Recipes

Yucatán Chicken and Bean Tortilla Snack

Yucatán Chicken and Bean Tortilla Snack

Panuchos
Panuchos are a common Yucatán snack. Small 4-inch corn tortillas, filled with mashed black beans and a slice of hard cooked egg, are fried and topped with shredded chicken or other meat and pickled onions. It might be difficult to slit open machine-made tortillas from the United States. Freshly baked tortillas tend to puff and create a space that is easier to slit, whereas commercial tortillas are more dense and don't separate readily. (If your tortillas won't open easily, lightly fry them, and layer everything else on top instead.)
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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Instructions

  • Prepare the chicken and the onions.
  • Then, with a sharp knife, slit a pocket along one side of each tortilla by sliding the knife blade in an arc to create a space of about 2½ inches inside the tortillas.
  • Spread about 1 tablespoon of mashed beans inside the pocket.
  • Add 1 or 2 egg slices.
  • Press closed.
  • Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium nonstick skillet and fry the filled tortillas until barely browned and stiff, 3 to 4 seconds on each side.
  • Drain on paper towels.
  • Transfer two tortillas to each of four plates.
  • Top each panucho with ¼ of the shredded chicken and pickled onions.
  • Serve at once.
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Course; Appetizer / Chicken / Tortilla
Cuisine; Mexican

Shredded Chicken

Shredded Chicken

Pollo Deshebrado
Cooked chicken is shredded for all kinds of snacks, soups, salads, enchiladas, and other dishes. A whole chicken is often poached and shredded, but for a small amount of shredded chicken, this method is quicker and more convenient.
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Ingredients

Makes about 2 cups

Instructions

  • Put the chicken breasts, onion, and garlic in a medium pan.
  • Add the chicken broth.
  • Bring to a boil, uncovered, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the meat is tender, about 20 minutes.
  • Cool the chicken in the broth about 15 minutes.
  • Take the chicken out of the broth.
  • Remove the skin and bones and discard, reserving the meat.
  • Using your fingers, tear the meat into thin or coarse shreds.
  • The shredded chicken is ready to use.

Notes & Wine Advice

Strain the broth and store, covered and refrigerated, for another use.
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Course; Chicken
Cuisine; Mexican

Chicken Wings with Tamarind and Chipotle

Chicken Wings with Tamarind and Chipotle

Pollo con Tamarindo y Chipotle
Chicken wings are very popular as a finger food for informal parties or picnics. These are baked in a spicy contemporary tamarind barbecue sauce, similar to one from Santo Coyote Restaurant in Guadalajara.
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Ingredients

Makes 24 appetizers

Instructions

  • Prepare the tamarind paste.
  • Then, measure out ½ cup and put into a blender.
  • Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the chicken wings, to the blender.
  • Purée until smooth.
  • Transfer to a bowl and reserve.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°.
  • Place the chicken wings in a single layer on a baking sheet.
  • Bake, turning once, 30 minutes.
  • Reduce the oven temperature to 325°.
  • Brush the chicken with the marinade and continue baking until dark brown and tender, about 45 minutes more, basting with additional marinade every 15 minutes.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve hot or at room temperature.
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Course; Appetizer / Chicken
Cuisine; Mexican

Avocado and Cheese Appetizer

Avocado and Cheese Appetizer

Botana de Aguacate y Queso This is a sure-to-please appetizer. If you’re short on time this botana (quick snack) can be made with all store-bought ingredients. It’s best, of course, with freshly made salsa and tortilla chips.
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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

  • ½ cup Fresh Salsa Mexicana or purchased
  • 2 avocados Hass variety preferred, peeled, and finely chopped or diced
  • 1 cup Oaxaca cheese fresh goat cheese, or other cheese of choice
  • 1 bunch radishes washed and trimmed
  • Toasted Corn Tortilla Chips or purchased chips

Instructions

  • Prepare the salsa and chips, if using homemade.
  • Then, mix the avocado and salsa together in a serving bowl.
  • Cut the cheese into strips.
  • Put the bowl of avocado-salsa mixture in the center of a large serving plate.
  • Surround with sliced cheese.
  • Place the radishes on the plate at random.
  • Put the chips in a basket to dip into the avocado mixture and serve.
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Course; Appetizer / Cheese
Cuisine; Mexican

Toasted Corn Tortilla Chips from Marge Poore

Toasted Corn Tortilla Chips from Marge Poore

Tostaditas al Horno
Toasting tortilla chips in the oven uses almost no fat. The chips will be a bit more crunchy and drier than fried chips, but I like the results of oven-toasted chips, and often make them this way.
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Ingredients

Makes 4 to 8 dozen chips

  • 12 6- to 7-inch corn tortillas
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt or to taste (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 325°.
  • Lay one tortilla on a cutting surface.
  • Brush one side only with a thin film of vegetable oil, about ⅛ teaspoon.
  • Repeat with the remaining tortillas and oil.
  • Cut the tortillas into the desired size: quarters, sixths, or eighths.
  • Arrange as many tortilla wedges as will fit in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
  • Bake on the middle rack of the oven about 10 minutes, or until the chips are crisp and lightly browned.
  • Remove the chips from the oven and sprinkle lightly with salt, if desired.
  • Repeat baking until all of the chips have been toasted.
  • Once cooled, store in a sealed plastic bag, or other airtight container, if made ahead.
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Course; Tortilla
Cuisine; Mexican

Baked Cheese with Green Sauce

Baked Cheese with Green Sauce

Queso Asado con Salsa Verde
Oaxaca cheese is available in many supermarkets and Mexican markets. For this appetizer, cheese is covered with salsa verde, gently warmed in the oven, and immediately served with warm tortillas. You tear the tortilla into pieces and fold them around the cheese and sauce and pop the morsels into your mouth. This recipe is cooked in separate serving plates but you can also cook it on one large ovenproof plate for family-style eating.
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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

  • Basic Cooked Tomatillo Sauce
  • 1 12-ounce ball Oaxaca cheese, at room temperature (or substitute whole-milk mozzarella)
  • 8 6- to 7-inch corn tortillas

Instructions

  • Prepare the tomatillo sauce and keep it hot in a pan over low heat.
  • Preheat the oven to 250°.
  • Cut the cheese into 8 (1⁄4-inch-thick) slices.
  • Warm 4 ovenproof plates or individual round ramekins in the oven 3 to 4 minutes, or until warm to the touch, but not hot.
  • Then, spread about ⅓ cup sauce on the bottom of each plate.
  • Place 2 slices of cheese on the sauce in the center of each dish.
  • Spoon about 1 tablespoon sauce over each piece of cheese and immediately put the dishes in the oven until the cheese is warm and soft but still holds its shape, about 3 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, wrap the tortillas in foil and warm in the oven while the cheese is melting, or wrap in heavy plastic and warm in a microwave.
  • Serve the cheese and tortillas at once.
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Course; Cheese
Cuisine; Mexican

Mushrooms with Melted Cheese

Mushrooms with Melted Cheese

Hongos con Queso
This variation of queso fundido can be mild made with white button mushrooms or rich made with earthy portobellos or exotic porcini or shiitake mushrooms. Instead of wrapping the filling in soft, warm tortillas, serve this with crisp corn tortilla wedges. Each person can scoop or spoon the filling onto the chips. If fresh epazote is not available, fresh oregano can be substituted for a different herb flavor that also works well.
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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Instructions

  • Prepare the tortilla chips.
  • Then, preheat the oven to 375°.
  • In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, and cook the onion until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Add the mushrooms, epazote, salt, and pepper.
  • Cook, stirring, until all the moisture has evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Grease a shallow ovenproof earthenware plate or gratin dish, then transfer the mushrooms to the plate.
  • Spread the cheese on top and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 6 to 8 minutes.
  • Serve at once with the chips.
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Course; Appetizer / Cheese
Cuisine; Mexican

Melted Cheese with Chorizo Sausage

Melted Cheese with Chorizo Sausage

Queso Fundido con Chorizo
Bubbling, hot melted cheese (queso fundido) with crumbled spicy chorizo comes to the table in shallow earthenware dishes to be eaten with corn or flour tortillas. The cheese is scooped up with pieces of tortilla and eaten out of hand. This dish must be eaten as soon as it is served, because the melted cheese solidifies as it cools. Fresh Salsa Mexicana should accompany the cheese and remember to warm the tortillas while the cheese is melting.
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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

  • ¼ pound fresh bulk chorizo or other spicy sausage casing removed
  • 3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  • 8 6- to 7-inch corn or flour tortillas

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375°.
  • Cook the chorizo in a skillet, over medium-low heat breaking it up into small bits, about 4 minutes, or until well done.
  • Transfer to a plate.
  • Grease an 8-inch ovenproof dish or shallow earthenware casserole dish.
  • Spread the cheese in the dish, and bake until cheese starts to melt, about 4 minutes.
  • Remove the cheese from the oven.
  • Scatter the chorizo over the top, and return the dish to the oven until the chorizo is hot and the cheese is bubbling, 4 to 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, wrap the tortillas in foil and warm in the oven while the cheese is melting, or wrap in heavy plastic and warm in a microwave.
  • Serve at once with the tortillas.
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Course; Appetizer / Cheese
Cuisine; Mexican

Melted Cheese Appetizer

Melted Cheese Appetizer

Queso Fundido
The most common way to serve this simple but delicious appetizer that is popular throughout Mexico, is to place the plate of oven-melted cheese in the center of the table so guests can serve themselves. The cheese can also be melted in individual plates or ramekins and set at each place. Either way, you scoop a bit of cheese into a tortilla, roll it up, and eat! A bowl of Fresh Salsa Mexicana accompanies the cheese.
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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375°.
  • Grease an 8-inch ovenproof plate or shallow earthenware casserole dish.
  • Sprinkle the cheese evenly in the dish.
  • Bake about 8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
  • Meanwhile, warm the tortillas, 1 at a time, in a hot, dry skillet, turning once or twice until hot and pliable, about 2 minutes.
  • Wrap the hot tortillas in a napkin and put in a basket.
  • Serve at once with the plate of melted cheese.
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Course; Appetizer / Cheese
Cuisine; Mexican

Red Onion Sauce

Red Onion Sauce

Salsa de Cebolla Roja
Cooked red onions take on an extra glow and a tart-sweet tang when red jalapeño jelly is added to the mix. The sauce is a take on Yucatán-style red onion salsas. At my house, we love it with pork roast and grilled chicken. Red jalapeño jelly is available in most supermarkets.
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Ingredients

Makes about 2 cups

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
  • 2 large red onions finely diced or minced
  • 1¼ teaspoons salt or to taste
  • ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper or to taste
  • ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 cup fresh orange juice
  • 5 to 6 tablespoons red jalapeño jelly

Instructions

  • In a stainless steel saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.
  • Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the salt and pepper.
  • Reduce the heat to low and cook 5 minutes.
  • Stir in the vinegar, orange juice, and jelly.
  • Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring frequently, until the jelly is completely melted and the sauce reduces and is slightly thickened with a glossy appearance, 6 to 8 minutes.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve hot, or store, refrigerated in a covered container, for 3 to 4 days. The sauce can be made ahead and reheated.
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Course; Sauce
Cuisine; Mexican