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CHILE CON QUESO Chile with Cheese
By far the most requested recipe has been for chile con queso, which
is a delicious appetizer dip made, as its name implies, with chiles
and cheese. In Mexican-American cooking this dish is often made with
mild cheddar cheese and canned jalapeño chiles, or (unfortunately)
with Velveeta or a cheese soup base. In Mexico a white cheese is used,
usually asadero, Oaxaca or Chihuahua. A company called Cacique, as well
as others, make these cheeses and distribute them widely in this country.
The only one I do not recommend is the asadero, which has a processed
taste and texture that is not authentic. If you cannot find these cheeses
use mozzarella or Monterrey Jack, or mix them together. Adding a little
smoked provolone adds a nice flavor dimension as well. For the chiles,
use roasted and peeled poblano or Anaheim chiles. You can also use canned
green chiles, but you will not escape the insipid "canned"
taste. To spice up canned chiles add some minced jalapeño or
serrano chile with the onions.
In Mexico this dish is usually eaten by scooping the cheese onto either
a hot corn or flour tortilla and rolling it up, but also makes an excellent
party dish with tortilla chips.
1 ½ tablespoons butter
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped poblano or Anaheim
chiles, or substitute canned green chiles
1 medium, peeled, seeded and chopped tomato
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2/3 cup half and half
½ pound or about 2 cups, grated Oaxaca, Chihuahua, mozzarella,
or Monterrey Jack cheese
Salt to taste
To peel the chiles you must first "roast" them until the
skins are blistered, then put them in a plastic bag and allow them to
sweat for about twenty minutes. They should then be easy to peel. You
can blister them over an open flame on the stove top or a wood cooking
fire. You can also toast them in a toaster oven or under a broiler.
In any case, make sure the skins are well blistered or they will be
difficult to peel. The trick is to use enough heat so the chiles blister
before them become overly soft and mushy.
To peel and seed the tomato, immerse it in boiling water for about
30 seconds, cool it under cold water, then peel, cut into sections and
scoop out the seeds.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add the onions and
cook them until they are soft but not browned. Add the chiles and tomato
and cook until they are heated through, about 2 more minutes. Add the
half and half, turn the heat to medium high, and bring to a boil. Stir
in the cheese and immediately remove the pan from the heat to prevent
the cheese from curdling. Continue stirring it until it is completely
melted, then add salt to taste. Serve immediately with hot tortillas
or tortilla chips.
TORTILLAS DE MAIZ Corn Tortillas
I am convinced that the main thing standing between the average cook
and truly authentic Mexican cooking is the corn tortilla, and unfortunately
this is perhaps the most important element of the cuisine. The reason
for this is that most of the corn tortillas sold in the United States
are of very poor quality, and preparing corn tortillas from scratch,
because of the need to have the dough the right consistency, the heat
just right, and the amount of manual dexterity required, is looked upon
(wrongly) as an unsurmountable chore.
Fortunately technology has come to the rescue in the form of the Tortilla
Chef, a waffle iron-like contraption produced by a company called Vitantorio.
(I bought mine at Williams-Sonoma). With this device and a little practice,
making good corn tortillas is no great chore. Even if you don't want
to invest in this appliance or cannot find it you can still learn to
make good tortillas with a traditional hand press.
Please note that our store-bought corn tortillas are not all bad. They
are actually preferable for making tortilla chips, enchiladas and fried
tacos and flautas. The reason for this is that they are very thin and
do not have nearly as much moisture as fresh made corn tortillas. This
allows them to fry to a crisp texture and they will not absorb as much
fat during the frying process. However, when it comes to serving hot
tortillas with a meal, or for wrapping fillings for soft tacos, they
are no substitute for the real thing.
Corn tortillas are best made with masa ground from nixtamal, which
is the dried corn kernals that have been cooked with a little lime to
allow the skin to be removed (and the nutrients absorbed by your body).
Unfortunately this dough has an even shorter shelf life than prepared
tortillas, and the shortage of tortillerías makes it difficult
to find for most people. Again, fortunately, decent masa can be prepared
using dried, ground corn flour under labels such as Masa Harina and
Maseca. In fact (and unfortunately) more and more tortillerías
are using this method. I say "unfortunately" because dough
made from dried corn does not have the soft elasticity that dough ground
directly from nixtamal does. However, much of this disadvantage can
be obviated by adding a little all-purpose flour to the dough, a common
practice in Mexico. This not only produces a very good result but makes
the dough less breakable, and therefore much easier to shape and cook.
Making Corn Tortillas with the Tortilla Chef
While the Tortilla Chef is an admirable tool the directions provided
are not all they should be. If your dough is dry enough so that it does
not stick to the hot press when it is opened it will be covered with
a spider web of wrinkles and have a poor texture. However, the directions
below provide a simple solution to this problem.
2 cups Masa Harina or Maseca
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/3 cups cold water
Place the corn flour in a bowl and stir in the sifted flour. Stir in
the water, a little at a time, to make a moist dough, adding a little
more water, if necessary. Work the dough just until smooth then place
it in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 1/2 hour.
Break off a piece of the dough to test in the Tortilla Chef, then after
you are sure it has the proper water content make the rest of the dough
balls. For regular size tortillas, break off and roll into balls a little
smaller than golf balls. You should have 12 balls.
Open and preheat the Tortilla Chef for 7 - 10 minutes. Place a ball
of dough onto the just slightly off center (toward the hinges of the
press) and immediately press the dough ball into a tortilla with one
quick, firm motion, then quickly open the machine. If the dough is the
right consistency it will stick to the top of the press. It the dough
releases and remains on the bottom of the press, just add a little more
water to the dough and try again. Slide a thin plastic spatula between
the dough and the press, beginning at the bottom. If the dough seems
determined to stick, simply close the press for about one second, reopen
it and try again--you may have to repeat this process on the first couple
of tortillas until you have the timing down, but after this they should
go quickly. Ease the dough on to the bottom of the press and allow it
to bake for about 30 seconds, then turn it and cook on the other side,
at which point the tortilla should begin to puff. The tortilla is done
when the dough is just cooked through. Place the completed tortilla
in a tortilla warmer or wrap in a towel and prepare the remaining tortillas
in the same way. Because the Tortilla Chef can accommodate only 1 tortilla
at a time the process can seem a little slow. But it can be speeded
up considerably if you heat a large skillet or comal over medium heat
and use it as an extra cooking surface.
Making Corn Tortillas with a Traditional Tortilla Press
If you are not using the Tortilla Chef, first heat two heavy skillets,
one over medium heat the other a little hotter. Press the dough balls
between layers of smooth plastic (large zip lock bags cut into circles
a little larger than your tortilla press are ideal). Peel off the top
layer of plastic and invert the pressed dough onto the palm of your
hand, then peel off the remaining layer of plastic.
Lay the dough onto the comal in a sweeping motion. This is done by
allowing the portion of the dough that overlaps the side of your hand
with the little finger to touch the comal, then carefully slide your
hand out from under the rest of the tortilla so that it lands neatly
onto the skillet. Allow it to cook for about 30 to 45 seconds. It should
no longer stick to the pan. If it does, raise the heat. With a spatula
flip the tortilla, uncooked side down, onto the hotter pan and allow
it to cook for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Turn the tortilla, keeping
it in the hotter skillet. At this point it should begin to puff. If
it does not it probably means that the heat is not high enough. Sometimes
you can encourage the puffing by "tickling" the tortilla with
the spatula by passing it lightly over its top as if you were tickling
it. Continue cooking for 30 to 40 seconds or until the tortilla is cooked
through, then place it into a tortilla warmer or wrap it in a towel.
Leave the tortillas to steam for about 10 minutes. This is very important
as the steaming finishes the cooking process, creating a softer and
much more flexible tortilla. Corn tortillas can be reheated successfully
in a microwave at medium heat, wrapped in a slightly moistened towel.
CHORIZO
Most of the chorizo that is sold in the United States is pretty awful
by Mexican standards. Fortunately good chorizo is quite easy to make.
The town of Toluca, which lies about 40 miles the west of Mexico City
is justly famous for its chorizo, and it is from there that most of
the best recipes come. However, fine chorizo is made all over Mexico,
and I am particularly partial to the variety made in Oaxaca, of which
the following recipe is typical. Chorizo is sold both in bulk and stuffed
into casings, and you can make it both ways. However, for the home cook,
I think it is a waste of time and effort to put the sausage into casings
because the vast majority of recipes call for the chorizo to be removed
from the casing before cooking, in any case. Please note that no matter
how fatty the pork you buy in a stateside super market, it will probably
have less fat than most authentic chorizos. Because of this you may
wish to add some additional pork fat, cut into small pieces, to the
recipe. If not, always put a little oil in the pan before you fry the
less fatty version.
Note: If you wish you can substitute 1/4 cup pure chile powder (or to
taste) for the whole chiles.
1 pound, fatty, boneless pork shoulder cut into ½ inch cubes
5 ancho chiles
1 pasilla chile
2 cloves
3/4 inch piece of cinnamon stick
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon oregano
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon marjoram
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf, broken into small pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Put the cut up meat in the freezer until it just begins to freeze, about
15 to 20 minutes.
Simmer the chiles in water to cover until they are very soft, about
15 to 20 minutes. Cool the chiles under cold water, drain, then remove
the stems and most of the seeds. One or two at a time put the chiles,
meat side down, in a food mill fitted with the medium or fine blade,
and crank the machine until the chile pulp is separated from the skins.
Process the remaining chiles in the same manner and reserve the pulp.
In a spice or coffee grinder, grind the cloves, cinnamon, oregano, marjoram,
thyme, bay leaf and salt to a powder. Mix the partially frozen pork
with 1/4 cup of the chile puree (reserve any remaining puree for another
use) rubbing it in by hand. Add the spices and garlic, and mix well.
Put the meat in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, add the
vinegars and process in bursts until the meat is coarsely ground. Alternatively
you may put the meat through the medium or fine blade of a meat grinder,
then mix in the chile paste, spices and vinegar. Allow the chorizo to
absorb the flavors overnight before serving, then freeze the remainder
in useable portion sizes.
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