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ASADO DE BODA
Asado de boda, as its name implies, is
traditionally served as part of a wedding feast. The dish is more common
in San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas than the more northern states,
with the exceptions of Coahuila and Nuevo León where it is often
called either Asado de puerco or Asado de cerdo. This is a delicious
recipe, somewhere between a more elaborate mole and the New Mexico-style
pork chile dish called carne adovada. Some cooks add a little chocolate
during the final moments of cooking which heightens the dish's resemblance
to a mole, (as well as its taste), and a little minced orange peel,
which turns the dish into something truly special. Select, meat from
the pork loin with just a little fat which adds to the flavor.
4 ancho chiles
4 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon powdered cloves
1/2 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
1/4 cup cooking oil
2 pounds moderately lean pork loin, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup onion, minced
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
2 to 3 teaspoons grated orange peel (orange part only)
Toast the chiles on an ungreased skillet or griddle over medium heat
for 20 to 30 seconds on both sides, but do not allow them to burn. When
the chiles are cool enough to handle, rinse them, and remove their stems,
seeds and veins, tear them into small pieces, and place them in a blender.
Add 3 cups of boiling water, cover the blender and allow the chiles
to rehydrate for at least 20 minutes. Pour off the soaking water, but
leave the chiles in the blender. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, marjoram,
cloves, cinnamon, and 1 ½ cups water to the blender and blend
for at least 1 minute. Add another ½ cup water and blend a few
more seconds to mix thoroughly.
Heat a heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium high to high heat, add 2
tablespoons of the oil, and when it just begins to smoke add ½
the meat. Allow the meat to sizzle and brown without touching it for
20 - 30 seconds, turn it and repeat the process, then stir fry it until
the meat is just browned but not cooked through. Remove the meat to
a bowl and reserve. Brown the other half of the meat in the same manner,
adding a little more oil, if necessary, and remove it to the bowl with
the first batch. Turn the heat to medium, add a little more oil, if
necessary, and saute the onions until they are golden brown, but do
not allow them to burn. Return the reserved meat to the pot, add the
contents of the blender, bring it to a simmer, cover the pot and continue
simmering, adjusting the heat as necessary, for 45 minutes. Remove the
top of the pot, turn the heat up until the contents come to a fairly
brisk simmer, and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the sauce
thickens to the consistency of a thin milk shake and begins to glisten.
This usually takes 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chocolate, and orange
peel, and serve with white Mexican style rice, or plain steamed white
rice, and hot corn tortillas. Although not traditional I like to sprinkle
some grated, smoked provolone cheese over the meat.
Serves 4
CHILE CON QUESO ESTILO CHIHUAHUA
Chile and Cheese Chihuahua Style
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup onion
½ cup anaheim or New Mexico chiles, roasted, peeled, stemmed,
seeded and chopped
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 teaspoon oregano
½ cup cream
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup half & half
½ teaspoon salt
1/2 pound Oaxaca cheese, coarsely grated
Heat a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, add the onion and
chiles and cook until the onion just begins to soften, about 3 minutes.
Add the tomato and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the remaining ingredients
except the cheese, bring to a boil, and simmer, stirring often, until
the mixture is thickened to the consistency of a thick cream soup, 5
- 10 minutes. Add the cheese, remove from the burner and stir until
the cheese is melted. Serve immediately with hot flour tortillas. (Use
½ half the cheese and use 3/4 Oaxaca and 1/4 manchego cheese
for crab enchilada sauce).
ENCHILADAS ZACATECANAS
There is no one and only version of this regional favorite, so the following
is my interpretation from the many I have sampled.
The filling:
3/4 pound boneless pork loin cut into 3/4 inch or less pieces
2 cups water
2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 tablespoon vinegar
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon salt
To make the filling place the meat and water in a saucepan, bring the
water to a simmer and skim off any scum that rises to the surface. Stir
in the remaining ingredients, and cook at a bare simmer until the water
has evaporated, about 1 hour. Remove the meat and shred it, either by
hand or with the plastic blade of a food processor. The meat can also
be finely chopped, if you wish. Reserve.
The sauce:
1 cup poblano chile (about 3 fairly large chiles) that has been roasted,
peeled seeded and chopped, or substitute Anaheim or mild New Mexico
chile
3/4 cup half and half
2 1/4 cups whipping cream
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
To roast the chiles, broil them as close under your broiler as possible
until the skins are charred (I often use a toaster oven), roast them
over an open flame, or deep fry them until the skins turn opaque. In
either case, place the chiles in a plastic bag to sweat for twenty minutes,
then peel them.
To make the sauce, first place the chiles and half and half in a blender
and blend until they are just pureed. Add the cream and pulse once or
twice to mix with the other ingredients. Melt the butter in a saucepan
over medium heat, add the contents of the blender and the salt. Bring
the mixture to a simmer and cook until it is thickened to the consistency
of a very thin milkshake, about 20 minutes. There should be about 2
cups of sauce.
The potato and carrot topping:
2 cups water
1 tablespoon vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup carrots that have been peeled and cut into less than 1/4
inch pieces
3/4 cup boiling potatoes that have been peeled and cut into less than
1/4 inch pieces
Mix together the water, vinegar and salt, bring to a boil, add the
carrots and cook until they are just tender, then remove them, cool
them off with cold water to prevent them from cooking further, then
drain them. Cook and cool the potatoes in the same way, then add them
to the carrots, and reserve.
The enchiladas:
8 corn tortillas
Cooking oil or spray oil
The reserved filling
The sauce
½ cup grated Oaxaca or Chihuahua cheese, or substitute Monterrey
Jack
2 small avocados or 1 large avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced
To make the tortillas pliable and to keep them from becoming soggy,
there are two methods I use. First, you can "soften" them
by cooking them for a few seconds on each side in about ½ inch
of oil set over medium heat until a drop of water sputters immediately,
(but do not cook them until they become crisp), then drain them on absorbent
towels. You can also do this by spraying them on both sides with oil,
placing them in a plastic tortilla warmer or wrapping them in a towel,
then microwaving them for about 30 to 45 seconds oh high. The former
provides a more authentic texture, but the latter method is much quicker
and easier.
Place 2 tablespoons of the meat filling just off center on each tortilla
and either roll or fold the tortillas into cylinders. Place two of the
filled tortillas on each of four oven proof serving plates. Top the
enchiladas with about 1/3 cup of the sauce, then sprinkle on a little
of the potato/carrot mixture and cheese. Bake the enchilada for 5 minutes,
add a little more sauce, then cook another 5 minutes. Just before serving,
add a little more sauce, lay a few slices of avocado on top of the enchiladas
and serve with white, Mexican style rice, and perhaps some steamed squash.
Jim Peyton
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