RECIPE: Carne con Chile Verde

This recipe hails from the Northern States of Mexico - the cuisine here is simple, quite representative of the ingredients growing in the desert highlands. Chiles are technically fruits and the dance of spice and sweet in this dish make the chiles the star of the show. The green Anaheim chiles from the North are superb and if a fruit had the ability to capture the flavors of the desert sun, an Anaheim would be just that.

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Carne con chile verde

Method:

1. Over an open flame, charr the Anaheim chiles until the skin has blackened. If you don't charr them all the way, the skin will not be able to be removed and will be difficult to digest. Once charred all over, place into a bowl and cover until the skin is cool enough to touch. Rub the chili of its burned skin and chop into pieces.
2. Place the meat and garlic in a pot and cover with water so that the meat is fully submerged. Salt accordingly. Bring to a boil and scrape off any impurities floating on the surface. Lower the temperature and allow the meat to cook slowly, roughly 1 hour or until the meat is tender and soft to the touch.
3. Once the remaining water has just about evaporated, raise the heat to medium, pour the lard or vegetable oil into the pot with the chopped onion. Allow the onion and the meat to caramelize slightly. Remove from heat and stir in the flour and constantly stir, for about one minute.
4. Place back over a high flame and add the chiles and tomatoes with 2 cups of water and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes and stir so that the chile doesn't scald. The sauce should thicken to a soup/stew-like consistency.

Serve with fresh flour tortillas cooked on the comal and a if you want more heat, as Anaheims can rather mild, serve with seared serranos torreados.

Ingredients:

• 10 Anaheim chiles
• 2lbs beef shoulder (or pork if you so choose), cut into 3 inch cubes
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon pork lard OR vegetable oil
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 3 fresh tomatoes, broiled and crushed by hand

 

RECIPE: Cochinita Pibil Tacos

Cochinita Pibil is an exquisite dish from the Yucatan Peninsula, a region whose cuisine is so different from the rest of the country, it deserves its own category. Cochinita means a suckling pig in Spanish and Pibil is Mayan for cooked underground. This underground cooking method is one of the oldest forms of roasting meat safely and every culinary tradition has some form it. I'm not sure what the legality of digging a pit and cooking a pig underground in New York City is, but I don't want to run the risk, so this recipe is for an oven. This is a great recipe for staying home on Sundays, letting the meat slowly render out its flavor.

Serves 6.

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Cochinita pibil tacos

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons achiote / annato seeds
• 2 teaspoons cumin seed
• 6 whole allspice berries
• 10 peppercorns
• 5 cloves
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 - 3 habanero peppers
• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 cup white vinegar
• salt
• Banana leaves (optional)
• 3lbs pork butt or shoulder, cut into large pieces
• 1 small red onion
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

Method:

FOR THE MEAT:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheiht.
2. Put achiote, cumin seed, allspice, peppercorns, and cloves in blender and grind into a coarse powder. Achiote is a very tough seed and needs ample time to break down in the blender.
3. Add garlic, habaneros, orange juice and 1/2 cup of vinegar to blender and salt to taste. The habaneros can be too spicy for some, so be careful here on the quantity. Blend everything for roughly 4 minutes, or until most of the garlic and spices are broken up.
4. Line a dutch-oven with the banana leaves, if using, place pork pieces inside and pour the blended spice mixture over the meat. If the meat is not 3/4 submerged in the liquid add water. Cover with more banana leaves and put into the oven. Roast for 4 hours or until the meat is falling apart and the fat has rendered out.
5. Allow the meat to cool slightly before shredding and assembling the tacos.

FOR THE PICKLED ONIONS:

1. Slice the onion thinly and habaneros thinly.
2. In a non-reactive bowl (I use glass) place the onion, oregano, salt, habanero. Pour vinegar over the onions and mix by hand. Let this chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. 

Assemble the tacos using handmade tortillas on a comal. Garish with the pickled red onions. Serve with black beans and white rice.

RECIPE: Esquites

ESQUITES

Asia had rice. Europe had wheat. And The Americas had maiz - CORN. In Mexico there are over 59 native varieties of maiz and the differences in flavor, texture, color run the gamut. The last time I was in Mexico City I went to one of my favorite mezcal bars - Mano Santa. Between copitas of angustofolia and karwinski, my boyfriend and I became peckish and Esquites was on the menu. The pairing of the classic sweet street food snack and the smokey mezcal carried me to another culinary palette that I love to introduce to my friends at dinner parties.

For the corn, I prefer organic because Monsanto's corn scares the shit out of me. Read more about Monsanto's Frankenstein practices of playing God here.

Ingredients:

Method:

1. Over medium heat toast the chile de arbol until it becomes fragrant like peanuts over a comal. Once cooled, chop this into a fine powder. Skip this step if you are using Tajin.
2. Heat the lard until melted and add the diced onion and jalapeño. Sautée for 5 minutes until onion is translucent. 
3. Add the epazote or cilantro and corn and stir until coated. Add 1/4 cup water and cover the mixture allowing it to cook for 5 minutes over med-low heat.
4. Remove the pot from heat and allow the mixture to cool. Salt to taste.
5. Serve into small ramequins and garnish with fresh cotija cheese, chili de arbol or Tajin, and freshly squeezed lime juice.

• 1 chili de arbol toasted on the comal or Tajin.
• 1 tablespoon lard OR butter
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 1lb bag of frozen organic corn, brought to room temp
• 2 sprigs of fresh epazote OR cilantro
• 1 lime wedge
• Grated cotija cheese
• Salt to taste

 

RECIPE: Micheladas "To Taste"

A Michelada is like a Bloody Mary - minus the hard liquor. A beertail, if you will.

And the best part of a Michelada is that you can write the recipe - I'll just lay the base. Allow me to explain - a Michelada is a beer fortifified with tomato juice, lime, chile and flavorings and YOU get to pick the proportions. Want something more spicy? Just add more chili pequin or arbol to the rim.. want something more sour? Add more lime. ETC.

Ingredients:

*For one serving. All ingredients to taste.

MICHELADA

• 10 Chili pequin or 3 chili de arbol toasted on a comal until fragrant OR Sal de Muchos Chiles Rimming Salt

• Lime juice to taste

• 2 ounces Tomato juice

• 2 Dashes of Worcestershire

• Salt

• Hot sauce (like Valentina of Cholula) to taste

• 1 12-ounce bottle of Mexican Lager (claro or obscuro is fine)

Method:

1. Place glassware into the freezer for at least ten minutes. 

2. Toast the chili pequin or arbol on a comal until fragrant. Once cooled, chop into a fine powder with a pinch of salt.

3. Squeeze lime juice onto a plate, dip the frozen glass rim into the lime juice and then the chili powder to rim the edge.

4. Remove the glass from the freezer. Add tomato juice, lime, Worcestershire, hot sauce and stir the mixture well. This should equal approx. 1/3 of the volume of the drink. Add ice cubes 3/4 of the way up the glass. 

5. Pour the lager over the ice cubes and stir the drink to blend both layers. You will have beer leftover which is the best part of a Michelada, it changes flavor and consistency as you continue to dilute the tomato mix with the beer. 
    

RECIPE: Puerco en Chile Colorado

This family recipe hails from the northern states of Mexico (Chihuaha, Coahuila, Durango) and is often seen on many restaurant menus in the US. The cuisine of The North is much like the climate where the ingredients come from - sparse and simple. The simplicity of the northern gastronomy is refreshing, and lends itself to a non-complicated cooking style allowing for more exploration with meat cuts, ingredients etc. Feel free to improvise with meat cuts - spare ribs would be excellent! 

GUAJILLOS

Submerge the chiles in water and bring to a boil, lowering the temp to a slow simmer for 10 minutes.

Cooking time: approximately 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 7 dried guajillo chiles
• 2 puya chiles
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
• 1 tablespoon lard
• 1.5lbs of boneless pork, cut into 2 inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon flour
• Salt to taste
• Sliced avocado

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Tortillas de harina en comal.

Method:

1. Toast the chiles on a comal over medium height, until they are fragrant and a darker shade of brown. Don't let them burn, as the entire dish will have a bitter taste. 
2. Submerge the chiles in water and bring to a boil, lowering the temp to a slow simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the chiles and put into a blender with the garlic, oregano, cumin and 1 cup of water. Blend until smooth.
3. While the chiles simmer, heat the lard in a large pot (I prefer cast iron) over medium-high heat and once smoking, sear the meat in batches (so as not to cool the pan) until the meat is browned. Add all the pork back to the pan. Lower the heat and sprinkle the flour over the meat, stirring constantly so that the flour doesn't burn.
4. Raise the heat to medium and place a mesh strainer over the pot. Pour the blended chile mixture over the meat, straining out any thick chili skin pieces. Remove the strainer and pour 3 cups of water into the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower to low-medium and let the sauce cook for 1 hour or until the meat is tender, stirring occasionally. 
5. Garnish with sliced avocado. Serve with flour tortillas, beans and rice.