Instructions

1. Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Saute onions until tender. Add chorizo and crumble. Cook until heated throughout. If using meat chorizo, drain off any excess drippings. Season with oregano, salt and pepper
2. Place poblano chile over an open flame on the stovetop. Blacken the entire chile evenly by rotating over flame using tongs. When blackened throughout, place in a large bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Allow the chile to “sweat” for about 10 minutes. Remove lid and place on a cutting board. With a paper towel, wipe the blackened skin off the chile. Cut off and remove stem and seeds.
3. Chop chile and set aside. Place half the cheese evenly in a 10” baking dish. Top cheese with chorizo mixture, then poblanos. Place in a broiler and broil until cheese is melted.
4. Top with remaining cheese, chorizo and poblano. Broil again until cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.
5. Garnish with green onion, cilantro. Serve with chips and choice of hot sauce.

Instructions

1. Melt butter (or heat oil) in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, oregano and squash, cook for 3 minutes. Add about ¼ cup water, cook until squash is tender. Add corn, chiles and tomato, continue cooking until tomato has released its juices.
2. Season with mint and salt, saute for 2 minutes. Before serving, add crema if desired. Allow crema to thicken. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

• Note: Mexican Calabaza or summer squash is pale green and white and found at its peak in the summertime.

Easy Green Chile

Yield 3 ½ cups

Instructions

1. Add 2 tablespoons Easy Green Chile to 1 cup prepared hummus. Blend in a food processor. If you don’t have a processor, you can finely chop the chile and stir into the hummus until blended.
2. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with remaining chile. Sprinkle with smoked paprika or regular paprika. Drizzle with olive oil if desired.
3. Serve with veggies, tortilla chips or toasted bread.

Easy Green Chile:

This makes a wonderful filling for Omelets with melted Jack Cheese, a topping for Mashed Potatoes, in fact it goes with just about everything! Green chile is ubiquitous throughout New Mexico and a staple at virtually every meal. I love to mix this into hummus and serve with vegetables and tortilla chips.

1. With gloved hands, peel skin from chiles and remove stems, discard. Slit the chiles open lengthwise. Remove the seeds and discard. If a few seeds remain, it is OK. Set aside. Slice crosswise into ¼” strips
2. Heat oil in a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion for 2-3 minutes or until just tender. Add garlic, saute until fragrant.
3. Add green chiles and stir to combine. Heat throughout and add chicken stock, cover pot with lid. Continue to cook down over medium low until mixture is very tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt.

Warm Roasted Tomato Salsa:

Yield 2 ¾ cups

Instructions

1. Preheat toaster oven or air fryer to 400 F. Place tortillas on a work surface and lightly spray both sides with oil. Place in toaster oven and bake until golden brown and crisp, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat, spray with oil. Crack eggs into skillet and cook to desired doneness, about 3 -4 minutes. Egg whites should be firm with crisp edges.
3. While eggs are cooking, warm the beans. Beans can be warmed in a small pot on a stovetop or in a microwave. Microwave the beans for 1 minute, stir, then heat for about 30 seconds, or until heated throughout.
4. Spread ¼ cup beans onto each tortilla, place on serving plate. Top each with a fried egg. Salsa may be warmed then spooned over the eggs. Sprinkle with cheese and avocado.

Warm Roasted Tomato Salsa:

1. Place tomatoes on a foil lined baking sheet. Broil tomatoes until very soft and blackened, about 15 – 20 minutes. Drain off excess liquid. Place in a blender with remaining ingredients. Pulse blend until combined and slightly chunky.
2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a small pot over medium heat. Carefully pour salsa into pan and heat throughout, about 3-4 minutes. Salsa will darken a bit. Remove from heat. Set aside until ready to use. Salsa may be served with Huevos Rancheros and can be added to shredded or ground meats for added flavor.

Pork & Hominy Broth:

Chile Base:

Instruction

Accompaniments: Shredded cabbage or lettuce, dried oregano, lime wedges, sliced radishes, tostadas or tortilla chips, chopped white onion, avocado, cilantro, sliced fresh chiles, queso fresco

1. Rinse and drain nixtamal and place in large stockpot. Wrap cilantro, bay leaves and peppercorns in cheesecloth and tie ends to seal Place in pot along with onion, salt and pork butt. Cover meat with12 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 2 ½ – 3 hours. Pork should be tender but not yet falling apart. Remove pork from pot and when cool enough to handle, remove excess fat and shred meat into large chunks.
2. While the pozole is simmering, prepare the Chile base. Remove stems and shake out the seeds and remove membrane. Wipe chiles with a lightly damp paper towel to clean. Place chiles in a bowl. Bring 2 cups water to boil and pour over chiles. Allow to hydrate for 30 minutes covered. When chiles are tender, transfer to a blender with cooking liquid, onions, garlic, salt and cumin. Blend until smooth.
3. When nixtamal is very tender, remove cheesecloth sachet and onion. Add shredded pork back to pot along with Chile base. To get the most Chile, add a small amount of water to blender base, cover and blend. Scrape into pozole to extract the most flavor. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add water if stew is too thick. Season to taste with salt.

• Chiles can be toasted for deeper flavor—individually lightly toasted on a skillet or batch baked in the oven at 350F for 3-5 minutes. Be very careful not to over toast as the chiles burn quickly and will turn bitter.
• If using canned hominy, here’s a trick from former Bon Appetit food editor, Rick Martinez to boost the corn flavor. Rinse and dry hominy, then bake at 425F, single layer for 12-15 minutes, tossing halfway through bake time. Bake until lightly fragrant and starting to brown. Allow to cool and add along with Chile base.
• I added apple cider vinegar to a bowl and it did give it some brightness.

Instruction

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine cheeses in a bowl and set aside. Slice avocados in half lengthwise. Remove pit and slice avocados into thin slices, remove peel.
2. Season sour cream with salt and stir. Place in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Set aside.
3. Place vegetable oil in a frying pan (about ½” depth) over medium high heat. Using tongs, dip tortilla into hot oil and blanch until light golden, about 5 seconds per side. Do not allow the tortillas to get crispy, they should still be pliable. Place on paper towel lined plate.
4. Dip each tortilla in the sour cream, lightly coating both sides. Transfer to a 9” x 13” casserole dish (you will need 2 casserole dishes) Fill the center of each tortilla with 2-3 slices of avocado, then top with 1 Tablespoon Cheese blend. Roll the tortilla. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
5. Top the enchiladas with remaining sour cream and cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Serve with cabbage or lettuce and salsa verde.

Meatballs in Tomato & Chipotle sauce / Albondigas en Tomate y Chipotle

Yield: 24-26 meatballs

Tomato & Chipotle Sauce / Salsa de Tomate y Chipotle

Yield: 4 cups

Poblano Garlic Mayo

Makes 2 cups

Instructions

1. Split bolillo roll in half lengthwise. Spread the interior with mayonnaise or butter.
2. Heat a griddle at medium heat. Place buttered side down on a griddle and heat until golden brown. On bottom piece, spread about 2-3 tablespoons of beans. Top with warm meatballs followed by 2 cheese slices per torta. Optional: You may place on a baking sheet and place in oven heated at 350F to melt the cheese.
3. Meanwhile, spread poblano mayonnaise on top piece of griddled bread, about 1-2 tablespoons per piece. Spread guacamole on bread.
4. Remove bottom torta halves and top with dressed bread to form the tortas. Serve immediately.

Meatballs in Tomato & Chipotle sauce / Albondigas en Tomate y Chipotle :

1. In a bowl, combine with a fork or whisk the egg, garlic, cilantro, salt and mint if using. Add beef and tortilla crumbs (or rice) to the bowl and combine to evenly distribute.
2. Do not press the meatball mixture otherwise it will be dense and tough. Using a tablespoon or small scoop, form into about 24 meatballs, about 1 ½ oz each. Gently roll the meatballs between your palms to smooth them out.
3. Heat a 12” skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs to that skillet in a single layer (you may need a spritz of oil to prevent sticking). Turn the meatballs with tongs to brown on all sides, about 8-10 minutes.
4. Pour Tomato & Chipotle sauce over the meatballs. Lower heat to medium low and cover with a lid. Allow to cook for 10 minutes.
5. To make the tortilla chip crumbs, place in food processor, blender or spice grinder. Blend evenly until about the size of bread crumbs.

Tomato & Chipotle Sauce / Salsa de Tomate y Chipotle :

1. Add all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth2. Wearing gloves, cut off the stem of the jalapeno and cut away the seeds.
2. Set aside for use in Fideo, Albondigas en Salsa de Tomate y Chipotle or Tortilla Soup.

Poblano Garlic Mayo :

1. Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Garnish: Queso Fresco, Lime Wedges, Tortilla Strips

Instruction

1. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add onions, carrots and celery. Saute until onions are tender.
2. Saute garlic for about one minute, then add poblanos and broth. Bring just to a boil. Continue cooking until carrots are starting to get tender.
3. Add pasta shells and cook for 5 minutes. Lower heat to medium low, add albondigas with sauce, spinach, oregano and cilantro. Season to taste with salt.
4. Add additional broth if needed.

Creamy Kale Slaw

Using kale in this slaw makes it more nutritious and you can also make it vegan by using an rich non-dairy yogurt. This slaw can also be used as a tostada topping.

Guacamole (Recipe makes 2 ½ cups)

This wonderful dip is a perfect example of Mexico’s native ingredients. Avocados, tomatoes and chiles (kids, we can leave the chiles out so it’s not too hot!) Serve this dip with totopos. What are totopos you ask? They are tortilla chips. In Tehuantepec, Mexico they make them from coarse ground masa, roll them into tortillas and slap them on the walls of clay ovens and bake them.

Instructions

1. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the first 6 ingredients until combined. Add the fish to the marinade and toss to coat. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes (no longer than 20 minutes so as not to “cook” the fish).
2. While the fish marinates, prepare the ingredients for the creamy slaw and the guacamole.
3. Dampen a paper towel with oil or spray cold grill with oil. Heat grill to 400º F. If searing, heat a skillet over medium high heat with 2 tsp oil. When the fish is done marinating, place on grill or skillet.
4. Cook fish until firm and cooked, throughout. Depending on thickness, cook time can vary between 4-7 minutes per side. Temperature should reach 145ºF. Remove from heat.
5. Heat tortillas in skillet over high heat. Heat until pliable. Top each tortilla with slaw, followed by fish and guacamole. Add salsa (like Pico de Gallo) as well if you’d like.

Creamy Kale Slaw:

1. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the first 6 ingredients until combined. Add the fish to the marinade and toss to coat. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes (no longer than 20 minutes so as not to “cook” the fish).
2. While the fish marinates, prepare the ingredients for the creamy slaw and the guacamole.
3. Dampen a paper towel with oil or spray cold grill with oil. Heat grill to 400º F. If searing, heat a skillet over medium high heat with 2 tsp oil. When the fish is done marinating, place on grill or skillet.
4. Cook fish until firm and cooked, throughout. Depending on thickness, cook time can vary between 4-7 minutes per side. Temperature should reach 145ºF. Remove from heat.
5. Heat tortillas in skillet over high heat. Heat until pliable. Top each tortilla with slaw, followed by fish and guacamole. Add salsa (like Pico de Gallo) as well if you’d like.

Guacamole:

1. Place onion in a bowl.
2. Wearing gloves, cut off the stem of the jalapeno and cut away the seeds. Chop into very fine pieces and place in the bowl. Chop into very fine pieces and place in the bowl.
3. Cut the leaves off the cilantro sprigs, cutting away from you. Chop the leaves and place in the bowl.
4. Cut the avocado in half and remove the seed. Scoop out the flesh and place in the bowl. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice over the avocado. Place the salt and garlic powder in the bowl. Mash away!

Instruction

Dough

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, beat the shortening and vanilla extract in a mixer until fluffy. Continue beating and add sugar, 1 Tablespoon at a time with the salt.
2. Sift the flour into the bowl. Add the chopped pecans next. Place the other set of pecans in a food processor. When they are ground, add them to the bowl and mix.
3. Using a small spoon or scoop, scoop out the dough and roll into a ball between your hands. Place on the baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the bottoms are lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
4. Roll in the powdered sugar and let cool. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

• To toast the nuts, place in toaster oven for 3-4 minutes. Nuts are ready when they are lightly golden and just starting to release their aroma when toasting.
• You can substitute the pecans for walnuts. For a chocolate surprise, you can place a Hershey’s kiss in the center of the dough before baking. Wrap the dough completely around the kiss.
• Cookie balls can also be frozen. Allow a little more baking time when baking from a frozen state.
• Cookie dough can be chilled for 30 minutes before baking. Although dough will keep its shape when baked just after mixing.