RECIPE: Costillas de Puerco al Chipotle (Pork Ribs in Chipotle Adobo)

At work, one of my colleagues asked me to develop a recipe using Xilli Chipotles Adobados. The resident Mexican at Food52, I knew exactly what to do. This recipe incorporates three chiles, all very distinct in flavor. You can sub in a wide variety of meats, like beef, pork butt, and lamb. Serve this with fresh tortillas and avocado slices.

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Ingredients:

• 3 Xilli Chipotles Adobados

• 3 allspice berries

• 2 cloves

• 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 3 Guajillo chiles, seeds and stem removed

• 3 Cascabel chiles, seeds and stem removed

• 2 garlic cloves, skin on

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 2 1/2 pounds Pork Short Ribs, cut into pieces that fit the width of your Dutch oven

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Remove the stem from the Xilli Chipotles Adobados and place them in a blender with the next six ingredients.

3. Over a clay comal , toast the dried guajillo and cascabel chiles until fragrant (roughly 1 minute, depending on the dryness of the chiles). Take care not to burn them, or the sauce will be bitter. Once toasted, soak the chiles in water for 15 minutes.

4. Roast the garlic, skin on, until dark spots appear. Peel the cloves and add to the blender.

5. Blend everything together until smooth, adding water if necessary.

6. In a large Dutch oven, sear the ribs until browned over med-high heat.

7. Strain the blended sauce through a mesh sieve (optional) and over the ribs being sure to scrape the bottom of the dutch oven with a spatula. Pour water into the dutch oven until the meat is submerged.

8. Cook with lid on, for 2 to 4 hours, depending on how tender you want the meat.

9. Once done, remove ribs and slice. Serve with fresh tortillas and plenty of sauce over the top.

RECIPE: Chiles Rellenos

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Chile Relleno Sauce Ingredients

Chiles Rellenos, or stuffed chiles, is a classic Mexican recipe from the city of Puebla. A stop along the route on the journey from the port of Veracruz to Mexico City, Puebla was influenced by Europe's passing visitors inspiring cuisine that mixed the best of both continents. The first mention of the recipe is from 1858.

With a delicate meringue coating and a cheesy interior, the robust flavor of the fresh chile shines through in this archaic dish. This dish is a bit labor intensive, but it is so versatile in terms of what you can stuff inside the chile, I often make this for my vegetarian friends. 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

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Chiles Rellenos

• 4 Poblano chiles, fresh and stem intact

• 3 tomatoes

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 white onion slice, 1/2 inch

• 3 Guajillo chiles

• 3 Puya chiles

• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

• 3 allspice berries

• 1 inch piece canela (Mexican cinnamon)

• 3 eggs

• 2 cups vegetable oil

• Oaxaca or Monterrey Jack cheese, 8 ounces sliced

• 1/4 cup flour

Method:

1. Over a high flame charr the Poblano chiles until the skin is blackened. Be sure to charr every area of the chile or else the skin will stick leaving a tough exterior. Place the chiles in a bowl and cover with a plate until they are cool enough to handle. Slide the skin off the chile and leave the stem intact. Set aside.

2. Over medium-high heat, roast the tomatoes, garlic, onion slice on a comal until charred and fragrant - place in blender. Toast the chiles over the comal until fragrant and a darker shade of red being careful not to burn them - place in blender. Add the oregano, allspice, canela and 1 cup of water to the jar and blend for 4 minutes, alternating speed to ensure that no large skin pieces remain. Pass the liquid through a strainer into a sauce pot over medium heat. Salt accordingly and cook for 30 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half.

3. Separate the eggs and reserve two of the yolks. Whisk the meringue to soft peaks and slowly add the egg yolks, one at a time. Heat the vegetable oil to 350 degrees.

4. Slit the chiles in the center and add the cheese slices. Dredge the filled chiles into the flour mixture, coating the entire outside surface. Gently lay the chiles, one at a time, in the meringue and fold the mixture over, covering the entire chile. Lay the chiles into the oil and fry until golden brown on each side. Remove to a towel to collect the excess grease.

5. Laddle the tomato-chile sauce into a bowl and lay the chile relleno on top. Serve with rice and beans on the side.

RECIPE: Pozole

POZOLE

/po'sole/

Classical Nahuatl:

Noun

1. hominy, pozolli

Pozole is a dish served all over Mexico and has many variations. My family makes this nearly every Holiday season and the hearty stew is sure to bring warmth back to a cold winter day. My recipe takes the best parts from my aunt's version of pozole and has been refined using French cooking techniques. The double straining through a fine mesh strainer makes all the difference in the broth. You can use dried or canned hominy, but if you want more control over the texture of the corn, spend the extra effort in soaking the dried kernels over night.

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Pozole rojo

Serves 6

Ingredients:

FOR THE POZOLE

• 2 lbs pork shoulder, cut into 4 large pieces

• 2 bay leaves

• 1/2 white onion

• 5 garlic cloves

• 3 guajillo chiles

• 2 ancho chiles

• 3 puya chiles

• 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 cup dried hominy (presoaked overnight) OR 1 8oz can prepared

• salt to taste

FOR THE GARNISH:

• lime wedges

• shredded cabbage

• sliced radish

• cilantro

GARNISH!

radish / rabano

Method:

1. Place the pork, bay leaves, and 1/4 of the onion, and 3 cloves of garlic in a pot. Cover the meat with water (roughly 8 cups) and bring to a boil. Skim the impurities off the surface of the boiling water and reduce the heat to a steady simmer. Cook for 1 hour, 15 minutes or until the meat is able to pull apart.

2. While the meat cooks, toast the chiles on a comal for roughly 1 minute until fragrant and smoking, but not burnt. (The soup will be bitter if the chiles are burnt.) Soak the chiles in water, cover and allow the chiles to reconstitute for 15 minutes. Deseed and de-stem the chiles and place in blender with 1/4 onion, 2 garlic cloves, oregano, cumin, and 1 cup of water. Blend for three minutes and then pass through a mesh strainer. Heat the olive oil in a pot on low heat and cook the chile paste for roughly 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture is a dark shade of red.

3. Remove the meat from the stock and chop into bite size cubes. Strain the stock through a mesh strainer and then a second time through a fine mesh strainer. Add the stock to the chile mixture and stir to blend. Add the pork and hominy and heat on low until the oil seperates out. Salt to taste. Serve with garnishes and fresh tortillas.