Recipes

Salsa de Chile Pasilla y Jitomate

Salsa de Chile Pasilla y Jitomate

Pasilla Chile and Tomato Sauce
Pasilla (or pasilla negro) chiles are dried black chiles that are called chilacas when they are fresh and are widely grown in central Mexico. The name pasilla is also given to ancho and poblano chiles in some parts of the United States, so be careful when selecting chiles. (I use the names I learned in Mexico.) Ancho or mulato chiles could be substituted for this sauce, but the flavor will be quite different. Serve as a table sauce or spoon over grilled fish or chicken.
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Ingredients

Makes about 11⁄2 cups

  • 10 pasilla chiles
  • 3 teaspoons olive oil or vegetable oil
  • 2 medium tomatoes quartered
  • 1 ⁄4 medium white onion sliced
  • 3 medium garlic cloves thinly sliced
  • 1 ⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano Mexican variety preferred, crumbled
  • 1 ⁄4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 ⁄2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Instructions

  • Heat a dry skillet over medium heat and toast the chiles, turning, until aromatic and slightly blistered.
  • (Do not burn, or the chiles will be bitter.
  • ) Cut the chiles open and discard the seeds and veins.
  • Submerge into a bowl of hot water to cover and soak 25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, heat the oil in the same skillet and fry the tomatoes, onion, and garlic, stirring frequently, until starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
  • Transfer to a blender.
  • Drain the soaked chiles and add them to the blender with the oregano and thyme.
  • Blend as smoothly as possible.
  • Pour the sauce through a strainer into a saucepan.
  • Discard the bits of skin and debris left in the strainer.
  • Add the salt and bring to a boil over medium heat.
  • Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes to blend the flavors.
  • If the sauce thickens too much, add a little water or heated chicken broth to reach the consistency of heavy cream.
  • Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Course; Sauce
Cuisine; Mexican

Salsa de Jitomate y Chile de Arbol

Salsa de Jitomate y Chile de Arbol

Tomato and de Arbol Chile Sauce
Dried chiles de arboles are very hot, so caution your guests when they taste this cooked table sauce, which is especially popular in the state of Sonora in northern Mexico. Try it with grilled or roasted meats and poultry. The dried red chiles de arbol are found in cellophane packages in the Mexican section of most supermarkets and occasionally in bulk bins in some specialty gourmet stores.
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Ingredients

Makes about 1 cup

  • 3 whole chiles de arbol
  • 1 ⁄2 pound about 3 large plum tomatoes, cored with skins on
  • 2 medium garlic cloves unpeeled
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 ⁄3 cup finely chopped white onion
  • 1 ⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano Mexican variety preferred, crumbled
  • 1 ⁄2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • In a small skillet, toast the chiles over medium heat, turning 2 to 3 times, until they are aromatic and turn to a lighter, somewhat orange color, about 30 seconds.
  • Set the chiles aside to cool.
  • In the same skillet, roast the tomatoes and the garlic, turning several times, until lightly charred in several places, about 10 minutes.
  • Coarsely chop the tomatoes, skins and all, and put them into a blender jar.
  • Remove the outer skin from the garlic, chop and add to the blender jar.
  • Break open the chiles, shake out most of the seeds, and cut or break the chiles into small pieces; add them to the blender jar.
  • Blend to a purée.
  • (There will still be some texture.
  • )
  • Heat the oil in a small saucepan, and cook the onion and oregano until the onion begins to brown.
  • Add the tomato mixture and the salt.
  • Simmer the sauce, uncovered 5 minutes.
  • Put the sauce into a small bowl and serve at the table.
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Course; Sauce
Cuisine; Mexican

Salsa de Frijol Negro y Aguacate

Salsa de Frijol Negro y Aguacate

Black Bean and Avocado Salsa 
Make this sauce whenyou have leftover black beans or use canned black beans. For the bestappearance, the beans should be tender and cooked through, but not mushy. Tomaintain color and texture, add the avocado last.
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Ingredients

Makes about 3 cups

  • 2 cups cooked drained and rinsed black beans or 1 (15-ounce) can, drained and rinsed
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped red or white onion
  • 2 serrano chiles minced with seeds
  • 1 small tomato seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 1 ⁄2 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1 avocado Hass variety preferred, neatly diced (1⁄4 inch)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Instructions

  • In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients, except the avocado and cilantro.
  • Shortly before serving, gently stir in the avocado and cilantro.
  • Adjust seasoning.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve with tortilla chips, seafood, or grilled chicken.
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Course; Sauce
Cuisine; Mexican

Salsa Fresca Mexicana

Salsa Fresca Mexicana

Fresh Salsa Mexicana
Fresh Mexican salsa is so well known that it has become a staple in many supermarkets, but when vine-ripened farmers' market tomatoes are in season, homemade salsa is still the best. This is the kind of fresh table salsa served all over Mexico.
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Ingredients

Makes about 2 cups

  • 3 large ripe tomatoes finely chopped
  • 1 ⁄2 medium white onion finely chopped
  • 2 to 3 serrano chiles minced with seeds
  • 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice or to taste
  • 1 ⁄2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Instructions

  • Mix all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl.
  • Let stand about 15 minutes to blend the flavors.
  • For the best taste and texture, serve within 3 hours of preparing.
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Course; Sauce
Cuisine; Mexican

Salsa de Aguacate y Tomatillo

Salsa de Aguacate y Tomatillo

Avocado and Tomatillo Sauce Smooth, creamy avocado sauce combined with tomatillos is another form of guacamole that I’ve had in Veracruz and Yucatán. Serve as a table sauce to spoon over poultry, fish, or whatever you like.
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Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a small saucepan, cook the tomatillos in water to cover until they turn pale green and are slightly soft, 5 to 6 minutes.
  • Drain and put them in a food processor.
  • Cut the avocado in half.
  • Remove seed.
  • Peel and add to the processor along with the remaining ingredients.
  • Process until smooth.
  • Adjust seasoning.
  • Serve within 4 hours for best color.
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Course; Sauce
Cuisine; Mexican

Guacamole from Marge Poore

Guacamole from Marge Poore

Classic Guacamole
Guacamole is probably the best known Mexican sauce and is traditionally made in a molcajete (basalt grinding bowl), and mashed with a tejolote (stone grinding tool or pestle). The word comes from ahuacatl (avocado) and molli (mixture), from the ancient Nahuatl Aztec language. Avocados are native to Mexico and abundant year round in different varieties. My favorite in the United States is the buttery pebbly skinned, dark green Hass variety (from California).Guacamole has many variations; one common way of serving it is with tomato. If you would like to try it, seed and finely chop 1 medium ripe tomato and gently stir it into the guacamole before serving.Guacamole should be served within 4 hours after it's made for best color and freshest flavor.
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Ingredients

Makes about 2 cups

  • 2 large ripe avocados Hass variety preferred
  • 1 ⁄4 medium white onion finely chopped
  • 2 serrano chiles finely chopped with seeds
  • 1 ⁄4 cup lightly packed chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice or to taste
  • 1 ⁄4 teaspoon salt or to taste

Instructions

  • Cut the avocados in half and remove the seeds.
  • Hold 1 avocado half in the palm of one hand and with the other hand, mash the avocado in its shell with a fork; then scoop the avocado into a bowl with a spoon, scraping out the creamy pulp.
  • Discard the shell and repeat with the remaining avocado halves.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
  • Cover tightly with plastic wrap to prevent discoloration.
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Course; Sauce
Cuisine; Mexican

Recado de Bistec

Recado de Bistec

Yucatán Green Seasoning Paste
From the Mexican name of this traditional Yucatán seasoning paste, which is dark green, you might conclude that it's intended to season steak, but it's also used to flavor, turkey, chicken, fish, and many other foods as well. The garlic-rich paste imparts a wonderful flavor that immediately conjures up the pleasure of eating in the Yucatán. I have found that an electric mini-chopper/grinder helps make the paste efficiently.
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Ingredients

Makes about 1⁄3 cup

Instructions

  • In a dry skillet, toast the garlic cloves, turning frequently until the skins are flecked with brown and the garlic feels slightly soft when pinched, 5 to 6 minutes.
  • Peel the cloves and put them in a mini-chopper/grinder or blender and set aside.
  • In a spice grinder, pulverize the peppercorns, allspice berries, cumin seeds, and cloves.
  • Transfer to the mini-chopper/grinder along with the oregano, salt, cinnamon, and vinegar.
  • Blend to a thick paste.
  • Add 1 teaspoon of water if the paste is too thick to blend.
  • Scrape the paste into a container, cover, and let stand about 2 hours to blend the flavors.
  • The paste is ready to use, or store up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

Notes & Wine Advice

Mounds and bars of colorful seasoning pastes (recados) are present in the public markets wherever you go in Yucatán, a southern state on the Gulf of Mexico. Traditionally, herbs, spices, and garlic are ground together with vinegar in a molcajete (basalt stone bowl). For convenience, the pastes can also be made in an electric blender or mini-chopper. The pastes are not difficult to make and can be refrigerated for several weeks or frozen for up to six months. Ready-made seasoning pastes can also be found in the United States sold in small packages in Mexican markets. The recipes here for making and using the seasoning pastes will give authentic flavor to meat, poultry, and fish dishes prepared Yucatán style. Although you’ll find several classic pastes detailed, the black paste (recado de chilmole), is not included in this book. The chiles for recado de chilmole are actually set afire to burn until black before grinding. The paste is used mainly with turkey for a dish called chilmole, and seems to be an acquired taste for many people in the United States.
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Course; Marinade / Spices & Seasoning
Cuisine; Mexican

Xak

Xak

Yucatán Dry Spice Rub
It's very easy to make your own seasoning mixture to flavor poultry and meat Yucatán style. Chef Manuel Arjona, a native of Yucatán, and currently Executive Chef of Maya, a restaurant in Sonoma, California, shared this special seasoning combination with me.
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Ingredients

Makes about 1⁄2 cup

  • 2 21⁄2- to 3-inch cinnamon sticks (Mexican canela or Ceylon variety preferred)
  • 1 ⁄4 cup dried oregano Mexican variety preferred, crumbled
  • 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
  • 2 teaspoons whole allspice berries
  • 11 ⁄2 teaspoons whole cloves
  • 1 ⁄2 teaspoon cumin seeds

Instructions

  • Put all of the ingredients in a spice grinder or a coffee grinder reserved for spices.
  • Grind to a powder.
  • If the mixture seems too grainy, sift it through a fine-mesh strainer.

Notes & Wine Advice

This spice rub can be stored indefinitely in a covered container at room temperature.
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Course; Spices & Seasoning
Cuisine; Mexican

Tamarindo

Tamarindo

Tamarind Paste
Tamarind (tamarindo, the paste, is named after the pod) comes from the pods of a tree native to Asia and northern Africa. This tall handsome tree is widely grown in India and tropical regions of Mexico. The fruit inside the pods is made into a popular cold beverage in Mexico and new-wave Mexican chefs are using tamarind to glaze and flavor creative new dishes, and so can you. Tamarind is sour so it must be sweetened to make its tartness palatable.Dense, sticky tamarind paste is available in Mexican or Asian markets labeled seedless tamarind paste, but it may contain seeds anyway. Don't worry, because the paste has to be strained.
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Ingredients

Makes about 1 cup

  • 1 ⁄2 cup seedless tamarind paste firmly packed
  • 1 ⁄2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 3 ⁄4 cup water

Instructions

  • Put all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium heat until completely melted.
  • With a spoon, push the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl.
  • Thick, stringy pulp and seeds will remain in the strainer, but push through as much as possible.
  • The paste will be about as thick as apple sauce.
  • Discard the seeds and remaining solids.
  • Stir the paste to mix well and transfer to a covered container.

Notes & Wine Advice

The paste is ready to use or refrigerate indefinitely.
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Course; Marinade / Spices & Seasoning
Cuisine; Mexican

Adobo

Adobo

Red Chile Paste
Adobo is a thick seasoning paste for meats, poultry, and fish, made of dried chiles, herbs, and spices. The paste is also used to thicken and flavor a number of traditional stews.
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Ingredients

Makes about 11⁄2 cups

  • 6 large ancho chiles stems cut out, seeds and veins removed
  • 2 whole medium garlic cloves unpeeled
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano Mexican variety preferred, crumbled
  • 1 ⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 ⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon Mexican canela or Ceylon variety preferred
  • 1 ⁄8 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ⁄2 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Instructions

  • In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the chiles, pressing flat with a spatula and turning, about 8 to 10 seconds per side, or until aromatic and slightly blistered.
  • Do not burn.
  • Submerge the chiles in a bowl of hot water and soak about 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Toast the garlic cloves in the same skillet about 2 minutes, until some brown spots appear, and the garlic softens a little, about 5 minutes.
  • Remove and discard the papery skin.
  • Drain the chiles and put in a blender with the garlic.
  • Add the other ingredients and 1⁄4 cup of water.
  • Purée until smooth.
  • If the blender stalls, add only enough water to keep the blades working.
  • Scrape down the sides of the blender jar often, and continue to blend.
  • (The adobo should be thick and smooth with the consistency of thick ketchup.
  • ) Scrape the adobo into a container.
  • The adobo is ready to use.

Notes & Wine Advice

The paste can be kept refrigerated for 2 to 3 weeks, or frozen up to 3 months.
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Course; Marinade / Spices & Seasoning
Cuisine; Mexican