Salsa Verde: Recipe

After Sunday night's meal, I had some leftover chicken, just enough to make chicken tacos. But no chicken taco (or lots of other food) is complete without some salsa verde (green salsa). So I decided to whip up a batch.

Salsa Verde

salsa verde ingredients

2 lbs tomatillos
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup cilantro
1/2 cup onion
4 serrano peppers
1/8 cup lime juice



First, tomatillos are not the same thing as green tomatoes. So be sure that you are buying tomatillos. Usually you can tell that they are tomatillos and not tomatoes because they are wrapped in a husk and are usually smaller, especially this time of the season.

tomatillos

This recipe calls for the ingredients to be broiled (roasted), so turn on the oven to broil while you're preparing the ingredients. Now it's time to work on the tomatillos. The first step is to take the husks off of the tomatillos and rinse the tomatillo well with water. They will be sticky and may even have dirt on them, so be sure to rinse them well. Then cut the tops off and cut them in half (if they're larger size).

peeling the tomatillo

Next separate and cut into pieces 3 cloves of garlic; halve the 4 serrano peppers (deseeding some if desired); and cut into pieces the 1/2 cup of onion. Then arrange them all on a foil-lined cookie sheet.

ready to roast

Place the cookie sheet under the broiler (or in the oven) and broil until the tomatillos are charred, soft, and clear juice is running from them. The other ingredients will char, too, but will have a good roasted flavor to them. Depending on the size of your tomatillos, this can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 15 minutes. But I would advise that you remain vigilant to get the charring you want and not burn it all.

roasted

ingredients in blender

From this point, the salsa is almost made. Place all the tomatillos, onion, garlic, and cilantro into a blender. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add three halves of the serrano peppers and blend well. Add the lime juice and then add more serrano peppers to desired potency. Blend well. When it is all blended, pour into a refrigerator safe bowl to allow to cool. 

salsa ready to be cooled.

For this batch of salsa: I deseeded three halves of the serranos I had, because I wanted their roasted flavor without the heat. So in the end, I used all but one half of the serrano pepper, which was still seeded. When you first taste the salsa I made, you taste the lime but by the end of the bite you have the wallop of the serranos.

As I said, I had leftover chicken so I put my salsa verde on chicken tacos, complete with avocado, cilantro, and queso fresco. It can be used on a variety of dishes, including huevos (eggs) and chilaquiles or migas or just as a stand-alone to eat with chips. The salsa will keep for up to about a week in the refrigerator but does lose its potency the older it gets. A quick side note, although this may look like the sauce that is used in green enchiladas, it is not quite the same recipe.

chicken tacos with salsa verde

¡Hasta la proxíma vez!

Picadillo (Carne picada con papas): Receta

This is a fairly easy recipe and is good to eat, too. Around here you can even buy it in a burrito from many of the local quick-stop burrito places. Because this was only for a lunch meal and just for two people, I did not make a lot, so bear mind you may have to double the recipe.

Picadillo (Carne picada con papas)

ingredients for picadillo

1 pound ground sirloin
1 medium potato
1/2 medium salad tomato
1/2 medium bell pepper
1/8 cup onion
1/8 cup cilantro
1/3 can tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp Mixed Spice
1 clove of garlic


Begin by add mixed spice, clove of garlic, and enough water to get spices wet in your molcajete and grinding it down, until it looks something like this:

ground spices

Then cut up the half of the tomato and bell pepper and the little bit of onion and cilantro:

vegetables (note: cilantro not pictured)

Next, peel the potato and cut it up. For years I would cut it into pieces the way the tomato and bell pepper are done. However, after a discussion with my mother I remembered that she used to do it in slices, so I thought I'd give that a go this time. I much prefer it this way because as the potato cooks it breaks into pieces.

potato, sliced

It is time to start cooking. Place ground sirloin in a 10- or 12-inch skillet and brown it, cooking it thoroughly on medium heat. 

ground sirloin, cooked

I usually cook it down until most of the liquid (water, grease) is gone and it's almost dry. Now, add tomato, bell pepper, onion, and cilantro to the ground beef and stir, letting it cook for just a minute.

Top, add vegetables; bottom, vegetables mixed in

Add the ground spices by tilting molcajete over the pan, and pouring 1 cup of water over them so that they slide into the pan. Stir spices in, adding about 1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste) as well. Then place the potatoes on top of the mixture and add another 1/2 to 1 cup of water. The water does not have to cover the potatoes, just enough that it covers the meat. And if you have tomato sauce on hand, use about a 1/3 of a small can to give it some more color.

potatoes on top

When it starts to boil, turn down the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook it down for 30 minutes; stirring occasionally (this is when the potato slices will break into pieces). When you are done, your picadillo will look something like this:

picadillo, done

This picture was taken immediately after I took the lid off after 30 minutes; you can continue to cook it down for a few more minutes until more of the liquid is gone. I actually let me sit covered for about 30 minutes before I served it and much more of the liquid had been absorbed. 

picadillo

As a note my mother says that you're not supposed to serve picadillo with rice because it already has potatoes in it; however, I love to mix it with rice all the same. So I usually fix a small batch of rice to go with it. It is served with refried beans and we usually have flour tortillas with it; however, my mother has now said that corn tortillas with every dish is how she grew up. But I distinctly remember her serving us flour tortillas with this dish, and so that is how I serve it.

Let me know if you try this recipe out and how it works for you or if you have any variations on it (like peas or carrots in the picadillo).

¡Hasta la proxíma vez!

Forgotten No More: Tortillas de Maíz

I begin with tortillas de maíz (corn tortillas) because one of my fondest childhood memories is watching my mother press and cook them and thinking "I could do that!" And yet it was only last year before I ever made them. I could blame it on the convenience of store bought, but truthfully it was one of those skills--a piece of my heritage--that I let fall away . . . forgotten. Now, they are forgotten no more.

ingredients

La Receta (The Recipe)

Water
Salt
Corn masa

(I know, only three ingredients; how hard can this be?)




But there's also "hardware" that you will need: a tortilla press and a comal (griddle):

tortilla press

comal (griddle)

There are several steps before mixing masa ingredients. First, you must prepare the tortilla press. If you've just bought one, you may have to attach the handle and even oil it some. But once it is assembled (see above picture), you will want to get a plastic sandwich- or quart-sized bag. Cut off the top and cut along the sides and bottom of the bag. What you will be left with are two pieces of plastic (the sides of the bag); you can even cut the pieces round to slightly overlap the edges of the press. Using the plastic helps keep the press clean and is also easier to remove the pressed tortillas to place on the comal. I suggest the plastic bags because they are sturdier than plastic wrap and can be used repeatedly (once wiped clean).

plastic to cover the press

Next, heat the comal on a low heat for a couple of minutes. Then oil the comal. I put oil (vegetable, canola, whatever's on hand) on a paper towel and rub the paper towel over the comal. Keep this paper towel handy because you will use it to grease the comal every other cooked tortilla so that they do not stick.

oiling the comal

oiled comal

If you look at the back of the bag, there are directions for making the masa (dough) for the number of tortillas wanted (and in some cases, as in this bag of Maseca, how to make the tortillas). 

back of the bag

WARNING: If you follow the exact measurements for the water and salt, you will find that your tortillas are much too dry and not flavorful in the slightest. What the bag offers are guidelines.

Absolutely use the measurements for the masa itself; the water and salt you will have to adjust.

To start, use a big bowl to mix all the ingredients thoroughly. For example, the batch I made was for 16 tortillas, which means I started with 2 cups of masa.

Measure the suggested 1 1/3 cup of water, add half of it to the masa, then add 1/4 tsp of salt, and mix well. At this point, the masa will still be too dry and there will still be unmixed dry masa (see picture).

masa with half the water

Add the remaining 2/3 cups of water to the masa, add another 1/8 to 1/4 tsp of salt, and mix well. Even after adding the full 1 1/3 cups of water, the masa will still be too dry and will need more water.

Add water slowly to the masa and mix well. For example, I added another 1/4 cup of water to the masa a little bit at a time so that the dough maintained its consistency. WARNING: If you add too much water, the masa will be sticky; it will stick to the press and even to the comal. The entire batch will be unusable unless you add more masa and salt. So be careful with the water from the start.

Continue to mix water into the masa until it reaches a moist, not wet, consistency and will roll into a large ball of sorts. You can even make small balls of dough for each tortilla before you begin pressing. I have found that the 2 cups of masa makes more than 16 tortillas.

mixed masa

balls of masa

With the comal preheated and one plastic sheet on the bottom of the press, it is time to begin pressing tortillas and cooking them. Take a ball of masa, place it on the plastic on the press, press it with your hand so it is flat, and then place the second piece of plastic over it. The masa should be between the two pieces of plastic before the press is closed.

masa on plastic

flattened masa, ready to press

Close the lid on the press, then take the handle and and move it across the press, pushing down so that the tortilla is flattened. Move the handle back, open the top of the press, and you will have a flattened tortilla that is ready for the comal. Take the top plastic off of the tortilla, put the tortilla (masa side) on your hand and remove the bottom piece of plastic from the tortilla to get ready to place on the comal. If you have not been able to tell before if the masa is too sticky, you will be able to tell when you try to remove it from your hand because it will stick.

removing tortilla from plastic

pressed tortilla

Place the tortilla on the comal for about 30 seconds, and then flip. I use my hands, but if you're worried about burning yourself, you can use a spatula. Then cook the other side of the tortilla for about 30 to 45 seconds more. Then put the cooked tortillas in a tortilla warmer, if you have one, or put in foil (like I do) and keep it as closed up as much as possible so that the tortillas retain their warmth.

stack of cooked tortillas

cooked side of tortilla

And that's it. Enjoy the tortillas alongside a meal or by themselves.

However, I will warn you that once you bite into a homemade corn tortilla you and your family will accept no substitute; this means that if you're making enchiladas, be prepared to make all the tortillas as well.

Let me know if you try this and how it goes. I'm always here to answer questions.

Hasta la proxíma vez!