Tag: mexican cuisine
Pulled Chicken Chili with Three Chillies
I am really proud of this dish- it tastes fabulous. It is bit involved but is so worth the work. I would make it on a weekend. I used a variety of chilies- not spicy, just flavorful ones. I cooked chicken thighs in a delicious sauce and shredded the meat for the chili.
I served it with a delicious apple bean relish which provides an amazing crunch and lightness to the dish. To make it even more yummy, I topped it all off with a dollop of guacamole.
Enjoy!
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Apricot Salsa
As summer officially comes to an end. I can’t help but post another salsa recipe. I am still getting delicious apricots- somehow they have lasted quite long this year. Usually they are gone by end of July. Anyway, I had a big pack of them and decided to turn the fruit into a delicious chunky sauce.
I used what I had in the fridge… that is what I like about making salsas- there are no rules. You can add whatever you want. I happen to have green onions on hand and I always have cilantro. I chopped everything and added the usual lime juice. I also added smoked paprika. To make it sweet, I usually add honey. This time I decided to use agave. I recently bought a bottle of it and have started experimenting. It is a great substitute for sugar and has a very low glycemic index. I even tried duffins with agave and they were a big hit.
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Poblano Peppers and Raisin Sauce
This was a new sauce I tried after reading about La Esquina’s chef and how easy his signature sauces are to make. The salsa verde was easy with tomatillos, lime juice, cilantro and avocado. It was delicious with shrimp and then yummy used in the fish and rice I made with the leftover sauce. This particular sauce used a particular kind of dried Mexican chilies I couldn’t find at the store… so, I decided to make some substitutions. I am sure the actual sauce is delicious especially since my version was yummy as well.
I recently made my way to the La Esquina brasserie and the food was unbelievable.. by far the best Mexican food I have had in New York. It is hard to get reservations but it is definitely worth it once you are able to get in there.
Anyway, I roasted poblano peppers, tomatoes, garlic, onion and paired it with raisins. It resulted in a well balanced, delicious sauce. I grilled some steak and served the delicious sauce on top- it was a big hit. I had a lot leftover and made a delicious stew.. recipe to follow…
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Tomatillo Sauce with Avocado
I have trying to get reservations at a place called La Esquina in New York. The restaurant is divided into a taqueria, a cafe and a brasserie. It is the brasserie that takes reservation and it is very hard to make them! A few weeks ago I got an email featuring the chef and his signature sauces. One of them was the salsa verde.. it was like a typical green Mexican style sauce but it also included avocado.
I immediately wanted to make the sauce and I decided to serve it on top of grilled shrimp. The recipe was quite easy to follow but tried to tweak it a bit to my taste. I added all the ingredients into a blender including tomatillos, jalapeno, an avocado, lime juice, onion, cilantro and a tad bit of olive oil. This sauce goes amazing with seafood. I grilled some shrimp and we enjoyed it with a salad. It can also be served with tortilla chips and it can be used as a taco topping.
I used the leftover sauce to make a delicious one pot rice dish… recipe to come tomorrow…
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Pulled Chicken Mexican Soup
So, what do you do with leftover pulled chicken?? Well, you make pulled chicken Mexican soup, of course! I admit this idea did not come to me right away. All I wanted was to come up with a completely new dish to make with my leftover chicken. I thought about it quite a bit and finally decided on a soup. I am not a big soup person- not sure why. It is an ideal one pot meal that can be very healthy and easy to make.
This one in particular was extremely good- I think because I had a great starting point- the pulled chicken. If you want to make this recipe and don’t want to go through the hassle of making the chicken- I have a suggestion for you. I would buy a rotisserie chicken, pull the meat off the legs and the thighs and sprinkle with smoked paprika and some lemon juice. Let the chicken marinate for an hour and then follow the recipe. The result won’t be the same as what I made but it will be very close and definitely very tasty.
It was very quick, I started with some olive oil and added some corn flour (maize flour)- to thicken the soup. I was going to use regular flour but then I though corn flour will give the soup a more authentic taste. I added a can of pinto beans, salsa and some roasted corn. The soup came out delicious. All the ingredients complemented each other really well. I made a little more guacamole and served a big dollop right on top. Everyone was very happy and satisfied…
- 1 to 2 cups leftover pulled chicken
- 1 can pinto beans, drained, rinsed and mashed
- 2 tablespoons corn flour (corn meal)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup leftover or bottled salsa
- 2 cups frozen, roasted corn
- 3 cups chicken broth
- Salt
Heat a heavy saucepan and add the olive oil. Add the mashed beans and corn flour. Saute on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salsa and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken, roasted corn and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer half covered for at least an hour. Check for seasonings and serve with cheese quesadillas.
Fresh Smoked Paprika Tomato Salsa
This recipe is a continuation of yesterdays dinner idea. I talked about the amazing meal I had in Mexico- I would love to go back and eat the same exact meal but here I am, in my kitchen- all I can do is replicate the flavors…
Anyway, one of the key things in Mexican food are all the salsas. Most of us buy bottled ones from our supermarkets and no matter how much you pay for them- they don’t taste as good as the ones you can make at home.
Salsas are very easy to make and don’t really require any special ingredients. That being said, you can definitely improve upon a plain old salsa. In this case, I used the usual ingredients for a tomato salsa including, onion, garlic, cilantro but I added an extra component to this recipe which elevated it to a completely different level- in my humble opinion. I added my favorite ingredient- smoked paprika. I think if I ever was stranded on a deserted island, I would have to take smoked paprika with me. It makes everything delicious.
Try this salsa with the pulled chicken tacos or just with tortilla chips and a cold beer- well, some wine in my case but either way it is really good…
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Pulled Chicken Tacos
I am really proud of this recipe. We all love tacos in my house- all sorts of tacos. Eating and cooking tacos remind of our trip to Mexico last Thanksgiving- yes, I did the unmentionable and went away for Thanksgiving- my favorite holiday, ever! I was overruled by majority of my family as it is a great time for everyone to take some time off to go away. Anyway, I digress- while in beautiful Mexico, we ventured out to dinner one day and ended up at a very down to earth, a real Mexican cantina. We had the most delicious tacos, guacamole and quesadillas. Everything there was amazing- I still think about the food.
These tacos are very different from what we ate there but they have a lot of the similar flavors going on as in the Mexican ones. I wanted to eat pulled pork but thought using chicken would be healthier. So, I went to work. I seasoned and browned the chicken thighs- which are a key in this recipe. I wouldn’t use chicken breast as it will turn to rubber in a stew type of recipe. I used a variety of spices including ancho chili powder, New Mexico dried peppers and roasted cumin. They all provided an amazing mixture of flavors. I took the meat off the bone and shredded it to get it ready for the corn tortillas. I made fresh salsa and guacamole…
The tacos were amazing- if I do say so myself.. Try this recipe- you will love it…
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