It would be nice to have an ancient Aztec or Mayan cook coach you through some classic recipes in your home kitchen.
But, since that would be a bit difficult, The Tribune`s test kitchen staff has adapted some regional recipes for preparation at home. That means you don`t need to dig a pit for cochinita pibil nor do you need to use the stone mortar called a molcajete to prepare the sauces. Yet, if you insist. . . .
The lobster with ancho chile is based on a recipe often served at Pacific resorts. The lobster is grilled, then sauced with a richly flavored–though not a bit spicy–ancho chile. Mexican cooks along the Pacific would traditionally use a clawless crawfish, according to Bob Rubin of Chicago`s Fish House. But ”these crawfish are difficult to get on a regular basis in Chicago,” says Rubin. So, we used the more common Maine lobster–complete with claws. Of course, good-sized shrimp make an equally delicious (and a bit more manageable) variation.
The salsa verde is great spooned on eggs, into tortillas with bits of chopped meat or melted cheese or even simmered into a sauce for enchilada-type dishes. Delicately-flavored chayote is paired with corn and peppers for a colorful summer salad.
The key to success with the cochinita pibil recipe and the salpicon is a bit of adaptation. Pork loin would be used for the pibil in Mexico and flank steak for the salpicon. Yet, in the United States, our meats are bred much leaner than in Mexico. Hence, using loin or flank steak in these two recipes produces a somewhat less juicy dish. Better results can be achieved with pork shoulder and brisket. If you want the concept, without the distinct flavor of banana leaves, you can cook the cochinita pibil in several layers of parchment paper. Do not use foil; it will give a steamed quality to the dish.
GRILLED LOBSTER WITH ANCHO CHILI
Two servings
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
6 ancho chilies
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
1 1/3 cups fresh orange juice
2 whole live lobsters, about 1 pound each, or 1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined
Cilantro (coriander) sprigs for garnish
1. Slit open chilies. Remove seeds and stems. Cut chilies crosswise into 1/4-inch wide strips. Heat oil in a small saucepan. When hot, remove from heat. Add chili strips and garlic; let stand in oil 5 minutes. Stir in orange juice. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until chili strips soften, about 30 minutes. Just before cooking lobsters, remove chilies from orange juice mixture and reserve the two separately.
2. Drop lobsters into a large kettle of boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove from water. Cut lengthwise in half.
3. Grill or broil lobsters, 6 inches from heat source, basting often with the orange juice mixture, until meat is opaque, about 5 to 10 minutes. (If using shrimp, thread onto wooden skewers. Grill, basting often with orange juice mixture, until opaque, about 2 to 4 minutes.)
4. Serve lobster or shrimp on a bed of the chili strips. Drizzle with orange juice mixture. Garnish with cilantro sprigs. Lobster is eaten with pieces of chili and dipped in orange juice mixture.
Note: Lobsters may be fully cooked in boiling water; cooking time will be about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the lobsters. After cooking, drain well and serve atop the chilies with the orange juice mixture as a dipping sauce.
FRESH TOMATILLO SAUCE (SALSA VERDE)
About 2 1/2 cups
Preparation time: 15 minutes
8 tomatillos, papery covering removed
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 serrano chili, seeded, minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves
1. Blanch tomatillos in boiling water 1 minute. Remove from boiling water; rinse in cold water. Set aside.
2. With a molcajete or in a blender container, grind garlic with salt. Do not puree. Add onion and chili; chop lightly. Add blanched tomatillos, a few at a time, and cilantro; do not overchop. Check salt. Serve immediately.
CHAYOTE VINAIGRETTE
Eight servings
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 14 minutes
Chilling time: Overnight
4 chayote squash (also called mirliton)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup each: coarsely chopped red and green pepper
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro (coriander)
1/4 cup each: vegetable oil, distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon each: salt, pepper
1. Cut chayote lengthwise into quarters. Cook in lightly salted water until tender, about 12 to 14 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.
2. Cut each chayote quarter crosswise into slices. Put into large bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well to blend. Refrigerate, covered, at least 6 hours or overnight.
SEASONED PORK IN BANANA LEAVES (COCHINITA PIBIL)
Six to eight servings
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Marinating time: 4 hours
Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours
1/3 cup achiote seeds (also called annatto)
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
3 ancho chilies, stemmed, seeded, then toasted
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 medium white onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tomato
4 whole allspice
2 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Salt to taste
4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch cubes, see note
4 red onions, sliced, rings separated
1 cup distilled white vinegar
4 banana leaves
Warmed corn tortillas
1. Mix achiote seeds with 1/2 cup vinegar; set aside. Soak chilies in the warm water for 15 minutes; drain. Roast the onion, garlic and tomato in a large heavy skillet until nicely charred on all sides.
2. Using a blender, grind roasted vegetables with drained chilies, allspice, cloves, oregano, achiote-vinegar mixture and a small amount of salt until they form a smooth paste. Push through a sieve into a large non-aluminum bowl.
3. Add pork cubes. Stir well. Refrigerate, covered, stirring often, for 4 hours.
4. Meanwhile, mix the red onion rings with 1 cup vinegar in large non-aluminum bowl. Let marinate at least 3 hours, stirring often.
5. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly oil banana leaves. Line a 6-quart Dutch oven or covered roasting pan with the banana leaves, shiny side up. Pile the meat and marinade atop leaves. Cover with more leaves and tuck the leaves around so the meat is sealed in a package of banana leaves.
6. Bake, basting meat occasionally with the pan juices, until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. If the meat becomes dry during roasting, add more water to the pan. Meat is ready when it is tender and breaks apart easily. Serve meat with pan juices, warmed tortillas and pickled onions. It is eaten by rolling spoonfuls of the sauced meat up in tortillas.
Note: Recipe can also be made with a similar amount of cutup chicken, but decrease cooking time to 1 hour.
SALPICON
Six servings
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: About 2 hours
3 pounds beef brisket
1 quart water
1 large white onion, quartered
1/2 teaspoon each: salt, pepper
4 plum tomatoes, quartered, sliced
1 large bunch cilantro (coriander), chopped
2 to 3 serrano chilies, seeded, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
4 to 8 tablespoons distilled white vinegar to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, rinsed, patted dry, finely shredded
2 ripe avocados, peeled, sliced
Canned chipotle chiles
Warm corn tortillas
1. Put beef, water, onion, 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper into 4-quart Dutch oven. Heat to simmer; reduce heat to low. Simmer, tightly covered, until meat is very tender, about 2 hours. Remove meat from liquid and allow to cool. (Save broth for another use.)
2. When meat is cool to the touch, pull into thin shreds. Mix meat shreds with tomatoes, cilantro, chilies, oil and vinegar to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill 2 hours.
3. To serve, remove meat mixture from refrigerator. Let come to room temperature. Arrange half the shredded lettuce on a serving platter. Toss remaining with meat mixture. Arrange meat-lettuce mixture atop lettuce on serving platter. Garnish with sliced avocados and chipotle chiles. Serve with warm tortillas. Meat and lettuce is spooned inside tortillas and rolled up for eating.
BEST ROUTES FOR LOCATING MEXICO`S TASTY REGIONS
Whether you find yourself touring the provinces of Mexico, or trundling down Chicago`s 26th Street in search of supper or recipe ingredients, here is a guide to the main culinary regions of Mexico–where they are located, their distinctive ingredients, their cooking techniques and some of the predominant dishes. Some culinary experts will divide the country into more than six regions, of course. Some consider the state of Puebla–or even the city–its own region. Others consider the Pacific Coast, both the northern and southern areas, separate regions entirely. Still, the following should get you started: — The North: Cattle ranching and wheat farming are big business in this desert region bordering the United States, hence the prevalence of grilled meats and flour tortillas. Meats simply may be grilled with a bit of oregano or roasted (asado); sauces and marinades have an auburn tint, thanks to the redder chiles used throughout the north. The most common sauce is based on red tomatoes, chiles and onions. Here, as in the rest of Mexico, garlic, epazote and oregano are integral seasoning agents. Cooks wrap tamales in corn husks. Among the region`s dishes: cabrito (roasted kid), barbacoa (usually pit-cooked mutton or goat) as well as such saucy bean dishes as frijoles borrachos
(literally drunken beans, courtesy of alcohol, often beer) and frijoles charros (literally beans of the gentleman cowboy; not unlike our chile con carne, because it has bits of meat).
— Bajio: This region just north of Mexico City includes Guanajuato, Queretaro and San Luis Potosi. Rich in colonial history, the area also has farmland and some wine growing regions. Classic dishes from this region include puchero (a meat and vegetable stew), fiambre potosino (a match of cold meats, vegetables and vinaigrette) as well as pozole. Cajeta, the ubiquitous sweet sauce of Mexico, is from this region. Sweetened and caramelized goat`s milk, cajeta comes from the town of Celaya and shows up in crepes, atop fruit, on bread, etc.
— Central Region: Mexico City and the country`s culinary heart, the town of Puebla, is included in this region. The cooking of this region is influenced as much by the Aztec heritage as it is by the number of convents that were located here decades ago. Credit the Aztecs with the techniques for mixiotes and mole (mo-LAY); credit the nuns for developing so many intricate variations on each dish. (Alicia Gironella De`Angeli, head of a Mexico City-based culinary organization, calls the cooking ”Baroque.”) Mole poblano, created by the Roman Catholic sisters in the town of Puebla, ranks among Mexico`s classics. So does chiles en nogado, another creation of the sisters made by stuffing chile peppers with a ground meat mixture then saucing in a cream and walnut sauce. Besides these dishes, here is where the cooks make menudo (a tripe stew-soup), manchamanteles, the sandwiches called tortas and cook with, among hundreds of other ingredients, the tuna (fruit from the cactus), rompope (a fragrant eggnog-like drink) and huitlacoche (the fungus that grows on corn and tastes like mushroom duxelles mixed with truffles).
— The South: Oaxaca (WHA-ha-kah) and Chiapas make up this region of mountains, coasts and jungles, which is rich in the Indian heritage of the Zapotecs and Mixtecs, among others. Banana leaves, a wrapper that breathes so that foods cook without the addition of fat and without developing a mushy steamed surface, is used here with meats and fowl as well as for wrapping tamales. Tortillas often are flattened to the size of dinner plates. Dishes may be spiked with a bit of the fiery liquor called mezcal. The chihuacle chile makes the moles pitch black, though the region boasts red, brown and yellow moles as well. Smoky chipotle chiles show up in many recipes. Classic dishes include a chicken broth-based soup of vegetables with little dumplings of cornmeal masa (dough) and those moles, among others.
— Yucatan: The peninsula, filled with jungles and jutting into the Caribbean, includes the states of Yucatan, Quintana Roo and Campeche. Besides the influence of the Caribbean (seafood, black beans), the most predominant influence is that of the Mayan Indians who developed pib cooking (lining a pit with fiery stones, adding fragrant leaves then wrapped foods for roasting). The most popular meats include venison and pheasant. Chile xcatiks and achiote (ground annatto seed) are among the major seasonings, often worked up into the seasoning paste called recado. Classic dishes include pan de cazon
(tortillas layered with refried black beans, a chile-tomato sauce and shark).
— Veracruz: The states in this region bordering the Gulf of Mexico include Veracruz and Tabasco. The character of this region is often compared to New Orleans or San Juan, Puerto Rico. Fish and seafood are predominant; the common regional preparation is a la veracruzano (with a sauce of olives, capers, tomatoes and onion). Salpicon is prepared with crab.
DEVOUR MEXICAN COOKBOOKS BEFORE PREPARING FOR FIESTA
When you decide to satisfy your appetite for manchamanteles or pozole, here are some cookbooks that spotlight Mexico`s regional cuisines:
”Authentic Mexican,” by Rick Bayless with Deann Groen Bayless (William Morrow and Co., $24.95). Excellent cooking directions with some unusual recipes.
”Recipes from the Regional Cooks of Mexico,” by Diana Kennedy (Harper & Row, $17). Fabulous flavors characterize recipes in this cookbook, one of the first to address Mexico`s regional fare.
”The Complete Book of Mexican Cooking,” by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz (M. Evans and Co. Inc., $6.95, paperback). A straightforward approach and easy-to- understand recipes.
”The Taste of Mexico,” by Patricia Quintana (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $35). Organized by regions, the book boasts beautiful pictures and some unusual recipes.
The following grocers carry both fresh and processed food from Mexico and usually have fresh, tortillas available early in the day:
Armando`s Finer Foods, 2627-2639 S. Kedzie, 927-6688.
El Guero No. 3, 4025 N. Sheridan Rd., 528-8560.
LaCasa Del Pueblo, 1810 S. Blue Island Ave., 421-4640.
La Justicia, 3644 W. 26th St., 277-8120, and 3435 W. 26th St., 521-1593.
Los Amigos Supermarket, 117-123 N. Broadway, Melrose Park, 343-4794.
Tortilleria Gonzalez, 821 Tenth St., North Chicago, 473-1199.
