Guacamole 1: "Best Guacamole You Will Ever Have"

We have at least three different ways of making Guacamole. We were first exposed to this particular Guacamole when attending a tequila tasting dinner hosted by Kahn's, a local adult beverage superstore. The Guacamole had rich and complex flavor and was completely green and silky smooth. It was missing the common addition of chunks of tomato. The taste was limey but we were assured that it came from tomatillos, not citrus. The key to the flavor apparently was to roast all of the peppers and tomatillos before adding them to the avocado.

We filed this fact away for future reference agreeing to try it the next time we had a craving for guacamole (which is quite frequently). However, before we had the chance to try our own version, I stumbled across the recipe from the mouth of the chef himself, in our local newspaper. You see, someone else at the dinner had loved the guacamole, gotten the recipe, and sent it into the newspaper. And there it was printed, a blurb about the chef, and the dinner, and a recipe titled 'Best Guacamole You Will Ever Have'.

We have made this version of Guacamole several times. It is the most complicated version we make, but also amazingly delicious. I won't say it is the 'Best Guacamole You Will Ever Have' because I have learned which Guacamole is preferred is very mood dependent. This Guacamole does have the benefit of keeping very well, better than those that use lime or salsa to help keep the avocado fresh. It does not go off color, get a funny texture, or lose the freshness of its flavor when made in advance. Which, if your making dip for a party, or a Tequila tasting dinner, is a huge advantage.

Best Guacamole You Will Ever Have

4 tomatillos, peeled and washed
2 peeled cloves of garlic (or more!)
3 to 5 Serrano peppers
2 tablespoons water
3 avacados
1 onion, diced
1 cup cilantro, chopped
~2 Tablespoons water
Salt and Pepper to taste


I have written about tomatillos before, but I have recently discovered these very versatile and very tasty tomato relatives. You can find them in most produce sections next to the tomatoes and avocados. They come with a husk on them that needs to be removed. They will be sticky but a wash in some warm water and a little bit of dish soap will help. They have a light citrus flavor and can help to thicken up sauces.

For the peppers, I do not always use serranos. They are good but can be difficult to find, at least in Indianapolis. A combination of fresh jalapenos and pablanos also works well. Adjust the number of peppers to how spicy you want your dish. I have added dried cayenne peppers to give it a little extra kick.

Take your tomatillos, choice of peppers, and peeled garlics and place them in a pan. Put your oven on broil and the oven rack in the top third of the oven. Put your pan in the oven and keep an eye on it. The skins of the vegetables will start to turn brown, dry out, and finally blacken. Rotate the vegetables with tongs and try to get all sides roasted and blackened.

Once the veggies are roasted place them all in a food processor or blender and add about 2 tablespoons of water (you may need more if using a blender). Blend or process until combined. I like mine smooth, but if you prefer more pepper chunks then blend accordingly.

Dice your onion and cilantro. The cilantro can be to taste. I think 1 cup is spot on, but if really like, or do not like cilantro then increase or decrease as desired.

De-pit avocados and spoon out flesh into a bowl. Add the blended or processed mixture to the bowl and use a fork to combine. Mash the pieces of avocado with the tines of the fork and mix until smooth. Mix in the onion and cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Adding enough salt is critical to drawing out all of the complex flavors in the dish, so do not be too shy. Usually I add around 2 teaspoons of salt to this dish.

This guacamole can be served immediately, or refrigerated. It may seem somewhat runny if served immediately. However, there is a pectin like substance in tomatillos that will thicken it up if it is allowed to sit and chill for a bit.

At some point I will write about the other guacamole variations that commonly make appearances in my kitchen. This one is great for parties. As we eat guacamole for a quick no cook dinner this recipe does not get made as often as other options. However, it is delicious and worthy of the title of the "Best Guacamole You Will Ever Have".

Alternative Enchiladas

What to do with a pound of tomatillos?

That was the problem I was faced with. I get vegetables delivered every two weeks, and while I can modify my order online, this particular week I had forgotten to look to see what was coming. Thus, I ended up with the unexpected pound of tomatillos. Now, I may have taken the tomatillos if I had take the time to look, but I would have been planning recipes ahead of time. As it was I was sitting there with my bag of tomatillos completely stumped as to what to do with them.


When life gives you tomatillos make salsa verde?


As stated in my Carnitas post, I do not really have roots in Mexican cooking. Soft shell tacos were the limit of our home cooked Mexican food when I was a kid (other than those few times my sister experimented with refried beans and sopaipilla). I have since branched out to quesadilla and more recently tried the Carnitas and Refried Beans. But I had never made enchiladas, in fact, I had never had home cooked enchiladas and I had seldom eaten them at all as I do not enjoy those found at most Tex-Mex places. However, there was a recipe for enchiladas with Verde Sauce I'd been eying "The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest" by Mollie Katzen. A note on the cookbook, this is great for vegetarian and vegan cooking, and also just has delicious recipes in it. You can access it on Googlebooks though the page views are probably limited. If you can get it the enchilada recipe starts on page 141.

One of the things I love about Mollie Katzen's cookbooks is that she gives you choices. She doesn't write a recipe that you are expected to follow from start to finish, but more like pick and chose recipes. Want to make a quiche? Pick a crust, pick a filling, and make your custard. Quiche is go. It is the same concept with enchiladas, pick a sauce, pick a filling, decide about cheese. Enchiladas tally-ho!

The one slight problem I ran into was that the Salsa Verde recipe called for green tomatoes, and I happened to have tomatillos. I looked it up and it seems that most Salsa Verde recipes are made with tomatillos, so I just substituted. One pound of tomatillos is equal to 5 large green to tomatoes... right?

For Salsa Verde:

1 pound tomatillos (or 5 large green tomatoes), diced
1 cup minced onion (I used purple onion as I like its flavor better)
3 large cloves of garlic, minced (or more!)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup diced chilies (anaheim, pablano, jalapeno, or 1/2 cup canned diced green chilies-- I used a couple of jalapenos)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Place all of these ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil (as I was using tomatillos which do not have as much liquid as tomatoes I had to add some water to this mix). Once boiling, lower heat, partially cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Set aside to cool.

Add
1/4 each minced fresh parsley, minced fresh basil, minced fresh cilantro, minced scallions/green onions (whites and greens)

This sauce can be left chunky or pureed in a blender or food processor. I found that using tomatillos I needed to add a bit extra water as they do not have as much liquid in them as tomatoes. I added water until my sauce looked saucy.

For the filling:

I made half recipes of two kinds of filling which created extra work, but we found as we were eating them that it was nice to have variety.

Filling 1: Avocado

Place in bowl:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Add
2 medium sized avocados peeled, pitted and diced

Toss Avocados in lemon juice

Add to bowl
3 minced garlic cloves
3 to 6 finely minced scallions/green onions (whites and greens!)
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 medium ripe tomato diced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Mix these ingredients gently with the diced Avocado and lemon juice and set aside


Filling 2: Zucchini and Pepper

Heat 1 Tbs of olive oil in large skillet

When hot add:

3/4 cup minced onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt

Sautee 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat until Onion is very soft.

Add
1 bell pepper (any color) minced
2-3 6 inch zucchini diced
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
cayenne and black pepper to taste (I added about 1 tsp each)

Stir and cook another 8 to 10 minutes until zucchini and peppers are tender

Remove from heat and add

1 1/3 cups packed grated jack cheese

For the cheese I think this is optional. If you were making vegan enchiladas you could leave it out. I actually forgot to add it to mine until I had filled a couple of tortilla so I had some with and some without cheese and both were very good.


Once your sauce and filling is ready add enough sauce to just cover the bottom of to a shallow baking dish. Take a large pack of soft tortillas-- if needed heat them up briefly in a skillet, or soften with water if they are want to break-- and add about 1/4 cup of filling to each tortilla, roll it up and place it in a pan. When I did mine with 2 types of filling I alternated filling types so if you took 2 enchiladas you got one of each type.

Once your pan (or pans) are filled with enchiladas you can sprinkle cheese on top if you like, and then cover the tortilla with the rest of the sauce. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes at 325.

This recipe made a lot of enchiladas. I ended up with two pans full but only enough sauce for one. I froze the second pan, and bought a jar of enchilada Verde sauce from the store for a easy and delicious home-made frozen dinner. I really liked having the two kinds of enchiladas, the avocado is easier to put together but for some reason is not as filling as the zucchini. If you like, you can add meat or meat substitutes to these fillings if you want to make the recipe more hearty.

Refried beans

I am a sucker for deals. And in shopping it seems I often pick up big bags of dried beans as they are always a good deal. However, the question sometimes becomes, what do you then do with all those beans? Usually I end up making a soup, a chili, or a lot of bean dip, but this time I wanted to do refried beans, as we were having Carnitas.

However, I had never done refried beans before and for some reason had the perception that they were difficult. I think this goes back to when I was a little kid and my older sister was going through a cooking Mexican food stage and made them from scratch. Refried beans from scratch wasn't even something my mom did and it seemed like quite the impressive feat. Especially after she followed up homemade refried beans with homemade sopaipilla. It was all very mysterious and delicious, and clearly must be difficult or else more people would do it.

The internet revealed that 'refried' is a mistranslation and 'refritos' actually means well fried. This fact relieved some new recipe anxiety as from the title one might assume you have to fry the beans and then fry them again. And that sounds like a pain.

To make refried beans, start with dried beans (or if you prefer, grab a can of beans a skip down a few steps). I usually use the whole bag, what ever size it is. This time I think I had 2lbs of beans. What you don't use to make refried beans you can bag up and freeze, and then you don't have to go through the soaking and cooking process next time you want beans.

Beans need to be soaked for at least 6 hours, and I prefer to do a cold water soak. To speed up the process you can boil your beans in some water, then turn it off and let them sit for 1 to 2 hours. Drain them, add more water and cook. However, your still waiting 1 to 2 hours for the beans to be done. To me it makes the most sense to either start soaking the night before if your planning on boiling them the next day, or if your planning on cooking them at night, start the soak in the morning. For the refried beans I used pinto beans which is what you get at a Mexican restaurant, though you could use any type of bean you like.

First, rinse you beans, look for any pebbles or dirt, or things that are not supposed to be in there and take them, and any beans that are shriveled up, out.

Put your rinsed beans in a bowl or pot and cover with water several inches over the beans. The beans will expand as they soak. Apparently the fresher your beans are the less time they will need to soak, but the age of the bean is not easy to tell from a bag of dried beans.

Leave your beans to soak for 6 or more hours (if you have less time to soak you will just have to boil longer). Do not soak for too long as apparently the beans can ferment, though I have never had this happen.

Drain the soaking water off of the beans and put the beans in a big pot, cover well with water--at least 3 times as much water as beans and you cannot have too much water. Bring the pot of water to a boil to cook beans. Cover and keep the pot at a low boil for an hour. Depending on the type and age of the beans it could take more time. After an hour, sample a bean, if it is still too firm boil longer and sample again. When the beans are cooked to your satisfaction, drain them. This process can be sped up to mere minutes if you have a pressure cooker.

For the refried beans:

Get a skillet out, add 1 T fat (oil or bacon grease-- we used bacon grease and it was delicious) and heat the skillet up. Add 1/4 cup minced onion if you like, I skipped this and 2 cups cooked beans (or if you bought a can of beans, drain and rinse them and throw them in the skillet). Get a potato masher, fork or spook out, and mash the beans as they fry in the skillet, when they are well mashed add water or broth (about 1/4 cup) and keep mashing until they are hot and the right consistency. Add salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon in my case). And there you have refried beans. If you have the cooked beans on hand this takes about 5 minutes.


Put any extra beans in freezer bags or storage containers and freeze. I just used the extras from when I did refried beans to make a tasty soup and it was nice not to have to soak the beans to make it. I do think beans taste better when you start with dried.

The recipe I modified for this can be found here. I quite enjoyed the refried beans and will absolutely do them again. They were much better than the ones out of the can. Though, that might have been the bacon grease.

Carnitas

So, I had never had Carnitas. If you had given me the word and asked me what it was I would have come up with 'bits of meat' because of the 'carne' root. Traditionally it is little bits of meat, of pork specifically, cooked for hours in huge iron pot. I wondered upon reading about it, the origins of this cooking method. Carnitas could be made with any kid of meat, but is best suited to fatty meats (like certain cuts of pork). However, North America did not have any native swine, they were brought with the conquistadors, and the closest native porcine relative is the quite cute Peccary. Cooking any kind of meat for hours in a large pot is going to make it quite tender, but the delicious (fatty) richness of pork gives it something special. While 500 years is plenty to develop a pork based cuisine, I will naively hypothesize that the cooking methodology for Carnitas is far older than pork, and pork is merely the current preferred meat source. I could see trying the recipe with other kinds of meat, though I don't know of a vegetable that would work. For a vegetarian version, the best choice would probably be thinly sliced seitan, appropriately spiced.

We came upon the recipe in a cook book that Dennis had purchased called The Complete Meat Cookbook. I gave him a hard time when he bought it, thinking, 'do we really need any more cookbooks'? But he had a gift card, and ignored my picking, and I have been most grateful he did. We have enjoyed many lovely meals out of this cookbook, though we have learned that it over estimates portion sizes by quite a lot. For example, the Afganhi Lamb Pasta we made to serve six was delicious but also good for at least 12 meals... This cookbook has been a great addition to our collection, and the Carnitas, like every other recipe we have tried from it, turned out superb.

We had thawed out a pork roast (boston butt roast) for Friday night, and were not in the mood for our traditional BBQ pork in the crock pot, which is our usual use of this cut of meat. We scrounged around looking for recipes on what to do with our roast until finally narrowing it down to two. A marinade for pork that is supposed to make it taste like wild boar (yum!) or Carnitas. Now the marinade took at least 24 hours, and we did not have all the ingredients, so we decided that Carnitas were the way to go.

I have no Mexican or latin heritage and, while I love Mexican food, Carnitas is not something I had come across. Our cookbook told us that is was traditionally pork, cooked for a really long time in lard, and then heaped on corn tortilla with salsa and hot sauce. With the lard, its not the healthiest meal you can imagine; not to mention, lard is not something I generally keep in my kitchen. Luckily, our recipe substituted water and milk for lard and used a long braising process to develop the flavors and tenderize the meat.

Recipe:

1 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground coriander
1 t dried oregano or 2 t fresh chopped
1t salt
1 t fresh ground black pepper

Mix above ingredients and rub onto
1 4 to 6 pound pork shoulder or Boston Butt roast, cut into 3 inch chunks (do not trim too much fat off, you will drain later)

Heat 1 T oil in a heavy pot or dutch oven over high heat and brown the meat for 7 to 10 mins.

Add, 2 cups chopped onions
6 whole garlic cloves

Cook for 5 minutes more until the onions begin to soften

Add 2 cups of water and 2 bay leaves, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Note do not start cooking this when you are too hungry! We were starving, and after the 1 1/2 hour simmer, we were only halfway there...

Pour off broth and reserve. The recipe mentions that this reserved broth would make a great soup base, and I have mine saved in my freezer for just such an occasion.

After pouring off the broth add 1 quart (4 cups) of milk. The recipie says to 'simmer until the milk has curdled and caramelized and all the liquid has evaporated'. The milk is supposed to leave a golden brown coating on the pork. This step will take 1 to 11/2 hours. Now, when doing this I did not notice my milk curdling ( I was using 1 %) or a major color change in the pork. However, when all the liquid had evaporated, what was left was delicious. Once all of the liquid has evaporated your port will look like pulled port, if it doesn't just stir a few times and all of your pork chunks will fall apart.

Carnitas should be served on corn tortilla that are heated up for a few seconds in a pan or in a microwave. We had ours with some freshly made pico de gallo (chop tomatoes, onions and/or green onions, and cilantro -- add lime or lemon juice and hot peppers if you like-- and mix), some left over avocado mayonnaise and homemade re-fried beans (easy! and post coming soon) along with a selection of hot sauces.

This recipe takes quite a long time to cook and is not the best choice for a night you are in a hurry. However, it is not effort intensive, and you do not have to watch it for the full 3 hours of cooking time. It just needs to be left to simmer away on the stove, with an occasional stir, and it will turn out delicious.