Although the Mixe do not eat meat on a daily, or even frequent, basis, they do go all out for a fiesta, and this rich, flavorful meat and vegetable soup soup uses as many kinds of meat as people can get. Either fresh or dried beef, plus both chicken and turkey, are frequently used.

This recipe for caldo mixe is not quite as elaborate, using only beef and chicken, but it is still good for a large gathering where a one pot meal is easiest. I personally like to add potatoes with the other vegetables, and to brown the meat first, before adding liquid. This is generally not done with this dish, but I think it gives it an extra depth of flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon corn oil
• 2 large onions, 1chopped and 1 thickly sliced
• 12 large cloves garlic, 6 peeled and chopped, and 6 left whole
• 1 ½ quarts beef, chicken, or vegetable broth
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into thirds
• 1-2 carrots, julienned
• ½ pound cabbage, thinly sliced
• ¼ pound green beans, cut into 1 or 2 inch pieces
• 1 ½ pounds small, new potatoes, cut into fourths
• About ¼ cup each cilantro and hierbabuena (mint) leaves
• 2-3 plum tomatoes
• 2 guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed, soaked in hot water until soft
• Salt to taste

Season the meat with salt, brown it in hot corn oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the chopped onion and chopped garlic. Stir to combine all, add the broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, until the meat is almost tender. Add the chicken, vegetables, and herbs.

Toast the thickly sliced onion, the whole garlic cloves and the tomatoes on a dry comal or griddle. Peel the garlic and place toasted ingredients in a blender with the softened chile. Add enough broth from the pot to make a smooth puree.

Add the puree to the pot and continue cooking until the chicken and vegetables are tender.

Serve in deep bowls, garnished with chopped onions and chopped jalapeños if desired. Accompany with lime wedges and warm corn tortillas. Serves 6-8.

The post Mixe meat and vegetable soup: Caldo mixe appeared first on MexConnect.

What better recipes to accompany a still from the 1944 film Pasión Jarocho, or “Veracruz Passion?” This classic regional dish od whole fish in Mexican green sauce goes perfectly with the story of lovers in a small Mexican fishing village who seem destined to be kept apart by rumors and jealousy. Will Rosalinda and Hugo ever find happiness together? Watch and see, as your guests find happiness dining on whole roasted red snapper in a bright, fresh green herb sauce. (Adapted from Recetario del Cine Mexicano, Editorial Saber Ver, 1996)

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 whole red snapper or snook, about 5 pounds, cleaned and scaled
• salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:

• ¾ cup roughly chopped hoja santa, also called acuyo
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• ½ cup epazote leaves
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ medium onion, roughly chopped
• 2 serrano chiles, seeded if desired
• 2 cups chicken broth
• ¾ cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix the butter and crushed garlic, spread the mixture all over the outside of the fish, and salt and pepper the fish to taste. Place the whole fish in a large baking dish.

Place all remaining ingredients in a blender and puree. Pour the pureed sauce over the fish and bake until the fish flakes easily when pierced with a fork. This is good served with white rice to soak up some of the sauce. Serves 8.

The post Whole fish in Mexican green sauce: Pescado en verde appeared first on MexConnect.

Mexican pork tenderloins with guavas: Escalopas de cerdo con guayabas

The Mexicans, like the Chinese, have created some wonderful dishes combining pork with fruit. Pork tenderloins with guavas is an example of the inventiveness of nouvelle Mexican cuisine. Escalopas de cerdo con guayabas have the same sweet-and-sour tanginess of many oriental dishes. The seeds of the guava are concentrated in the center, and may be removed with a small spoon or an implement designed for making melon balls. The guavas will then resemble small bowls.

Ingredients

• 4 pork tenderloin scallops
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 pound guavas, peeled, cut in half and seeded
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  

Salt and pepper the tenderloin pieces; set aside.

Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and cook, stirring, until a syrup is formed.

Add the guava halves and cook, stirring gently so as not to break them, until soft but not falling apart.

Reserve half the guavas and place the other half in a blender with all the syrup and the vinegar; liquify until smooth.

Return the guava puree to the saucepan and cook until it has reduced a bit.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and brown the tenderloin scallops on both sides.

Drain any remaining oil, pour the guava puree over the tenderloin scallops and cook until the meat is done.

Serve the scallops with some sauce over each, accompanied by the reserved guava halves.

Serves 4.

Link to source articles

• Mexican wines: Perfect pairings with holiday dishes
• Fragrant, festive Mexican guavas: For Christmas punch and other delights
• Adding zest to summer’s bounty: Part Two – Tropical fruit accents for meat, fish or fowl

The post Mexican pork tenderloins with guavas appeared first on MexConnect.

This is a Mexican classic, which can also be made by substituting corn or carrots for the peas. The recipe is adapted from The Essential Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy. Although it calls for sugar, this is a first course or side dish, rather than a dessert.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh or frozen peas
• 3 eggs, separated
• ½ cup sugar
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces Chihuahua or gouda cheese, grated
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 450º F. Pass the peas through a food mill or process in a processor.

Setting the whites aside, beat the egg yolks in a large bowl until they are thick. Add the sugar and beat until well incorporated.

Add the butter alternately with the flour, beating well after each addition. Stir in the pea pulp, salt, cheese and baking powder.

Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the pea mixture. Pour the mixture into a buttered 8 inch square baking dish.

Place on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes. Lower heat to 350ºF and continue cooking for about 40 minutes longer. The top and sides will be brown and spongy to the touch, and the insides should remain moist. Serves 6 as a first course or side dish.

Link to Source Article
Mexican Vegetable Dishes: Some Fall Favorites

The post Savory Pea Pudding: Budín de Chícharo appeared first on MexConnect.

Combining the classic Yucatecan ingredients of achiote seasoning, black beans and pickled red onions, true panuchos need to be made with fresh tortillas that will inflate when placed on the comal or griddle, so that the thin top layer (called the “pancita”) puffs up while it is heating up. If you do not have access to fresh tortillas or make your own, you don’t have to miss out on this flavor combination – instead, put the toppings on tostadas and have “Yucatan-style tostadas.” In the Yucatan, this would typically be made with grouper or shark, but any leftover fish that isn’t too fatty would do nicely.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded, cooked fish
• 1 tablespoon achiote paste, dissolved in ½ cup bitter orange juice (or use half regular orange juice and half lime juice)
• 12 small, fresh tortillas
• 1 cup refried black beans
• vegetable oil for frying
• 1 sliced avocado
• ½ cup seeded, chopped tomato
• pickled red onion, for garnish (See NOTE)

Preparation:

Combine the shredded fish with the achiote and orange juice mixture and set aside.

Heat each tortilla on a comal or griddle, and when the top layer puffs up, carefully make a slit around half the tortilla’s circumference, forming a pocket. Place a spoonful of beans inside the pocket, then press the tortilla gently to spread the paste a bit.

Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the panuchos on each side, turning carefully, until crisp. Do not over fry; the panuchos should be slightly chewy.

Top the panuchos with the fish mixture, and top each with an avocado slice and some chopped tomato.

Garnish with pickled red onions, or let each diner add them to taste. Makes 12 panuchos.

NOTE: For the pickled onion, thinly slice a red onion, blanch it in boiling water for a few seconds, drain and marinate with either fruit vinegar (such as apple or pineapple vinegar) or bitter orange juice. Add some crumbled dried oregano and salt to taste and let the onions marinate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Link to Source Article

The post Yucatan Fish Panuchos: Panuchos de Pescado appeared first on MexConnect.

Carrots add a subtle sweetness to broths, and beef shanks — with their rich, tasty marrow (called tuétano in Mexico) — make an extra nourishing broth.

Ingredients

• 6 beef shanks
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 6 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 4 cups water or vegetable stock
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• ½ pound mushrooms, cut into quarters
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a large stockpot, sauté the beef shanks in the oil until browned on both sides, turning once. Remove and set aside. Add the carrots, onion, tomato paste, bay leaves and thyme to the pot, and stir to cook the raw taste off the tomato paste.

Return the beef shanks to the pot, add the water or stock, and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.

Add the potatoes and mushrooms and cook until the potatoes are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaves and thyme. Serve in shallow bowls, with each diner getting a beef shank, some vegetables and broth. Serves 6.

The post Mexican-style beef in broth with carrots: Chambarete en caldillo con zanahorias appeared first on MexConnect.

While a torta can be filled with any kind of savory sandwich filling, the beans, avocado and tomato are always present. Leave out the onion if you are not a fan, or substitute mayonnaise for the crema; some torterías use melted butter instead of crema.

The milanesa is probably the most popular filling, and part of its appeal is the crunch of the breadcrumbs, which are literally pressed into the meat with a rolling pin here in Mexico.

Ingredients

• 1 4-ounce pork or chicken cutlet
• ½ cup fine, dry bread crumbs (do not use panko, since the crumbs are too large to press into the meat)
• beaten egg
• vegetable oil for frying
• 1 bolillo or telera roll, or substitute French bread
• ¼ cup refried beans
• 1 tablespoon thick Mexican crema or mayonnaise
• 2-3 ¼ inch slices of tomato
• 4-5 ¼ inch slices of avocado
• 3-4 thin slices of white onion
• 2-3 pickled jalapeño strips (jalapeños en escabeche)

Preparation

Season the cutlet with salt and pepper. Place the crumbs on a plate and the beaten egg into a shallow pan. Dip the cutlet in the egg, then into the bread crumbs, pressing on both sides with a rolling pin so that as much as possible adheres to the cutlet.

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the cutlet on both sides until crisp. Set aside to drain on paper towels while you prepare the sandwich.

Cut the roll in half horizontally and pull out the soft center part (the miga). Spread one side with the refried beans and the other with the crema or mayonnaise.

Place the cutlet on the roll, top with tomato, avocado and onion.

For a hot sandwich, press in a panini press. Makes 1 sandwich.

Link to Source Article
Tortas, Cemitas, Pambazos: A Meal in a Sandwich

The post Fried cutlet torta: Torta de milanesa appeared first on MexConnect.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of shrimp
• 1 white onion
• 2 or 3 seeded jalapeno peppers
• 2 peeled and seeded tomatoes
• 1 large ripe avocado

How to Prepare

Mince and mix all ingredients together squeeze enough lime juice over top to cover and refrigerate, stirring occasionally until shrimp are pink (cooked), 3 to 4 hours.

The post Ceviche De Camarón appeared first on MexConnect.

The combination of meat and squash is typically West African, combined here with tomatoes, an indigenous Mexican ingredient, and spices introduced by the Spaniards.

The original recipe, as presented by Raquel Torres and Dora Elena Carriaga in Recetario Afromestizo de Veracruz leaves out the tomatoes and spices, but nowadays most jarocha cooks use them.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 pounds beef short ribs, cut into serving size pieces
• ¾ pound tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• beef broth
• 1 pound calabaza squash (West Indian squash) or butternut squash

Preparation

In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat the vegetable oil, add the short ribs and brown on all sides. Remove the short ribs from the pot and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat.

Add the tomatoes and onion and cook until the tomatoes have rendered their juice and the onion is soft. Add the garlic, cook a couple more minutes; add the salt, pepper and spices and stir to combine.

Return the short ribs to the pot, add beef broth to cover, bring to a boil, cover the pot and lower the flame. Cook until the ribs are tender. (Here in Mexico, many cooks would use a pressure cooker, which cuts down considerably on time and fuel.)

While the meat is cooking, peel the squash, discard the stringy pulp, and cut into 2-inch cubes. Add to the pot with the short ribs and continue cooking until the squash is tender. Serves 4.

Link to Source Article
Immigrant Cooking in Mexico: The Afromestizos of Veracruz

The post Beef short ribs with pumpkin: Costilla de res con calabaza appeared first on MexConnect.

This is a delicious and unique version of enchiladas, reminiscent of the chicken in nut sauces served in Oaxaca and Veracruz. If you can’t find raw peanuts, use the ones that come already roasted in bags, and in that case, do not toast them. If you do use raw peanuts, be sure to remove the papery husks as well as the shells. This is one dish that requires corn tortillas instead of the usual norteño flour tortillas.

Ingredients:

• ¼ pound peanuts, peeled and lightly toasted on a dry comal or griddle
• ¼ pound almonds, peeled and lightly toasted on a dry comal or griddle
• 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, lightly toasted on a dry comal or griddle
• 6 ancho chiles, seeded and deveined
• ½ medium white onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade
• corn oil as necessary
• 18 medium corn tortillas
• 1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded

Preparation:

Place the toasted peanuts, almonds and sesame seeds in the container of a blender or food processor and process to break them up a bit before adding the other ingredients.

Simmer the chiles in water to cover for 15 minutes or until tender, drain and add to the blender or processor with the nuts. Add the onion, garlic, and 1 cup of the broth and puree until as smooth as possible.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a saucepan, add the puree and fry for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the remaining broth a little a time, until the sauce has the consistency of heavy cream.

In a frying pan with oil to cover the bottom, soft-fry each tortilla, turning once, and place on paper towels to drain. You will have to add more oil from time to time, but the tortillas should not be deep fried or allowed to become crisp. (Tortillas are ready to turn when the first side begins to puff up, and ready to remove from the pan when the second side begins to puff up.)

Reheat the sauce if it has cooled down, dip each tortilla in sauce, place it on a plate, fill with chicken and roll up. Follow with remaining tortillas. Drizzle enchiladas with more sauce if desired. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings of 3 enchiladas each.

Link to Source Article

The post Chicken Enchiladas in Peanut and Almond Sauce: Enchiladas en Cacahuate y Almendras appeared first on MexConnect.