Pollo en ajo-comino (Chicken in Garlic and Cumin)

From Diana Kennedy, The Essential Cuisines of Mexico

The sauce in this dish was so good it nearly brought tears to my eyes. Or maybe that was my allergies. Regardless, this sauce could stand alone. We served this with warm tortillas, roasted potatoes on the side and the cactus salad. The boy made tacos with his share, and discovered that maybe being forced to give up crunchy tacos because of his braces wasn't such a tragedy after all. He pronounced them good.

4 ancho chiles, veins and seeds removed
1 teaspoon cumin
12 peppercorns
1 tablespoon salt
1 whole clove
4 garlic cloves
3 1/2 cups water, approximately
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 chicken, cut into serving pieces

Cover the chiles with water and simmer for about 5 minutes, then leave to soak for 5 minutes. Drain. In a mortar, grind the cumin, peppercorns, salt and clove, then mash in the garlic gradually, adding 1/4 cup of the water to dilute the mixture. Set aside.

Transfer the drained ancho chiles to a blender jar with 3/4 cup of the water. Blend until smooth and set aside.

Heat the oil and fry the chicken pieces, a few at a time, to a pale gold. Add the spice mixture and fry over medium heat for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the blended chiles and fry for another 3 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan constantly. Add the remaining water, then adjust the seasoning and cook slowly, uncovered, until the chicken is tender -- about 40 minutes, turning the pieces over from time to time. The sauce should not be thick; add more water if necessary. Serve with warm tortillas.

Ensalada de nopalitos (Cactus Salad)

(Drawn from Diana Kennedy, the Vazquezes and my own experimentation)

When we moved to Brentwood, Erika went to a cooking demonstration at the home of a the Vazquez family from church. While there, somehow it came up that I like nopalitos (cactus). They were impressed, because apparently cactus-eating gringos are rare, and ever since then they've been after me to come over and harvest some from their backyard. So, today I did and this salad is the result. By the way, this is really good with warm corn tortillas.

There are multiple parts to this, so bear with me.

Preparing the cactus:
Use a knife or vegetable peeler to scrape the spines off the cactus paddles and trim the spines from around the edges. Be sure to wear gloves during this portion. Rinse well and make sure you've removed all the spines. Slice into strips or squares.

Cooking the cactus:
Place cactus in a heavy sauce pan and cover with water. Add about half an onion, a couple cloves of finely chopped garlic, one jalapeño, sliced, salt. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until cactus is nearly tender. The cactus will ooze a lot of slime. Drain and return to pan, cooking until slime is completely gone. Remove onion and cool.

Making the salad:
About 2 cups cooked cactus
1 jalapeño pepper, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1/4 large red onion, thinly sliced
Oregano
handful of chopped cilantro
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
salt

Combine all ingredients, adding olive oil, vinegar and salt to taste.

Budín de elote (Corn Pudding)

From Diana Kennedy, The Essential Cuisines of Mexico.

2 pounds frozen corn, thawed
6 ounces unsalted butter
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 ounces rice flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 ounces Chihuahua or Muenster Cheese, grated
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.

Process the corn in a food processor with as little milk as necessary. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool.

Setting the egg white aside, beat the egg yolks until they are thick. Add the sugar and continue beating until it is well incorporated. Beat in the rice flour alternately with the butter.

Stir in the corn pulp, salt, and cheese, mix well, and add the baking powder.

Beat the egg whites until they are stiff and fold them into the mixture. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Place the dish on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue cooking for about 45 minutes. The budín should be soft and spongy to the touch -- the top and sides nicely browned, but the inside moist.

Serve with coarsely ground salt and thick sour cream.

Pollo en pipián rojo (Chicken in Red Sesame Seed Sauce)

Let the Summer of Mexican begin!


From Diana Kennedy, The Essential Cuisines of Mexico

This was absolutely wonderful. I'm putting it down pretty much as it is in the book. The sauce was mellow, with a pronounced but not overwhelming sesame flavor. Not too spicey. I didn't have any avocado leaf, unfortunately, so I left it out.

The Chicken
The chicken giblets
1/2 white onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves
1 sprig flat-leaf parsley
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme, or a large pinch of dried
Salt to taste
A 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken, cut into serving pieces

The Sauce
6 ancho chiles (reserving 1 tablspoon of the seeds)
1/2-inch piece of cinnamon stick, crushed
3 whole cloves
5 peppercorns
3/4 cup sesame seeds
3 tablespoons lard
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
Salt to taste
1 large avocado leaf, fresh or dried

Put the giblets, onion, garlic, herbs, and salt into a pan, cover with water, and bring to a fast simmer. Continue simmering for about 30 mintes. Add the chicken pieces and cook over low heat until just tender -- about 25 minutes. Strain, reserving the broth.

Toast the chiles lightly, cover with hot water, and leave to soak for 10 minutes.

Meantime, put the reserved chile seeds into an ungreased skillet and shake over medium heat until they turn a deep golden brown -- take care not to burn. Set aside to cool a little. Transfer the toasted seeds together with the spices and grind to a powder.

Toast the sesame seeds to a deep gold color in the ungreased pan and set them aside to cool of a little. Add the toasted, cooled seeds and spices to the spice grinder and grind them very fine.

Melt the lard in a skillet and fry the ground seeds and spices over low heat for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Transfer the chiles with a slotted spoon to the blender jar. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved broth and the garlic and blend to a smooth puree.

Add the blended chiles to the fried spice mixture and let it cook fast for about 5 minutes, stirring it constantly. Add 3 cups of the reserved broth and let the sauce continue cooking over low heat for about 20 minutes, or until it thickens and is well seasoned. Add the cooked chicken and salt, and let the chicken heat through.

Toast the avocado leaf briefly on a warm comal and then grind it finely. Add it to the sauce.

Budín de chícharo (Pea Pudding)

From Diana Kennedy, The Essential Cuisines of Mexico.

My wife's first reaction when she heard I was going to make this was, and I quote, "gross." She and I were both pleasantly surprised. Not only did Erika have a second helping, the boy had some, as did the dog. In fact, the dog went to town on it. Texture-wise, think of spoon bread with a touch of souffle. As far as flavor, it's definitely pea, but it is not overwhelming. We had it as a side dish with our Pollo en pipian rojo. Erika and I enjoyed it with the orange and walnut sauce, while the boy preferred it plain.

2 pounds frozen peas, thawed
6 ounces unsalted butter
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 ounces rice flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 ounces Chihuahua or Muenster Cheese, grated
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
A sauce made by combining 2 cups orange juice with 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.
Process the peas in a food processor. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool.
Setting the egg white aside, beat the egg yolks until they are thick. Add the sugar and continue beating until it is well incorporated. Beat in the rice flour alternately with the butter.

Stir in the pea pulp, salt, and cheese, mex well, and add the baking powder.
Beat the egg white until they are stiff and fold them into the mixture. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Place the dish on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue cooking for about 45 minutes. The budín should be soft and spongy to the touch -- the top and sides nicely browned, but the inside moist.

Serve immediately, with the orange and walnut sauce to accompany it.