More Mexican Food
A truly lovely Memorial weekend – perfect weather, great food…it doesn’t get better than that. During the last week, we’ve tried out several new recipes – all Mexican, of course (as it is still Mexi-Month). Most of the recipes were fantastic, but others (like this chicken) fell a little flat.
Last week I decided to go for traditional enchiladas starting with a tangy salsa verde (recipe below) in which to dip the homemade fried corn tortillas before rolling queso fresco and white onion in them. I tell you what – there is nothing like enchiladas made with fresh tortillas. They are a bit thicker and soak up the sauce, bloating them with flavor…muy bien! We served the enchiladas on a platter with grilled steak and sides of refried black beans and grilled queso panela.
Friday night we decided to go with a traditional fish made veracruz style (with tomatoes, onions, capers and green olives). Instead of poaching the fish in the sauce or baking it, as the recipe suggested, we tucked the fish and sauce in neat foil packets and finished them on the grill. Rich and tangy with the salty capers and olives – I loved this dish! My only switch for next time would be to grill the fish straight up and then spoon the sauce over. I think the flavor of the fish would remain more vibrant this way.
We finished the meal on Friday with a quick and easy dessert. Kyle took the reigns on this one – while I just stood aside and waited to dig in. He fried a homemade corn tortilla, then sprinkled both sides with cinnamon and sugar and topped it all with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Quick, easy and very good!
Another dish we have been wanting to try out is chilaquiles. This is traditionally a breakfast dish (casserole, or hot dish, some may call it) with fried tortilla strips that are simmered in a sauce until they are tender and saturated with the sauce’s flavor. You can use any variety of sauce, but I stuck with my go-to chipotle-tomato sauce, which provided for a spicy, rich result. These can be served straight up or with scrambled eggs, as I did for breakfast on Saturday morning. The recipe suggests scrambling the eggs and and stewing them in the sauce as well, but I decided to keep the flavors separate and served my chilaquiles over the eggs. If you don’t want to make these at home, I have heard the current chilaquiles special at Longfellow Grill is quite good.
Mexi-Month is almost over, but I have a feeling we will continue our adventures in Mexican cooking when we can in the upcoming months.
Quick-Cooked Tomatillo-Chile Sauce
Salsa Verde
adapted from Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico
1 pound fresh tomatillos, husked, washed and boiled until tender
Fresh hot green chiles to taste (roughly 3 chiles serranos or 2 chiles jalapenos), stemmed
1/4 c. cilantro, roughly chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 T. vegetable oil
1 c. chicken or vegetable broth
salt
Place tomatillos and chiles in a blender or food processor, along with cilantro, onion and garlic. Process until smooth, but still retaining a little texture.
Heat the vegetable oil in a medium-large skillet set over medium-high. When preheated, pour in tomatillo puree and stir constantly for 4 to 5 minutes, until darker and thicker. Add the broth, let return to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.
