Beef and Sweet Potato Turnovers

 

Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 15m| Total Time: 40m

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 sweet potato, grated
• 2 cups baby spinach
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed, halved
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon until no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes; stir in the garlic.
3. Add the sweet potato, spinach, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper, and toss to combine.
4. Dividing evenly, spoon the beef mixture onto one side of each piece of puff pastry, leaving a ¼-inch border.
5. Top with the cheese, fold the dough over the filling, and press firmly to seal.
6. Transfer the turnovers to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Mexican Rice

 

Restaurant Style Mexican Rice

April 1, 2013 By Emily Leave a Comment

 

This is a delicious and simple recipe for mexican rice that rivals anything you can get in a restaurant.  I have tried different methods in my rice cooker, but cooking it over the stove is so much better.  The rice really absorbs the flavors and has a much better consistency.  This recipe goes hand in hand with our restaurant style refried beans HERE.
My husband is very picky about his mexican rice, they had a family friend growing up that made the most amazing and authentic mexican food, but this version passed!  He actually said it is his new favorite way to make it and we have made it several times since.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 cup long grain rice, uncooked
• 1 tsp. fresh minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 c. tomato sauce
• 1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
• 3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice and gently stir until rice begins to lightly brown. Add the garlic, salt, and cumin and stir the rice til it looks golden. Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, and cilantro and turn the heat up to medium high. Bring the mix to a boil then turn the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Serves 4.

Christmas Bacalao

Christmas Bacalao
Inspired by a vendor at Mercado de la Merced, and Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen
Serves 6 to 8 as a light dinner

Bacalao is sold all over Mexico City around Christmas time, and once you buy it, it keeps for up to two months, or so says the lady at Mercado de la Merced. To cook it, start preparing the day before. Place the bacalao in a dish and cover with cold water. Change out the water every few hours, until the bacalao is sufficiently less salty. You can also freeze it for a few days, if you totally lose track of time.
Also, it’s not the traditionally Mexican thing to do, but I’d serve this with a fresh green salad sprinkled with panela cheese, or any other mild fresh farmer’s cheese to contrast with the bold flavors of the fish. A big hunk of crunchy bread would go well, too.
It’s best to use the freshest, ripest tomatoes possible. Only about half of mine were truly ripe, and the dish still turned out well, but lacked a big bright punch of tomato flavor. Next time I may try slow-roasting a few tomatoes, and adding that into the mix as well.
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds of bacalao (salted, dried cod)
1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
2 pounds ripe tomatoes
1 large white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley
3/4 cup green olives, either left whole, or pitted and sliced
6 pickled guerito chiles, or more if you like it spicy
1/2 teaspoon thyme
 Prepare the cod the day before by placing it in a dish of cold water. Change out the water every few hours, until the cod no longer tastes overly salty.
If you live in a high altitude, like me, you’ll want to prepare the potatoes next, because they take forever to cook. I like to save time by zapping them in the microwave. Place them in a microwaveable bowl and toss with 1 teaspoon salt. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and cook at 5 minute intervals, on high, until they’re tender. Leave them in the microwave, covered, to keep warm.
Roast your tomatoes either under the broiler or on a comal, until they’re blackened and blistered in spots. Remove the skins once they’re cool enough to handle, and place them in a blender. Puree until you no longer see any thick pieces of tomato.
Heat a few glugs of olive oil over medium heat in a large, 12-inch skillet, or a enameled dutch oven. Add your onion and cook until softened, about five minutes. Then add garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds to a minute. Add the tomato mixture, stir, and cook the whole thing until it’s reduced and thick, about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your altitude.
While the tomato mixture is cooking, place your newly salt-free bacalao in a sauce pan, and cover it with water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer the fish for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Once your tomato sauce has thickened, add the parsley, olives, guerito chiles, and thyme. [Note: The Mercado de la Merced market vendor also says to add carrots here. I didn't have any in the house so I didn't use them, but a touch of sweetness from the carrots would make a nice addition.] Stir in enough water to create a soupy broth, and then add your fish into the pan, nestling it inside so it’s covered by the other ingredients. Simmer for an hour, adding more water if fish looks too dry. Bayless’s recipe says the fish should break up into chunks, but mine didn’t entirely do that, and it still tasted fine.
When fish is done cooking, add your potatoes to the pot and stir. Serve in heaping spoonfuls on a plate, and garnish with parsley. Sing “Feliz Navidad” as you eat.

Ponche *Traditional Mexican Christmas Punch

How to make ponche, the traditional Mexican Christmas punch

By Lesley On December 13, 2010 · 46 Comments

Ponche is a warm tropical-fruit punch. As I mentioned in my previous post — thank you for all the wonderful comments! — it’s traditionally imbibed in Mexico during Christmastime. Vendors sell it at night near the sidewalk Christmas markets. It’s also served with buñuelos during the posadas.
No one seems to know exactly how and why Mexican ponche materialized. In general, historians seem to agree that the punch concept originated in India, where English sailors took a liking to it and brought to Europe. The Spaniards (or the French?) must have carried the tradition to Mexico.
Today, the base of Mexican ponche comprises piloncillo, a dark-brown unrefined cane sugar, mixed with water and cinnamon sticks. To that, you can add pretty much any winter fruits you want: apples, oranges, guavas, tejocotes.
The latter two are key. Tejocotes are small, speckled orange fruits with an apple-pear taste, and their soft flesh turns almost creamy while soaking in the ponche.
Guavas lend just the right amount of tang and citrusy perfume. The smell of guavas cooking with cinnamon and sugar is intoxicating. Someday someone’s going to make a million dollars selling it to Williams-Sonoma as an air freshener.

The ponche workhorses: tejocotes (small orange fruits in front), guavas (left), apples and cinnamon

In addition to the fresh fruit, ponche can contain prunes, raisins, tamarind, walnuts. Some folks add hibiscus flowers, which gives the ponche a pretty burgundy color.
Ponche isn’t an exact science. Everything simmers together until the fruit is tender, and the dried fruits become plump, sugar-swollen nuggets. If you are like me, you will hover over the pan and give yourself a ponche facial, letting that sweet, spicy steam envelope your face.
You can’t see the steam in the picture below, but that’s because I was so smitten once the ponche started to cook that I forgot about my camera, and kept fishing raisins and tamarind pieces out of the pot to eat.

Ponche simmering on the stove

Ponche has a lot of ingredients, but it requires minimal chopping. If you have a helper the whole thing can be on the stove within 20 minutes.
If you like — and we do, in our house — a little nip of brandy, rum or tequila, feel free to add it in. Just make sure to serve the cups with a spoon, so everyone can dig into their boozy (or not) fruits.
Recipe below.

Ponche
Adapted from Fany Gerson’s My Sweet Mexico
Makes about 3 1/2 quarts
Note: You shouldn’t feel wedded to any ponche recipe, as the ratios can be tweaked for your specific tastes. Fany’s version includes tamarind, raisins and prunes, but I found the original quantities to be a little too tangy, so I lessened them and added more water. In the future I may leave out the prunes all together.
If you don’t have piloncillo, you can substitute brown sugar. If you can’t find sugar cane, just leave it out.
The amount of water depends on how thick you like your ponche. Once the fruit starts to cook, the mixture will thicken — feel free to add more water to thin it out. Ponche also reheats beautifully on the stove, thinned with a little water. It will keep in the fridge in an air-tight container for at least a week.
To cut piloncillo: Grab the thick end of cone and slice with a knife. It’ll require some force on your end, but it should work. (The piloncillo should not be so hard that you can’t cut it.) You could also try scraping it along a box grater. Don’t put the cone in the food processor, or it might break your machine.
Ingredients
2 1/2 to 3 quarts water* (see note)
2 cinnamon sticks, about 6 inches long
8 ounces tejocotes, left whole
6 guavas, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 mild-flavored apples (not Granny Smith), peeled, cored and cut into bite-size pieces
2 four-inch pieces of sugar cane, peeled and cut into thin strips
1/2 cup pitted prunes, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup dark raisins
5 long tamarind pods, peeled and seeded, or three tablespoons of tamarind pulp without seeds
6 to 8 ounces piloncillo or dark brown sugar (this equals about one average cone)
Rum, brandy or tequila (optional)
Directions
Bring water and cinnamon sticks to a boil in a large pot. Add the tejocotes and lower the flame. Cook over a slow, rolling boil until the tejocotes are soft, about five minutes.
Remove the fruit from the pot, let cool and then peel the skin off with your fingers. (It should come off easily.) Cut the tejocotes in half, and remove and discard the seeds.
Once they’ve been peeled and de-seeded, place the tejocotes back into your pot of cinnamon-water and add the remaining ponche ingredients. Stir to combine and let simmer for at least 30 minutes. If you’re adding alcohol, pour it into the pot right before serving time.
To serve the ponche, remove the cinnamon sticks and ladle directly into mugs, making sure to include the chunks of cooked fruit. The strips of sugar cane can be served directly into the cup, to suck on after you’re finished drinking.

Tamale's and Dessert Tamale's

Tamale dough

The most important part of a tamale is the outer dough. Corn masa (also known as masa harina) must be used to make the dough; there is no substitute. Corn masa has become a very popular ingredient that you can find in the international section of many grocery stores or in any Mexican market. You also can order it online. Maseca, a popular brand of corn masa, makes an almost instant dough that works perfectly for tamales.
Once you have the right ingredients, making the dough is simple: Add butter (or lard), water (or broth) and baking powder to the masa and mix until the dough is light and airy.

Tamale fillings

A savory tamale filling, combined with a spicy sauce, may include pork, chicken or beef; however, fish, beans, vegetables and cheese also work well.
Sweet tamales, a delicious ending to a Mexican-themed meal, are typically filled with dried or fresh fruit and nuts. Raisins flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg are a popular addition.

Tamale wrappers

Because tamales are steamed, they have to be wrapped so the dough doesn't fall apart. The most common wrappers are dried corn husks, which you can find at Mexican markets and in large grocery stores.
Most corn husks found stateside come packed in water and ready for immediate use. Dry husks must be soaked in water for about 10 minutes so they become soft. Banana leaves also are a popular option, but they are usually larger and need to be heated to make them flexible enough to use. Finally, the wrappers must be tied with twine, rope or string so they stay in place.

Chicken Tamales

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 10-ounce chicken breast
• 1/2 white onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 dried chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup corn masa
• 1/2 (10-1/2-ounce) can chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup lard or butter
• 8 corn husks, soaked in warm water (if not already packed in water)
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Combine chicken, onion and garlic with enough water to cover meat in a pot or Dutch oven. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, soak chiles in simmering water for 20 minutes; let cool. Pour chiles and soaking water into a blender and blend until smooth. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt.
3. Shred cooked chicken and combine with 1 cup of chile mixture.
4. Whisk lard or butter with 1 tablespoon broth until light. Mix corn masa with baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt, then combine with lard. Gently mix to make a fluffy dough, adding more broth as needed.
5. Spread the dough over one side of each corn husk to about 1/4-inch thickness. Spoon meat mixture on top of dough and fold over sides of corn husks to seal; secure with twine or string.
6. Place tamales in a steamer basket and steam for about 1 hour. Remove tamales from steamer, unwrap and top with the rest of the chile sauce and a dollop of sour cream.

Vegetable & Bean Tamales

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 white onion, dried
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup mushrooms
• 1/4 cup corn kernels, drained
• 4 teaspoons mustard, prepared
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup vegetable shortening
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 4 cups corn masa
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 corn husks, soaked in warm water (if not packed in water)
• 1 cup cotija cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Combine onion with bell pepper, mushrooms, corn, mustard, soy sauce and cayenne pepper; set aside.
2. Whisk shortening with 1 cup broth until light. Mix corn masa with baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt. Combine with shortening mixture. Gently mix to make a fluffy dough, adding more broth as needed.
3. Spread the dough over one side of each corn husk to about 1/4-inch thickness. Spoon vegetable mixture on top of dough and fold over sides of corn husks to seal. Secure with twine or string.
4. Place tamales in a steamer basket and steam for about 1 hour. Remove tamales from steamer, unwrap and top with the grated cheese. Place tamales under the broiler for a few minutes to melt cheese.

 

Chocolate & Nut Tamales

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vegetable shortening
• 4 cups milk
• 4 cups corn masa
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 12 corn husks, soaked in warm water (if not packed in water)
• 2 cups Abuelita brand chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup crushed peanuts
• 2 cups whipped cream

Directions:

1. Whisk shortening with 1 cup milk until light. Mix corn masa with baking powder, brown sugar and vanilla, then combine with shortening mixture. Gently mix to make a fluffy dough, adding more milk as needed.
2. Spread the dough over one side of each corn husk to about 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle chocolate and nuts over dough and fold over sides of corn husks to seal. Secure with twine or string.
3. Place tamales in a steamer basket and steam for about 1 hour. Remove tamales from steamer, unwrap and top with whipped cream.

Mexican hot chocolate

Mexican chocolate is grainier than other kinds of chocolate and is also used to make sauces like mole. It's flavored with cinnamon, almonds and vanilla, but this recipe calls for semisweet chocolate and added seasonings instead. Authentic Mexican hot chocolate is made with a molinillo (a special chocolate beater to make the hot drink frothy), but you can use a whisk for yours. Your drink might not be quite as frothy, but it'll still be tasty!
If you feel up for something even more special, add a few more ingredients to your drink: cayenne pepper and chili powder. It's a great way to add a bit of an adventure to your warm drink! Like most traditional recipes, there are many variations of Mexican hot chocolate. This version is sure to warm you to your toes and put a smile on your face!

Serves 4 people

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup whipping cream for topping

Optional:

• Dash of cayenne pepper and chili powder

Directions:

1. Place the half and half and the plain milk into a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Add the cinnamon.
2. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean and into the pan (if you're using the vanilla extract, add it now), and then add the brown sugar and chocolate.
3. Whisk the mixture together until the chocolate has melted, and pour into four mugs.
4. If you're using the optional seasonings, add them to the individual mugs.
5. Top each with the whipping cream and serve immediately.

Bunuelos de Viento Recipe - Light-as-Air Spanish Fritters

As the name implies, these "bunuelos" are light and fluffy, and melt in your mouth. They are perfect for an afternoon snack or dessert and are a typical Spanish dessert. They are lightly fried, and dusted with powdered sugar and/or filled with pastry cream, egg custard or marmalade.

Prep Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tbsp butter
• zest of 1 lemon
• pinch of salt
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 4.5 oz unbleached white flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 4 eggs
• 3-4 cups vegetable oil (canola, corn, etc.) for frying
• powdered sugar for dusting
• egg custard for filling (optional)

Preparation:

This bunuelos recipe makes approximately 24 bunuelos. For bunuelos with custard filling, allow approximately 20 minutes to prepare custard. See end of recipe for link to egg custard recipe.
Pour water, butter, granulated sugar, lemon zest and pinch of salt into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, add the flour and baking powder all at once and begin stirring with a wooden spoon. Stir constantly until the dough begins to come away from the sides of the pan. Take off the heat and allow to cool down for a few minutes.
When the dough is no longer hot, but warm, stir in the eggs, one by one. Use a hand mixer if necessary to ensure that the dough is smooth. Set aside for 1.5 to 2 hours.
Pour approximately 1.5 inches vegetable oil into a large heavy-bottomed frying pan. Heat on medium-high. When the oil is just hot enough to fry, begin dropping spoonfuls of dough into the oil. Turn over when bottom is golden. The bunuelos should turn a golden color and begin to float when cooked. Remove them from the pan one at a time using a slotted spoon or spatula. Allow to drain on a paper towel.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

Custard Filled Variation

Bunuelos can be filled with creamy egg custard, as in the photo. Make the custard while the dough is resting. Once bunuelos are fried, wait until they are cool enough to touch and cut in half. Spoon custard filling in and serve immediately.

• Egg Custard Recipe