Chilaquiles with Salsa Verde

Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican breakfast that use leftover or stale corn tortillas. There are hundreds of different ways to make chilaquiles in as many different sauces –  our recipe cuts down on some of the oil that may typically be used and boosts the flavor with a fresh, tangy salsa verde.

Ingredients

• 1 pound tomatillos, husked, washed, and halved
• 2 key limes, juiced
• 1 dozen stale corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch-wide strips
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground cumin
• 1/2 jalapeno, diced
• 1/8 cup cilantro, chopped
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. To make the sauce, place the halved tomatillos on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until the skin of the tomatillos is starts to brown, about 20 minutes. Scrape the entire contents of the baking sheet including any juices into a blender and puree with the lime juice. Season with salt to taste then set this salsa verde aside.
2. In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Saute the tortilla pieces, stirring constantly, until they begin to crisp, about two minutes. Add onion, cumin, and jalapeno to the fried tortillas and continue to saute until the onions are tender, about three minutes.
3. Stir the salsa verde and cilantro into the saute and bring to a simmer.
4. Serve immediately with avocado slices, refried beans, additional salsa, or a sprinkle of cheese.

Enchiladas Mineras are a special Mexican dish originating in Guanajuato.  Mining was and is still a large part of the economy of the city and state of Guanajuato, and miners need hearty food to replenish themselves after a hard day’s work.  These enchiladas filled with potatoes and carrots and covered with a rich red sauce certainly fit the bill, though you don’t have to be a miner to enjoy them!

Enchiladas Mineras

Ingredients

• 1 batch Red Enchilada Sauce
• Corn tortillas
• 1 cup crumbled queso fresco or shredded Monterrey jack cheese (optional)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound golden potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 pound carrots, sliced
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 Persian lime)
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground cumin
• 4-3 pickled jalapenos, sliced
• salt to taste
• 2 cups sliced cabbage or lettuce

Preparation

1. Bring potatoes, carrots, stock, and bay leaves to a simmer in a large soup pot. Cook until the potatoes are just tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Strain the vegetables, removing the bay leaves, and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil and saute the onions and garlic with cumin until fragrant and tender, about three minutes. Mix in the lime juice and season with salt to taste.
3. Combine the potatoes and carrots with the sauteed onions and cheese.
4. Pour the enchilada sauce in a shallow dish, like a pie pan. Prepare the enchiladas by coating the tortillas with sauce and then filling each with about 1/2 a cup of filling. Roll the filled enchiladas and place in a rectangular baking dish.
5. When the dish is full, pour the remainder of the sauce over the enchiladas and bake at 350 degrees until the sauce begins to bubble, about 15 minutes.
6. Remove the enchiladas from the oven and allow to cool for about five minutes.
7. Serve the enchiladas over a bed of lettuce or shredded cabbage, and garnish with pickled jalapeno slices and cheese, if desired. Consider serving with fresh tomatillo salsa and refried black beans.

This red sauce is made mainly from dried Mexican guajillo chili peppers, which have an amazingly rich flavor, especially when fried a little.  Also, this sauce isn’t just for enchiladas – it also goes great as a dipping sauce for tortilla chips or as a table condiment for your next Mexican meal.

Red Sauce for Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 8 large dried guajillo chilis
• 2 dried chipotle peppers
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 large white onion, diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium red tomatoes, diced (2-3 canned whole tomatoes can be substituted)
• 1/2 tablespoon Mexican oregano

Preparation

1. Boil dried guajillo and chipotle peppers in a pot of water until softened, about 10 minutes.
2. Drain the water and, when the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the steams.
   Tip: If you are making broth from Better-than-Bouillon or a cube, reserve some of the pepper water for the broth!
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Fry the softened peppers for a minute on each side on high heat until fragrant. Remove from heat.  Leave the leftover oil in the skillet and remove the skillet from heat.
4. Transfer peppers to a blender. Add the broth and puree until smooth.
5. Reheat oil in the skillet and saute bell pepper, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and oregano until the peppers are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the pepper puree and continue cooking for another minute or two.  Season with salt to taste and serve!

Note: If desired, you can blend the sauce again for a completely smooth sauce, but I like it with the strips of pepper and diced onions.

The first rum balls we ever had were made by friend we made while traveling in Peru who wanted something festive to contribute to our very international Thanksgiving feast. This version is both vegan and gluten-free, and is sure to be a hit at your next holiday gathering.

Rum Balls

Ingredients

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup dates
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/4 cup Jamaican rum
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened grated coconut

Preparation

1. In a food processor, grind the nuts, dates, cocoa powder, and oats.
2. Place the mixture in a bowl and add the rum to make a dough.
3. Use your hands to roll the dough into small balls and then roll them in powdered sugar and coconut.

This is our vegan take on Imbibe’s Malted Hot Cocoa Mix. The mix has a higher cocoa to sugar ratio so it is more flavorful than almost anything you can get in the store. Since the cocoa is so prominent it is important to use a nice powder like Valrhona.

Hot Cocoa Mix

Ingredients

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 cups powdered soy milk
• 2 tablespoons corn starch, tapioca flour, or potato starch
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• pinch of fine sea salt
• pinch of cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg

Preparation

1. Gently combine ingredients in a medium bowl with a fork or whisk.
2. Sift the ingredients into a large bowl to thoroughly combine.  You can store this powder in airtight containers and give it as gifts to your friends and loved ones.
3. To prepare the hot cocoa, combine 1/4 cup hot chocolate mix with 8 ounces of hot water.
4. Top with your favorite gelatin-free marshmallows or, if you are Colombian, a slice of fresh cheese, or, if you are in the Christmas spirit, add a splash of whiskey or rum.

Not long ago, we won Michael Natkin‘s cookbook Herbivoracious at an Austin Food Bloggers‘ event. The book starts with a great introduction to ingredients and equipment, and its collection of recipes includes many international dishes with tons of variations and side suggestions. James and I have really enjoyed reading it and tonight we finally got around to trying a couple dishes.

Kimchi Stew sans Kimchi with Spicy Stir-Fried Squash

It finally dipped below freezing in Austin last night so we decided to tackle Natkin’s Kimchi Stew with Shiitake and Daikon. Thanks to JBG and some luck, we had nearly all of the ingredients in the refrigerator except for the title Kimchi! James loves to make this all-important fermented Korean staple and, surprisingly, we were out. Even more surprisingly it does not appear kimchi is stocked at Central Market!

Working with what we had, we doubled down on the ginger and garlic and added a bunch of broccoli rabe  to to the soup to stand in for the kimchi. It turned out really well and I can only imagine how delicious the more authentic soup is. We paired the soup with a side of Natkin’s Spicy Stir-Fried Zucchini (or in our case, calabaza) and cold soba noodles. Even without the kimchi, I think Psy would have approved (maybe).

Here is James’s Variation:

Kimchi Stew with Shiitake and Daikon (sans Kimchi)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 cups daikon radish, sliced into thin half moons
• 1/2 cup baby carrots, sliced into thin rounds
• 5 or 6 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and cut into chunks
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1/2 large cayenne pepper (or other hot red pepper), diced
• 4 large cloves garlic, grated
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• 4 cups water
• 3-4 tablespoons Sriracha (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon Better-than-Boullion paste
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce (gluten-free if required)
• 1 pound hard tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 bunch broccoli rabe, roughly chopped
• salt to taste
• diced spring onion for garnish

Preparation

1. In a large pot, saute the daikon, carrots, and mushrooms in the sesame oil over high heat for about 2 minutes.
2. Add onion, cayenne, garlic, and ginger and continue to saute until the onions are soft, 2-3 minutes more.
3. Add the water, Sriracha, Better-than-Boullion, and soy sauce, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the tofu and broccoli rabe, bring back to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes more.  Season with salt to taste.
5. Serve garnished with diced scallion.

Grapefruit Blinker Marmalade

A Blinker is a classic cocktail made with 2 ounces rye, 1 ounce grapefruit juice, and a teaspoon of grenadine. This marmalade is inspired by the cocktail and everything else that tastes good with grapefruit.

Ingredients

• 2 medium grapefruits
• 1 medium orange
• 1 lemon
• 4 cups raw sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons chopped ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups water
• 4 ounces rye whiskey

Preparation

1. Juice the grapefruits and orange. Finely chop the rinds and combine with the juice in a large non-reactive soup pot.
2. Zest and juice the whole lemon. Add the lemon zest and juice, chopped ginger, salt, water, and two cups of sugar to the pot.
3. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring frequently, and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the mixture from heat. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight.
5. Once the mixture has matured, add the remaining two cups of sugar and rye whiskey. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir frequently to prevent the mixture from burning and continue to simmer until, using a candy thermometer, the mixture reaches  220 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have to increase the heat-level to reach the right temperature be sure to increase the frequency of your stirring as well.
6. Remove from heat, and ladle into sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Wipe rims, seal jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
7. Carefully remove the jars from the water bath and let cool for 24 hours. Test the seals then store in a cool, dark place until ready to use or serve.

Makes 4 half-pints

In addition to Italian Weddings, these cookies may be enjoyed at a variety of other ethnic events such as Mexican Weddings or Russian Tea Parties.

Our vegan version of these cookies uses almonds, pecans, and optionally ground flax seed for an extra nutty flavor.

Italian Wedding Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup garbanzo flour
• 1 1/4 cup of rice flour
• 3/4 cup finely ground almonds
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup non-margarine butter substitute
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. In a medium bowl, combine the garbanzo flour, rice flour, ground almonds, flax seed (if using), and pecans, then set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter substitute with the white sugar and vanilla until fluffy.
3. Add the dry ingredients gradually until combined.
4. Once the dough is formed, cover the dough or wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours.
5. Once the dough has chilled, use your hands to form balls from about 1 tablespoon of dough at a time. Bake the cookies at 325 degrees Fahrenheit on a non-stick or greased cookie sheet until the edges are lightly brown, about 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Cool the cookies on a rack for about 20 minutes, then roll in confectioners sugar.

Pistachio Biscotti

This take on the classic Italian cookie is both gluten-free and vegan!  Enjoy these with your morning coffee or soy latte!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups garbanzo flour
• 1 1/2 cups rice flour
• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour, potato starch, or egg replacer
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups turbinado sugar
• 3/4 cup smooth unsweetened applesauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups pistachios chopped

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, combine garbanzo flour, rice flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, applesauce, oil , and almond extract.
3. Add the sugar mixture to the flour. When the dough is consistent add the pistachios.
4. With rice-floured hands, roll the dough into two-inch wide rolls with flattened ends.
5. Place these rolls onto well-oiled cookie sheets and bake  for 15 minutes at 375 degrees.
6. Remove the pans and reduce the oven heat to 300 degrees.
7. Allow the rolls to cool on a rack for about 15 minutes, then cut the rolls into 1/2-inch wide slices to make the cookies. Place the cookies back on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake until golden brown on the bottom, about 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the cookies and brown the other side.
8. Cool the cookies on racks to keep them dry, then store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

This is a modified version of the vegetarian stuffing that James’ Mom, Eleanor, made this year for Thanksgiving. The original version is available at www.Greatist.com.

Butternut Kale Stuffing

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 white onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 pound butternut squash, cubed
• 2 turnips, cubed
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 4 cups vegetables broth
• 2 eggs; Note: For vegan preparation, omit or use equivalent egg-substitute
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
• 1/2 cup chopped chestnuts
• 6 cups bread crumbs; Note: If preparing gluten-free, try making crumbs out of Winter Squash Cornbread or other gluten-free bread
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and saute celery, onion, and garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2. Add squash and turnips to the saute and continue to cook until the squash begins to become tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add kale to the top of the saute and cover the pot. Lower heat to medium until the kale wilts, about three minutes, then remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Prepare the stuffing by mixing breadcrumbs and chestnuts in the bottom of a large baking dish. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add the vegetable saute to the top of the breadcrumb mixture.
6. In a medium bowl, combine vegetable stock with eggs (or egg substitute equivalent), and  Italian seasoning blend. When the eggs are thoroughly combined pour the mixture over the stuffing.
7. Place the stuffing in the oven and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.