Remembering Guadalajara with Tortas Ahogadas

If you have been to the awesome city of Gudalajara Mexico, you know what a diverse city it is. Art, shopping and of course food are some of the best in the country. When we visited Guadalajara this past September, the city showed us that all of the hype I had read before the trip was in fact, all true. Actually it was E's cousin Mario, who has lived in the city for the last 7 years, who showed us around. He was a great tour guide and I think he has eaten at every restaurant in the city. When I asked him the best place to "taste Guadalajara" he took me to Tortas Toño (Dirección: Av. Tepeyac # 605) for a Torta Ahogada.

Ahogada means "drowned", and it is an appropriate word to describe these sandwiches on a bread [said only to be made in Guadalajara], filled with meat and bathed with tomato and hot sauce. While some restaurants and food stalls automatically top the tortas with both salsas, most people prefer to indicate how much chile sauce they want, since it is quite hot. When serving them at home, you may want pass the chile sauce separately.

This recipe is adapted from a Mexican cookbook called 101 Recetas Mexicanas. And I must say this recipe is quite authentic, coming very close if not on par with the torta I ate not too long ago in Guadalajara.

Tortas Ahogadas

Ingredients:

For the tomato sauce:

3 pounds roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 large white onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ cup water
salt to taste

For the chile sauce:

¼ pound arbol chiles
1 cup water
½ cup white vinegar
salt to taste
For the tortas:

8 bolillos (French rolls) split in half lengthwise
1 ½ pounds boneless pork loin or shoulder
1 onion, cut in half3 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 sprig oregano
salt to taste
Preparation:

Place all tomato sauce ingredients in a saucepan and cook until the tomatoes and onions are soft. Allow to cool, place in blender and puree. Strain the puree and set aside.
Lightly roast the arbol chiles on a comal or dry griddle, just to the point of fragrance. Do not allow them to char, as this results in a bitter flavor. Remove the stem and seeds from the chiles. Place the chiles and remaining chile sauce ingredients in a saucepan, cook until the chiles have softened, remove from heat and allow to cool. Transfer sauce ingredients to a blender, puree and strain. Set aside.

Cook the meat in water to cover with the onion, garlic, bay leaf, oregano and salt to taste. When cooked through, remove from cooking liquid and allow to cool. Shred the meat with two forks, or slice thinly if preferred.Remove the soft center (called the miga) from the rolls, place the rolls on plates, and divide the meat among the rolls by placing some on the bottom half of each roll. Bathe each one with tomato sauce. The tortas are easier to eat if the top half is left "dry." Each diner can add chile sauce to taste. If possible, do as they do in Jalisco and use a plate with a lip to serve these tortas, to prevent messy dripping. Serves 8.

Birria or Stewed Lamb in Chile Sauce

I am still in disbelief that Christmas is just one week away. Since putting my tree up 10 days ago, I find myself making time just to sit close by and enjoy it. Yesterday was a perfect day for just that. It was cold and rainy here in Atlanta and I had absolutely no desire to venture out. In fact I probably wouldn't have changed out of my pajamas all day if Ernesto had not flipped though our favorite cookbook and saw a recipe for Birria, or stewed lamb in chile sauce.

We bought Mexico The Beautiful Cookbook probably 7 years ago. There are stains on it and the pages are worn, but it is still beautiful and always guarantees us a delicious meal.

After looking over the Birria recipe, we decided this called for a trip to the Buford Farmers Market. This market is huge and carries any and every type of hispanic [and Asian] foods you may be looking for. Not to mention, my favorite feature, in house freshly made corn tortillas!

Speaking of fresh tortillas, this Birria dish is served with them on the side or you could even the wrap the meat is in the tortillas. This recipe is typical of Jalisco Mexico, and is hands down, the most delicious lamb I have ever tried. I bet you will not disagree.

Birria

(Stewed Lamb in Chile Sauce)

4 chiles guajillos

3 chiles anchos

1 cup hot water

1 lb boneless lean lamb, cut into pieces

1 lb lamb ribs or shanks, cut into pieces

12 cups water

6 cloves garlic

1/2 onion

2 bay leaves

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp dried marjoram

1 small sprig thyme

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper

Sauce

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic

1 1/2 tsp groung chile pequin

Garnishes

1 cup onion, chopped

3 limes, cut in half

1 cup cilantro, chopped

* On an iron skillet, toast the chiles, then soak the chiles in the hot water for 20 minutes. Transfer into blender and puree. Strain and set aside.

Place lamb meat, water, garlic and onion in large dutch oven. Bring to a boil, skim the surface, cover and cook over medium to low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender.

Remove and discard the onion and garlic. Add the pureed chiles, bay leaves, cumin, marjoram, thyme, salt and pepper.

Cook for another 50 minutes to let the flavors blend. Meanwhile, blend the sauce ingredients in a blender.

Serve the lamb in deep bowls with hot corn tortillas and the garnishes sprinkled on top.

Add sauce according to desired spiciness.

Beef Brisket....Mexican Style!!

I am a daily food shopper. This means that I never fill up a grocery cart, I usually decide what I am going to make for dinner and then I go buy the ingredients. This is why it is important that I go to a store where I enjoy the shopping experience. (A big thanks to Kroger Edgewood for expanding) "With that being said" (did you just see the Curb your Enthusiasm about that phrase? love it!) "With that being said, I do sometimes buy a hunk of meat on sale at the grocery store, and put it in the freezer for future use. I find that it aids in picking a recipe, kid of a challenge, hmmm what delicious dinner can i make with this one meat. Beef Brisket.

This was adapted from a Food Network recipe.

Mexican Beef Brisket

• 3 1/2 pounds beef brisket
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
• Flour for dredging
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch lengths
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 5 chipotle pepers in adobo sauce (less if you can't stand the heat)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 quarts chicken stock or water
• 5 bay leaves
• Salt to taste
• 4 scallions, white and light green parts, thinly sliced on the diagonal, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Start with a good piece of meat, trimmed of most of the fat.

Sprinkle the brisket with the coarse salt and pepper. Dredge in flour to coat and shake off any excess. In a large Dutch oven heat oil over high heat. Sear the meat until browned on all sides. Set aside.

Reduce heat to moderate and add the carrots and onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 2 minutes longer. Return the meat to the pan along with all remaining ingredients except the salt and garnishes.

Bring to a boil, cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Bake for 2 1/2 hours, or until the meat slips off a fork when pierced.

Lift out the brisket and place on a cutting board. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Pour the broth and vegetables into a blender. Puree until smooth, add salt to taste. Shred the brisket and warm up some tortillas. Place brisket in tortilla, top with freshly chopped onion, cilantro and the sauce. Serve with scallions and refried beans. To. die. for. Let me know if you agree!

La Cucaracha, La Cucaracha, Ya No Puedes Caminar

Do you remember that show Fear Factor? Ernesto and I always used to watch it. Monday nights. I always said I would participate, but I remember several shows where the contestants had to eat cockroaches. I always thought I would have to drop out at that point. La cucaracha is a disgusting bug. But una cucaracha for breakfast is the best!

I have no idea how the name came about, but a cucaracha is a stack of tortillas, ham, and cheese - topped with salsa. Ernesto's dad made these for me one time and I was hooked. I imagine serving this to our kids. (If we ever get around to it....)

Along the same lines as french toast you will need to dip the tortillas in a bowl of scrambled eggs.

Start with one tortilla. Set the dipped tortilla in a sprayed pan. Top with one slice of ham and put cheese on top. Repeat for a total of three tortillas. Flip over to toast the top layer and finish melting the cheese.

Top la cucaracha with salsa and enjoy!

Neto's Pinto Bean Soup

I often use canned beans when cooking. When you don't have a lot of time, they are a savior. On the other hand, a huge pot of beans makes the house smell delicious and ensures easy delicious meals over the next few days. This is worth the extra time and effort in my opinion. When we make a pot of pinto beans we use them for refried beans, on tortas (sandwiches) and this:

I don't have a name for it, but doesn't that look delicious? Ernesto introduced it to me and I haven't ever seen this in a cookbook, so I will call it "Neto's Pinto Bean Soup".
First, you will need to make a pot of beans.


Big 'Ol Pot of Beans

1lb. bag of dry pinto beans
1 medium white onion cut in half
6 cloves garlic

soak beans overnight in cold water, or do a quick boil (cover beans with water and bring to a boil for 15 minutes, strain) In a large pot, place beans and 4 quarts water. Simmer for 4 hours or until beans are tender.


Neto's Pinto Bean Soup

You will need the big pot of beans you made, and white rice. (1 3/4 cups water to one cup rice) Assemble while the beans and rice are still hot. Each bowl of soup is prepared individually.

Fill each bowl with beans and broth and 2 spoonfuls of the rice.

Top with fresh vegetables:
chopped tomatoes
chopped cilantro
diced chiles
cubed avocado
salt to taste

Carnitas in Paris?

Ok, If you haven't seen David Lebovitz' blog, you should really check it out. He is an renowned American pastry chef and author living in Paris. Not only does he post recipes I want to try, he makes me laugh while reading them. One of his recent posts "8 Coping Tips for Living in Paris" is a good place to start.

Ernesto's has made David's carnitas recipe three times now, and every time we think it is the best we have ever tasted! cooking the pork for 3.5 hours really makes this tender.

David includes a beautiful red cabbage slaw to go on the tacos, but Ernesto likes to keep the toppings traditional to this Mexican dish and only tops them with chopped onion, cilantro and salsa.

Serve with a side of refried beans

Carnitas Recipe
(Recipe from The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz)

4-5-pounds boneless pork should, cut into 5-inch chunks, trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons canola or neutral vegetable oil
water
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
2 bay leaves
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly-sliced

1. Rub the pieces of pork shoulder all over with salt. Refrigerate for 1- to 3-days. (You can skip this step if you want. Just be sure to salt the pork before searing the meat in the next step.)

2. Heat the oil in a roasting pan set on the stove top. Cook the pieces of pork shoulder in a single layer until very well-browned, turning them as little as possible so they get nice and dark before flipping them around. If your cooking vessel is too small to cook them in a single-layer, cook them in two batches.

3. Once all the pork is browned, remove them from the pot and blot away any excess fat with a paper towel, then pour in about a cup of water, scraping the bottom of the pan with a flat-edged utensil to release all the tasty brown bits.

4. Heat the oven to 350F (180C) degrees.

5. Add the pork back to the pan and add enough water so the pork pieces are 2/3rd's submerged in liquid. Add the cinnamon stick and stir in the chile powders, bay leaves, cumin and garlic.

7. Braise in the oven uncovered for 3½ hours, turning the pork a few times during cooking, until much of the liquid is evaporated and the pork is falling apart. Remove the pan from the oven and lift the pork pieces out of the liquid and set them on a platter.

8. Once the pork pieces are cool enough to handle, shred them into bite-sized pieces, about 2-inches (7 cm), discarding any obvious big chunks of fat if you wish.

9. Return the pork pieces back to the roasting pan and cook in the oven, turning occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the pork is crispy and caramelized. It will depend on how much liquid the pork gave off, and how crackly you want them.

Neto's Fish Tacos

I eat fish tacos every chance I get.  You see them more and more on menus these days and I like to compare them to Neto's.   Rubios is a fast food place in California, that I can honestly say, makes a mean fish taco. There is a place in Atlanta called Taqueria del Sol that serves up simple yet delicious fish tacos (and many others). They fry up tilapia fish and add a white sauce with pickled jalapeno slices.  When we lived here before, we would take out of town guests there, and they love it.   Somehow they can't compete with Neto's tacos.  When we get together with my parents, my dad always [read: every time] requests that Ernesto makes his fish tacos.  They were in Atlanta this past weekend. So here you go, written out by Neto himself:  

Neto's Fish Tacos

You will need:

1-1½ lbs fish (Red Snapper or other firm fish) cut into 3-4 inch pieces and lightly covered with flour

veggie or canola oil for frying fish

thick corn tortillas


Batter

1 cup flour

1/4 cup corn meal

1 bottle of dark beer

salt & garlic powder to taste



White Sauce

½ cup mayo

½ cup yogurt

1-2 pickled jalapenos, diced

lime and salt to taste



Salsa

5 Roma tomatoes

15 jalapeno or Serrano peppers (2-3 for rookies)

small cilantro bunch

salt to taste



Garnish

head of cabbage, shredded

lime, cut into wedges



Instuctions

Fish:

Combine batter ingredients and start heating oil. Cover fish pieces in batter allowing excess to drip off before placing in oil (try not to let them touch). Cook until batter is a light golden color.


Salsa:

Make this roasted salsa.

Warm the tortillas flipping them a few times but don’t toast and cover them with a towel when done to keep warm.

Place everything on the table and start to assemble your tacos. They go great with Mexican beer.

How to assemble: grab a warm tortilla and place a piece of fish in it. Top with white sauce, salsa, and cabbage then add a squirt of lime. You may need to add a little salt. Enjoy!

 

Salsa Verde - Viva Los Tomatillos!

Salsa verde is an everyday salsa that you will see sitting on the table in almost any restaurant in Mexico.    The main ingredient is the tomatillo, or tomate verde in Spanish.  Literally translated, it means green tomato, but is different.  The round fruit is covered in a paper-like husk and has a very tangy and tart flavor.   If you are buying them in the grocery, make sure the fruit is firm and bright green with a slightly brown husk.  Although mostly cultivated in Guatemala  and Mexico, the tomatillo can be grown easily in many parts of the United States.  This was the reason/ inspiration for making salsa verde last night.  My aunt grew them in Ohio this year, and my mom brought us a bag.  Thanks Aunt Margie!

SALSA VERDE

3 cups water

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 cloves garlic

4 serrano chiles

1 pound tomatillos, husks removed

1/2 cup cilantro

1/4 cup chopped onion

Bring water and salt to a boil, add tomatillos, chiles and garlic and simmer for 10 minutes.  Drain water reserving 1/2 cup of the liquid.  Transfer to a blender, add cilantro, 1 tsp salt and puree briefly.  Pour to bowl and stir in onion.   Serve warm or refrigerate [for up to 3 days].

Arroz Mexicano o Mexican Rice

Rice is a staple in so many countries.  I can eat rice everyday.  When I lived in Costa Rica for a year, I did eat rice every day.  Rice with beans, and beans with rice.  I never got sick of it.  Whether we are cooking  Thai, Indian, or Mexican, rice is the perfect companion.

 I was excited when mi suegra made Arroz Mexicano one day this summer.  I wanted to learn so I quickly grabbed my notebook.  This recipe is my definition of comfort food and will go with any main dish. Easy and very flavorful!




Ligia's Mexican Rice

2 cups long grain rice

1 clove garlic, diced

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

3 tblsp of oil

2 chicken bouillon cubes

3tbsp tomato sauce

handful of cilantro, chopped

Add oil to pan. As the oil heats up, add rice and sautee. Add garlic and cook till smell. Add onion and sautee on medium heat for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and sautee for a few minutes. Then add tomato sauce and cilantro. Add the water (1/1/2 cup water for every cup of rice). Bring to boil and then lower heat and cook on low covered.

Hola! We're Back From Mexico!

Ernesto and I returned earlier this week from our long Mexico trip.  What a great experience! If it is even possible, I am more in love with Mexico than before.  If you are interested in all the details, I have written quite a bit about the different cities we visited on  VivaCindy. We ate so much and truly enjoyed the food in Mexico and were inspired by so many dishes, and I can't wait to share them with you on Viva la Cocina. I ate several things that I had never tried before too. I thought I would share some photos of the food highlights of our trip first, and I promise to get a recipe up here soon!

(note: some of these pictures are not the best quality, as I only had my small camera, and sometimes low light)

{pulpo, or octopus grilled with a spicy chile sauce}

{fruta, or fruit served with lime, salt and chile powder}

{elote or corn, served with your choice of mayo,cheese, chile powder, lime, salt}

{granada, or pomegranate seeds, served in a cup with chile powder, lime and salt}

{chapulines, or grasshoppers, served dry with lime and hot sauce}

{espiropapas, or spiral chips, served with, you guessed it, hot sauce}

{pozole, or meat stew served with raw cabbage, onion, chiles, radishes, oregano}

{huarache, a foot long tortilla taco that is folded in half to eat}

{churros, Mexican donut being cooked up on the street}

{escamoles, or ant larvae, served in a green sauce, eaten in a tortilla}

{torta ahogada, a sandwich stuffed with carnitas [fried pork] and drowned in a spicy salsa}

{tacos de pastor, pork tacos served with onion, cilantro and lime and a tomatillo salsa}  

{huitlacoche quesedillas, a fungus that grows on corn with cheese in a tortilla}

{chiles en nogada, a chile stuffed with ground beef and dried fruits, covered in a white walnut sauce and topped with pomegranate seeds. Red, white and green, a patriotic Mexican dish}

{La Ideal Panederia, a bread store in Mexico City as big as a Kroger}

I love to visit the fruit and vegetable markets in Mexico, they are a feast for the eyes with so much color. A photographers dream. If only I had had a better camera with me. 

 {limones, limes}

{nopales, cactus}

{chiles, a mountain of serrano peppers}

{chiles secos, bags of dried chiles}

{mole, balls of paste are sold for many different kinds of mole}

{nueces garapinadas, candied walnuts and pecans}

Please stay tuned as I have some great new recipes coming your way.  If you would like to see the non-food side of Mexico please check out VivaCindy

SEE YOU BACK HERE IN A MONTH

Well it is midnight and we are finally packed for our trip to Mexico tomorrow morning! (please give us first class Delta!) One small roller bag for a one month trip? I hope I am not forgetting anything. Ha! Im the lightest packer ever, and really, as long as I have my camera, we are good to go. I am so excited to see new things, meet new people and of course [as always] document it all!

This trip will be a bit different though, I will be using the old fashioned method of documentation. A pen and paper! That's right my friends, I will be taking break from blogging here and at Viva Cindy while in Mexico. [but still taking many notes and hundreds of pictures to share with you later] My brother Brrrian suggested this to me earlier tonight when I was telling him that I wasn't taking my laptop with me. I don't want to live in internet cafes. I just want to live! (ok, you may see a post here and there, I would probably go into withdrawal if I totally abandon blogging)

If you are curious as to what Ernesto and I will be getting into for the next month, you can follow me on Twitter Ernesto will have his touchy-touch and we will keeps the tweets current!

We will be picking up lots of new recipes for VLC, so please check back with us! 

My tweets are also posted on the right sidebar of my non-food blog!

Adios Amigos! Que tengan un buen mez!

**Picture taken on our last trip to Mexico in December 2007. We were in the Riviera Maya just south of Cancun.

Never Enough Guacamole

I know a guy who doesn't like green food. Period. This makes me laugh. Nothing green? I would always to think of something that could convince him he does in fact like something green. lettuce? celery? lima beans? No? ok maybe I can understand. But Asparagus? Peppers? Broccoli? Snow peas? Come on! And Avocados? This is impossible. You can't not like avocados. Can you?

Its hard to believe because I just love green food. All of it! Avocados are at the top of my list too. Although guacamole is more of a snack or appetizer, there have been many a night where this was my dinner. I can eat a whole bowl and be completely satisfied. The ingredients themselves are beautiful. I like to buy my avocados firm. I made mashed guacamole for years, but in the last year or two have taken to a more chunky style. After slicing down the middle and taking the seed out, I score the avocado into cubes and scoop out with a spoon. (This doesn't work if the avocado is too ripe)

Great Guacamole

4 firm avocados, cubed

3 roma tomatoes, deseeded and cubed

1/2 of one medium red onion, diced

3 serrano peppers (or jalapeños), diced

handful of cilantro, chopped

juice of half a lime

salt and pepper

Combine all in a bowl and serve immediately.

Refried Beans

Matt Armendariz's blog MattBites has been in my reader for a long time now. I love his writing style and his photos are phenomenal. When he invited his readers to Summer Fest 2009, I wanted to participate. What a fun idea. Its four weeks of sharing recipes. Pop over to his blog to see what others are posting. The first two weeks of summerfest were delicious with one week of Herbs and another week of Fruits from Trees.

This weeks theme is "Beans & Greens"

Immediately I thought of refried beans. Tortillas. Salsa. Beans. These are all staples of Mexican cooking. Served for breakfast, lunch and dinner, beans are low in fat and high in protein. They are definitely a staple in our house.

You won't believe how easy they are to make either. You can start with dry pinto beans that you have already cooked or use canned beans. We do both ways, but since we make these so frequently, we more often use canned beans. One benefit is that this can be ready in less than 10 minutes, another is that no salt is needed. (canned beans come with enough sodium added. You won't want to rinse these as the juice is key to the consistency.
Refried Beans

1Tbsp canola oil

3-4 dried chile de arbol peppers (available in most grocery stores)

1 24 oz can of whole pinto beans (make sure they aren't cooked with pork)

Heat the canola oil and add peppers. Cook until blackened. Take pan off heat and let cool [or it will splatter] Add beans. Simmer. Mash. Serve. Que rico!