A “Truly Mexican” Tomatillo Chipotle Salsa

Tomatillo Chipotle Salsa and Moritas
I hadn’t had the urge to buy a cookbook since 2010…

When I saw Roberto Santibañez’s “Truly Mexican” cookbook at the Frida and Diego exhibit at the AGO, it looked like something I would enjoy and learn from. This book focuses on some of the basics of Mexican cooking, with most of the book dedicated to perfecting variations on sauces.

The first dishes I tried can both be described as “meats cooked in adobos”, using different recipes each time. I had never made an adobo before, and I think it opened my eyes to the possibilities of using chiles. The complex flavours can’t simply be measured in Scoville units.

My favourite thing to make with these “meats cooked in adobos”? Tacos. The meat was great on its own, with some sides, but it really had a chance to shine in the tacos. It also gave me an excuse to try another recipe from the book, one for whom a recipe can be found online if you are inclined to try. I highly recommend that you do.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa with Chipotle and Roasted Garlic. The name alone sold me on it, and a quick glance at the recipe allayed any fear that the recipe would be challenging. I’m not even sure where to start with this, because it made THAT MUCH of an impact. It was the star of the tacos, without taking over. It was the zip atop my chili, on a cold evening. It was incredible over whitefish.

Yeah, I ate some right out of the bowl. I DON’T JUDGE YOU!

Tomatillo Chipotle Salsa

This salsa gets an incredible tang from the tomatillos, smokiness with a bit of heat from the dried and roasted chipotles, and an earthiness from the garlic that brings it all together. Amazeballs.

I do have to admit, however, that I did not include all of the suggested chipotles, out of fear that the salsa would be too spicy for my J’s delicate palate. Hahaha. Next time, I’ll go all out, and he’ll like it.

Maybe I’ll make some now. Writing this up is making me crave it!

In case you missed it, a version of the recipe can be found here: Roasted Tomatillo Salsa with Chipotle and Roasted Garlic

Mole Verde with Spicy Shrimp Enchiladas (Cooking with Épices de Cru, Pt. 2)

Mole Verde Shrimp Enchiladas

I suppose this post should be titled “Spicy Shrimp Enchiladas with Mole Verde”, but seriously it’s all about the mole verde.

It all started with a Valentine’s Day gift. I can tell that someone “gets” me, when they get me spices.
Continue reading Mole Verde with Spicy Shrimp Enchiladas (Cooking with Épices de Cru, Pt. 2)

What do I do with this? Chayote

Chayote

I’m finally catching up on my summer challenge here… finding fresh produce that I had never used before, mostly because I didn’t know what they were.

This week’s new thing is the chayote, a mexican fruit that is used like a vegetable, and sometimes referred to as the “vegetable pear”. It’s simple, and fresh tasting and doesn’t require any special preparation. To compare it to some other things you may have had before, it’s light and mild and crunchy like a daikon radish, or even a drier cucumber. Or maybe the texture of a green apple, but not the flavour? It can be used in cooked dishes, but is great raw in salads. For my first test of this vegetable, I tried both options.

I didn’t look up any recipes, and really just modified some recipes that I already enjoy.

Chayote Enchiladas

Chayote Enchiladas

To test it out, I used it in the filling for some enchiladas (that we cooked on the BBQ!) and as the crunch factor in a yummy corn and black bean rice salad.

First, let’s talk about the enchiladas. I first made enchiladas a few months back, as a part of a Daring Cooks’ challenge. I used the sauce recipe from that, as the tomatillo and poblano sauce is tart and fun, which is perfect for the summer. The veggie layer was made up of sauteed portabello mushrooms, onion and lightly cooked chayote. We did not, however, want to use the oven. It’s been a really hot and humid summer here in Toronto, and we do our best to avoid using the oven. I made a crazy decision, and we packaged them in foil and cooked them on the BBQ. This requires that you NOT put too much of the enchilada sauce in the stacks. Just put a little on each layer, and add the rest when serving. It worked like a charm! The only thing I would change is maybe spray some oil on the foil before layering the enchiladas. The hot cheese and tortilla stuck to the foil a little bit… no big deal. The chayote added a fun crunch to the cheesy, spicy mess.

Chayote Rice Salad

Chayote Rice Salad

The next dish I made was a Mexican spiced rice salad, full of grilled corn, black beans and bell peppers – oh yeah, and chayote. I think chayote really shines in salads, because it is nice and refreshing with a great crunch. Because it doesn’t have a really strong flavour, it could fit into just about any salad. I did go pretty heavy on the spices, using a mild ‘chili’ blend that I keep on hand, featuring paprika, cumin and various mild chili powders. To this, I added a touch of chipotle for smokiness and a touch of heat.

So… there are two ways to use a chayote. I’m sure there are about a million more!

Daring Crab Enchilladas

Crab Enchiladas with Ancho Salsa

Time for my third Daring Cooks challenge!!

This month’s challenge was exactly what I had been looking for…. yummy Mexican food! Toronto doesn’t have many great Mexican restaurants, unfortunately. There are a couple… and we had one that I really liked that closed a couple of years ago. Booo!

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

Poblanos and Tomatillos

Fresh Poblano peppers and Tomatillos

The challenge recipe was for chicken enchiladas, and of course I had to modify the recipe and swap out the chicken. I chose to make crab enchiladas instead, after a dish that I had in California and haven’t had since. These were not going to be “crab” enchiladas, but contain nice chunks of King crab. I bought some crab legs, pulled out the meat for the enchiladas and used the shells to make the broth.

The enchilada sauce was really simple to make, but required some items that I couldn’t find in the grocery store. I ventured out to Kensington Market, where Mexican shops carry almost everything a silly Canadian girl could want… except for the Anaheim chiles. It’s ok – I got Poblanos instead. I think I secretly wanted to have to get Poblanos, after watching a show on Chile Rellenos. (I think that might be my next Mexican challenge! Yumyum!). I also got a hand full of lovely green tomatillos. These are so nice to look at (and photograph), and have a crazy tartness that you can’t get from a red tomato. The peppers and tomatillos were roasted in the oven first, the peppers were skinned and seeded and all of the ingredients were blended together.

Roasted Poblanos and Tomatillos

Oven roasted Poblano peppers and Tomatillos

Realizing how simple this was, I adapted this process to make my ancho salsa. I roasted some red tomatoes and onions, and soaked and de-seeded some dried ancho peppers. I blended it all (pulsing, rather than pureeing… I wanted to keep some of the texture). I added  a touch of ground chipotle pepper at the end, for some smokiness. SOOOO GOOOD!

Another “secret ingredient” was some crumbled queso fresco… it doesn’t melt like other cheeses, so I used a few different cheeses in this dish. Queso fresco is a fresh cheese, like Indian Paneer, so it has a bit of a grit and chew to it that is unlike other kinds of cheeses. I think this cheese is the reason you see feta sprinkled on Mexican dishes sometimes… feta is one of the closest common cheeses, when comparing flavour (saltiness) and melting properties.

This dish did take some time to make, considering the broth, roasting of peppers, assembly and baking. It would be considerably less time if I did some of these things in advance… so really not a bad dish to make when you’re having company over! We thought it looked – and tasted – really impressive.

Hm, I even think I managed to make this one totally Gluten Free! You could also make this vegetarian by substituting the seafood stock for veg, and the crab meat for either some faux meat, or some nice roasted vegetables. Maybe even beans?

Crab Enchiladas - oven

Four crab enchiladas – fresh out of the oven!

Crab, Shrimp & Veg Stock

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp oil + butter (I used 1 Tbsp of each, but you can mix it how you like. The butter adds a nice warm flavour)
  • 1 med onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
  • 2-4 loose cups of “frozen veggie bits” (see note below)
  • shells from 1LB of shrimp
  • shells from 1.5lb of king crab legs (or equivalent)
  • 1 large dried bay leaf
  • 1 Tbsp small whole black peppercorns
  • 8-10 cups of water

Pre-Preparation:

  • Crab – I’m not sure how you get crab where you live, but I started with frozen pre-steamed crab legs. If you get them fresh, you’ll want to cook them first. If you can’t get whole legs, feel free to use lump crab or canned. If you get the pre-cooked frozen crab, I would advise against steaming the legs whole – just thaw, pull crab meat out, so the only cooking will happen in the oven when assembled in the enchilada. You don’t want overcooked crab.
  • Frozen Veggie bits – If you read my blog regularly, you probably saw a post about this a week or so ago. If not, ‘frozen veggie bits’ is a bag of bits that I cut off of my vegetables when preparing them for dinner and then freeze for use in stocks. These are not rotten vegetable parts, but maybe a little drier bits, or stems, or the bits that you might not want to include in the dish. For me, this includes herb stems, mushroom stems, broccoli stalks, bits of pepper that are close to the membrane or stem, carrot peels, etc. etc.

Preparation:

  1. Heat the oil/butter in a stock pot over medium heat , until it has coated the bottom.
  2. Sauté the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and golden. You’ll be able to smell when it is ready.
  3. Add the veg bits, shrimp and crab shells, and sauté for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add the bay leaf, peppercorns and water. Bring to a boil.
  5. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 1 hour.

Daring Crab Enchiladas

(with Steph’s substitutions)

Ingredients

  • 1½ pounds Poblano chiles (about 6 medium) – roast, peel, remove seeds, chop coarsely.
  • 7-8 ounces Tomatillos (about 4-5 medium) – peel, remove stems
  • 4 cups broth (see above for the recipe I used)
  • 1 clove Garlic, minced
  • ½ tsp Kosher salt (add more to taste)
  • ¼ tsp Black Pepper (add more to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons Cornstarch (dissolve in 2 tablespoons water, for thickening)
  • Hot sauce, your favorite, optional
  • Crab meat, from 1.5 lb of crab legs (shells removed, presumably these are pre-cooked and frozen crab legs)
  • 3 tablespoons Olive oil or other neutral vegetable oil (use more as needed)
  • Kosher salt and pepper
  • 12 Small Corn tortillas (5-6 inch/13-15 cm). (you can also use wheat tortillas or other wraps)
  • 6 ounces grated cheese, I used a combination of jalapeno havarti, sharp cheddar and queso fresco
  • Cilantro for garnish, chopped and sprinkled optional

Directions:

Roasting Fresh Chiles and Tomatillos

  1. Coat each chile and tomatillo with a little vegetable oil. Lay them on the grill or baking sheet (line pan with foil for simpler clean-up). Place the grill or broil close to the element, turning the chiles so they char evenly. They should be black and blistered.
  2. As they are completely charred (they will probably not all be done at once), remove the chilis to one bowl and the tomatillos to a second bowl and cover with plastic. Let them rest until they are cool. Put the tomatillos aside for now.
  3. To de-seed the chiles, pull on the stem and the seed core MAY pop out (it rarely does for me). Open the chile and remove the seeds.
  4. Turn the chile skin side up and with a paring knife, scrape away the skin. Sometimes it just pulls right off, sometimes you really have to scrape it.
  5. DO NOT RINSE!

Green Chile Sauce

  1. Take the roasted tomatillos and puree in a blender or food processor.
  2. Put the puréed tomatillos in a saucepan along with the broth, chopped and roasted green chiles, minced onion, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper.
  3. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
  4. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and stir well. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and reduced to 4-5 cups, another 10-15 minutes.
  5. Adjust seasonings and add hot sauce if you want a little more heat.

Stacked Green Chile and Grilled Crab Enchiladas

  1. In a small skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Dip the edge of a tortilla into the oil to check – it should sizzle immediately.
  2. Using tongs, put a tortilla into the pan and cook until soft and lightly brown on each side, about 15-20 seconds per side (at the most).
  3. Drain on paper towels.
  4. Add oil as needed and continue until all 12 tortillas are done.
  5. In a baking dish large enough to hold four separate stacks of tortillas, ladle a thin layer of sauce.
  6. Lay four tortillas in the dish and ladle another ½ cup (4 ounces/112 grams) of sauce over the tortillas.
  7. Divide half the crab meat among the first layer of tortillas, top with another ½ cup of sauce and 1/3 of the grated cheese.
  8. Stack another four tortillas, top with the rest of the crab meat, more sauce and another third of the cheese.
  9. Finish with the third tortilla, topped with the remaining sauce and cheese.
  10. Bake until the sauce has thickened and the cheese melted, about 20 minutes. Let rest for 5-10 minutes.
  11. To serve, transfer each stack to a plate. Spoon any leftover sauce over the stacks and sprinkle with cilantro, if you wish. The stacks may also be cooked in individual gratin dishes.