mmmm.....Tacos

[Baron von BeeGee]

Get him a recipie for Mole!

I actually keep forgetting to send him anything! I've got a pretty decent recipe for mole ***** (the most popular) around here somewhere, but it's kind of like tacos al pastor...almost impossible to do unless you're in Mexico. Most home mole recipes (which are frequently very good) call for the addition of chocolate, but in Mexico you would go to a market and buy some cocoa beans, cinnamon, and other spices and have them ground together right there at the store. That would be the base for your mole. Every family/restaurant has their own base ingredients and ratios.

There are so many Mexican foods that gringos (like me) think they are having the 'authentic' version of because they go to a Hispanic section of town or they've eaten at a resort in Cancun when the reality is quite different (and better). Still, we gotta work with what we've got!

 

[Catfish]

Yeah, get him a mole recipe!! .... I mean me.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Yeah, get him a mole recipe!! .... I mean me.

Well, we might as well get started. Let's start with a basic base for many salsas/dishes. Also, note that 'salsa' in Spanish does not mean chunky red stuff in a jar...it just means 'sauce'. Mushroom gravy is also a salsa in Mexico. In any case, the following red sauce is a base that stands on it own or is used to build other dishes. It's called caldillo:

~4lb tomatoes
1 white onion, quartered
4-5 cloves garlic
jalapenos to taste (3-5)
salt

In a heavy ungreased skillet lined with foil (makes cleanup easier) cook all ingredients until softened and skin is blackened. You'll probably have to work in batches. Peel the blacked skins off.

{ Note: at this point you could chop everything, add some cilantro to taste with the salt and you'd have a roasted salsa. }

Add ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth (pureed) and season with salt. This is essentially concentrated caldillo. A very nice variation is to omit the jalapenos and instead add chipotles in adobo to the blender (no need to roast these). You'll get a smokier caldillo.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Want to use the caldillo? Make sopa azteca aka tortilla soup. I suggest not using chipotles in the base for this.

In a soup pot add a little oil and heat over medium heat. Add 2-4 chopped dried chiles such as guajillo, pasilla, or ancho (essentially to taste...you may need to experiment). Fry them about a minute, until fragrant. Add 2c of your caldillo and cook this for 4-5 minutes. Add 4-6c chicken stock (again, to taste...I like a little bit thicker soup and hence go with 4c). Simmer 15-20 minutes, and season.

In the meantime, cut 8-12 corn tortillas (corn is important!) into strips about 1/2" wide and fry them in batches in some vegetable oil until crispy (only takes a minute or two). Chop an avocado into cubes, and crumble some queso fresco (Mexican crumbling cheese).

Ladle the soup into a bowl. Top it with avocado, some tortilla strips, and sprinkle queso fresco over everything. Top that off with a little crema Mexicana (Mexican cream...more liquidy and not as sour as sour cream), or a bit of sour cream would be fine instead. The cream can actually be omitted altogether if desired.

Chicken can be added, but I like it just fine without.

 

[Catfish]

mmmmmmm.....

must eat.......

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

mmmmmmm.....

must eat.......

I'll add some more as time permits! Mmmm...chilaquiles.

 

[BootYtRappeR]

BeeGee, do you have a good chicken soup/stew recipe?

I dated this Costa Rican chick one time, she couldn't cook but GD her mother sure could. Anyway, she made this killer chicken soup/stew and I have so far been unable to recreate it.

ingredients I know are

water
chicken
chicken broth
cilantro
onion
yucca
carrots
garlic
achiote paste
jalapeno


any idea what I am missing?

 

[El Pistolero]

any idea what I am missing?

Roasted Green Chilis.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Chilaquiles are a Mexican specialty generally eaten for breakfast/brunch, but they can be enjoyed all day. A hot, hearty breakfast is much more common in current day Mexico than in current day US or Europe (in my experience).

Chilaquiles are strips of fried tortillas (just like were used in the sopa de tortilla above) tossed in a salsa (typically rojo/red or verde/green) and topped with crumbled queso fresco, cilantro, and crema Mexicana/sour cream. It's not uncommon for some poultry such as chicken or turkey to be mixed in. They should be served immediately while the tortilla strips are still 'al dente'.

Here is a recipe for 'chilaquiles de pavo' (turkey chilaquiles) that I posted last Thanksgiving as they make an excellent Friday morning use of T-day turkey:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=3758&highlight=chilaquiles
See post #14.

For red chilaquiles, we can use the caldillo above and in this case I really do recommend the chipotles, but it works either way.

So,

1 recipe caldillo
18 or so tortillas, cut into strips (scissors work well) and quickly fried in batches
1T fresh oregano (Mexican is best, but any will work)
1/2 c chopped cilantro
1c crema or sour cream
1c queso fresco, crumbled
1 small white onion, chopped and optionally rinsed (cuts down on the bite)

Basically, toss the fried tortilla strips in your caldillo in a large casserole or serving dish (not too deep or the chilaquiles get soggy) with the oregano. Top this mixture with the cilantro, drizzle of crema, the crumbled queso fresco, and the chopped onion ( all to taste).

Serve and enjoy.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

BeeGee, do you have a good chicken soup/stew recipe?

No real idea on that one...but it sounds a lot like a chicken soup that my in-laws in Ecuador cook. Basically a broth with different vegetables and a piece of chicken (such as a whole split breast or drumstick) right in the middle. I'll see what I can find out. El P's suggestion sounds pretty good.

In Ecuador we 'spike' everything with aji which is the salsa of Ecuador. It comes in different styles, but it's typically quite thin and made with chiles, tomatos from a tomato tree (!) - jitomate de arbol - , and some sliced red onion. A splash of that on or in almost anything will give it another dimension. To be honest, you could just try a splash of Texas Pete or somesuch in the stew.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

How about molletes? This is a snack but my wife occasionally makes it when she doesn't exactly feel like really cooking something or going out or calling for pizza, so it can serve as a meal. Depending on how you cut up the bread it would make a great appetizer/finger food.

One baguette
Mayonnaise
Refried beans (canned is fastest, or you can make them)
Shredded mozzarella or monterrey jack cheese (or similar)
Chopped tomato
Chopped onion
Chopped cilantro

- Cut the baguette in half like you're making a giant sandwich, then cut the halves crosswise into whatever size you desire.
- Spread some mayo on the bread then spread on a layer of refried beans and sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake in a 400F oven until the cheese melts.
- In the meantime combine the chopped onion and tomato with the chopped cilantro (I'm not too sure of the proportions, but to taste).
- Serve the molletes out of the oven and pass the salsa for topping them.

You can also do this with tostadas instead of baguettes (and skip the baking), but I don't like it nearly as much.

 

[Cheesefood]

How about molletes? This is a snack but my wife occasionally makes it when she doesn't exactly feel like really cooking something or going out or calling for pizza, so it can serve as a meal. Depending on how you cut up the bread it would make a great appetizer/finger food.

One baguette
Mayonnaise
Refried beans (canned is fastest, or you can make them)
Shredded mozzarella or monterrey jack cheese (or similar)
Chopped tomato
Chopped onion
Chopped cilantro

- Cut the baguette in half like you're making a giant sandwich, then cut the halves crosswise into whatever size you desire.
- Spread some mayo on the bread then spread on a layer of refried beans and sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake in a 400F oven until the cheese melts.
- In the meantime combine the chopped onion and tomato with the chopped cilantro (I'm not too sure of the proportions, but to taste).
- Serve the molletes out of the oven and pass the salsa for topping them.

You can also do this with tostadas instead of baguettes (and skip the baking), but I don't like it nearly as much.

Sounds like a meatless torta. Mmmmm....torta.... I like mine with asada and chorrizo and no tomatoes.

 

[Genghis77]

Back in the 60's, Jack in the Box had tacos 12 for a dollar. And they were far better than today's super taco at the same place.

 

[Spyk'd]

[homersimpson]mmmmm, tacos.....someone should start a thread.......er........doh![/homersimpson]

 

[Catfish]

Made the roast salsa last night. Damn, it was GOOD. Looking forward to trying the other recipes and and more that end up here. My wife was impressed, and was borderline poetic in her rememberance of living in Mexican and Central America.

 

[freebird]

BvBG...

I have about 12 qt. of canned tomatoes in the pantry from last year; need to use them up. Fresh ones coming in.

Any suggestions on those?

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

BvBG...

I have about 12 qt. of canned tomatoes in the pantry from last year; need to use them up. Fresh ones coming in.

Any suggestions on those?

You can definitely use them in the recipes above, you would just omit roasting the whole tomato in the skillet. You'll lose that particular flavor, but you can roast the other ingredients. Just add your canned tomatoes when you put everything in the blender. They'd also work in a picadillo...I don't have a recipe for that on the top of my head, but I do have one. Let me see if I can dig it up, or just google picadillo.