This is your brain on...
The wonderful things about hosting parties at your house (which of course don't include husband going "why, oh why, have you invited people _ again_?") is that a) house gets clean and b) there is an excuse to drink too much (oh wait I've been doing that since Thursday, so that doesn't work) and c) perhaps most importantly, leftovers = meals with little to no preparation.
One of my favorite things to do, of course, is to pleasure others (with food, food! man, you can't say anything these days), and becuase M. had been so kind as to help clean despite it being my friends and colleagues, I undertook all food preparation myself (although I got a last minute hand on the mole verde).
Last night's menu, simple yet fulfilling:
Mole Verde
White Rice
Nopalito salad
Black Bean and white corn salsa (with green onion, fresh crushed garlic, red pepper and a balsamic honey vinaigrette)
(and Alicia brought a magnificent gazpacho - much better than mine - we can forgive this given that she actually grew up in Sevilla)
Lots of beer and my personal favorite Jarritos de Tamarindo (it's the only soda I actually like)
And a nice central coast Reisling for dessert, to accompany Sara's chocolate cupcakes. (I have recently proposed to myself to become a lush. No such luck, I can only drink so much before my body goes: eh. no can do. Although Saturday night James had a party with his Anthro/Archaelogy colleagues, and M. didn't feel like socializing, so while he stayed home, I took it upon myself to drink Shiraz for the both of us.)
I did promise recipes, so here goes, at least in part:
Mole Verde:
Mole Verde requires (in its authentic preparation) about a pound of ground "pepita verde" (green squash seed, available in any market in central Mexico, but here, I am not so sure) this is dry, it can also be bought in paste (Doña María or other) but understand that the final result will not be as good. Ok, quick run down:
*Boiled chicken, (10 cups of water) cut into chunks ahead of time to make it easier - salt, garlic, onion in pot. Reserve broth.
*Husk and then roast fresh "tomates verdes" (aka tomatillos not green tomatoes) and a few chiles serranos on a hot comal or dry frying pan.
*In a blender, make slasa verde by using roasted tomates, chiles, and fresh garlic, onion, cilantro and chicken broth.
*Meanwhile roast the "pepita" with corn or canola oil in your (final) large pot or deep pan, adding cups of broth until you have a thick green paste. After this is left on the heat for flavors to marry, add the salsa verde and after another few minutes, correct seasoning with salt, and add the pre-cooked (and theoretically still warm) chunks of chicken. Again, flavors are best if left to cook on a low flame for another 10 to 15 minutes.
This is served in fresh corn tortillas or over rice (or both) and the rice should be prepared by sauteeing chopped onion and garlic with the dry rice, and once rice begins to become transparent, add the correct amount of liquid by using the remaining chicken broth, and boil until liquid consumes itself and rice is desired consistency (definitely not mushy! this is not a risotto)
Ensalada de nopalitos:
I generally cheat and yesterday was no exception, fresh nopal is of course best, but it is hard to come by in most places in this country and requires special treatment and tends to be slimy upon being boiled (here's a trick I learned from M.'s abuelita - boil nopal with copper, a penny will suffice, and its "babosa" quality is mitigated).
So at the "marketa" lovingly dubbed by our friend Laura, the engineer, we acquired a large jar of pre-cooked and soaked nopalitos. (Aside: I saw the "nance" or yellow cherries... I am not sure, I could have sworn there was something different, slightly larger, slightly more reddish, it would seem that the jocote will elude me... and they are not the Tejocote (kinda like crab apples) of Mexican ponche fame). These actually work quite well for this salad because after rinsing off the baba, they retain enough pungent vinagre thus eliminating the need for more. To this you add one or two fresh hass avocados, cut into small chunks, and several fresh (red) tomatoes. Last night they were from the garden, which made them that much better. You can also add a little fresh onion, but I forgot. Toss lightly with a tiny bit of oil and correct for salt (if desired) et voilá.
And in closing, eggs have been on several people's minds lately, and they go so nicely with leftover Mole Verde, hence... This is my brain
... on leftovers:
One of my favorite things to do, of course, is to pleasure others (with food, food! man, you can't say anything these days), and becuase M. had been so kind as to help clean despite it being my friends and colleagues, I undertook all food preparation myself (although I got a last minute hand on the mole verde).
Last night's menu, simple yet fulfilling:
Mole Verde
White Rice
Nopalito salad
Black Bean and white corn salsa (with green onion, fresh crushed garlic, red pepper and a balsamic honey vinaigrette)
(and Alicia brought a magnificent gazpacho - much better than mine - we can forgive this given that she actually grew up in Sevilla)
Lots of beer and my personal favorite Jarritos de Tamarindo (it's the only soda I actually like)
And a nice central coast Reisling for dessert, to accompany Sara's chocolate cupcakes. (I have recently proposed to myself to become a lush. No such luck, I can only drink so much before my body goes: eh. no can do. Although Saturday night James had a party with his Anthro/Archaelogy colleagues, and M. didn't feel like socializing, so while he stayed home, I took it upon myself to drink Shiraz for the both of us.)
I did promise recipes, so here goes, at least in part:
Mole Verde:
Mole Verde requires (in its authentic preparation) about a pound of ground "pepita verde" (green squash seed, available in any market in central Mexico, but here, I am not so sure) this is dry, it can also be bought in paste (Doña María or other) but understand that the final result will not be as good. Ok, quick run down:
*Boiled chicken, (10 cups of water) cut into chunks ahead of time to make it easier - salt, garlic, onion in pot. Reserve broth.
*Husk and then roast fresh "tomates verdes" (aka tomatillos not green tomatoes) and a few chiles serranos on a hot comal or dry frying pan.
*In a blender, make slasa verde by using roasted tomates, chiles, and fresh garlic, onion, cilantro and chicken broth.
*Meanwhile roast the "pepita" with corn or canola oil in your (final) large pot or deep pan, adding cups of broth until you have a thick green paste. After this is left on the heat for flavors to marry, add the salsa verde and after another few minutes, correct seasoning with salt, and add the pre-cooked (and theoretically still warm) chunks of chicken. Again, flavors are best if left to cook on a low flame for another 10 to 15 minutes.
This is served in fresh corn tortillas or over rice (or both) and the rice should be prepared by sauteeing chopped onion and garlic with the dry rice, and once rice begins to become transparent, add the correct amount of liquid by using the remaining chicken broth, and boil until liquid consumes itself and rice is desired consistency (definitely not mushy! this is not a risotto)
Ensalada de nopalitos:
I generally cheat and yesterday was no exception, fresh nopal is of course best, but it is hard to come by in most places in this country and requires special treatment and tends to be slimy upon being boiled (here's a trick I learned from M.'s abuelita - boil nopal with copper, a penny will suffice, and its "babosa" quality is mitigated).
So at the "marketa" lovingly dubbed by our friend Laura, the engineer, we acquired a large jar of pre-cooked and soaked nopalitos. (Aside: I saw the "nance" or yellow cherries... I am not sure, I could have sworn there was something different, slightly larger, slightly more reddish, it would seem that the jocote will elude me... and they are not the Tejocote (kinda like crab apples) of Mexican ponche fame). These actually work quite well for this salad because after rinsing off the baba, they retain enough pungent vinagre thus eliminating the need for more. To this you add one or two fresh hass avocados, cut into small chunks, and several fresh (red) tomatoes. Last night they were from the garden, which made them that much better. You can also add a little fresh onion, but I forgot. Toss lightly with a tiny bit of oil and correct for salt (if desired) et voilá.
And in closing, eggs have been on several people's minds lately, and they go so nicely with leftover Mole Verde, hence... This is my brain
... on leftovers:
posted by ilana at 7:53 p.m.
3 Comments:
!Delicioso! Me estoy chupando los dedos y eso que no he comido en casi veinte horas de trabajo. // Has visto la competencia desleal de los Jarritos de Tamarindo (usa el mismo tipo de botella, idéntico logo y creo que se llama Jarochos, sabe a CoolAid, arrgh: se vende en Dollar Store).
No pude contener el reflejo de chuparme los cachetes por dentro... estoy saboreando tu mole verde y la ensalada de nopalitos en mi mente. ?Lo intentaremos!
¡Vaya! dos hombres chupándose... las posibilidades...
Yuré - suena horrible, por suerte (o no) además de no tener Whole Foods, tampoco tenemos Dollar Store (¿tú crees?). Es el esnobismo llevado al extremo.
Otrova - ¿se consigue pepita por allá en C.R.? Sabes que sé tan poco sobre tu bellísimo país, ¿cómo es la comida, similar a la mexicana o más semejante a la cubana, puertorriqueña o venezolana?
Publicar un comentario
<< Home