Mexican food is deeply complex, rich food that employs unusual pairings and exotic flavors, and, for me, it is profoundly, almost spiritually, satisfying. When I was in college, I studied for a semester in Puebla, where the specialty was mole poblano, a chocolate and chili sauce that is often served on poultry. I thought it would be disgusting, but it was startlingly different from anything I had ever eaten before, like food from another planet. I loved the experience of it, just as I came to love horchatas (almond milkshakes), huitlacoche (corn fungus) and epizote (an herb unique to Mexico). There’s so much more to Mexican food than the well-known flavors of, say, Chipotle; there is a lot about it to be truly appreciated!
I want to share two of my favorite Mexican recipes. Queso flameado has only a few ingredients: flour tortillas, chiles, chorizo, and melted cheese. It’s incredibly simple, and I can’t understand why it’s not as common here as tortillas and guacamole. It makes a great game day snack (though you could easily make a meal out of it). I first had it at Ninfa’s in Houston, and I couldn’t get enough of it. Just imagine a soft, warm flour tortilla filled with melted cheese and just a bit of spicy green chiles and chorizo, rolled up and eaten like a taco. Heaven!
My other favorite Mexican recipe is for fish tacos. Fish tacos are everywhere now, and very easy to make, but if the fish isn’t fresh or the combination of ingredients is off, they can be terrible. Fish tacos need freshly grilled fish, lime, cilantro, chiles, onions, tomatoes, and avocados. You can add other things to dress it up, but again, this is a simple meal bursting with so many good flavors that you’ll be satisfied and completely full before you know it. I think people sometimes overeat because their food is so blah that it doesn’t register in the brain that they are satiating their hunger. If your mouth is being assailed by all kinds of popping flavors and textures, you feel satisfied by the experience and don’t need to eat and eat and eat… These two recipes will definitely shake up your tastebuds! Viva Mexico!
Serves: 4
Prep time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 poblano chile
- ½ cup spicy chicken chorizo
- 3 cups shredded asadero cheese (you may substitute muenster cheese)
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
- 8 Tortillas
Directions
- Heat the poblano chili over a gas flame until charred, about five minutes, or broil for five minutes under the broiler.
- Put chile in paper bag, close it and allow it to steam for 20 minutes.
- Rub off the skin, remove the seeds and stem and cut into strips. (Do not touch your eyes until you have washed your hands thoroughly – the chilis are hot!)
- Break up the chorizo and cook in a skillet for about five minutes, until done. Set aside.
- Grease a medium-sized casserole, skillet or ovenproof dish and add the cheeses.
- Top the cheeses with the chili strips and the crumbled chorizo, and bake at 350 degrees in the oven, until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven.
- Serve with warm flour tortillas, spooning the melted queso into the tortillas and rolling up to eat with your hands.
- Serve immediately.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 45 minutes
For the guacamole
Ingredients
- 1 avocado, pitted and peeled
- 2 tablespoons low-fat Greek yogurt
- ¼ small jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced (you can add more jalapeno if you like the heat)
- 1 tablespoon red onion, minced
- 1 small tomato, well-chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups napa cabbage, shredded
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and more for brushing on chicken
- 1 pound red snapper, with skin, cut into 2-inch wide strips
- 10 flour tortillas, warmed
- 2 medium tomatoes, sliced thinly
- lime wedges for serving
- Tabasco sauce for serving
Directions
- Mash avocados, yogurt, jalapenos, red onion, tomato, cilantro and 2 tablespoons lime juice in a bowl.
- Add salt and pepper, cover with plastic and refrigerate.
Toss the shredded cabbage with vegetable oil and one tablespoon of lime juice.
- Add salt and pepper.
Brush fish with oil, salt and pepper.
- Grill over high heat until cooked through, about ten minutes.
- Remove from grill and remove skin.
- Assemble tacos by spreading guacamole on tortilla first.
- Top with fish, tomato slices and cabbage slaw.
- Serve with lime wedges and Tabasco.
2 Comments