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!