the first side
Remove and keep the tortilla warm
Sounds simple enough, but there are several crucial considerations along the way and, until you have made a batch or two and get the hang of it, a few tortilla-making tips will ease the way.
When mixing the masa, mix all the Masa Harina with 1-¼ cup of the water. You can work it with your hands, if you like. If it seems too dry, add additional water, a teaspoon at a time. Too much water, and you won't be able to peel the plastic off the tortilla; too little and your tortilla will be dry and crumbly. Unlike pastry dough, masa does not suffer from being over-handled.
The masa will dry out quickly. Keep it covered with a piece of plastic wrap while making your tortillas.
Cut up sandwich or (my favorite) freezer bags work better than the flimsier plastic wrap or waxed paper.
Hold the pressed tortilla (with the plastic on both sides) in one hand. Peel away the top plastic from the tortilla (not the tortilla from the plastic). Flip it over into your other hand, and peel away the other piece of plastic.
Gently place the tortilla on the hot skillet or griddle. It should make a soft sizzling sound when you do. If your tortillas are not perfect circles, don't worry; they will still taste wonderful.
If your skillet or griddle is at the right temperature, a tortilla can be cooked in no more than 2 minutes.
The use of cast-iron utensils is important. You are cooking at high heat on a dry surface, and a lighter-weight utensil could warp.
Brown spots on your tortillas are good -- an indication that they are handmade, rather than punched out of a big machine and cooked assembly-line fashion.
The number of tortillas you make with this basic recipe depends upon their size and thickness. I usually get about 12 to 14 tortillas approximately 6 inches in size, depending upon the number I am compelled to eat while I'm cooking (I usually keep the butter and salsa handy during the process).
The experienced tortilla cook need not turn out tortillas one at a time. You can get your own assembly-line process going by using two big skillets. Another pair of hands in the form of a kitchen helper can hasten the process, as well.
Put your hot tortillas in an aluminum foil pouch wrapped in a kitchen towel or napkin. You want them to stay hot and tender. Corn tortillas can be made 2 hours in advance, wrapped and reheated. Bake, in a 350°F oven for about 12 minutes.
If you think tortillas from the supermarket taste just fine, this article may not be for you. Come to think of it though, if you think they taste okay, could be you don't really know how a tortilla is supposed to taste. This article could be for you after all.
After you have made tortillas once, you will be experienced enough to make the judgment calls regarding the amount of water, cooking temperature and "feel" of the masa. You will know how everything is supposed to look and feel. Best of all, you will know the smell and taste of fresh, handmade corn tortillas produced right in your own kitchen.
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CHILIQUILES
1/4 cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
15 - 18 4-inch (10 cm) corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) strips
1 can (10 oz, 280 g) tomatillos (Mexican green tomatoes)
1 small onion, chopped
2 - 3 serrano chilies
3 - 4 sprigs cilantro (fresh coriander)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup (250 ml) grated Monterey jack or other mild white cheese
1/2 cup (125 ml) beef stock or water
Heat the oil in a large skillet over moderate heat and fry the
tortilla strips a few at a time until crisp but not browned, adding
more oil if needed.
Drain on paper towels.
Combine the tomatillos
with their liquid, onion, chilies, and cilantro in an electric blender
or food processor and process until smooth.
Cook the puree in the remaining oil in the skillet for 2 to 3 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
Place about a third of the sauce in the bottom of a lightly greased baking dish, top with half the tortilla strips and half the cheese.
Repeat.
Add the beef stock and bake in a preheated 350F (180C) oven for 30 minutes.
Serves 8 to 10 as an appetizer.
Source: World Wide Recipes
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BARBACOA!!
Barbacoa, along with menudo is the traditional Hispanic and Mexican weekend fare.
There are as many recipes for barbacoa as there are Latino cooks, but they all include slow cooking and a lot of garlic and onions!
In the high desert of San Luis Potosi, where I live at times, the barbacoa is wrapped in maguey leaves and cooked in a pit over mesquite coals. The pit is filled with mesquite wood, a fire is built and then rocks are thrown in while the fire is still raging. Then Maguey leaves (pincas) are heated over the coals and used to line the hole. A clay cassarole dish is filed with spices and water and placed on top of this followed by the meat. The pit is then tightly covered and earth mounded on top to hold in the heat. The meat is cabrito (goat kid), puerco (pork), or res (beef).
Often, for a large party , a whole cow is cooked in the pit. This is, legend says, how the dish got its name. The whole cow, desde la barba hasta la cola (from the chin to the tail), was pitted and slow cooked overnight. True to Mexicans' love of lingual shorthand it came to be BARBACOA! Mexican parties are always large and there were seldom any leftovers.
Below is a simpler recipe sent to a list I belong to by a lovely lady named Lavanda. It utilizes the head of a cow and is both interesting and delicious!
If you enjoyed this, think about joining my new list old-mexico-recipes. There will be a daily newsletter about Mexican and Latino cooking, travel or customs. It is an open list so you will be able to post as well. To join, just send a blank email to old-mexico-recipes-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .
Thanks
JIM
BARBACOA DE CABEZA
Yield: 6 servings
1 Cabeza, beef head
4 Onions
3 heads garlic
2 bunches Cilantro
hot corn or flour tortillas when ready to serve
Before you actually get the cabeza (beef head), understand
that it won't look very nice - in fact it will look pretty
gruesome.
Therefore, I suggest purchasing the thing the day you cook
it.
In the Rio Grande Valley, barbacoa de cabeza is
traditionally
eaten on Sunday mornings.
Clean the cabeza, removing eyes, ears, etc.
Discard the tongue. Leaving it will impart an odd taste to
the meat.
(The tongue may be cooked separately for another version of
barbacoa, (one I prefer.)
Wrap the cabeza in a paper sack, along with onions, garlic,
and cilantro. Wrap THAT in burlap.
Dig a hole 2 feet deep and build a driftwood fire in it.
Wait until the fire goes to coals, then cover them with
ashes,
followed by the cabeza, then about 2 inches of dry dirt or
sand.
Fill up the hole. Add 6 to 8 inches of dirt or sand over
it.
Build a fire on top of the ground. Use slow-burining wood
such
as oak or mesquite.
Leave the cabeza in the hole 12 to 18 hours.
For example, if you begin cooking it at 4:00 p.m., it should
be ready by the next morning.
Serve with tortillas and a good fresh salsa picante.
Serves one vanload.
If you want to try barbacoa de cabeza at homne, try wrapping
the cabeza in foil and bakinng it in an oven or over a
charcoal
grill.
Using foil in place of the paper bag keeps the cabeza
slightly
moister while baking.
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