45 - 60 min.

Coffee Flan with Tequila Whipped Cream

Posted on by Pati Jinich
coffee flan
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4.67 from 6 votes

Coffee Flan with Tequila Whipped Cream

Coffee Flan with Tequila Whipped Cream recipe from Pati's Mexican Table Season 2, Episode 8 “Tequila!”
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time48 minutes
Total Time58 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: coffee, flan, mexican vanilla, pati's mexican table, Sweetened Condensed Milk, tequila, whipped cream
Servings: 10 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

For the flan:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 12oz can evaporated milk
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons Mexican instant coffee dissolved in 2 tablespoons boiling water

For the whipped cream:

  • 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons white or silver tequila

Instructions

To prepare the flan:

  • In a heavy medium saucepan, cook the sugar over medium heat, stirring frequently, until melted and golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Quickly pour the caramelized sugar syrup into individual molds. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Place all three milks, the eggs, vanilla and coffee in a blender. Mix until completely blended and smooth. Pour into the caramel-lined molds or ramekins. Set the molds into a larger baking dish or pan. Carefully pour boiling water (it is very important that the water already be very hot) into the larger holding pan up to at least half the height of the molds. Place on the middle rack of the oven.
  • Bake, uncovered, about 40 minutes, or until the center comes out moist but clean. Remove the individual molds from the water bath and let them cool completely. Refrigerate the molds, covered with plastic.
  • To serve, run a thin knife around the edge of the pan between the custard and the pan. Invert the flans onto plates to unmold them. Carefully lift up the molds to allow the syrup to run over the flan.

To prepare the whipped cream:

  • Whip the cold cream in the bowl of an electric mixer. When it starts to hold peaks, add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and tequila. Continue to whip until it forms stiff peaks. Serve flan with a generous dollop of whipped cream; serve cold.

Notes

Flan de Café con Crema Batida al Tequila

Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce

Posted on by Pati Jinich
meatballs in chipotle sauce
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4 from 6 votes

Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce

Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce recipe from Pati's Mexican Table Season 2, Episode 6 “Fonda Favorites”
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Chipotle, chipotles in adobo, garlic, ground beef, meatballs, onion, pati's mexican table, Tomatoes
Servings: 8 to 10 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 eggs lightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt or to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
  • 2 pounds ripe tomatoes
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 3 tablespoons white onion chopped
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons chipotle chiles in adobo sauce or to taste
  • 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce optional
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 to 3 fresh cilantro sprigs or to taste

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground meat with the eggs, minced garlic, breadcrumbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper. Mix thoroughly with your hands or a spatula.
  • Place tomatoes in a saucepan and cover with water; simmer over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until cooked through and mushy.
  • In a blender, add the cooked tomatoes along with 1/4 cup of their cooking liquid, 2 garlic cloves, white onion, the sauce from the chipotle chiles in adobo and, if desired, one whole seeded chipotle chile. Purée until smooth.
  • Pour the oil into a large soup pot and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, pour in the puréed tomato mix. It will sizzle and jump, that is ok! Let it simmer, with the lid ajar, anywhere from 6 to 8 minutes, or until it has changed its color to a deeper red, thickened in consistency and lost its raw flavor. Add the chicken broth and salt to taste and reduce heat to medium low.
  • Place a small mixing bowl with water to the side of the soup pot with the simmering tomato broth. Wet your hands and start to make the meatballs, one by one. They should be anywhere from 1 to 2″. Gently place the meatballs in the simmering tomato broth.
  • Once you have shaped all the meatballs, add the cilantro sprigs to the pot, then simmer over medium-low heat for 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Serve hot with a side of Mexican avocado slices, some warm corn tortillas and, if desired, frijoles de olla or white rice and plantains.

Notes

Albóndigas al Chipotle

Blissful Corn Torte

Posted on by Pati Jinich
blissful corn torte
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4.86 from 7 votes

Blissful Corn Torte

Blissful Corn Torte recipe from Pati's Mexican Table Season 2, Episode 3 “A French Twist on Mexico”
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Corn, corn bread, cornbread, pati's mexican table, rice flour, Torta
Servings: 12 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 8 eggs separated
  • 4 cups corn kernels
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup rice flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or coarse salt

Instructions

  • Place rack in the middle of oven and heat to 360 degrees. Butter a 9×12-inch pan.
  • Beat the butter with the sugar until creamy. Slowly add 8 egg yolks, one by one, until incorporated. Add the cream, rice flour and baking powder.
  • In a blender, process the milk with the corn kernels, then, incorporate it into the mix above. Place the mixture in a big mixing bowl.
  • Separately, beat the egg whites with salt until stiff peaks are formed. Add 1/5 of the egg whites to the butter/corn mix and blend carefully. Slowly blend the rest of the egg whites until everything is mixed, it is ok if the mixture looks streaky, don’t over work it or it will lose volume. Pour onto baking dish.
  • Bake until torte is springy to the touch and lightly browned, 45 to 50 minutes. Once it cools a little, cut into squares. It can be served either warm or cold; it can be covered and kept at room temperature for an entire day, or covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

Pan de Elote

Mexican Chicken Broth

Posted on by Pati Jinich
broth or caldo
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3.67 from 6 votes

Mexican Chicken Broth

Mexican Chicken Broth recipe from Pati's Mexican Table Season 4, Episode 5 “Tamaliza!”
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: carrots, celery, chicken, chicken broth, onion, pati's mexican table
Servings: 8 cups broth & 6 cups shredded chicken
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 1 3-pound chicken cut into serving pieces, or 2–3 pounds mixed chicken parts
  • 3 carrots peeled and cut into large chunks
  • 1 white onion halved
  • 3 celery stalks cut into large chunks
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 5 to 6 black peppercorns
  • 5 to 6 fresh Italian parsley sprigs
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt or to taste
  • 3 1/2 quarts water

Instructions

  • Place all the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, skim off any foam, and simmer, partially covered, for 50 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool.
  • With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken pieces to a bowl. Strain the broth into a container, cool, and refrigerate. Remove the skin and bones from the chicken. Shred or cut the meat into chunks for future use and refrigerate if not using right away.

Notes

Caldo de Pollo

Rosura Salad

Posted on by Pati Jinich
rosura salad
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4.50 from 2 votes

Rosura Salad

This award winning recipe, adapted from caterer Marí­a Dolores Torres Izabal is festive and colorful. You can prepare all the ingredients ahead of time and assemble right before serving.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time0 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Avocado, beets, Jicama, red cabbage, Rosura, salad, Spinach, vinaigrette
Servings: 12 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

Vinaigrette:

  • 1/4 cup tarragon vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove pressed or finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped white onion
  • 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Avocado dressing:

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 cup Mexican crema
  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

To serve:

  • 5 cups (or about 1 pound) thinly sliced red cabbage
  • 3 cups peeled and shredded raw beets from about 2 beets
  • 5 cups (or about 8 ounces) spinach rinsed and thinly sliced
  • 5 cups jícama peeled and cut into small sticks (from about 1 jícama)
  • 1/4 of a white onion thinly sliced
  • 3 ounces candied pineapple or other candied fruit
  • 1 cup croutons
  • 1/2 cup lightly toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

For the vinaigrette:

  • Add the vinegar, garlic, chopped onion, salt, and sugar to a small bowl, then whisk in the oils to emulsify.

For the avocado dressing:

  • Place milk and garlic in a blender and puree. Add the lime juice, crema, avocados and salt to taste and blend until smooth. Pour avocado dressing in a bowl and stir in the chives. 

To serve:

  • Combine the cabbage, beets, spinach, jícama, onion and dried pineapple or dried fruit in a salad bowl. 
  • Lightly dress the salad with some of the vinaigrette. Place the salad on the table and leave the avocado dressing, croutons and toasted sesame seeds on the side for people to add as they please.  

Notes

Adapted from Marí­a Dolores Torres Izabal

Drunken Rice with Chicken

Posted on by Pati Jinich
drunken rice chicken pati jinich
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4.89 from 9 votes

Drunken Rice with Chicken

Drunken Rice with Chicken recipe from Pati's Mexican Table Season 4, Episode 11 “Family Favorites”
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: beer, chicken, chicken broth, cinnamon, cloves, garlic, onion, pati's mexican table, peas, peppers, rice, saffron, Tomatoes
Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads crumbled
  • 2 tablespoons boiling water
  • 6 tablespoons safflower or corn oil divided
  • 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher or coarse sea salt divided, or to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 cups white rice
  • 1/2 cup chopped white onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped tomato
  • 2 garlic cloves minced or pressed
  • Pinch of ground cumin
  • Pinch of ground cinnamon
  • 2 whole cloves stems removed and tops crushed
  • 1 cup beer
  • 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup peas fresh or thawed from frozen

Instructions

  • Place the saffron threads in a small mixing bowl along with the boiling water. Mix and let soak for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Heat the oil in a large and thick casserole over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Once the oil is hot, brown the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove and place in a bowl. Add a couple more tablespoons of oil to the casserole and scrape drippings, don’t remove them though.
  • Add the uncooked rice and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, until its color starts to change to milky white and the grains separate. Incorporate the onion, green and red bell peppers, tomato and garlic and stir. Add the cumin, cinnamon, crushed cloves, 1/2 teaspoon salt and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, until vegetables have softened. Pour in the beer, and let it cook and reduce until it is almost absorbed and the alcohol has evaporated, a couple minutes.
  • Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice, pour the chicken broth on top and the saffron and its liquid, as well as the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and stir. When liquid starts to boil, add the peas and cover the pot, reduce heat to low, and continue cooking for about 20 more minutes, or until the rice is cooked through and the liquid has been mostly absorbed.
  • If the rice grains don’t seem soft and cooked through, add a bit more chicken stock or water and let it cook for another 5 minutes or so. Turn heat off, and let it sit covered for 5 to 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Notes

Arroz Borracho con Pollo

Sami’s Smashed Potatoes

Posted on by Pati Jinich
Sami's Smashed Potatoes
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4.86 from 7 votes

Sami's Smashed Potatoes

Sami's Smashed Potatoes recipe from Pati's Mexican Table Season 4, Episode 9 “Sami’s Big Day”
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Ancho, baked potato, Chipotle, garlic, pati's mexican table, potatoes, queso anejo, roasted potatoes, rosemary
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil plus more to brush dish
  • 8 to 10 garlic cloves pressed or finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ancho or chipotle chile powder or more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried and crumbled rosemary
  • 1 cup grated parmeggiano reggiano or queso añejo

Instructions

  • In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Drop in the potatoes and cook until completely cooked and soft, about 20 minutes. The tip of a sharp knife should be able to completely and easily go through one.
  • Brush olive oil on a large baking sheet or dish. Place the potatoes, one by one, on the baking sheet. With the back of a soup spoon, smash each potato lightly but firmly until it flattens, albeit unevenly, halfway; as if just lightly smashed, but not completely broken apart. Continue with all the potatoes. Don’t let them cool too much, or it won’t be as easy to smash and lightly flatten them.
  • Place the oven rack in the upper third tier and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  • In a bowl, mix the olive oil with the pressed or finely chopped garlic, chile powder, rosemary and salt. Spoon some of the garlic mixture on top of each lightly smashed potato. Cover with grated parmesan cheese.
  • Place the potatoes in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until they are golden and crisp. Serve hot.

Notes

Papas Aplastadas para Sami

Uchepos

Posted on by Pati Jinich
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4.84 from 6 votes

Uchepos

Uchepos recipe from Pati's Mexican Table Season 4, Episode 5 “Tamaliza!”
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time55 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: cinnamon, Corn, corn meal, masa, mexican crema, queso fresco, rice flour, Sweetened Condensed Milk, Tamales
Servings: 10 to 12 tamales
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 10 large tender ears of corn with fresh corn husks attached
  • 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/4 cup corn meal or rice flour more as needed
  • 1 teaspoon ground canela or cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
  • Fresh corn husks from the ears of corn to make the tamales or dried corn husks
  • Mexican crema optional topping
  • Queso fresco optional topping

Instructions

To make the corn dough or masa:

  • Carefully peel the husks from the ears of corn. It helps if you slice 1/4-inch or so from the bottom part of the corn. Place the husks in a large bowl and cover with hot water. (If using dried corn husks, soak in hot water.)
  • Rinse the peeled corn thoroughly. Shave the corn kernels off and place in a food processor or blender along with the sweetened condensed milk. Process until you get as smooth consistency as you can. Incorporate the corn meal or rice flour until you get a moist, but not wet, dough consistency. Season with the cinnamon and salt and mix well.

To prepare the tamalera or steamer:

  • Place water in the bottom pan of a steamer (so that water is under the steamer) and bring it to a simmer. Line the steamer with one or two layers of soaked corn husks.

To assemble the tamales:

  • Lay out a corn husk with the tapering end towards you. If the fresh corn husks are too thin, use 2 or 3 fanned together. Spread about 3 tablespoons of dough or masa into about a 2 to 3-inch square, the layer should be about 1/4-inch thick, leaving a border of at least 1/2-inch on the sides.
  • Pick up the two long sides of the corn husk and bring them together and fold the folded sides to one side, rolling them in the same direction around tamal. Fold up the empty section of the husk, with the tapering end, from the bottom up. This will form a closed bottom and the top will be left open.
  • Prepare all the tamales and place them as vertically as you can in a container.

To cook tamales:

  • When you have all tamales ready place them, again as vertically as you can, into the prepared steamer, with the open end on top. If there is space left in the steamer, tuck in some cornhusks, so the tamales won’t dance around. Cover with more cornhusks, and steam covered with a lid anywhere from 55 minutes to an hour. You know the tamales are ready when they come easily free from the husks.
  • Serve hot, along with fresh Mexican cream and crumbled queso fresco on the side.

Cherry Tomato & Red Wine Jam

Posted on by Pati Jinich
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5 from 5 votes

Cherry Tomato & Red Wine Jam

Cherry Tomato & Red Wine Jam recipe from Pati's Mexican Table Season 4, Episode 4 “Summer Evening Party”
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: baguette, bread, capers, cilantro, goat cheese, jam, pati's mexican table, pine nuts, red wine, red wine vinegar, scallions, Tomatoes
Servings: 2 cups
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 8 cups cherry tomatoes
  • 6 scallions chopped into 1/2-inch pieces white/light green and green parts separated
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
  • To taste kosher or coarse sea salt
  • To taste freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1/3 cup fruity red wine such as cabernet sauvignon or malbec
  • 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons capers
  • 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
  • To serve:
  • 1 baguette cut into 1/2-inch pieces and grilled
  • 12 ounces goat cheese
  • 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves and upper stems
  • Fine crystal sea salt optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes, white and light green parts of the scallions, 1/4 cup of olive oil, and salt and pepper until the tomatoes are well coated. Pour onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  • Put the baking sheet in the oven and let the tomatoes wilt, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. They should be wilted but remain intact. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and cool to room temperature.
  • In a large sauté pan over medium-low heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the crushed chiles and garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the red wine, sugar and vinegar and increase the heat to medium. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the wine reduces by more than half and becomes syrupy. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the tomatoes, capers, and pine nuts. Stir all to combine and let simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and place in a bowl for serving.
  • Spread some goat cheese on the grilled baguette slices, top with some of the tomato jam, and garnish with cilantro and the remaining chopped green parts of the scallions. If desired, sprinkle with sea salt for just before serving.

Notes

Mermelada de Jitomate

Tacos de Canasta

Posted on by Pati Jinich
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4.50 from 6 votes

Tacos de Canasta

Tacos de Canasta recipe from Pati's Mexican Table Season 4, Episode 3 “Taco Night”
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: cheese, cilantro, corn tortillas, epazote, garlic, green onions, jalapeno, onion, pati's mexican table, requesón, tacos, Tomatoes
Servings: 12 tacos
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • Vegetable oil for frying
  • 1/2 -inch slice of white onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 12 corn tortillas
  • 1/2 cup finely sliced scallions or cebollitas de cambray in Mexico
  • 1 jalapeno chile seeded and finely chopped, more or less to taste
  • 1 pound roma tomatoes chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt or to taste
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro or epazote
  • 1 pound (about 2 1/2 cups) requesón or farmer’s cheese

Instructions

  • Prepare a basket: Line it with large, thick layers of plastic wrap to cover the entire interior of the basket (they should be big enough that they cover the interior of the basket and fold over the top). Place a couple kitchen towels in the bottom of the basket on top of the plastic. Lastly, add butchers’ style paper or parchment paper on top of the kitchen towels and on the side of the basket.
  • In a large skillet over medium heat, heat enough oil to come 1/2-inch up the sides of the pan. Once hot, add the onion slice and garlic cloves, let them brown for at least 10 minutes.
  • Pass the corn tortillas, one by one with a set of tongs, “through hot oil.” That is, quickly fry for 3 seconds per side, and set on a cooling rack or plate covered with paper towels, until all are done.
  • In another skillet, set over medium heat, pour 3 tablespoons of the onion and garlic seasoned oil. Once hot, add the scallions or cebollitas and chile, and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes until softened. Add the tomatoes and salt, and cook stirring occasionally, for about 8 to 10 minutes until completely cooked and mushy. Stir in cilantro or epazote, cook for a couple more minutes and remove from heat. In a mixing bowl, combine the requesón, along with the tomato mixture and season with more salt to taste, if needed.
  • Pre-heat a comal or skillet over medium heat.
  • One by one, add a couple tablespoons of the cheese and tomato mix into a fried tortilla and fold into a half-moon shape. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas. (You may eat them at this point, but they won’t be “basket” or “sweaty” tacos yet!) Place the filled tortillas on the hot comal or skillet. Heat thoroughly for about a minute per side.
  • Arrange the heated tacos in layers in the basket as they come off comal. Once you are done, add another layer of paper over the tacos, cover with another kitchen towel, and finally the plastic, which should fold over it all from the interior lining of the basket. Let the tacos rest and sweat (at least 10 minutes) and keep covered until ready to eat.
  • Serve with your choice of salsa, slices of Mexican avocado or pickled jalapeños.

My Favorite Tamal of All Time: Chicken in Green Salsa

Posted on by Pati Jinich

Tamales are it. If you’ve eaten one, you know it.

Simple. When ready and steaming hot, unwrap the edible bundle and eat swiftly, no fork, no knife, bite by bite.  So good.

Yet as simple as it may sound to write a post about tamales, I could dedicate an entire series of cookbooks to their endless possibilities, and in the end, not have covered them all.

Ancestral, iconic, yet humble, is each single tamal. And the tamal universe, immense, imagine: tamal refers to anything wrapped and cooked in a husk or leave. Usually made with masa, typically corn masa, either mixed with or swaddling ingredients, or both! As you move through Mexico, and increasingly outside, you find them in different shapes (round, square, flat, puffed up, even triangular like Michoacán corundas); with different wraps (corn husks, either fresh or dried, banana leaves and even fresh edible leafy greens like chaya in Chiapas); with an infinity of ingredients, from savory, like chicken, meat, seafood, vegetables, beans, all sort of grains, salsas and cheese…to sweet ingredients, like fresh and dried fruits, nuts, chocolate, cajeta…

The consistency and texture vary greatly, too, from thin and dense like tamales found in Oaxaca; to sticky and gelatinous from Yucatán; to spongy and cakey like the ones from northern and central Mexico, where I grew up.

Tamales are so big in our kitchens that entire meals are devoted to them: the famous Tamaladas! Festive get-togethers we all get very excited about, where all you eat are different kinds of tamales, from beginning to end. Trust me, where there is a variety of tamales, you want to eat them all.

Aside from Tamaladas, tamales are present in all sorts of celebrations and holidays including Quinceañeras, Posadas, Christmas Eve and New Years parties: they have been fiesta food since pre-Hispanic times, when they were considered gifts from the Gods.

But tamales are also everyday food, for an entire country, an entire culture. Accessible to everyone and anyone who can get to the corner stand and has 10 pesos (less than a dollar) in their pocket for a quick breakfast, a filling lunch or an easy merienda (light dinner).

See photo below…. I was with my school friends eating tamales at the tamal stand on the street right outside our middle school. I used to day dream about those tamales; they were so alluring we used to sneak out of school to eat them…

Pati eating tamales with her school friends

Tamales are as fascinating and varied as the stars above. So to land this philosophical rambling about tamales somewhere practical and edible, for you, I will focus on my favorite tamal of all time. The Tamal de Pollo con Salsa Verde.

The easiest way to make tamales is to prepare your filling(s) first. In fact you can make it a day or two in advance. For the ones I feature here, make your cooked salsa verde, pictured in the molcajete below. Combine it with cooked shredded chicken to make a wet mix. No, you don’t want it dry! The tamal masa will soak up some of that salsa. After the tamales cook for almost an hour, you want to bite into a tamal that has a saucy, moist filling.

salsa verde

Then get your hands on dried corn husks, pictured below. You can get them in the Latin aisles of your supermarket, at many a Latin or international store, or online. No excuse. Soak those husks in warm water, so they will become malleable and pliable. You don’t want them to crack as you use them to wrap the dough and roll the tamal. You will also need to place some of the leaves in the tamalera or steamer.

Get the tamalera ready. Pour water and drop a coin in there. That’s a passed down trick from endless generations. It works as an alarm for when the tamales may be running out of water, so you won’t need to open up the pot and let all that precious steam come out: if the water is running out, the coin will start jumping up and down and make loud clinking noises.

dried corn husks

Then you work to make your masa. Or let the mixer help you out! I have the complete recipe below, but let me just highlight a few things…

In Mexico, you can go into the tortillería and buy fresh masa, made from scratch. And wouldn’t it be heavenly if there were tortillerías in all towns and cities in the US, so we could all indulge? But the truth is many, if not most, people in Mexican kitchens make their own masa at home from the instant corn masa flour, and you can get fabulous results.

Traditionally, tamal masa is made with lard. If top quality and fresh, it adds a delicious taste and texture and doesn’t have as much cholesterol as people think. If you ask me, I think it is a matter of moderation. Yet, many people prefer vegetable shortening and you can use it too. Now, vegetable shortening has, as of late, been questioned even more than lard.

If you don’t want to use either, I have a wonderful solution: use vegetable oil, substitute exact amounts, but to maintain depth of flavor and dimension, season the oil by heating it over medium heat and cooking a slice of onion and a couple garlic cloves in it for 15 minutes. Then remove the onion and garlic before using. Great trick for vegetarians as well. In fact, before the Spanish arrived to Mexico, and there was no pork, oils extracted from fruits, vegetables and seeds, were used to moisten and season tamales, so feel free to play around with oils you like!

The most important thing about the masa, aside from being well seasoned, is that it needs to be as fluffy as fluffy can get. It has to be so airy that, if you take a cup of cold water and drop half a teaspoon of the masa in it, it floats!  You can only achieve this by beating it for a long time at a good speed. That’s why I recommend a mixer in the recipe below, but of course, you are welcome to get a good work out from the masa mixing by hand or with a sturdy spatula.

Then, follow my detailed instructions below on how to fill and wrap the tamales, place them in the tamalera and hold your horses for 50 minutes until they are ready.

Hopefully, you make more than what you need. I can think of few foods that have as much warmth, sustenance and meaning than tamales. They are food that is meant to be shared. So I suggest you try a Tamalada gathering! Tamaladas don’t only happen on February 2nd (when according to tradition you must host a Tamalada and invite EVERYBODY, if you got the baby hidden in the Rosca de Reyes eaten on January 6th), they can happen anytime (but I am writing this post before February 2nd, just in case!).

Make many fillings ahead of time. Make your masa. Invite friends over and have a tamal-making party before the Tamalada. Everyone will have gifts to open and eat, as that is what tamales are, indeed. And the best gift of them all will be any leftover tamales that a lucky guest gets to take along. Or be a bit greedy, keep them at home.

Note: I’ve been asked for a quick casserole version in a few emails… All you need to do, is spread half the masa in the recipe below in a large baking dish, then add a layer of the chicken in salsa verde, top with remaining half masa dough. Cover well with aluminum foil, and bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and if you want, drizzle with some Mexican crema and crumbled queso fresco. Serve in squares.

Print Recipe
4.86 from 7 votes

Chicken in Salsa Verde Tamales

Tamales are it. If you’ve eaten one, you know it. Simple. When ready and steaming hot, unwrap the edible bundle and eat swiftly, no fork, no knife, bite by bite.  So good. Yet as simple as it may sound to write a post about tamales, I could dedicate an entire series of cookbooks to their endless possibilities, and in the end, not have covered them all.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: chicken, masa, pati's mexican table, salsa verde, Tamales, tomatillos
Servings: 18 tamales
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

For the tamales:

  • 25 dried corn husks soaking in warm water
  • 3/4 cup lard, vegetable shortening or seasoned vegetable oil (to make seasoned oil, heat oil over medium heat and cook a slice of onion and 3 to 4 garlic cloves for 15 minutes, strain before using)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon cold water
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 pound (about 3 1/4 cups) instant corn masa for tortillas or tamales
  • 3 1/2 cups chicken stock add more if needed

For the filling:

  • 1 recipe for cooked salsa verde
  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Instructions

To make the filling:

  • Make the salsa verde, combine it with the shredded chicken, and set aside or refrigerate, if made ahead of time.

To make masa for the tamales:

  • Place lard, vegetable shortening or seasoned oil in a mixer and beat, until very light, about 1 minute. Add salt and 1 teaspoon cold water, and continue beating until it is white and spongy, a couple more minutes. Add baking powder, and then take turns adding the instant corn masa and the chicken stock. Continue beating until dough is homogeneous and as fluffy as can get.
  • You know the tamal masa is ready if, when you drop 1/2 teaspoon of the masa in a cup of cold water, it floats.

To prepare the tamalera or steamer:

  • Place hot water in the bottom pan of a steamer (only enough so the water is just under the basket with the tamales and not touching them) and bring it to a simmer. Line the steamer basket with one or two layers of soaked corn husks. Use dough to form about 18 cornhusk wrapped tamales.

To make the tamales:

  • Soak dried corn husks in hot water for a couple minutes, or until they are pliable, and drain. Lay out a corn husk with the tapering end towards you. Spread about 3 tablespoons of masa into about a 2- to 3-inch square, the layer should be about 1/4-inch thick, leaving a border of at least 1/2-inch on the sides. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of the masa square.
  • Pick up the two long sides of the corn husk and bring them together (you will see how the masa starts to swaddle the filling) and fold the folded sides to one side, rolling them on same direction around tamal. Fold up the empty section of the husk with the tapering end, from the bottom up. This will form a closed bottom and the top will be left open.
  • Prepare all the tamales and place them as vertically as you can in a container. When you have them all ready, place them again, as vertically as you can on the prepared steamer, with the open end on top. If there is space left in the steamer, tuck in some corn husks, so the tamales won’t dance around. Cover with more corn husks, and steam covered for 50 minutes to an hour. You know the tamales are ready when they come easily free from the husks. They will still be moist, and as they are released from the husks, you will see the moistness, like when you remove good moist muffins from their paper baking cups.
  • Finished tamales will stay warm for about 1 to 2 hours in the steamer. They can be made ahead several days before and stored in refrigerator, well wrapped. They can also be frozen for months. In either case, reheat in a steamer. For refrigerated tamales, it will take about 15 minutes, and for frozen tamales about 45 minutes.

Notes

Tamales de Pollo con Salsa Verde

Tuna Minilla Casserole

Posted on by Pati Jinich
tuna minilla casserole pati jinich
Print Recipe
4.43 from 7 votes

Tuna Minilla Casserole

Tuna Minilla Casserole recipe from Pati's Mexican Table Season 3, Episode 4 “Meals in a Minute”
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time55 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: capers, Casserole, olives, onion, pati's mexican table, Pickled Jalapeños, puff pastry, raisins, Tomatoes, tuna
Servings: 8 to 10 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup chopped white onion
  • 1 garlic clove finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 pounds (about 6) ripe Roma tomatoes chopped
  • 2 7-ounce cans tuna drained and shredded
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt or to taste
  • 1/4 cup roughly chopped raisins
  • 1/4 cup manzanilla olives stuffed with pimientos roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup pickled jalapeño chiles store-bought or homemade, seeded and roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • 3 tablespoons Italian or flat-leaf parsley chopped
  • 1 1.2-pound package frozen puff pastry thawed, or homemade puff pastry
  • all-purpose flour for rolling out the puff pastry
  • 1 egg optional
  • 2 tablespoons water optional

Instructions

  • In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Once hot, but not smoking, stir in the onion and cook until it is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until completely cooked, softened and mashed-up and pasty looking, about 15 minutes.
  • Toss in the tuna, and with a spatula or wooden spoon, mix it well with the tomato mixture, making sure there are no big chunks. Add the bay leaves, brown sugar, oregano, thyme, salt and mix well. Add the raisins, olives, pickled jalapenos, capers, fresh parsley and mix well. Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for about 10 minutes, the mixture should be very moist but not watery. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Remove the bay leaves and set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • Lightly flour a rolling pin and roll out 1 thawed sheet of pastry about 1/8-inch thick to line the bottom and sides of a round baking dish (you may wish to add a pastry sheet in the bottom and top of the casserole, or only on the top!). Add the tuna filling to the puff pastry lined baking dish, using a rubber spatula to evenly spread the filling. Roll out another thawed sheet of pastry and use to cover the tuna filling – pinching the edges of the 2 sheets of pastry together to seal.
  • Optional: In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg along with the water. Brush the top of the casserole with the egg wash.
  • Cut 4 to 5 vents on the top. Place the casserole in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until crisp, puffed up and golden brown.

Notes

Cazuela de Minilla de Atún

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake

Posted on by Pati Jinich
Print Recipe
5 from 11 votes

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake recipe from Pati's Mexican Table Season 3, Episode 3 “My Three Favorite Boys”
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Cajeta, cheesecake, cream cheese, Dulce de Leche, Maria Cookies, pati's mexican table, pecans, sour cream, Sweetened Condensed Milk
Servings: 10 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

For the crust:

  • 1 1/2 cups finely ground Maria cookies vanilla wafers or graham crackers
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, plus more for greasing the pan

For the cream cheese filling:

  • 1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 3 large eggs at room temperature

For the dulce de leche topping:

  • 1 1/2 cups sour cream
  • 1 14-ounce can dulce de leche or cajeta
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

  • Butter a 9- to 10-inch springform pan and set aside.

To make the crust:

  • In a large bowl combine the ground cookies and melted butter until thoroughly mixed. Turn the cookie mixture into the springform pan. With your fingers, pat it evenly around the bottom of the pan, gently pushing it up the sides to make a crust 1/2- to 1-inch tall. Refrigerate while you make the cream cheese filling and dulce de leche topping.

To make cream cheese filling:

  • Place the cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until smooth and light, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sweetened condensed milk and continue beating until well mixed, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, again scraping down the bowl as needed, and continue beating until the mixture is well blended and smooth, set aside.

To make the dulce de leche topping:

  • In a medium bowl, mix the sour cream with the dulce de leche until combined.
  • Adjust the oven rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
  • Remove the springform pan from the refrigerator. Gently spread the cream cheese filling evenly, trying not to distress the crust. Place the cheesecake in the oven and bake for 35 minutes, or until it is set and the top is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before you add the dulce de leche topping.
  • Spoon the dulce de leche topping over the cream cheese filling, add the pecans all around the edge and place the pan back in the oven for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cheesecake cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. It tastes even better if it chills overnight.
  • Before serving, run the tip of a wet knife around the edge of the pan to release the cheesecake. Remove the ring, then slice and serve the cake.

Notes

Pay de Queso con Dulce de Leche

Do You Want it Red or White? Mexican Style Gefilte Fish

Posted on by Pati Jinich

My paternal grandmother, Bobe, used to make two kinds of gefilte fish every Friday: white or traditional and red or a la Veracruzana. The moment you sat down, she made you choose, “which do you want mamele, white or red?”

Invariably, after you chose, she’d ask, “you don’t like the way I make the other one?”

She’d barge in, make room on your plate and serve you the kind you hadn’t picked, right next to the one you had chosen. She’d wait for you to taste it and tell her how good the one you hadn’t chosen was. Then, she would eat right off your plate.

Having come from tiny shtetls in the polish countryside, both her and my grandfather arrived in Mexico so very young. Mexico gave them an opportunity to start a life away from pogroms.

They worked hard and made a simple but good life for themselves. Though they were humble, and without much savings, every Friday they had a bountiful table full of food for their three grown children and their families – all together there were ten granddaughters. Nope. Not a single grandson!

Mexico also brought so many flavors to Bobe’s traditional foods. At the table there was petchah (chicken foot jelly!) that could be garnished with a salsa verde cruda, gribenes (chicken cracklings) tucked into warm corn tortillas and a heaping spoonful of fresh guacamole, the crispiest potato kugel, a stew that always had falling apart meat and a soupy prune or carrot tzimes. To finish, it was her prized chocolate babka spiked with Mexican canela.

Yet, nothing beat her Mexican-style gefilte fish, aka the red one.

The red is different from the white in so many ways. The white, or traditional, is made by combining ground fish filets, white onion, carrots, eggs and matzo meal and shaping them into patties that are poached in a stock made with the head, tail, and bones of the fish. It is refrigerated, covered with this same fish stock, which turns gelatinous as it cools (a delicacy if you have the acquired taste!). It is served cold. The red has the same fish mixture, but it is poached in a thick and spiced up tomato sauce enriched with capers, green olives and mild pickled peppers. It is served hot. Everyone in my family is wild about it.

The red sauce is called Veracruzana because it comes from the state of Veracruz, which geographically seems to embrace the Gulf of Mexico. The Veracruzana sauce is traditionally served over large fish, and its flavors showcase the intermarriage of Spanish and Mexican ingredients that took place throughout the years of Spanish colonization. It was through the port of Veracruz that most European immigrants came into Mexico, like my Bobe.

One hell of a cook she was, with her treasured jar of shmaltz in the refrigerator ready to be scooped out and used on almost anything. She was as generous in her cooking as she was in life. After my parents divorced, when I was an early teen, she would put money in my backpack or my jacket, without me noticing, every time I visited. She knew I didn’t want to take it, as she didn’t have any extra to give out.

I never had the chance to serve Veracruzana, the red gefilte fish, from my kitchen to my Bobe. She passed away, just a couple months ago, and oh man, I wish I had. She would have been so proud. She would have probably asked me, “why, mamele, you didn’t like the white?”

My gefilte fish will always be for you, Bobe. And just so you know, I always make the red and the white. I miss you so bad.

Mexican Style Gefilte Fish
Print Recipe
4.80 from 5 votes

Mexican Style Gefilte Fish

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time55 minutes
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Jewish, Mexican
Keyword: capers, carrots, fish, flounder, Jewish Mexican, ketchup, matzo, olives, pepperoncini, Recipe, red snapper
Servings: 20 patties
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

For the fish patties:

  • 1 pound red snapper fillets no skin or bones
  • 1 pound flounder fillets no skin or bones
  • 1/2 white onion quartered, about 1/2 pound
  • 2 carrots peeled and roughly chopped, about 1/4 pound
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup matzo meal
  • 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper or to taste

For the red sauce:

  • 3 tablespoons safflower or corn oil
  • 1/2 cup white onion chopped
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 3 cups fish broth or water
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt or to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper or to taste
  • 1 cup manzanilla olives stuffed with pimientos
  • 8 pepperoncini peppers in vinegar brine or more to taste, chiles güeros en escabeche
  • 2 tablespoons capers

Instructions

To prepare the fish patty mixture:

  • Rinse the red snapper and flounder fillets under a thin stream of cool water. Slice into smaller pieces and place in the food processor. Pulse for 5-10 seconds until fish is finely chopped but hasn’t turned into a paste. Turn fish mixture into a large mixing bowl. Then place the onion, carrots, eggs, matzo meal, salt and white pepper into same bowl of the food processor. Process until smooth and turn into the fish mixture. Combine thoroughly.

To prepare the red sauce:

  • Heat the oil in a large cooking pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion, and let it cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring, until soft and translucent. Pour the crushed tomatoes into the pot, stir, and let the mix season and thicken for about 6 minutes. Incorporate 3 cups water, 2 tablespoons ketchup, salt and white pepper. Give it a good stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and bring sauce to a gentle simmer. Continue to simmer while you roll the gefilte fish patties.
  • Place a small bowl with lukewarm water to the side of the simmering tomato broth. Start making the patties. I like to make them about 3” long, 2” wide and 1” high, in oval shapes. Wet your hands as necessary, so the fish mixture will not stick to your hands. As you make them, gently slide each patty into the simmering broth. Make sure it is simmering and raise the heat to medium if necessary to keep a steady simmer.
  • Once you finish making the patties, cover the pot and bring the heat to low. Cook them covered for 25 minutes. Take off the lid, incorporate the manzanilla olives, pepperoncini peppers and capers. Give it a gentle stir and simmer uncovered for 20 more minutes, so the gefilte fish will be thoroughly cooked and the broth will have seasoned and thickened nicely.
  • Serve hot with slices of challah and pickles.

Notes

Gefilte Fish a la Veracruzana

Make Pan de Muerto at Home!

Posted on by patiadmin

I wouldn’t be caught dead without Pan de Muerto during Day of the Dead.

One of the most meaningful, colorful and delicious of Mexican celebrations, Dí­a de Muertos has this bread as one of its trademark treats. It may sound strange to eat fluffy sugared up bread in the shape of bones, but then again, we also eat calaveritas, candies in the shape of skulls. This shows how crucial food is for Mexicans but also how it gets infused with our sarcastic sense of humor, generous spirit and gutsy attitude.

Not that Day of the Dead is such a big occasion here in the United States, but I notice an increased awareness. Teachers are starting to talk about it in schools, sugar skulls and decorations are popping up in stores…It’s becoming trendy. As it happens right on the tail of Halloween, elements from both celebrations seem to cross paths. They both include graveyards and a lot of eating, but they are quite different.

Day of the Dead, which is not one but two days, November 1st and 2nd, is when those departed have a license to come back and visit the ones they’ve left behind. And hey, if they are coming back from another world, it better be a feast worth the trip! Altars are decorated, filled with the visitor’s favorite foods and drinks, candles and flowers placed throughout, to help illuminate for a safe journey back home. There are visits to the cemetery, too, but of a different nature than Halloween: Day of the Dead is a bittersweet, sad and joyous time for gathering, feasting and remembering.

Pan de Muerto, has to be one of the sweetest sides of it, eagerly awaited by all.

Those who have tried it want it, as it is really irresistible. But there are not that many panaderí­as that make it outside of Mexico.

pati jinich pan de muerto first rise

Well, guess what? Wait no more, you can make your own.

It is simple to do; the only downside is, it takes time. The dough needs to rise…four times, and one of them is overnight in the fridge. So if you want your Pan de Muerto for Friday, start it on Thursday.

First make your starter: a small leavened mix. I make mine by mixing dry yeast (oldest versions of Pan de Muerto use Pulque, a fermented drink) with lukewarm milk, not too hot and not too cold, to make it easy for the yeast to react. Fully dissolve and add a bit of flour, to get the yeast going on stronger. When it puffs up and has bubbled on the surface, about 20 to 30 minutes later, you have your starter.

That’s the first rise.

pan de muerto first rise 2

Then make your dough in the mixer with butter, sugar and eggs. I add orange blossom water, as is traditional in many parts of Mexico and the old fashioned way. It makes it fragrant and light. I also add a bit of orange zest and anise seeds, which perfume it even more. Once mixed, beat in the starter. Cover it and place it in a bowl.

It’s better if you leave it in a warm area of your kitchen where there are no drafts, close to the oven or burners is a good idea, too. Leavened bread likes warmth and moisture, so much so, that I have gotten into the habit of placing a bowl with boiling water right next to the bowl with the dough and then cover it all together (in case you were wondering about the two bowls under the kitchen towel above).

Then leave it to rise.

pati jinich pan de muerto first rise done

See how it puffed up in photo above? Almost tripled its volume.

That’s the second rise.

Then punch it back down. Just like that, make some fists and punch it twice.

pan de muerto dough punched down

Cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator so that it will slowly but surely rise again, overnight. While you sleep, that dough will be getting ready for you.

pan de muerto overnight rise in refridgerator

See below?? Look how it rose again!

This time it was even bubblier and a bit stringy.

This is the third rise. Next day, morning sun.

pan de muerto dough after overnight rise

Then as you gather it into a ball, it will deflate in size, but you can see below how the dough has transformed and strands of dough are trying to stick to the bowl.

pan de muerto dough after punching down again

The dough ends up being shinny, sticky, compact…

Grab two thirds to shape like a ball and place it over a buttered or oiled surface. I like using this pizza stone.

pan de muerto dough

You leave a third of the dough apart, to decorate the ball with a couple of ropes and a ball on top. And then.. you cover it and let it rise again under a towel.

pan de muerto dough with shaping

And so it rose, under the towel!

In the oven it goes.

shaped pan de muerto dough after rising

Lastly, when it comes out, it is entirely brushed with melted butter and covered in sugar. Some people add more complex decorations, like colored sugar or make intricate shapes. I like it straightforward with plain granulated white sugar and a round shape.

By mid morning the next day, you will have a Pan de Muerto ready to slice.

So, yes, it takes time, it has to rise many times, but every time it rises again you will feel a huge sense of accomplishment and satisfaction… And as you bake it, maybe you will find like me, that whoever is around in the house will start lurking in the kitchen to eat whatever it is that has such an irresistible aroma.

pan de muerto the finished product

Maybe you will find, also like me, that it was well worth the wait.

pati jinich pan de muerto
Print Recipe
4.67 from 6 votes

Pan de Muerto

One of the most meaningful, colorful and delicious of Mexican celebrations, Dí­a de Muertos has this bread as one of its trademark treats. It may sound strange to eat fluffy sugared up bread in the shape of bones, but then again, we also eat calaveritas, candies in the shape of skulls. This shows how crucial food is for Mexicans but also how it gets infused with our sarcastic sense of humor, generous spirit and gutsy attitude.
Prep Time10 hours
Cook Time55 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: anise, bread, Dessert, orange, orange blossom water, Recipe
Servings: 10 to 12 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup lukewarm whole milk
  • 2 packages active dry yeast (1/4 ounce each) or about 4 heaped teaspoons
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour plus 3 1/2 cups for later on
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temp plus more to grease the bowl
  • and 2 tablespoons to melt and brush on top
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar plus 1/2 cup for dusting the bread
  • 6 large eggs at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons orange blossom water or plain water
  • 1 teaspoon anise seeds optional
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest optional
  • Pinch kosher or coarse sea salt

Instructions

To make the starter:

  • In a small bowl, pour the lukewarm milk - making sure that it is not hot nor cold or the yeast will not react - and stir in the dry yeast granules. Give the yeast a couple minutes to sit in the liquid, and stir with a spatula until it is thoroughly and evenly dissolved. Give it time: stir a little, pressing gently on the yeast that has not yet dissolved with the spatula, give it a bit more time to sit in the milk, stirring again, press again. Once it has completely and evenly dissolved, add ½ cup flour. Mix it combining thoroughly, until it has no lumps. It will be gooey, runny and sticky. Leave it in the warmest area of your kitchen, for about 20 to 30 minutes, until it puffs up (to about doubles or triples its volume) and has bubbled on top. I like to place a sauce pan or cup with boiling hot water right next to it, but it's not necessary.

To make the dough:

  • In the bowl of a mixer, over medium low speed, beat the butter until soft. Add the sugar and beat until combined and fluffy. Add one egg at a time. Once eggs are incorporated, add the milk and yeast mixture. Then adding ½ cup at a time, add the rest of the flour (3 ½ cups). Stir in the orange blossom water if using and if not, add plain water. Also add the anise seeds and a pinch of salt. The dough will look wet, runny and sticky, but continue beating anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes, until all the dough comes off the sides of the mixing bowl. It will be elastic and sticky, but it will hold itself together.
  • Butter a large mixing bowl that can hold the dough, and will be able to hold it as it doubles or triples its volume. Place the dough in the bowl, cover it with a cloth or clean kitchen towel and leave it in the warmest area of your kitchen, that is draft free, making sure that it is not next to a window or door that gets opened. Leave it to rest and puff up anywhere from 2 to 3 hours, until it doubles its volume at least.
  • Punch the dough with your fist, flip it over, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator over night. The next day, remove the plastic wrap, place a cloth or kitchen towel on top and let it to come to room temperature.
  • Take off a third of the dough to make the bread decorations: make a 1 to 2-inch ball and use the rest to make 2 ropes. They need not be smooth nor perfect, as the dough is quite sticky, and no need to worry they will look beautiful once the bread is baked (and covered with sugar).
  • Butter a baking sheet or a bread or pizza stone, and make a ball with the rest of the dough. Place it in the center of the baking sheet and flatten it a bit on top. Place the dough ropes making a criss-cross -Mexican bakers usually shape the ropes to resemble bones, having thicker and thinner parts- and the ball on the top, right where they cross. Cover the bread with a cloth or kitchen towel, and let it rise and puff up again, for 1 to 2 hours.
  • Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the bread for for about 35 minutes. Halfway through baking, after about 20 minutes, cover the loaf with parchment paper or aluminum foil to prevent it from browning too much.
  • When they are ready, they sound "huecas", or hollow, if you hit the bottom of the bread.
  • Melt the butter and brush all over the bread. Sprinkle sugar all over until completely covered.

Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole

Posted on by patiadmin

You can do fabulous things with pumpkins aside from spooky faces and pumpkin pie… Just ask any Mexican. We have a way with pumpkins.

Native to Mexico, pumpkins have been devoured there for centuries, in their entirety. The seeds are addicting as snacks, used as a hefty base for salsas, soups and sauces and more recently sprinkled on top of many dishes. The pumpkin meat is used for soups and stews, and along with the entire rind cooked in a piloncillo syrup, becoming a traditional favorite known as Tacha.

Yet there is something else you can make with those fall pumpkins: Mole!

An easy to make, silky textured and exquisite tasting mole sauce, that can bathe anything you can think of. From chicken to meat, fish, seafood and veggies; it all goes beautifully swaddled in it. I like it mostly with chicken or turkey, which is how I am most used to eating thick and rich Mole sauces….

So that you can try it too, here it goes.

As simple as it is to make, it uses two ancient and crucial techniques of Mexican cooking that enhance the flavors of the ingredients and bring a ton of personality to a dish: charring and toasting.

Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole 1

First the onion and garlic take a quick turn under the broiler to be charred. Their sharp, crisp and pungent flavors become transformed…

Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole 2

…as if their alter ego came out to show depth and sweetness. While at the same time becoming a bit rustic.

Then the ancho chiles, almonds, cinnamon, allspice and whole cloves take a turn either in a skillet or comal, to lightly toast.

Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole 3

Toasting them intensifies and deepens their flavor, it releases new aromas and adds a kind of warmth to the dish.

Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole 4

As the chiles have been dried for a long time, aside from giving them a light toast, you need to rehydrate them and plump them back to life. And it takes just 10 minutes of soaking them in a hot bath.

Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole 5

Then you also use that water from the chile bath, as it has some of the intense flavors and colors of the chiles, as well as the chiles to make the Mole Sauce.

Then everything in the blender goes!

Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole 6

If you used True or Ceylon cinnamon, puree it along with the rest of the ingredients. As it is light and thin, it crumbles and purees easily. It is gentle and kind to the blades of the blender. If you only found the hard Cassia kind, use it to simmer in the mole sauce further on.

Then you add it all along with the pumpkin puree in a big pot. You can use already made pumpkin puree from the store…

Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole 7

Or make your own pumpkin puree with those extra pumpkins that are sitting on your front porch… Making the puree is pretty simple: Quarter the pumpkin, remove the seeds and fibers, roast in the oven at 400 ºF until soft and process the pumpkin meat in a blender of food processor until smooth.

After you simmer the pumpkin puree along with the ancho chile puree (that has the charred and toasted ingredients), it will look like this. Incredibly rich, just like its flavor.

Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole 8

You can make the Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole ahead of time, and just heat it when you are ready to serve it.

Topping it with toasted pumpkin seeds makes the dish all the more fabulous.  You can taste it already, right?

Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole 9

Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole main
Print Recipe
5 from 5 votes

Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole

An easy to make, silky textured and exquisite tasting mole sauce, that can bathe anything you can think of. From chicken to meat, fish, seafood and veggies; it all goes beautifully swaddled in it. I like it mostly with chicken or turkey, which is how I am most used to eating thick and rich Mole sauces….So that you can try it too, here it goes.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: almonds, ancho chiles, brown sugar, ceylon, chicken, cinnamon, cloves, Mole, pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, Recipe
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 1/2 white onion peeled, charred or broiled
  • 6 garlic cloves charred or broiled, peeled
  • 3 ancho chiles stemmed, seeded and opened
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 1/2 stick true or ceylon cinnamon about 1 inch (or substitute for 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
  • 8 whole allspice berries or 1/8 teaspoon ground
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree about 1 3/4 cup
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt or more to taste
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar or more to taste
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds lightly toasted

Instructions

  • Place the onion and garlic in a baking sheet under the broiler. Char for 9 to 10 minutes, flipping once in between. Once they are soft and charred, remove from the heat. When the garlic is cool, peel.
  • In an already hot skillet or comal set over medium-low heat, toast the ancho chiles for about 15 to 20 seconds per side, until they brown and crisp without burning. Place toasted ancho chiles in a bowl covered with boiling water. Soak for 10 to 15 minutes until they are plumped up and rehydrated.
  • In the same skillet or comal, toast the cloves and all spice until aromatic, about a minute. Remove from the heat. Toast the almonds and cinnamon, stirring often, until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes.
  • Place the onion, garlic, chiles, 1/2 cup of chile soaking liquid, almonds, cloves, cinnamon and allspice in the blender and puree until smooth.
  • In a soup pot or casserole, heat the oil and pour the pureed mixture over medium heat. Add the salt and sugar. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently to help prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The color will darken considerably.
  • Add the pumpkin puree and chicken broth to the sauce. Stir well until the pumpkin puree has dissolved, it will have a silky consistency. Continue to cook for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Use the mole sauce to pour over grilled, broiled or boiled chicken, meat or fish. Sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds for some added flavor and crunch.

Notes

Mole de Chile Ancho y Calabaza

Where to Find Caldo de Camarón? Make Your Own…

Posted on by patiadmin

When I was in high school in Mexico City, Tecamacharlie’s was one of the most popular meeting spots. The name came from Tecamachalco, the neighborhood where it sits tucked away in a corner, and the chain of Restaurants it belongs to, Anderson’s Carlos & Charlies. There, my friends and I would meet some Friday afternoons after school, to have a late and long lunch or comida and embrace the weekend.

Even before school started those Friday mornings, there would be one thing in my mind: Tecamacharlie’s top notch Caldo de Camarón. A rich and thick soupy broth made with dried and salted shrimp, and seasoned with a base of Guajillo chile sauce.

A soup so flavorful and filling, it was served as a courtesy as soon as you finally sat down in that incredibly busy and loud place. The waiters brought it out of the kitchen still simmering, served in a little caballito, the little glass shots used to serve Tequila.

There were plump limes already quartered at the table, waiting to be squeezed into the soup before you drank it in one gulp. If you were lucky, the bottom of the shot had a shrimp, and maybe a couple pieces of potato and carrot. Then you could stick your fork or finger in there, to eat those little treasures that tasted like adventures at the sea port. Far away from the City.

Caldo de Camaron 1

 

That was 20 years ago and I haven’t been back to that Restaurant since those teen years. So I can’t vouch for how good it is these days… Plus, nostalgia has its way of overpowering memories sometimes too.

But one can find that Caldo de Camarón, with slight variations in many restaurants in Mexico city, and it is even more popular throughout the long Mexican coasts.

The latest one I’ve tried and I think even a better one, regardless of the power of nostalgia, is at one of the Guadiana Restaurants, which I always visit each time I go to the city.

Caldo de Camaron 2
As much as I have looked, there is no Caldo de Camarón to be found around DC. But one can find the handful of ingredients that the soup calls for. Although they are just a handful, they have enough personality to power a rock band.

The dried shrimp, of course, pictured above. Which need to be soaked for 5 to 10 minutes, as they have been salted not only to concentrate their flavor but also to preserve them, so the salt is, truly, intense.  Then the shrimp are rinsed and cooked in water, creating a broth which provides the main and matchless flavoring of the soup.

Then, the Guajillo chiles, with their mild heat and crowd pleasing taste. After they are quickly stemmed, seeded and toasted…

…beautifully toasted, really, look at the color…

Caldo de Camaron 3
They are then simmered with one of Mexico’s workhorse combinations: onion, garlic and tomato. Some people add parsley to the mix. Some add Bay Leaf, like me.

Caldo de Camaron 4
That goes into the blender, and then strained into a pot with some hot oil waiting to season the mix.

Caldo de Camaron 5
Once seasoned, in goes that deep amber colored dried shrimp broth.

Caldo de Camaron 6
The traditional cubed potatoes and carrots…

I like to add more than the usual recipes call for, so that neither me nor my guests have to be hunting those little soft chunks in the soup bowl.

Caldo de Camaron 7
When the shrimp have cooled, remove their heads, tails, and legs. Most cooks keep the shells on. They are a salty and crunchy addition in the soup. However, you can remove the shells if you feel like it. For a softer feel. Then cook for 10 more minutes so all of the flavors can come together.

Caldo de Camaron 8
Do serve the soup really hot. And always, always, always, have fresh limes ready to be squeezed in the soup.

Caldo de Camaron 9
That fresh squeezed lime juice is what makes all of the flavors in the soup, truly shine.

Print Recipe
4.75 from 4 votes

Dried Shrimp Soup

A rich and thick soupy broth made with dried and salted shrimp, and seasoned with a base of Guajillo chile sauce. A soup so flavorful and filling, it was served as a courtesy as soon as you finally sat down in that incredibly busy and loud place. The waiters brought it out of the kitchen still simmering, served in a little caballito, the little glass shots used to serve Tequila.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: achiote paste, garlic, guajillo chiles, lime, onion, potatoes, Recipe, seafood, Shrimp, soup, Tomatoes
Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Mexican dried shrimp
  • 3 ounces guajillo chiles about 8-10 chiles
  • 1/4 pound ripe tomatoes
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 large slice of onion or about 3 tablespoons, roughly chopped
  • 1 pound potatoes rinsed, peeled and cubed
  • 1/2 pound carrots rinsed, peeled and cubed
  • 3 to 4 limes
  • 2 tablespoons oil

Instructions

  • Cover the shrimp with cold water and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain the shrimp, rinse them and place them in a medium pot. Cover the shrimp with 10 cups of water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once at a simmer, lower the medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the broth, reserving both the broth and the shrimp. Allow everything to cool.
  • Once the shrimp have cooled, remove the heads, tails and legs from the shrimp. Be sure to keep the shells on the shrimp if you want them to add some crunch to the soup.
  • Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles and place them on a hot comal. Toast until their color changes to opaque, for about 10 to 15 seconds and flip to the other side.
  • Place the chiles, tomatoes, garlic, bay leaves, and onion into a saucepan and cover with water. Simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat, then puree until smooth.
  • Over medium heat, add two tablespoons of oil to a large soup pot. Strain the puree over the oil and then simmer for 8 to 10 minutes over medium-high heat, allowing the puree to season and thicken.
  • Add the shrimp broth, potatoes, carrots, and shrimp to the puree and simmer for 10 minutes over medium-high heat.
  • Serve the soup with fresh lime to drizzle over the top.

Notes

Caldo de Camarón

Bossed Around at El Bají­o: Plantain Quesadillas

Posted on by patiadmin

Each time I go back to Mexico City, even before the plane lands, I know there are some formal plans that can never, ever, be messed around with. They are all with my father and they all involve eating in the same places. Each single time.

One of the places is El Bají­o. If you know my father, you know he doesn’t let me order. You also know that he knows the Restaurant manager, waiters, bar servers and valet parking attendants by name. And they all know him too.

Continue reading “Bossed Around at El Bají­o: Plantain Quesadillas”

Sweet potatoes with orange-piloncillo syrup and chile de árbol

Posted on by patiadmin

Our friends Tamara and Sean are crazy foodies and fans of the richness and versatility of chilies. So after receiving the invitation to join them next week for their Thanksgiving feast, I started playing with options on what to bring; with chilies of course.

This is one of the things I came up with and can’t wait for them to try:  creamy and soft sweet potatoes bathed in a buttery orange-piloncillo syrup sprinkled, with toasted chile de arbol. How good are they? That fork in the picture I just shot accounts for my third consecutive serving today. How easy are they to make? Read below…

sweet potatoes
I am fond of sweet potatoes. Called camotes in Mexico, and eaten since Pre-Hispanic times, they tend to be eaten with a sweet spin. The most popular versions are either steamed and drizzled with sweetened condensed milk, honey or syrup as the plantains I recently posted; or cooked into a sweetened paste, molded, caramelized and turned into addictive candies.

However, they are also cooked in many other ways. Through my travels and research I have tasted them in soups, puddings, warm salads, purees and even flans. Yet one of my favorite versions is how my mother makes them.

syrup ingredients for sweet potatoes with chile de arbol

She boils, peels and slices them. Then she adds chunks of butter, brown sugar or piloncillo, chile de arbol and into the oven they go. I started from her idea, but opted to make a syrup with what you see in the photo above: butter, brown sugar or shredded piloncillo, orange and lime juice for an extra layer of flavor.

Its simple: just place those ingredients in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Once the butter dissolves, let the mix turn into a light syrup, which takes about 4 minutes of gentle simmer. This syrup is so good, it could be drank out of a cup…

Instead of drinking it all…  you can drizzle most of it over the sliced sweet potatoes in a buttered baking dish. For an incredibly earthy, deep and spicy kick, sprinkle some toasted and chopped chile de arbol on top.

If you are not familiar with the chile de arbol, this is what they look like.

chiles de arbol

Chile de arbol have become widely available outside of Mexico. They are thin, elongated, have a beautiful red/orange color, and are spicy with a rich, deep flavor.

To use them for this dish just remove the stems, make a slit down their sides and take the seeds off. See how I am opening them up? The seeds just come right off. It takes a minute.

opening chile de arbol

In an already hot dry skillet or comal set over medium-low heat (takes 3 to 4 minutes to heat up), toast the chilies for about 20 to 30 seconds on each side. Their inner skin will become opaque, they will let some aroma loose, and their outside skin will gain a toasty dark brown tan. Be careful not to let them burn all over.

They should look similar to this…

toasted chiles de arbol

Then, just give them a friendly chop. And after you do, wash your hands with soap and water… you don’t want to rub your eyes with chile de arbol. If you made more than you need, store them in a closed bag or container. They will keep forever.

Once you drizzle the syrup and sprinkle the chopped chile de arbol, add a bit of salt on top. Place in a 425 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. And you are set.

sweet potatoes with chile de arbole in baking dish

Ok, that’s before my fork went in!  These are sweet potatoes with a delicious citrusy sweet spin and a flavorful spicy kick.

By boiling the sweet potatoes before placing them in the oven, you are getting a creamy and soft texture that can’t be achieved by just roasting them in the oven. The quick finish in the oven, thickens the syrup further as it gives the already soft sweet potatoes a nicer outer finish. It is a great combination. I might as well finish what’s on the plate…

Pati Jinich sweet potatoes with chile de arbol
Print Recipe
4.80 from 5 votes

Sweet potatoes with orange-piloncillo syrup and chile de árbol

This is one of the things I came up with and can’t wait for them to try:  creamy and soft sweet potatoes bathed in a buttery orange-piloncillo syrup sprinkled, with toasted chile de arbol. How good are they? That fork in the picture I just shot accounts for my third consecutive serving today. How easy are they to make? Read below…
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: chiles de arbol, lime, orange juice, piloncillo, Potato, Recipe, sweet potato, Vegetarian
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds sweet potatoes
  • 1/2 cup orange juice preferably fresh
  • 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 3/4 cup grated piloncillo or brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup 2 ounces unsalted butter
  • 4 to 6 chiles de arbol stems and seeds removed, toasted and chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt more or less to taste

Instructions

  • Rinse and scrub the sweet potatoes. Place them in a large pot, cover them with water, over medium heat. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for about 25 to 35 minutes. You will know they are ready, just like with boiling potatoes, when the tip of a knife can easily go through. Drain and let cool.
  • Remove the stems from the chile de arbol, make a slit down their sides and take out the seeds. On a preheated comal or dry skillet over medium-low heat, toast the chiles for about 20 to 30 seconds per side. Their inner skin will have become opaque and the outer skin will achieve a brown tan. Be careful to not let them burn.
  • To make the syrup, place the butter, piloncillo or brown sugar, orange and lime juice in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Once the butter dissolves, let it simmer 4 to 5 minutes until it gains a light syrupy consistency.
  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and butter a baking dish (I use a 9" x 13").
  • Once the sweet potatoes have cooled, peel and slice them into about 1/2 to 1 inch rounds. Layer them in rows, pour the syrup on top, sprinkle the toasted and chopped chile de arbol and sprinkle some salt on top. Place the dish in the oven and bake anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes. Halfway through, spoon some of the syrup on top of the sweet potatoes. Bake them until the syrup has thickened to your liking and they have achieved a glazed crust. They are specially delicious if eaten while still hot.

Notes

Camote con Jarabe de Piloncillo y Chile de Arbol

Dreaming of Julio’s Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint

Posted on by patiadmin

I have been humbled, time and again, by how one never stops learning from other cooks in the kitchen. That has especially been the case with my cooking team at the Mexican Cultural Institute. We are all from different parts of Mexico, with our peculiar twists and spins, influences and very strong opinions, which we love to scream out loud when trying to make what we serve at each event be the best it can possibly be. Though we get a bit stressed when cooking for kitchen outsiders, we really let loose when making lunch for ourselves. We take turns and last week Julio, a former Mexican taquerí­a cook, made his albóndigas. I had been dying to try them since not only he, but his aunt Maricruz, had been raving about them for over two years. “De veras, de veritas Pati” (Maricruz said, which means really, REALLY) “he makes the most delicious albóndigas of them all.”

There are multiple versions of just about any dish in the world. I am always amazed each time I test and play around with a single dish, at the many directions it can be driven to. That said, we have a family albóndigas version at home, which my boys eat happily at least a couple times a month.

As I watched Julio prepare his albóndigas, I asked him about things I was biased against for the dish, like the use of rice and mint. Well… humbled again I was! As it is said, the devil is in the details, it’s a matter of how these ingredients are used. Each thing that makes these albóndigas work so well, does so for a reason. I liked them so, that we will be making Julio’s meatballs at home now too. My boys noticed the difference in such a good way: “there is something different Mami” they were telling each other, as they cleaned their plates up. Here is a step by step guide on how to make this easy and perfect dish for the Fall:
onion, tomatoes, and garlic
Ripe Roma tomatoes, a couple garlic cloves and a thick slice of white onion to prepare the base for tomato broth.
First of all, the tomato broth where the albóndigas are cooked in uses not just a couple of tomatoes, but a couple pounds. Though in Mexican cooking we usually use Roma (called Guaje) tomatoes for sauces and salsas rather than Round tomatoes, I would recommend using the freshest and ripest you can find, or let them mature outside the refrigerator for a couple days. As the Fall sets in, you can substitute the fresh tomatoes with a brand you like of simple tomato puree.
chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce give the broth a smoky, sweet and rich depth
Once the tomatoes are simmered in water for about 10 minutes, they are placed in the blender with a couple garlic cloves, a thick slice of raw onion and a nice healthy dose of Chipotle chiles in Adobo Sauce. If you can take more heat, drop in a whole Chipotle chile in adobo as well. But remember, you can always add more heat, but it is much more challenging to tone it down once it’s in the mix. So you may want to start with a tablespoon of sauce, and as the broth cooks on, taste to see if you can take a bit more heat. If you are a Chipotle addict, like me, no need to take precautions.After this tomato broth is cooked and seasoned, you can add some chicken broth.
mint and garlic in a molcajete
The mint and garlic play subtly with the tomato and the Chipotle adding both fragrance and welcomed layers of flavor.
Up to this point, all is familiar to me. Julio’s spin though, mashes a couple garlic cloves with 5 or 6 fresh mint leaves in a molcajete and tejolote, the Mexican version of a mortar and pestle. You can use the former or the latter, and if you don’t have either, just mince them finely with a knife. The way the mint plays with the tomato and the chipotle in the dish is subtle, yet quite spectacular.
mint and garlic mashed in a molcajete
Quickly mashed garlic and fresh mint leaves.
It takes no more than 10 seconds to mash it all up. And if you have a molcajete or want to get one, this is a great way to start seasoning it or to season it further.
juju mashing mint and garlic in the molcajete
My 3 year old sous chef, or as my late grandfather would say, my bandido, mashing away.
Since mashing is an activity loved by just about everyone around here, we ended up adding a bit more of this seasoning when we made the dish at home.
the mixture for the albondigas
Ground turkey breast, white rice cooked al dente, mashed mint and garlic, eggs, kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Julio used ground turkey breast, which is what we had at hand. I love to use turkey to make albóndigas, as it makes them lighter and leaner while still very flavorful. You can also use ground chicken, beef, or your preferred combination of meats: veal, beef and pork. This latter one, is my mother’s take. It is pretty tasty too. Julio typically makes them with a mix of beef and pork, but he was unexpectedly more than happy with the results from the turkey.The last of Julio’s spins, that I was skeptic about, was the addition of rice to bind the meat and give the albóndigas nice texture. Turns out, it depends on how you use the rice. Other versions I had tried before with rice, add it completely raw. Julio, quickly cooks the rice in water for 6 to 8 minutes until it is barely cooked through or al dente. So when you add it to the mixture, it finishes cooking as the meatballs cook in the broth and it bonds beautifully together making them fluffy, soft and with such a bite-able consistency.
A plate, ready for you to jump into, with ripe Mexican avocados… tasty with corn tortillas and cooked beans too.
So finally, here goes the recipe for you to print out! My guess is that you will also be pleasantly surprised by what mint and garlic do to the already smashing combination of tomato and chipotle. If you try them, let me know…
Julio's albondigas with mint and chipotle
Print Recipe
5 from 5 votes

Julio’s Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint

As I watched Julio prepare his albóndigas, I asked him about things I was biased against for the dish, like the use of rice and mint. Well… humbled again I was! As it is said, the devil is in the details, it’s a matter of how these ingredients are used. Each thing that makes these albóndigas work so well, does so for a reason. I liked them so, that we will be making Julio’s meatballs at home now too. My boys noticed the difference in such a good way: “there is something different Mami” they were telling each other, as they cleaned their plates up. Here is a step by step guide on how to make this easy and perfect dish for the Fall.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Albondigas, chicken broth, chipotles in adobo, meatballs, mint, onion, Recipe, rice, Tomatoes, turkey
Servings: 8 to 10 people
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup long or extra long grain white rice
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 5 to 8 mint leaves
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey chicken breast or a combination of beef, veal and pork
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt or more to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground, or more to taste
  • 2 pounds ripe tomatoes
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 3 tablespoons white onion roughly chopped (or a slice to your liking)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons of sauce from chipotle chiles in adobo or to taste
  • 1 chipotle chile in adobo seeded, optional
  • 2 tablespoons safflower corn or vegetable oil
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt or to taste

Instructions

  • In a small sauce pan place the rice and cover with 2 cups hot water. Simmer over medium high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until rice is cooked al dente but not mushy. Drain and let cool.
  • In a molcajete, mash the mint leaves and 2 garlic cloves with the tejolote until pureed. Alternatively you can use a mortar and pestle or you can simply mince them together.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground meat of your choice, the raw eggs, the cooled and drained rice, the mashed or minced garlic cloves with the mint, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper. Mix thoroughly, with your hands or spatula.
  • In a pot, place the tomatoes and cover with water. Simmer over medium high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until cooked through and mushy. Add the cooked tomatoes along with 1/4 cup of their cooking liquid, 2 garlic cloves, white onion, the sauce from the chipotles in adobo and if desired the chile chipotle in adobo in the blender and puree until smooth.
  • Pour 2 tablespoons of oil to a large deep pot and place over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, incorporate the pureed tomato mix. Let it simmer anywhere from 6 to 8 minutes, or until it has changed its color to a deeper red, thickened in consistency and lost its raw flavor. Add chicken broth and 1/2 teaspoon salt and reduce heat to medium low.
  • Along the side of the pot with the simmering tomato broth, place a small mixing bowl with about a cup of water as well as the mixing bowl with the albóndiga mix. Start to make the albondigas, one by one, anywhere from 1 to 2" in width and place them gently in the simmering liquid. Wet your hands in the water before you start and after you make a couple of albóndigas so they are easier to shape and the the mix doesn't stick to your hands.
  • Once you have shaped all the albóndigas, cover the pot and let them simmer over medium low heat for 20 minutes. If you want the tomato broth to thicken a bit more, uncover the pot and let it simmer for 5 to 8 more minutes.
  • Serve hot with a side of freshly sliced avocado, some warm corn tortillas and if desired, frijoles de olla, or cooked beans.

OK… Chiles en Nogada, at last!

Posted on by patiadmin

During the years I’ve been teaching at the Mexican Cultural Institute I’ve been hesitant to demonstrate and serve Chiles en Nogada. There are many reasons…

First, one of my goals has been to open a window into the world of Mexican cooking in an accessible way. I’ve introduced basic ingredients and dishes along with bits of their history, fun facts, cooking methods and new spins, so people can become familiar with this cuisine and feel empowered to play with its basics in their own kitchens.

No sense in teaching how to make something incredibly complex with tons of new ingredients, which can be quite overwhelming, right?

Chiles in Nogada are laborious. They use many ingredients, such as Poblano chiles, plantains, and piloncillo, that require a proper introduction by themselves or in a simpler dish.

piloncillo for chiles en nogada
Piloncillo in a disk, a cone and shredded. Also called panela, can be substituted with dark brown sugar.

Also, Chiles in Nogada look strange. If you are not familiar with them, you see a large green chile overstuffed with an odd looking filling, covered in a pale looking sauce and pomegranate seeds on top. What’s more, they are served lukewarm, which is unexpected.

Let me add more. Since they are so rich and complex, they are typically served on their own. They don’t like the company of much more than white rice or a freshly favored water….

All this said… I am making them for my next class!! Let me tell you how this came to be.

To start with, the topic is Celebrating Independence Day with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Chiles in Nogada are the quintessential dish eaten throughout the country on this day, and for the whole month of September. It is is a symbol, although there are many versions for how they came to be  (ladies in waiting celebrating a military victory, young nuns welcoming a famous presidents, and a people’s way of celebrating the seasons’ bounty) they all agree it was created with the colors of the Mexican flag in mind: green chile, white walnut sauce and red pomegranate.

Other years, I had gotten away with making other dishes prepared for this holiday that aren’t so labor intensive and just as good. However, the second part of the topic made it harder. Frida and Diego, one of Mexico’s most iconic figures who embody Mexicanidad and they ate Chiles in Nogada during this holiday. And believe me, I thoroughly researched, trying to find other things they also ate then!!

chiles en nogada filling
Moist filling of meat seasoned with garlic, onion, tomatoes, fruits, nuts, olives and spices…

The last straw came when Humberto (coordinator at the Institute) sent me the proof for the invite for the classes. The cover? Chiles en Nogada. I wasn’t going to change something that had hours of work involved already. And yes, Chiles en Nogada are such a staple. And…OK! If they are in the cover, I have to make them.

So with the fear of not wanting to scare away our guests with such complex dish on the back of my mind, I set on a quest to find the most delicious recipe. Remembering how every year I, along with millions of Mexicans and Mexican food aficionados, await for September to be able to eat this deliciously extravagant dish, I had to find the best version to share.

I began by making the version I grew up eating made by my nana, who gave me detailed instructions over the phone. Then I tried my mothers’ sophisticated take. Then I compared the two, and even mixed things of one into the other (oh sacrilege! the eternal culinary competition of my memories). Then I made Guadalupe Rivera’s version (Diego Rivera’s daughter), followed by Diana Kennedy’s… and any other I could find. Misery! I could not get the exquisite result I remembered savoring time and again.

Frustrated, as she saw me, Alejandra de la Paz (Director of the Mexican Cultural Institute) contacted Don Luis Bello Morin, director at the Restaurant of Palacio Nacional de las Bellas Artes in Mexico City. It took no more than a couple hours for him to respond with a recipe which included possible substitutions for hard to find ingredients and a detailed guide to make them. His instructions were so precise, that it was like having a co-pilot throughout the ride: he described the minutes, the smells, the sounds and textures to be found through his tested road to make the best ever Chiles en Nogada I have ever tried.

Not only was he so generous to share his recipe, but the results went beyond my expectations.  Since he loves to share recipes so that dishes such as this will not be lost, here is his adapted recipe (since the one he sent is for an industrial quantity). Thank you Don Luis!

As for my hesitations: I can’t wait to share this recipe and all the stories I’ve gathered for next class. In hindsight, I have been so pleasantly surprised with the eagerness of participants to eat and cook many more things than I would have expected. Of course, Chiles en Nogada are at the end of labor intensive spectrum, but they are so worth it.

Now, if you feel like making this recipe, let me know how it turned out. If you don’t and really want to try it, come to my next class!

chiles en nogada
Print Recipe
4.50 from 6 votes

Chiles en Nogada

Chiles in Nogada are laborious. They use many ingredients, such as Poblano chiles, plantains, piloncillo and acitrón, that require a proper introduction by themselves or in a simpler dish. Also, Chiles in Nogada look strange. If you are not familiar with them, you see a large green chile overstuffed with an odd looking filling, covered in a pale looking sauce and pomegranate seeds on top. What’s more, they are served lukewarm, which is unexpected.
Prep Time2 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: almonds, apple, ceylon, chile, cinnamon, garlic, olives, onion, peaches, pear, pecans, piloncillo, pine nuts, Plantains, poblanos, pomegranate, pork, raisins, Sherry, Tomatoes, walnut, walnuts
Servings: 10 chiles en nogada
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

For the chiles:

  • 10 chiles poblanos
  • 6 cups water
  • 5 tablespoons shredded or chopped piloncillo or brown sugar

For the meat:

  • 2 pounds pork shoulder butt, leg or ribs or a combination of meats such as veal and beef, deboned and cut into chunks
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 white onion
  • 1 carrot peeled, cut into two pieces
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or a couple fresh thyme sprigs
  • 5 black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt

For the filling:

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup white onion chopped
  • 1 pound ripe tomatoes pureed, or about 2 cups tomato puree
  • All the cooked meat finely chopped
  • 2 cups meat cooking broth
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
  • 3 ounces candied pineapple chopped
  • 1 cup ripe plantain peeled and diced, about 1 1/4
  • 1 diced Bartlett pear about 1 1/4 cup
  • 1 diced Golden Delicious apple about 1 1/4 cup
  • 1 large yellow peach mature but firm, diced, about 1 1/4 cup
  • Pinch of cumin
  • Pinch of ground cloves or 4 to 5 whole cloves seeds smashed and stems discarded
  • 1 ceylon or true cinnamon stick
  • 1/4 cup blonde raisins
  • 1/4 cup silvered almonds lightly toasted
  • 1/4 cup pinenuts lightly toasted
  • 1/4 cup chopped manzanilla olives

For walnut or pecan sauce:

  • 1 1/2 cup freshly peeled walnuts if not fresh DON'T use packaged, use pecans
  • 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup milk more or less to taste
  • 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar or more to taste
  • Pinch kosher or coarse sea salt or to taste
  • Pinch of ground white pepper
  • 1 tablespoon Dry Sherry or more to taste

For the garnishes:

  • 1 cup pomegranate seeds
  • 1/4 chopped parsley optional

Instructions

To prepare the chiles:

  • Rinse and char chiles. To char, you can either place them on a baking sheet or pan under the broiler, directly on the grill, hot comal or directly on an open fire flame. In any case, turn every 2 to 3 minutes until they are charred and blistered but not burnt. Place them, while very hot, in a plastic bag. Close bag tightly and cover with a kitchen towel. Let them sweat for 10 to 20 minutes.
  • Take them out one by one, and peel off the skin in the sink. As you do so, lightly rinse the chile with water. With a knife, make a slit down one side to take out and discard the seeds and membrane. Treat the flesh carefully so it will not tear and keep the stem on. Place them in a container and cover with the water previously simmered with the piloncillo or sugar until well diluted, anywhere from 2 to 24 hours. If it is more than 2 hours, place them in the refrigerator, covered once they have cooled down. Drain and either use or store in the refrigerator. You can prepare them 4 to 5 days ahead up to this point.

To prepare the filling:

  • Place the meat already cut into 3 to 4" chunks on the bottom of a cooking pot along with the garlic cloves, 1/4 white onion, carrot, bay leaves, thyme, peppercorns and a teaspoon of salt. Cover with water and place over medium high heat. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until meat is cooked through. Turn off the heat and let the meat and broth cool down. remove the meat with a slotted spoon and chop it finely, reserve. Strain the broth into a container, reserve.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large deep saute pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic clove and saute for a minute or until it starts becoming fragrant, but don't let it brown. Add the onion and saute for a couple more minutes, until it becomes translucent and soft and starts gaining some color. Pour in the tomato puree and let it season, stirring often, for about 5 to 7 minutes, until it has deepened its color, thickened its consistency and lost its raw flavor.
  • Incorporate the chopped meat, 2 cups of cooking broth, a teaspoon of salt, mix it all together and let it cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add the candied pineapple, mix with the meat and let it cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Incorporate the chopped plantain, pear, apple, and peach and gently mix it all together, let it cook for a couple minutes. Sprinkle the cumin and ground cloves, making sure you mix those spices well. Place a cinnamon stick in the middle of the pan, cover with a lid, lower the heat to medium and let it cook for about 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Uncover, add the raisins, almonds, pine nuts, green olives, mix well and taste for salt. Add more if need be. Turn off the heat. You can make the filling up to 2 days in advance, cool, cover and refrigerate.

To prepare the sauce:

  • Place all ingredients except the Sherry in the blender and puree until smooth. You can make the sauce a couple days in advance, but bring it to out room temperature before using. Mix the Sherry into the sauce up to 2 hours before serving. Add more to taste, but it shouldn't have a strong alcohol flavor. If it thickened while in the refrigerator, lighten it up with some milk.
  • Finally!!!! To assemble Chiles en Nogada: Place the chiles in a serving platter. Stuff each one with about 1/2 cup filling. Close as best you can. Generously spoon walnut or pecan sauce on top to cover chiles entirely and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and chopped parsley on top.
  • NOTE: Some cooks batter and fry the chiles before adding the sauce. But that version is much heavier and has become less and less popular over time.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Don Luis Bello Morin

Three tasty ways to eat ripe plantains

Posted on by patiadmin

Ay, ay, ay! Patita, espérate mamacita! My nanny repeated, as she snatched the hot plantain tightly wrapped in aluminum foil, from my hands. Her hands were more resistant, she insisted, as they were older and had cooked so much. She would hold my chosen package with an open hand, so the camotero (sweet potato street cart man, who also sold plantains) could tear up the foil. As the steam flew up to the skies, he poured a more-than-any-child-could-wish-for amount sweetened condensed milk… and so it fell, sweet ounce, by thick ounce, onto that moist, rich, filling and immensely satisfying treat. Sheer joy, that was.

I devoured it in what seemed a couple bites, just to lick the last but yummiest remains from the crumbled foil. There we were, standing on the street corner where my family lived, mischievously laughing: it was already getting dark, almost dinnertime, and no, no, no, I wasn’t supposed to be having any. Oh dear, how I miss that woman! Now every time I eat a plantain, I get a sparkle of that sheer joy.

So I understand my boys when they rush out to the street, their heartbeats pumping so loud I can clap their rhythms, as I scream out wait, wait, wait!, as that annoying ice cream truck song approaches. Yes, right before dinner, thank you Mr. Ice Cream Man. I once felt that too, with an even more shrilling whistle coming out from the camotero street cart.

We used to eat cooked ripe plantains throughout the year, and ironically, they seemed to taste even better during the hot and rainy summer months.  As some people say, sometimes hot, beats the heat…

White Rice and Fried Plantains 1(Plantains on my dining room table, the one covered in black spots is ripe and ready to be cooked)

Plantains, called macho bananas, plátano macho, in many areas of Mexico, can just change gears and move from one course to another. Eaten as described above, they make an original dessert or an anytime sweet treat. Covered in foil and thrown on the grill, and along some grilled meat or chicken with a spicy kick, they make an incredible side. All you need is a simple salad and you have a wholesome tasty meal. If you forgot to eat them and you are already moving to dessert, just drizzle some sweet condensed milk, honey, sugar, Rompope, or ice cream on top! I don’t think one can say this about many other ingredients… maybe sweet potatoes or grilled pineapples…

Another option to eat ripe plantains, which is extremely popular, is to fry them, plátanos fritos. They are peeled, thickly and diagonally sliced (to make them pretty, why not?) and as they brown in the hot oil, their sugar caramelizes. So when you start to bite in, you get a sweet crunch, and when you are deep into the bite, you get a gently mushy and soft finish.

In Mexican cooking, fried plantains are famously eaten on top of white rice, as in the main post photo. This brings a nice contrast of sweet and soft with savory and coarse. If you want to go over the top, drizzle some Mexican or Latin style cream or sour cream as a finishing touch. Try that… and you will have a piece of sheer bliss too.

NOTE: Click here to read about plantains, how to buy them and how to recognize when they are ripe. Of course, there are other ways to eat them when they are not ripe, as they do in the Gulf Coast, but that is a topic for a future post… meanwhile enjoy one of these three ways to eat them ripe, or try them all!

fried plantains
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5 from 3 votes

Baked Plantains for Dessert

Plantains, called macho bananas, plátano macho, in many areas of Mexico, can just change gears and move from one course to another. They make an original dessert or an anytime sweet treat. Just drizzle some sweet condensed milk, honey, sugar, Rompope, or ice cream on top! 
Cook Time25 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Latin American, Mexican
Keyword: Baked, Dessert, Plantains, Sweet, Sweetened Condensed Milk
Servings: 2 to 4 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe plantains
  • Sweetened condensed milk to your liking or honey, sugar, ice cream or rompope

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Individually wrap the plantains, with their skin on, in aluminum foil and place in a baking sheet in the oven (some people bake them without the aluminum foil, you can try it both ways).
  • Bake for about 25 minutes, until plantains are completely cooked through, very soft and sugar has begun to caramelize. Carefully open up the foil making a slit down the middle, open it up, and pour the condensed milk on top.

Notes

Platano Macho al Horno
fried plantains
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5 from 1 vote

Grilled Plantains

Plantains, called macho bananas, plátano macho, in many areas of Mexico, can just change gears and move from one course to another. Covered in foil and thrown on the grill, and along some grilled meat or chicken with a spicy kick, they make an incredible side. All you need is a simple salad and you have a wholesome tasty meal.
Prep Time0 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Plantains, Platanos
Servings: 2 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe plantains

Instructions

  • Preheat grill to medium heat. Individually wrap the unpeeled plantains in aluminum foil and place on the grill.
  • Let them cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, until they are soft and cooked through. You may also cook them on the upper rack of the grill at a different temperature, but it may take more or less time.
  • You know they are ready when they feel extremely soft to the touch and the sugar has begin to caramelize.

Notes

Platanitos Fritos
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5 from 4 votes

White Rice and Fried Plantains

White Rice and Fried Plantains recipe from Pati's Mexican Table Season 2, Episode 6 “Fonda Favorites”
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: celery, chicken broth, onion, pati’s mexican table, Plantains, rice, serrano chiles, sour cream
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

  • 2 cups white rice
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil plus more for frying plantains
  • 1/2 cup white onion finely chopped
  • 4 cups chicken stock prepared or homemade
  • 1 celery stalk cut in half
  • 1 fresh parsley sprig
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice or to taste
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt or to taste
  • 2 ripe plantains peeled and sliced
  • 1 serrano chile
  • sour cream to garnish, optional

Instructions

To prepare the rice:

  • Place the rice in a large bowl and cover with very hot water; let it soak anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again.
  • Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring softly for 2 to 3 minutes. Incorporate the onion and stir, from time to time, until the rice begins to change to a milky-white color and feels and sounds heavier, as if it were grains of sand; about 3 to 4 more minutes.Pour in the chicken stock, along with the celery, parsley, lime juice, salt and whole chile.
  • When it comes to a rolling boil, cover the pot, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook until the rice is cooked through and the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. If the rice grains don’t seem soft and cooked through, add a bit more chicken broth or water and let it cook for another 5 more minutes or so.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork when ready to serve. Place the cooked plantains (below) on top. Place sour cream on the side for people to add to their rice and plantains if they like.

To prepare the plantains:

  • Note: The skin of the plantain should be almost entirely black when it is mature and ready to use in this recipe.
  • Peel the plantains and slice them diagonally into 1/4-inch thick slices.
  • In a sauté pan, over medium heat, add about 1/4-inch of oil. Heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Add the plantain slices and fry until browned but not blackened, about 2 minutes per side, the oil should be bubbling around their edges of the plantain slices as they cook.
  • Remove the plantains from the oil and drain them on a plate covered with paper towels.

Notes

Arroz Blanco con Plátanos Fritos

A salad to dress and impress

Posted on by patiadmin

I have come to realize a couple things regarding a group get together around here…

For one thing pot lucks are so popular. Maybe it’s because they can make entertaining easier and promote a warm feeling of collaboration. I don’t remember many pot luck meals growing up in Mexico. It was generally assumed that the host was in charge of the whole meal and guests arrived with a box of chocolates, a bunch of flowers, or maybe a bottle of wine or tequila too. So that pot luck pitching in element, has been such a nice surprise.

Secondly, no potluck seems to be complete without a salad, which seems to represent the wholeness of a meal and that higher degree of healthfulness.  They aren’t always that fat-free. But in any case, they help reduce the guilt we all may feel after indulging in a couple of servings of whatever decadent dish may happen to be there too.Now I just can’t remember having a salad growing up, come what may, in every gathering either. There were vegetable sides, but not always salads. When there were, they either had a welcome exotic twist,  or a to die for “secret” house vinaigrette. And yes! The host would spell out the “secret” with any given opportunity.

As much as pot lucks are based on great principles, they can be damaged if participants think that whatever they bring works out well, just because they are bringing “something.” But here’s the thing, you are not helping much if the main dish is an Indian curry and the salad you walk in with has a creamy, garlicky and heavily parmesanned dressing.

Two ideas come to mind to try make that next pot luck a success. One, someone can be in charge of informing everyone of what others are planning to bring with a bit of detail. If that seems like a hassle, then pick a theme. Just to make sure there are no guns and roses on the table. Another idea, goes to the salad bearer. Instead of a premixed salad bag splashed with a random bottled vinaigrette, why not make a flavorful, exotic and wholesome salad? This will pump up the quality of the meal, make the health-minded happier and give the salad maker a ton more satisfaction.

Here, let me give you a salad that you can brag about and then happily devour. One of the most popular salads I have shared in class, it has also prompted a next day email to ask for the recipe whenever we have served it to friends at home. If you bring it to your next pot luck, it will make that table where you set it on, wish it had a mouth to eat it all up.

The original recipe comes from Marí­a Dolores Torres Izabal, one of the leading ladies of the Mexican culinary world and a woman I admire so. As the years have passed, I have adapted it.

jicama

Just the combination of ingredients is exciting enough. It has the depth of the spinach, the tanginess and strong color of the raw beets, the crispness of the typically ignored cabbage, the sharpness of the red onion, the sweetness and chewiness of the dried pineapple or acitrón, and the wonderful crunch, and clean and fresh feel of the jí­camas.

I found the freshest jí­camas today, as you can see in the picture above…though the weather didn’t help much for a good picture (I need a lot more help than a sunny day for that…)

This mix of ingredients is first lightly covered in a light oil and vinegar dressing, just to get ready for a luxurious embrace from the creamy Mexican avocado sauce. Now add the flavor of toasted sesame seeds and the satisfying bite you get out of the croutons…. Just can’t go wrong.

Oh… and it is practical too, since everything can be prepped at least a day ahead, refrigerated and assembled before serving.

rosura salad
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4.50 from 2 votes

Rosura Salad

This award winning recipe, adapted from caterer Marí­a Dolores Torres Izabal is festive and colorful. You can prepare all the ingredients ahead of time and assemble right before serving.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time0 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Avocado, beets, Jicama, red cabbage, Rosura, salad, Spinach, vinaigrette
Servings: 12 servings
Author: Pati Jinich

Ingredients

Vinaigrette:

  • 1/4 cup tarragon vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove pressed or finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped white onion
  • 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Avocado dressing:

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 cup Mexican crema
  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

To serve:

  • 5 cups (or about 1 pound) thinly sliced red cabbage
  • 3 cups peeled and shredded raw beets from about 2 beets
  • 5 cups (or about 8 ounces) spinach rinsed and thinly sliced
  • 5 cups jícama peeled and cut into small sticks (from about 1 jícama)
  • 1/4 of a white onion thinly sliced
  • 3 ounces candied pineapple or other candied fruit
  • 1 cup croutons
  • 1/2 cup lightly toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

For the vinaigrette:

  • Add the vinegar, garlic, chopped onion, salt, and sugar to a small bowl, then whisk in the oils to emulsify.

For the avocado dressing:

  • Place milk and garlic in a blender and puree. Add the lime juice, crema, avocados and salt to taste and blend until smooth. Pour avocado dressing in a bowl and stir in the chives. 

To serve:

  • Combine the cabbage, beets, spinach, jícama, onion and dried pineapple or dried fruit in a salad bowl. 
  • Lightly dress the salad with some of the vinaigrette. Place the salad on the table and leave the avocado dressing, croutons and toasted sesame seeds on the side for people to add as they please.  

Notes

Adapted from Marí­a Dolores Torres Izabal