Tortillas de Harina
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Salsa de Chile de Arbol
This is a very hot sauce that is used to accompany Guadalajara's special Tortas Ahogadas, a pork sandwich in a crusty bap drowned (hence the "ahogada") in a tomato salsa. This fiery sauce is served on the side, though some people do drown the sandwich entirely in this sauce and omit the tamer tomato salsa altogether.
Even though the sauce is hot, it does still have flavour. Just remember not to rub your eyes!
- Chiles de Arbol - about 50 - a good fistful, toasted and then simmered in enough water to cover for 20 minutes or so.
- 2 cloves of garlic - preferably toasted.
- A tablespoon of cider vinegar.
- A tablespoon of sesame seeds - preferably toasted.
- Some onion - not much.
- A couple of cloves
- A teaspoon of salt
Even though the sauce is hot, it does still have flavour. Just remember not to rub your eyes!
Thursday, 15 November 2012
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Aguja Nortena
Cuts of Beef
The cuts of beef in the butchers shops in Mexico can be slightly different to what I am used to and it can sometimes be confusing to identify exactly where in the animal a particular cut comes from, and also what the best cooking method for a particular cut is.
This article by Karen Hursh Graber gives as good a summary as one could hope for. It has finally cleared up the arrachera question for me, which US writers regard as equivalent to hanger steak, flank steak or skirt steak pretty interchangeably (it's skirt steak). It's a very useful resource and I've used it quite a bit over the past three years. The diagram below is from the same source.
Aguja Nortena
When it comes to cuts of beef, especially the popular Mexican cuts which are destined for the grill, you need to remember that quick fast cooking and medium rare meat doesn't necessarily equate to tender meat.
Arrachera for example, can be quite stringy when cooked medium rare and works much better when cooked through completely. Similarly, aguja nortena, which is very common here in Monterrey for BBQs, works better when grilled slowly and served well done. It seems counter intuitive, but in these cases, well done is more tender. The mesquite coals that are used here help by providing a steady but not fierce heat that allows relatively slow grilling.
Agujas themselves are cut from the underside of the animal, about six inches by three inches with some bone along one of the long edges. These steaks are cut quite thin - to about a centimetre. At parties they are often cooked, a couple for each guest and offered with tortillas. They are best when seasoned simply, just salt and a sprinkling of Worcester sauce before grilling.
The cuts of beef in the butchers shops in Mexico can be slightly different to what I am used to and it can sometimes be confusing to identify exactly where in the animal a particular cut comes from, and also what the best cooking method for a particular cut is.
This article by Karen Hursh Graber gives as good a summary as one could hope for. It has finally cleared up the arrachera question for me, which US writers regard as equivalent to hanger steak, flank steak or skirt steak pretty interchangeably (it's skirt steak). It's a very useful resource and I've used it quite a bit over the past three years. The diagram below is from the same source.
Aguja Nortena
When it comes to cuts of beef, especially the popular Mexican cuts which are destined for the grill, you need to remember that quick fast cooking and medium rare meat doesn't necessarily equate to tender meat.
Arrachera for example, can be quite stringy when cooked medium rare and works much better when cooked through completely. Similarly, aguja nortena, which is very common here in Monterrey for BBQs, works better when grilled slowly and served well done. It seems counter intuitive, but in these cases, well done is more tender. The mesquite coals that are used here help by providing a steady but not fierce heat that allows relatively slow grilling.
Agujas themselves are cut from the underside of the animal, about six inches by three inches with some bone along one of the long edges. These steaks are cut quite thin - to about a centimetre. At parties they are often cooked, a couple for each guest and offered with tortillas. They are best when seasoned simply, just salt and a sprinkling of Worcester sauce before grilling.
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Cafe De Olla and Hot Chocolate
Hot Chocolate.
Mexican hot chocolate, rather than being made from cocoa powder or powder is made using bars of spicy sweetened chocolate. This chocolate is very sweet and has a coarse texture, you can see the grains of sugar in it and it's spiced with cinnamon.
The hexagonally shaped Ibarra and Abuelita brands are popular, but it also comes in rectangular slabs similar to regular cooking chocolate.
Preparation is simple. Heat the milk, place in a blender with the chocolate and process until combined. Simple. There is a traditional tool called an molinilo which can be used to whisk the drink, and while it probably makes a fine souvenir, the blender is faster.
Cafe de Olla.
Cafe de Olla is a sweet coffee spiced with cinnamon and sometimes also clove and orange peel. It is sweetened with piloncillo, a unrefined sugar sold in cones slightly smaller than a fist. Assuming this isn't available to you dark brown sugar will substitute just fine.
When it comes to preparation there are lots of methods, most of which tie themselves up in knots with French presses etc. The problem is that the time necessary to extract the flavour from the spices and dissolve the cinnamon is longer than required to brew the coffee. Rick Bayless gets around this by making a spiced syrup first then brewing the coffee using the syrup. Personally I can see no reason not to simply add the coffee grounds to the pot after the syrup has been made and let that stand for five minutes. The drink can then be strained directly into a mug, removing both the grounds and any stray bits of cinnamon or clove at the same time.
I think a single stick of cinnamon and two to three cloves will flavour about four cupfuls of water and to my taste this will require about 3 heaped tablespoons of ground coffee and add as much sugar or piloncillo as you like.
It's unusual, but comforting, and goes well with pastries of any kind, perfect for a mid-morning break.
Mexican hot chocolate, rather than being made from cocoa powder or powder is made using bars of spicy sweetened chocolate. This chocolate is very sweet and has a coarse texture, you can see the grains of sugar in it and it's spiced with cinnamon.
The hexagonally shaped Ibarra and Abuelita brands are popular, but it also comes in rectangular slabs similar to regular cooking chocolate.
Preparation is simple. Heat the milk, place in a blender with the chocolate and process until combined. Simple. There is a traditional tool called an molinilo which can be used to whisk the drink, and while it probably makes a fine souvenir, the blender is faster.
 |
| Mexican Hot Chocolate |
Cafe de Olla.
Cafe de Olla is a sweet coffee spiced with cinnamon and sometimes also clove and orange peel. It is sweetened with piloncillo, a unrefined sugar sold in cones slightly smaller than a fist. Assuming this isn't available to you dark brown sugar will substitute just fine.
When it comes to preparation there are lots of methods, most of which tie themselves up in knots with French presses etc. The problem is that the time necessary to extract the flavour from the spices and dissolve the cinnamon is longer than required to brew the coffee. Rick Bayless gets around this by making a spiced syrup first then brewing the coffee using the syrup. Personally I can see no reason not to simply add the coffee grounds to the pot after the syrup has been made and let that stand for five minutes. The drink can then be strained directly into a mug, removing both the grounds and any stray bits of cinnamon or clove at the same time.
I think a single stick of cinnamon and two to three cloves will flavour about four cupfuls of water and to my taste this will require about 3 heaped tablespoons of ground coffee and add as much sugar or piloncillo as you like.
It's unusual, but comforting, and goes well with pastries of any kind, perfect for a mid-morning break.
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Frijoles Charros
Frijoles charros are a common accompaniment to meat dishes here, they are pinto beans cooked with meat and served in a light broth and are served on a bowl on the side. The ingredients vary slightly, bacon is definitely used, as are onion and garlic and the remaining ingredients are selected from tomato, sausage, chorizo, epasote and sometimes a hint of corriander.
The important thing is that there is quite a lot of broth, therefore the quantity of water used in cooking the beans is larger than normal.
I'm now convinced that the easiest and quickest way to cook beans is in a pressure cooker. No soaking, no waiting. (No forgetting that the beans are soaking and finding them fermenting a few days afterwards)
Frijoles Charros
3 cups of dried pinto beans
12 cups of water
1 tablespoon of lard
2 teaspoons of salt (I used Kosher, so a little less if you are using table salt)
1/2 to 1 cup of onion, medium diced.
2 cloves of garlic, chopped.
1 good sized tomato, diced
1/2 cup or more of bacon, smoked if possible, chopped and preferably pre-cooked.
Chorizo, to taste, either Spanish cured or Mexican uncooked can be used, (cook the raw chorizo first).
Jalapeno, preferably canned but fresh are fine too. Don't use too much this isn't a very spicy dish.
Pepper
Oregano
Epasote or corriander if available and desired.
Cooking the dish is a simple as combining everything in the pressure, clamping on the lid and bringing the pot up to pressure. When the pot comes to pressure reduce the heat to very low and cook for an hour like this.
I don't like the routine of running the pot under cold water after cooking and prefer to simply let the pot cool in it's own time (a little extra cooking time may need to be factored in if you don't plan to do the same - I'm not sure!).
This will make a couple of liters of beans, and they will keep for at least a few days in the fridge.
Simple, quick and tasty.
The important thing is that there is quite a lot of broth, therefore the quantity of water used in cooking the beans is larger than normal.
I'm now convinced that the easiest and quickest way to cook beans is in a pressure cooker. No soaking, no waiting. (No forgetting that the beans are soaking and finding them fermenting a few days afterwards)
Frijoles Charros
3 cups of dried pinto beans
12 cups of water
1 tablespoon of lard
2 teaspoons of salt (I used Kosher, so a little less if you are using table salt)
1/2 to 1 cup of onion, medium diced.
2 cloves of garlic, chopped.
1 good sized tomato, diced
1/2 cup or more of bacon, smoked if possible, chopped and preferably pre-cooked.
Chorizo, to taste, either Spanish cured or Mexican uncooked can be used, (cook the raw chorizo first).
Jalapeno, preferably canned but fresh are fine too. Don't use too much this isn't a very spicy dish.
Pepper
Oregano
Epasote or corriander if available and desired.
Cooking the dish is a simple as combining everything in the pressure, clamping on the lid and bringing the pot up to pressure. When the pot comes to pressure reduce the heat to very low and cook for an hour like this.
I don't like the routine of running the pot under cold water after cooking and prefer to simply let the pot cool in it's own time (a little extra cooking time may need to be factored in if you don't plan to do the same - I'm not sure!).
This will make a couple of liters of beans, and they will keep for at least a few days in the fridge.
Simple, quick and tasty.
Monday, 17 September 2012
Friday, 14 September 2012
Mazapanes
Mazapan in Mexico is not the same as the same as the bright yellow marzipan paste used in cake decorating that you are probably already familiar with. It a slightly crumbly, very very sweet puck of nuts and sugar.
Peanuts are normally used but any nut will do fine.
The procedure is simple, nuts and sugar are combined in the food processor and chopped until the oil from the nuts is released (a couple of minutes) and a loose cake can be formed. For two cups if nuts use about a cup and a half of powdered sugar. I don't keep powdered sugar on hand so I use granulated sugar but process it separately first to make it finer. The texture is much looser than European marzipan. There is no way you could make those miniature models of fruit from the Mexican version.
Marzipan is very common here, you can see it at most shop checkouts and it's most commonly sold in packs of four two inch pucks, though you do also see larger cakes of it too.
It's simple and tasty, and ideal treat to make with kids. But be warned, when I say it's very, very sweet - I'm not joking.
Peanuts are normally used but any nut will do fine.
The procedure is simple, nuts and sugar are combined in the food processor and chopped until the oil from the nuts is released (a couple of minutes) and a loose cake can be formed. For two cups if nuts use about a cup and a half of powdered sugar. I don't keep powdered sugar on hand so I use granulated sugar but process it separately first to make it finer. The texture is much looser than European marzipan. There is no way you could make those miniature models of fruit from the Mexican version.
Marzipan is very common here, you can see it at most shop checkouts and it's most commonly sold in packs of four two inch pucks, though you do also see larger cakes of it too.
It's simple and tasty, and ideal treat to make with kids. But be warned, when I say it's very, very sweet - I'm not joking.
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Barbacoa
Barbacoa, unlike what the name would suggest, hasn't much to do with barbecue. It's a traditional weekend treat (presumably as it takes some time to prepare) and is a specialty of northern Mexico in particular. It consists of beef, seasoned with little apart from garlic, cooked long and slow in little liquid until it's reduced to an unctuous beefy mass.
I've made a type of faux barbacoa a number of times using shin of beef and a slow cooker. Shin, in fact any cheap cut of beef, works fine, however in order to cover the shin pieces I had to use a little more water than I would have liked. This meant there was more liquid which had to be reduced off at the end of cooking to reach the right consistency. To make a more traditional barbacoa the best cuts of meat to use are cheek of beef and tongue of beef, however if the thought of cooking tongue of beef doesn't appeal then the cheek alone will do just fine.
Traditionally the meat would be cooked wrapped in maguey leaves and cooked underground. Very tasty I'm sure but not practical for my purposes! I have also seen barbacoa prepared commercially buy enclosing the meat in large torpedoes of aluminum foil which are then cooked slowly, standing upright, in a large pot. However for home cooking the best, and simplest method, is a slow cooker.
If you are using cheek of beef alone (a single cheek of beef is about the size of a small chicken) then the beef can be cut into inch cubes added to the slow cooker along with a couple of cloves of garlic, some salt and a small amount (a cup or two) of water. If you are using both cheek and tongue then you will to arrange things in such a way as to be able to remove the outer skin from the tongue after it is cooked, which means cutting the tongue into chunks that are larger and can be skinned after cooking without too much fiddling.
The consistency of cooked barbacoa is not that of shredded meat, it has a very fine texture, fine enough to be eaten with a spoon. The secret therefore is long slow cooking, but also not to use a lot of liquid. I have read lots or recipes with the sentence "after cooking discard the liquid" in them. This makes me cringe. Neither is is necessary to add a lot of competing flavors. Some garlic and some salt are all that is necessary. A bay leaf would be fine but anything beyond this, chile for example, is overkill and detracting for the softness and beefyness of the dish.
Cooked on low overnight the following morning all that remains to do is shred the cooked meat very finely, reduce the cooking liquid and add it to the meat until you have a very fine smooth texture, almost a loose paste.
It's a wonderful Sunday morning brunch and needs nothing more than some chopped coriander and onion and a nice tomatillo salsa to make some excellent tacos.
The first time I had barbacoa I was very surprised by it. The name suggested something completely different to me; something grilled, and the texture was new. There is something elemental about it's simple beef taste. If there was a periodic table of cow, this would definitely be an entry on it.
I've made a type of faux barbacoa a number of times using shin of beef and a slow cooker. Shin, in fact any cheap cut of beef, works fine, however in order to cover the shin pieces I had to use a little more water than I would have liked. This meant there was more liquid which had to be reduced off at the end of cooking to reach the right consistency. To make a more traditional barbacoa the best cuts of meat to use are cheek of beef and tongue of beef, however if the thought of cooking tongue of beef doesn't appeal then the cheek alone will do just fine.
Traditionally the meat would be cooked wrapped in maguey leaves and cooked underground. Very tasty I'm sure but not practical for my purposes! I have also seen barbacoa prepared commercially buy enclosing the meat in large torpedoes of aluminum foil which are then cooked slowly, standing upright, in a large pot. However for home cooking the best, and simplest method, is a slow cooker.
If you are using cheek of beef alone (a single cheek of beef is about the size of a small chicken) then the beef can be cut into inch cubes added to the slow cooker along with a couple of cloves of garlic, some salt and a small amount (a cup or two) of water. If you are using both cheek and tongue then you will to arrange things in such a way as to be able to remove the outer skin from the tongue after it is cooked, which means cutting the tongue into chunks that are larger and can be skinned after cooking without too much fiddling.
The consistency of cooked barbacoa is not that of shredded meat, it has a very fine texture, fine enough to be eaten with a spoon. The secret therefore is long slow cooking, but also not to use a lot of liquid. I have read lots or recipes with the sentence "after cooking discard the liquid" in them. This makes me cringe. Neither is is necessary to add a lot of competing flavors. Some garlic and some salt are all that is necessary. A bay leaf would be fine but anything beyond this, chile for example, is overkill and detracting for the softness and beefyness of the dish.
Cooked on low overnight the following morning all that remains to do is shred the cooked meat very finely, reduce the cooking liquid and add it to the meat until you have a very fine smooth texture, almost a loose paste.
It's a wonderful Sunday morning brunch and needs nothing more than some chopped coriander and onion and a nice tomatillo salsa to make some excellent tacos.
The first time I had barbacoa I was very surprised by it. The name suggested something completely different to me; something grilled, and the texture was new. There is something elemental about it's simple beef taste. If there was a periodic table of cow, this would definitely be an entry on it.
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Chocoflan
Chocoflan or Flan Imposible, is a desert which combines a custard sitting on top of a chocolate cake. The custard is poured over the cake batter, yet somehow during baking the cake ends up on top and the custard underneath. Hence the impossible.
The recipe for both the cake and the flan are simple. There is a straightforward recipe in Fanny Gerson's book, where the proportions I have listed here are from.
The Cake
3/4 Cup sugar
3/4 Cup A.P flour
1/3 Cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
salt
1/2 cup of buttermilk
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Combine the dry ingredients together, then whisk the wet ingredients together, finally combine the wet team and the dry team and stir until well mixed.
The Custard
1 (12oz) can of evaporated milk
1 (14oz) can of condensed milk
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Blend all of the above in a blender.
Making the Cake
Grease and then pour some cajeta over the bottom of an 8 inch cake pan or a bunt pan (the cake will be cooked in a ban marie so a springform tin won't do).
Pour the cake batter into the pan. Gently pour the custard over the batter without disturbing it. Place the cake pan in a larger dish with hot water that comes half way up the side of the cake pan. Cover with foil and bake at 375F for about 50 minutes.
Allow the cake to cool for a couple of hours before removing from the dish and garnish with some chopped nuts.
It's really bizarre, the custard that you poured so carefully over the batter has somehow sunk to the bottom and the chocolate cake is now on top and there the a perfectly clean line separating them. It looks very unusual and it looks like it takes a lot more trouble than it actually does.
The recipe for both the cake and the flan are simple. There is a straightforward recipe in Fanny Gerson's book, where the proportions I have listed here are from.
The Cake
3/4 Cup sugar
3/4 Cup A.P flour
1/3 Cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
salt
1/2 cup of buttermilk
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Combine the dry ingredients together, then whisk the wet ingredients together, finally combine the wet team and the dry team and stir until well mixed.
The Custard
1 (12oz) can of evaporated milk
1 (14oz) can of condensed milk
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Blend all of the above in a blender.
Making the Cake
Grease and then pour some cajeta over the bottom of an 8 inch cake pan or a bunt pan (the cake will be cooked in a ban marie so a springform tin won't do).
Pour the cake batter into the pan. Gently pour the custard over the batter without disturbing it. Place the cake pan in a larger dish with hot water that comes half way up the side of the cake pan. Cover with foil and bake at 375F for about 50 minutes.
Allow the cake to cool for a couple of hours before removing from the dish and garnish with some chopped nuts.
It's really bizarre, the custard that you poured so carefully over the batter has somehow sunk to the bottom and the chocolate cake is now on top and there the a perfectly clean line separating them. It looks very unusual and it looks like it takes a lot more trouble than it actually does.
Monday, 14 May 2012
Yet more cook book recommending
I'm getting nervous that I may need to charter a plane to ship home the books I have collected over the past couple of years in Mexico, so this one was selected on the basis that it's small.
It's straightforward without being dumb and well photographed. I'm still digging through it but it has a couple of concepts that are new to me and a few ideas worth trying.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)