adobo paste - red chile marinade

I would urge you to try to make this paste just once and for no other reason than to really understand what true Mexican flavors are made of. With a few exceptions, the true Mexican palate is not sympathetic to 'hot' foods; mostly the heat is delivered through very potent and innocuous looking salsas and condiments. the main flavors are a little sweet, some bitter, mostly savory, and unbelievably complex. This adobo paste calls for the toasting and rehydration of some chiles, a process that, when combined with the rest of the spices and herbs, creates a gorgeous, deep, almost buttery and slightly bitter compound.



i used it this weekend with some shredded rotisserie chicken and acorn squash (roasted with a little honey) for a tamale filling. i think it has less heat than you would think, but adds so many layers of complexity that it's hard to describe accurately.

Here's how i did it, thanks, again, to rick bayless and his guidance:

Yield: 1 generous cup


8 cloves garlic, unpeeled
4 medium (~2 oz) dried ancho choles, stemmed, seeded and deveined
6 medium (~1 1/2 oz) dried guajillos, stemmed seeded and deveined

1/2 in cinammon stick (or ~1/2 tsp ground)
1 clove (or a pinch ground)
10 black peppercorns (or 1/4 tsp ground)
2 large bay leaves, broken up (I used 1/2 tsp ground bay leaves [laurel molido])
1/8 tsp cumin seeds (or generous 1/8 tsp ground)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme (i used a sprig or two of fresh)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c cider vinegar
3 Tbsp water



Toasting the chiles and garlic: Roast the garlic cloves on a griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat, turning frequently, until blackened in spots and very soft, about 15 minutes - i put the cloves in the pan before turning the heat on so the garlic could soften more before blackening
Remove, cool, skin, and roughly chop



While the garlic is roasting, tear the chiles into flat pieces and toast them a few at a time: use a metal spatula to press them firmly (i mean really squish them down. make those suckers sizzle under your spatula) against the hot surface for a few seconds, until they blister, crackle and change color, ten flip them over and press them flat to toast the other side.

(Note: if you use the same heavy-bottomed pan for this as the garlic toasting, like i did, this should only take a few seconds per side. i took mine off the heat to slow the blackening down, then returned it towards the end. this whole process takes just a few minutes)

Soaking the chiles: Break the chiles into a small bowl, cover with boiling water, weight with a plate to keep submerged and soak 30 minutes. Drain, tear into smaller pieces, place in a blender jar and add the garlic.


Finishing the adobo: in a mortar or spice grinder, pulverize the cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves, and cumin. Add to the chiles along with the oregano, thyme, salt, vinegar and 3 tablespoons water.
ith a long series of blender pulses, reduce the mixture to a paste: run the blender for a few seconds until the mixture clogs, then scrape down the sides with a spatula and stir; repeat a dozen times or more until the mixture is smooth. Don't add water unless absolutely necessary or this marinating paste won't do its job well. strain the paste through a medium-mess sieve into a noncorrosive container with a tight-fitting lid. Cover and refrigerate.

tamales

Tabasco sauce - chile de arbol hot sauce

I'm so happy to have found such a great recipe. It is a perfect challenge for a weekend afternoon; it requires some time, a moderate amount of effort, and is just a lot of fun to fool with ingredients that are less than everyday.

Though it takes a little while start to finish, i promise that 80% of the time is spend rolling and splitting chiles, which doesn't take much effort and can be pretty fun.


Coupled with that the fact that this hot sauce lasts indefinitely in the refrigerator, this might be a good experiment for personal use or, alternately, a perfect birthday present for a friend (whom we all have) who can't eat without a bottle of hot sauce nearby.

Here, on the left is traditional tapatio sauce while the one on the right is the homemade tabasco. I will say that this tastes more like tabasco than tapatio, i just didn't have red tabasco in the house to compare it with. note, though, the similar consistencies. I love when i get at least one thing right.


Though it takes about an hour just to de-seed the chiles, I do promise that this requires effort in the form of occupied indifference - that is to say that the chile rolling and extracting is best while watching an hour-long law and order or something, given that it is mostly mindless work. This is where the mimosa comes in, in case you were looking for a cue.
example:

I will caution you to not touch any eyes, nose, or any other body parts, even an hour after you handle the chiles. fair warning.
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1 1/4 oz dried chiles de arbol (appx. 50-60 mixed-sized)
1 1/2 Tbsp sesame seeds
2 Tbsp shelled pumpkinseeds (pepitas)
1/4 tsp cumin seeds (or a generous 1/4 tsp ground)
4 large allspice berries (or 1/8 tsp ground)
2 cloves (or big pinch ground)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
2 lg cloves garlic, peeled and roughly clopped
3/4 c cider vinegar
1 mimosa, prepared


Chiles and seeds: stem the chiles, then roll then roll them between your thumb and fingers, pressing gently to loosen the seeds inside. Break in half, shake out as many seeds as possible, then place in a blender jar.
(i developed a method of rolling briefly, splitting in half, and rolling seeds out for a few seconds into a bowl for this step. just experiment with it and see what works)

(leftover, shaken-out seeds)
(arbol chiles, after de-stemming and -seeding)

Assembling the paste: Heat an ungreased skillet over medium-low. Measure in the sesame seeds and stir for several minutes as they brown and pop; scoop into the blender jar. Add the pumpkinseeds to the skillet. When the first one pops, stir constantly for several minutes, until all are golden and have popped up into a round shape.



Blending the sauce: Pulverize the cumin, allspice and cloves in a mortar or spice grinder, then add to the blender jar along with the oregano, salt, garlic, and vinegar. Blend for several minutes, until the mixture is orange-red and feels quite smooth when a drop is rubbed between your fingers.



Straining and ripening the sauce: Strain through a mesh sieve or strainer, working the solids back and forth and pressing them firmly; there will be a fair amount of chile seeds, skins, sesame hulls, and other debris to discard, but be careful that there is nothing liquid trapped within them.
Stir in 3/4 cup water, then pour into a bottle, cover and let stand for 24 hours before serving.

a

Salsa Verde - quick, quick

Since discovering the mexican grocer, i've gone three times in less than a week. so far i've bought about 7 pounds of tomatillos just to make this salsa verde for the freezer. every time i make it, it disappears before i can squirrel away a batch or two for the deep freeze. 'well,' i said to myself sassily, 'just try and eat through a quadruple batch.'

I'm working my way through a bunch of recipes in Rick Bayless' Authentic Mexican, and this one is a great kickoff recipe; it's super-easy and very very low maintenance (the whole thing takes about 30 minutes, so definitely doesn't need to be a weekend attempt). the hardest thing is pureeing the tomatillos, which is nothing more difficult than pressing the food processor button.


i really didn't know about this recipe, in that i questioned whether it would taste cohesive and balanced enough since it only cooks for about 20 minutes. from making tomato sauce and stock, i sometimes get it stuck in my head that something can only have flavor if it has been simmering for 3 hours. and while, yes, there's a lot of long-simmering required for mexican cooking, part of the freshness comes from quick blanching or short simmers. it was a good lesson, especially since the flavors of this recipe are both bright and meaty, a product of the quick method.

The recipe in the cookbook lists optional alternatives to ingredients (like a can of tomatillos), but i excluded the ones i didn't use and am just listing exactly what i did.




Salsa Verde

1 pound (11 medium) fresh tomatillos, husked and washed
5-6 sprigs fresh coriander, roughly chopped
3 jalapenos or 2 large ones (i carefully cut off as much stem as possible without cutting into the flesh. it's okay if a little bit of the top nub remains, just no woody stem. will help with processing later)
1 small onion, quartered
1 large garlic clove
1 Tbsp lard or vegetable oil
2 c broth (i used chicken)
Salt (depending on the saltiness of the broth)

1) boil the fresh tomatillos and chiles in salted water to cover until tender, 10 to 15 minutes; drain. (the tomatillos will leach their bright green color and will come out a little green pea soup-y, the jalapenos should be only sightly discolored.)


2) the puree: Place the tomatillos and jalapeno in a food processor or blender (i took one jalapeno and cut the top off, squeezing out the membrane and seeds, and returned flesh to processor. this will make a strong medium-heat salsa verde. if you want mild, or your enchilada filling has heat to it, feel free to de-seed all of your jalapenos). Add the cilantro, onion, and garlic. Process until smooth, about 10 seconds.


3) The sauce: heat the lard or vegetable oil in a medium-large skillet set over medium-high. When hot enough to make a drop of the puree sizzle sharply, pour it all in at once and stir constantly for 4 or 5 minutes, until darker and thicker. add the borth, let return to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 10 minutes. season with salt to taste.






For making enchiladas, this is what i do:

scoop enough salsa verde on to the bottom of the baking dish, just enough to cover lightly. roll up the enchiladas with whatever filling you'd like (i like finely diced zucchini, mushrooms, cooked potatoes and onions, sauteed and browned with chicken fat, with leftover chicken and a little cheese mixed in. i will staunchly insist you add some (not a lot) of cheese to the filling. it helps hold everything intact, like delicious glue. arrange very snugly, seam side down, on the baking dish and pour the remaining salsa verde over the middles of the enchiladas, leaving the sides of the tortillas unsmothered so they can crisp. crumble cheese overtop and spray cooking oil over the bare tortilla parts. scoop the remaining salsa verde around the sides.


bake in 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until the cheese starts to brown. turn the oven off and let sit for another five minutes or so. the residual heat will crisp up the cheese and let you get everything to the table while the enchiladas are hot.

Oaxaca buns

If I were pressed to choose, I'd say the melty, crispy, browned cheesy bits on top of something straight out of the oven is one of the finest cook's reward. These little cuties are basically that reward in bun form. Further, calling them buns is a little dishonest, as they only have enough flour to loosely hold their shape. They're really more like dumplings, I guess.

Anyway, I've been playing around with the flour ratios for a while, so I may post an updated recipe when I'm finally, truly satisfied. This one calls for 1/4 cup tapioca flour to 3/4 cup all purpose. It's not quite perfect, but they're pretty delicious in this carnation, so I'll stop nitpicking. It would taste best with as much tapioca flour as possible but it has a very displeasing aftertaste when you use it exclusively. It's easy to find this at larger grocery stores, I use the Bob's Red Mill brand, and a small bag will last a long time.



Tapioca flour is, for most intents and purposes, interchangeable with cornstarch. I keep a small amount in a container near the stove and use to tighten up sauces that are not quite thick enough immediately before serving. The advantage that tapioca flour has over cornstarch is that it thickens more quickly and at a lower temp than cornstarch needs, just remember to create a slurry (mix w/a tablespoon or 2 of water or the liquid you want to thicken before adding) with it instead of dumping it in raw, to avoid clumping. I've seen some Thai recipes that call for a tapioca flour batter for frying, and I'm curious to see how it tastes.



A couple of quick notes about the recipe: 1) use gloves. 2) this recipe is infinitely better if you get a little zen with the cheese. in a perfect world, you should unknot it (Oaxaca cheese comes jumbled up like a pretzel and is just really long string cheese if you untangle it), string it into long strips and chop it up like that. It's meltier and flakier and tastes way better. Because my life is so filled with fabulously busy things, I didn't do it this time, but I sure wish i did.



1 jalapeno, deveined and deseeded
1 package Oaxaca cheese, finely chopped
1/4 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 egg yolks
3 tablespoons cream (milk is fine if it's all you have, but start out w/2 tablespoons and see how it goes from there)
pepper

combine first three ingredients, tossing to coat. stir in remaining ingredients, kneading to combine.
dough should just stick together when you work a ball of dough in your hands for 10-15 seconds, warming it. if it's still crumbling, add more cream, a tablespoon at a time. Space slightly apart on a cookie sheet and bake @ 350 for 15-20 minutes, until deep golden. let cool on a wire rack immediately.



I made a pineapple-ginger butter to go with it, but i'm not happy enough with it to recommend you make it.



(mascot)

Mushroom Empanadas

I've been testing out some empanada dough in preparation for the Mexisplosion that's about to pass through this doorway when I get home with my newly inherited tortilla press. This dough recipe is from the Smitten Kitchen, which is flaky and delicious enough, but most of the really authentic recipes call for 1/2 flour / 1/2 masa, with vinegar. excited to test out a few when I get back from Canada. I can't believe that it has been a year already. Throughout the summer all I've really focused on is trying to pluck from my memory the things that I was doing at exactly that same day one year ago. I'm awful with dates, but my memory has been pitch-perfect all summer. I can remember distinctly the daily routines of last summer.





But, anyway, this empanada batch had pureed mushrooms, shallots, thyme, and turkey mince. The filling is the raw stuffing leftovers of a Turkey Valentine (stuffed and rolled turkey breast) from the night before. Anyway, looking forward to pawing through more recipes.