Recipes – Page 537 – Recipe Collectors

Oranges and Strawberries with Tequila

Cold, juicy oranges and bright red strawberries, mixed with a bit of tequila, make a memorable dessert or a festive starter for breakfast or brunch. (You may want to inform your guests that the fruit has a little kick.) Prepare the fruit a few hours in advance to allow the flavors to marry. Use seedless navel oranges to make this dish easier to prepare. Pink grapefruit segments are also an alternative for oranges. You would need 2 medium grapefruits.

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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

▢ 4 large navel oranges
▢ 1 tablespoon sugar
▢ 1 tablespoon silver or gold tequila
▢ ½ tablespoon orange liqueur such as Triple Sec or Grand Marnier
▢ 16 ripe strawberries
▢ Fresh mint sprigs

Instructions

Peel the oranges, and remove the white pith.
Cut into bite-size pieces and put into a medium bowl.
Add the sugar, tequila, and orange liqueur.
Stir to combine.
Cover and refrigerate about 4 hours, stirring occasionally, to distribute the juices.
About 1 hour before serving, rinse the strawberries and remove the stems and leaves.
Cut the berries in half and add to the oranges.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve cold in individual bowls with the juices. Garnish each serving with a sprig of mint.

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Course; Fruit

Cuisine; Mexican

Strawberries and Bananas in Walnut Sauce

Fresas y Plátanos en Nogada

Simple fruit desserts often make just the right finish after a spicy meal. Sweet, juicy strawberries teamed with bananas are a pretty and delicious dessert when drizzled with creamy walnut sauce. Scatter a few chopped walnuts on top, if desired.

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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

▢ 1 cup Walnut Sauce
▢ 16 ripe red strawberries hulled, rinsed, and sliced lengthwise
▢ 2 medium bananas peeled and sliced on a diagonal into 1⁄4-inch-thick ovals
▢ ½ teaspoon sugar or to taste
▢ Coarsely chopped walnuts optional
▢ Mint sprigs

Instructions

Prepare walnut sauce.
Then, on each of 4 dessert plates, arrange the strawberries and bananas in overlapping lines.
Taste the walnut sauce and add sugar to taste, if desired.
Drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons of the sauce over the fruit, but do not cover completely.
Scatter chopped walnuts on top, if desired, and garnish each serving with a sprig of mint.
The remaining walnut sauce can be passed at the table.
(Leftover walnut sauce keeps, refrigerated about 5 days.
)

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Course; Dessert / Fruit

Cuisine; Mexican

Strawberries with Mexican Eggnog

Fresas con Rompop

Fresh strawberries were abundant in San Miguel de Allende during a winter visit several years ago, since Irapuato, the nearby strawberry capital of Mexico, was in full harvest. We enjoyed ripe, red berries topped with rompope, Mexico's well-known eggnog rum drink that's sold in liquor stores. It's also very easy to make your own. Rompope has a creamy texture like a liquidy vanilla custard.

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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

▢ 2 cups ½ recipe Mexican Eggnog Rum Drink, or purchased rompope
▢ Sweetened Whipped Cream optional
▢ 3 cups fresh strawberries rinsed and hulled
▢ ¼ cup sugar
▢ Fresh mint sprigs

Instructions

Prepare eggnog drink, if making homemade.
Prepare whipped cream, if using.
Then, put the cleaned berries in a bowl and toss gently with the sugar.
Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Divide among 4 dessert bowls.
Pour ¼ cup rompope into each serving.
Add a dollop of whipped cream, if using.
Garnish each serving with a mint sprig.
(Leftover rompope keeps 3 to 4 weeks, refrigerated.
)

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Course; Dessert / Fruit

Cuisine; Mexican

Plantains with Vanilla Sauce and Pecans

Plátanos Machos con Natillas y Pecanas

Large, starchy cooking bananas called plantains are often sold when the skin is still green, but they are ripe when the skin is nearly black and the fruit feels slightly soft to the touch. When plantains are sautéed, they become golden brown and sweet. Regular sweet, yellow bananas can be used, but they should be firm and not too ripe.

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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

▢ 2 cups ½ recipe Mexican Vanilla Pudding
▢ 3 medium-size ripe plantains
▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
▢ ¼ cup dark rum
▢ 2 tablespoons sugar
▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon Mexican canela or Ceylon variety preferred
▢ ½ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Prepare ½ recipe of the vanilla pudding.
Then, peel the plantains and slice on a diagonal into ovals about 1⁄4-inch thick.
Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.
Sauté the plantains, in batches, until golden brown on both sides.
Arrange on 4 warm dessert plates.
In the same skillet, over medium heat, add the rum, sugar, and cinnamon.
Stir to deglaze the skillet.
Spoon the glaze over the warm plantains.
Divide the plantains among 4 dessert plates.
Spoon about ¼ cup of vanilla pudding over each serving.
Sprinkle with the pecans.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve at once. (Cover and refrigerate any left over pudding for a midnight snack.)

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Course; Dessert / Nuts

Cuisine; Mexican

Caramelized Bananas with Mexican Eggnog Sauce

Plátanos Dulce con Rompope

Mexican desserts are often sweet and rich just like this one. A small serving is exquisite and comforting. I like to add small, crisp chocolate cookie, such as Chocolate Pecan Cookies to munch with the dessert. Rompope, the eggnog dessert sauce for the bananas, is very easy to make, or can be purchased in some specialty liquor stores.

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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

▢ 2 cups ½ recipe Mexican Eggnog Rum Drink, or purchased rompope
▢ ¼ cup sugar
▢ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
▢ ⅓ cup fresh orange juice
▢ 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
▢ 2 medium firm-but-ripe bananas peeled and sliced diagonally into 1⁄2-inch-thick pieces

Instructions

Prepare ½ recipe eggnog drink, if using homemade.
In a small, dry, heavy saucepan or nonstick skillet cook the sugar, stirring over medium heat until melted and golden brown.
Remove the skillet from the heat.
Stir in the butter and juices.
(Some of the caramel may harden, but will melt again.
)
Return pan to the heat and cook until blended and the caramel melts, 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the bananas and turn to coat with the caramel.
Cook 1 to 2 minutes until heated through and slightly softened.
To serve, spoon 3 tablespoons rompope into each of 4 small dessert bowls.
Divide the bananas evenly and spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the sauce over each serving.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve warm.

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Course; Dessert / Fruit

Cuisine; Mexican

Bananas Victoria

Pineapple with Mint

Piña con Yerbabuena

Fresh fruit is always an appropriate dessert following a Mexican meal. A thick juicy slice of cold pineapple flavored with mint has great eye-appeal and is very refreshing.Casa de Los Tesoros, a hotel in the former silver mining city of Alamos, in the state of Sonora, served pineapple this way. Alamos, a National Historic Monument, is a popular tourist destination, where colonial architecture has been beautifully maintained.

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Ingredients

Makes 4 to 6 servings

▢ 1 whole fresh ripe pineapple about 2 pounds
▢ ½ cup finely chopped fresh mint
▢ ½ cup sugar
▢ 4 to 6 large fresh strawberries
▢ 4 to 6 mint sprigs

Instructions

Cut about 1 inch off the top and bottom of the pineapple with a sharp heavy knife.
Stand the pineapple on its end and, with a smaller, sharp knife, cut off the husk in strips from top to bottom all the way around.
Then, with a paring knife, dig out any “eyes” from the flesh.
Lay the pineapple on its side and cut crosswise into 6 (3⁄4-inch-thick) slices and place on a plate.
Sprinkle sugar evenly over slices and divide the shredded mint evenly on top of each slice.
Stack the sugared, minted slices, one on top of the other, and put the stack in a sealed plastic bag.
Close securely.
Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight, so the fruit macerates in the sugar and mint.
To serve, discard the shredded mint.
Pour the collected juices through a strainer into a cup.
Discard residue.
Place 1 slice of pineapple on each of 4 plates with a strawberry in the center.
Spoon some of the juice on each slice.
Garnish with fresh mint sprigs.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve cold.

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Course; Dessert / Fruit

Cuisine; Mexican

Piña a la Parrilla

Broiled Pineapple

Piña AsadaBroiled fresh pineapple emerges from the oven with a caramelized, sweet sugary crust for a different version than grilling over hot coals. It's sensational served warm, but perfectly good at room temperature, too.

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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

▢ 1 whole fresh ripe pineapple about 2 pounds
▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
▢ 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

Instructions

Cut about 1 inch off the top and bottom of the pineapple with a sharp heavy knife.
Stand the pineapple on a flat work surface and with a smaller sharp knife, cut off the peel, a strip at a time, from top to bottom.
Then, with a paring knife, dig out any “eyes” from the flesh.
Turn the pineapple on its side and cut into 1-inch-thick slices.
Place the oven rack about 6 inches below the broiler unit.
Preheat the broiler.
Put the pineapple on a baking sheet.
Brush the slices with melted butter.
Broil the pineapple until lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes.
Turn the slices over and brush with melted butter.
Broil the second side until just starting to brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
Sprinkle the slices lightly with brown sugar, and broil until the sugar melts, 1 to 2 minutes.
Cut the pineapple rounds into bite-size (about 1-inch)pieces.
Discard the core.
Divide the pieces among 4 serving plates or small dessert bowls

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve warm.

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Course; Dessert / Fruit

Cuisine; Mexican

Mangos with Strawberries

Mangos con Fresas

Delectable, juicy mangos are now mainstream fruits in the United States, thanks to wider cultivation. Mexico grows several varieties of mangos in all tropical parts of the country, and excellent strawberries are grown in central Mexico, especially in Irapuato in the state of Guanajuato, one of Mexico's most productive farming regions. When both of these fine fruits are in season, they can be teamed up for a simply beautiful dessert. Pass a plate of Cinnamon-Walnut Cookies for an extra treat with the fruit.

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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

▢ Strawberry Dessert Sauce
▢ 2 large ripe mangos
▢ 12 whole fresh strawberries trimmed and thinly sliced
▢ Fresh mint sprigs

Instructions

Prepare strawberry sauce.
Then, with a sharp, thin-bladed knife, peel the somewhat flatter half of each mango and cut a thick slice of the fruit away from the large flat pit, cutting as close as possible to the pit.
Turn the mango over and peel the other flat side, cutting a thick slice away from the pit, as before.
Thinly slice the mango halves and arrange the slices among 4 dessert plates.
Spoon some strawberry sauce over each serving.
Garnish with sliced berries and mint sprigs.

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Course; Fruit

Cuisine; Mexican

Cherimoya Ice

Nieve de Cherimoya

Cherimoyas, grown in Mexico's tropical zones, are large oval-shaped tropical fruits with a rich exotic taste reminiscent of pineapple, banana, and papaya. The fruit has a leathery green skin with overlapping indentations somewhat like thumbprints. The flesh is creamy white, with a texture like firm custard, somewhat like a soft pear, but smoother. The center is full of shiny black seeds. Ripe cherimoyas will give when pressed gently. Underripe fruit will ripen at room temperature. The fruit makes a wonderfully refreshing ice and is one of dozens of flavors to choose from in Mexico's many ice cream stands or shops.

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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

▢ 1 large ripe cherimoya about ¾ pound
▢ ½ cup sugar
▢ ½ cup water
▢ 2 tablespoons frozen concentrate of pineapple or orange juice

Instructions

Cut the cherimoya lengthwise into quarters.
Peel the quarters and scoop out the seeds.
Chop the fruit medium-fine.
There should be about 1 ⅓ cups.
In a small saucepan, mix the sugar and water.
Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to ½ cup, 4 to 5 minutes.
Cool completely.
Put the cherimoya and pineapple or orange juice into a blender and purée.
When the sugar syrup is cool, add to the blender and mix briefly.
Transfer the mixture to an ice cream machine and freeze, following the manufacturer’s directions.

Notes & Wine Advice

To serve, let stand at room temperature to soften slightly.

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Course; Ice cream

Cuisine; Mexican