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Salsa Chipotle
3 to 6 canned chipotle chiles; reserve adobo sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup beef broth
2 1/2 cups water
6 tablespoons of reserved adobo sauce
Rinse, seed, and chop chiles; use more chiles for hotter salsa.
In molcajete or with mortar and pestle, grind garlic, cumin, and
oregano.
Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Add flour, and
cook over low to medium heat until it begins to brown and give
off a nutty fragrance. Remove from heat, and add broth a little
at a time, stirring well after each addition. Return to heat,
and add water in a slow stream, stirring constantly. Add chiles,
adobo sauce, and garlic mixture, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat,
and simmer uncovered, stirring often until sauce thickens, about
30 minutes.
Enchiladas
Cooking oil
12 corn tortillas
1/2 pound mild cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 pound cooked chicken, shredded
1/2 medium onion, minced
Salsa chipotle (see recipe, above)
Heat about 1/2 inch cooking oil in small skillet just until it
begins to smoke. Using kitchen tongs, immerse each tortilla in
oil for a few seconds, until it becomes soft and pliable. Remove,
and drain on paper towels.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place about a tablespoon each of
cheese and chicken and a sprinkling of onion on each tortilla,
and roll into a cylinder. Place 3 enchiladas on each of 4 oven-proof
dinner plates. Pour 1/4 salsa chipotle over each serving on enchiladas,
then sprinkle with remaining cheese and onion. Set plates in oven,
and heat until cheese melts and sauce bubbles, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Serve with rice and refried beans or with thin charbroiled tenderloin
steak. Serves 4.
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El Norte: The Cuisine of Northern
Mexico
James W. Peyton
Red Crane Books
(click
to buy it from Amazon)
The cooking of Northern Mexico got its spark from ranching culture,
in which food was prepared with indigenous ingredients and cooked
over a wood fire; it has long been over-shadowed by the more glamorous
and complex cuisine of the South. But former restaurateur James
W. Peyton of San Antonio redresses the imbalance in his just-
published cookbook, El Norte: The Cuisine of Northern Mexico (Red
Crane Books, $14.95). This version of his chipotle enchilada recipe
vividly captures the fervent flavors of a region settled by frontiersmen
and worked by vaqueros who improvised meals with what was on hand.
A need for inventiveness is something that even modern Texas cooks
can identify with.
Meat & Dairy
1 can chipotle chiles in adobo
1/2 pound mild cheddar
butter
1/2 pound cooked chicken (about 3/4 - 1 pound raw)
Produce
garlic
onion
Grocery
cumin
flour
oregano
beef broth
cooking oil
Bakery
12 corn tortillas |
