Guacamole Salsa (Taqueria Salsa)

Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

3 large, tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon, baking soda

1 small bunch, fresh cilantro, bottom of bunch cut off, thoroughly rinsed

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 small, white onion, chopped coarsely

1 fresh Serrano or jalapeño chile, sliced in half, seeds removed

½ freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup, chicken broth

1 teaspoon, sea salt

2 large, ripe Mexican Hass avocado, halved and pitted

Directions:

Put the tomatillos into the small pot filled with about 3 cups of water, add baking soda. Simmer for 5 minutes, until soft.

Drain and remove tomatillos. Set aside and let cool.

Once the tomatillos have cooled add them to blender. Then add the cilantro, garlic, onion, chile, lime juice, chicken broth and salt.

Blend until very smooth. Scoop the avocado flesh with a spoon into the blender jar and blend until smooth. Add if necessary a little more chicken broth to have a pourable consistency.

If necessary, depending on your taste, you can further season with additional line juice, salt and jalapeño chilies for a spicier salsa, then blend once more. Enjoy!

Servings: Approximately 2 cups

Tip: The salsa will taste best the day it's made, but the acidity from the tomatillos will keep it from discoloring as quickly as most guacamole. Delicious the next day if you store it in the refrigerator in an air tight container. Let it come to room temperature before you stir then serve it.

Tex-Mex Beef Enchiladas

Tip: Please read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

2 lb ground hamburger meat, 80/20

12 corn tortillas

1/4 cup canola oil (vegetable is fine)

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

4 cups grated cheddar cheese (Monterrey Jack or Colby)

3 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder (see below)

3 cups beef broth

3 large garlic cloves

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds (comino)

1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/4 Mexican oregano (regular oregano is fine)

2 allspice berries

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Heat a small skillet or frying pan over high heat. Once the pan is hot simply add the cumin seeds, no oil, all at once. Shake the pan to keep the cumin seeds moving and cook, shaking pretty much constantly - until they darken slightly and you can smell the earthy aroma of toasted cumin seeds through your kitchen, about 1 minute. As soon as they are toasted, transfer the cumin seeds to a molcajete (or mortar and pestle) so they cool and stop cooking.

To the molecajete (mortar and pestal) add the garlic, peppercorns, allspice, oregano and grind into a paste. Once ground into a paste, Add 1/2 cup beef broth to loosen all the spices from the molcajete and set aside.

To make the enchilada sauce, in a large skillet, over medium heat, lightly brown the hamburger meat, remove with ladle, being sure to drain as much oil as possible back into the skillet when removing, and once all the meat has been removed, set aside.

In the same skillet, make a light roux by adding the flour to the fat in the skillet and stirring with a whisk constantly, cook a few minutes until the flour has browned lightly

Add the chili powder, add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of beef broth, liquid and paste from molcajete and salt, and continue to quickly stir using a whisk and cook until mixture has thickened and smooth. Set aside and keep warm.

 

For the Enchiladas, you will need a 9x13-inch Pyrex dish, set aside on prepping area. Preheat your oven to 375°F degrees.

Chop the onions, grate the cheese, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a second skillet. Have the corn tortillas ready. Pick up a tortilla with tongs and place it into the hot oil for about 15 seconds. This first step is to soften the tortilla.

Remove the tortilla from the oil, letting the excess oil drip back into the skillet.

Set up your area with all the ingredients you will need to prepare the enchiladas.

Place a tortilla in the 9x13-inch Pyrex dish, add about 1 heaping tablespoon of grated cheese, 2 tablespoons of hamburger meat and sprinkle of onions on the center of the tortilla, add 1 tablespoon of enchilada sauce and roll it up.

Place the rolled tortilla flat-side-down as shown below in Pyrex dish.

Repeat the process with the remaining 11 tortillas. The pan should be full.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas.

Sprinkle the enchiladas generously with the remaining meat, grated cheese and onion.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. Serve at once. Enjoy!

Servings: Makes four servings of three enchiladas each.

Tip:  Garnish with Creama or sour cream, salsa, Pico de Gallo. Ideas for on the side, dishes, serve, chips and hot sauce, Mexican Rice or Refried Beans.

Mofongo (Puerto Rican Garlicky Mashed Plantains)

Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

4 green plantains

1 cup chicken broth

Oil, for frying

6 – 7 oz bag, pork cracklings/rinds (chicharron)

4 large, cloves garlic, chopped

¼ cup, olive oil

Directions:

Peel plantains and cut into 1-inch chunks.

Pour oil into a deep medium skillet and heat to 350 degrees F.

Once the oil is ready, gently add the plantain chunks to the frying oil by holding them against the side of the skillet and allowing them to slide into the oil. Cook the plantains until golden brown, about 5 – 7  minutes. Carefully, remove from oil and set aside.

Process in two batches, while plantains are still slightly hot, add  1/2  cooked plantains into a food processor with ½ the garlic, 1/2 the chicken broth, ½ the pork rinds, and ½ the olive oil. Process the mixture to the consistency of mashed potatoes or dough. Follow same instructions for second batch.

Quickly shape the mixture into rough balls about the size of meatballs. 

Tip: Place the plantains in soup bowls and add some heated broth. Garnish, with lime rinds and pork rinds! Ladle shrimp scampi over the mofongo! Serve as a side dish!

Tacos de Chicharron Guisado (Stewed Pork Rinds/Crackings in Tacos)

Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound, chicharrones, (fresh pork rinds/cracklings)

2 teaspoons, canola oil

1 small, white onion, chopped

1 large, plum tomato, chopped

1/2 large, jalapeño, chopped (more is preferred hotter)

3 cloves, garlic, minced

1 ½ cups, chicken broth

1 teaspoon, comino (cumin)

1/8 teaspoon, black pepper

Directions:

In a medium pot, add oil and heat over medium-heat, until shimmering. Add onions and cook, until onions are transluscent, about 1 – 1 1/2 minutes.

Add jalapeño and garlic cook, stirring constantly, another minute.

Add, tomatoes, comino, black pepper, chicken broth, and chicharrones. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicharrones (pork rinds/crackings) are tender.  Enjoy!

Tip:  Enjoy these tender pork rinds/cracklings by serving on tacos! On corn or flour tortillas! Serve with breakfast, with a side of eggs! Serve with rice and beans!!!  And so much more!

Salsa Verde (Tomatillo Salsa)

Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds, tomatillos

2 large, Jalapeño peppers

3 cloves, garlic, peeled

1 small sweet onion, quartered

1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

½ cup water

2 teaspoons sea salt

½ teaspoon, toasted fresh ground comino seeds

½ teaspoon, toasted peppercorns

Directions:

Remove the husks from the tomatillos; discard husks. Rinse tomatillos well to remove all the sticky sap. Cut them in half. Peel the garlic. Cut the stemmed tops off the jalapeno peppers then split them in half and, using a spoon, scrape away the seeds and veins. If you like the heat, leave the veins and seeds. Set aside.

Toast the peppercorns and comino seeds in a skillet over medium high heat.  Being careful not to burn the comino. About 1 minute, stirring. Remove from pan and let cool. Then ground them in a mortar and pestle. Add to blender with 1/2 cup of water.

Lightly grease a griddle or cast iron skillet, rubbing excess off with a paper towel. Place on medium heat.

When it's hot, place the tomatillos, peppers, garlic and onions on the hot surface. Allow to blister, turning them over with tongs to soften and slightly blister as much surface as possible.

The peppers, onions and garlic will soften and blister the fastest. After about 5 minutes, remove the onions, garlic and peppers to the blender.

Continue roasting the tomatillos for another 5 to 8 minutes, and the tomatillos are a slightly softened. Then add to blender. Add the cilantro.

Allow to cool a few minutes then place the blender lid on loosely, holding it in place with a kitchen towel and purée until just slightly smooth depending on personal preference.

Place in salsa in an airtight glass jar and store in the refrigerator for up to a one week. Enjoy!

Servings: 4 /12 cups

Tip:  Prepare the salsa as described then add a mashed avocado to ½ cup of salsa for a creamy avocado salsa!  Or add to a pan with butter and shrimp! There are many ways to use your Salsa Verde in recipes!