There are many occasions over the holidays where we are invited to a gathering where we either want to bring something to contribute to the evening or as a hostess gift.  Everyone brings wine it seems, and after years of being one of those couples we found a great quick easy recipe for salsa that has always been a hit.   We fill two Kerr 1 pint wide-mouth canning jars with salsa, and tie each jars neck with a ribbon.  When we arrive at our destination we present our host or hostess with a small basket filled with one of the jars, corn chips, and fresh limes.  This one is almost always served immediately.  The other jar of salsa, we slip into their refrigerator to be enjoyed later with a thank-you note.

This recipe takes only minutes to prepare because you start with premade fresh salsa purchased from your favorite grocer’s deli case!

Ingredients

1 ½ cup fresh salsa from your grocer’s deli

1  15 ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1  11 ounce can of whole kernel corn, drained

½ cup chopped scallions

5 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled into small pieces

One lime

Preparation

In a medium mixing bowl, combine fresh salsa, beans, corn, scallions and crumbled bacon.  Add the juice of one lime.  Stir well.  Cover and refrigerate for one to two hours to meld the flavors.

Divide the salsa into pint canning jars.  Refrigerate any leftover salsa.

Surprisingly, when we were recently in Mexico, we sometimes found it difficult to find Mexican food to sample.  It seems that the Mexican resorts try so hard to cater to visiting American tourists, that they fill their menus with traditionally American dishes  and completely neglect their Mexican roots.  It sounds silly to say it, but we had to search to find our Mexican meals.  One thing that we did find available almost everywhere — whether it was with a meal that was American, Mexican, Asian, or Italian — was refried beans.  In the states, when you want refried beans, you simply open a can and PRESTO! you have refried beans.  However, in Mexico, they take their frijoles seriously.  It is amazingly simple to make your own refried beans and the flavor is so much better, that it seems a waste not to make your own occasionally.  We hope you will try making your own very soon.

Frijoles Refritos (Refried Beans)

4 cups cooked pinto beans

4 tablespoons shortening – melted (for authentic flavor try using lard)

1 1/2  cup evaporated milk

Salt to taste

Cook the pinto beans according to the package directions.  Place beans in a large skillet.  Mash beans in the skillet and add 2 tablespoons hot melted shortening.  Mix well.  Stir in evaporated milk. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes.  Set aside to partially cool while you grate cheese and heat tortillas.  Immediately before serving, “refry” the beans by adding the remaining 2 tablespoons  of shortening heated until it is smoking hot.

These beans are delicious as a dip for chips when topped with  cheddar cheese and salsa, or wrapped in a tortilla.  Enjoy!

Find other great Mexican recipes in our newly released Mexican Recipe Collection.

Mexican Recipe Collection from Peppercorn Press

One of the more interesting dishes that we recently had in Cabo san Lucas was one of beef mango tacos.   I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I ordered them, but I was pleasantly surprised by the delicious sweet meat dish that was delivered to our table.

I have always been a fan of lettuce wraps from restaurants like P.F. Chang’s, but these are a different breed of wrap altogether.  The lightly spicy steak was very tender, and set off perfectly by the sweetness of the mangos.  They were satisfying, yet wonderfully refreshing.  After lunch we walked the grounds of the resort, having enjoyed a hearty lunch without the heavy feeling that sometimes lingers afterwards.

Try our version of these delicious tacos and see for yourself.

BEEF SIRLOIN TIPS

1 pound beef sirloin tip

2 cloves minced garlic

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Begin by trimming the fat from the beef sirloin tip.  Cut the sirloin into cubes no bigger than  1/2 inch.  Combine the garlic, chili powder, cinnamon, cayenne and salt together in a small bowl.  Sprinkle mixture evenly over the beef, stirring the beef to coat all sides.  Heat olive oil in a deep skillet.  Add the beef and sauté, stirring constantly until meat is the desired doneness.  Ours were served well done, but you can cook the meat to your personal preference.  Set aside the beef cubes to cool and drain on paper towels while you prepare the salsa.

MANGO SALSA

1 ripe avocado, chopped

1/4 cup chopped English cucumber

1 fresh mango, cubed

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped red pepper

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Salt to taste

YOU WILL ALSO NEED

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

Romaine lettuce leaves

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and add the steak cubes.  Stir to coat.  Place lettuce leaves on a platter and gently spoon beef and salsa mixture onto leaves.  Go sparingly so that the leaves don’t get too full.  Top with pine nuts and serve.

Tikin Xik

This was one of my favorite dishes from our vacation. After spending a good part of the day taking our daughter all over the resort to look at parrots, cockatoos, flamingos and canaries, oh my! we were beaten by the heat and looked forward to a delicious meal. As luck would have it, we were seated right next to the string trio that was entertaining that night. We started with very tall, very cold glasses of Sangria. With the wine and the music we thought that it couldn’t get any better. Then dinner was served and proved us wrong.

Dinner was Tikin-xik, a very widespread traditional Yucatan fish dish. Its ancestry goes back to ancient times.

The Yucatan Peninsula is well known for food prepared with Annatto seeds. The seeds, sometimes called Roucou, come from Achiote trees which are native to the tropical regions of the Americas. Achiote is derived from the Aztec (Nahuatl) word for shrub – Achiotl, and has been used and grown since the pre-Hispanic times in Yucatan food. It is commonly found in Caribbean and Latin American cuisines – both for flavor and as a coloring agent.

The aroma of Annatto seeds is somewhat peppery with a suggestion of nutmeg, and flavor as moderately sweet and peppery. Annatto is assembled from the red-like pulp that surrounds the achiote seed. It is used in foods like margarine, butter, smoked fish, rice and various cheeses such as brie and cheddar.

Cooking with Annato Seeds

For cooking, a paste is created by mixing the annatto seeds with bitter orange, vinegar, chili peppers, garlic, cumin, oregano and black pepper. This paste, known as “recado rojo,” is iconic of both Yucatecan and Mexican food in today’s cuisine, although it’s original preparation is unknown.

Combining fish with the annatto paste produces one of the most magnificent dishes from Yucatecan cuisine – Tikin-Xik (TEEK’n-geek). Although this primitive dish had only been accessible within the region at food stands along the coast, it has made a comeback since the mid-1990’s with the help of great chefs, launching the revival of Tikin-Xik as definitive dish from Southeastern Mexico.

Annatto Seed

Modern renditions of the dish have replaced the fish with shrimp. The contemporary dish has received plenty of prestige and has been featured and celebrated in culinary festivals throughout Mexico, Spain and the U.S.

The rejuvenation of Tikin-Xik has heightened another quintessential dish to Mexican cuisine recognized throughout the culinary world. The flavor has a complex yet simple balance amazing chefs, critics and foodies alike, while being a fount of honor within the Yucatan whose achiote and traditional recipe are in great demand.

TIKIN XIK RECIPE:

The variation that we were served at LaNao Restaurant uses shrimp instead of whole fish.

Ingredients:

2-3 lb. Jumbo Shrimp

3 garlic cloves

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. cumin seeds

Juice of 1 blood orange

2 tsp. Annatto Seeds (available in most specialty food stores)

Pinch of ground cinnamon

1 tomato, sliced

1/2 onion, sliced

1-2 chiles, seeded, roasted and cut in strips

Salt and pepper to taste

Banana leaves

Preparation:

Clean and devein the shrimp. Blend oregano, cumin, garlic, annatto seeds, cinnamon and orange juice. Rub this paste mixture all over the shrimp. Marinate for one hour.

Use one banana leaf for every three shrimp. Top each leaf with tomato, onion, chiles slices and of course shrimp. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Wrap the leaf tightly using bamboo skewer soaked in water to hold it closed. Place leaf bundles on grill over medium heat and cook for 3-5 minutes. Grilling time may vary depending on the size of your shrimp.

If you can’t find banana leaves, wrap in any flavorful leaf, or put some fennel or bay leaves around the shrimp and wrap in aluminum foil.

To serve, simply place the banana leaf bundles on plates and remove the skewers. Gently unfold the leaf to expose the shrimp.

Serve with white rice.

The perfect wine accompaniment to this dish is a mildly acidic white, although a fresh light red with balanced acidity would also work.

Find other great Mexican recipes in our newly released Mexican Recipe Collection.

Mexican Recipe Collection from Peppercorn Press

View from The Bistro

One of our lunches while we were south of the border was at The Bistro in our resort, Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach.  The view from the table on the private veranda was a breathtaking panorama of the wild Pacific Ocean, and the crashing waves upon the beach.

Lunch this day consisted of Chiles Rellenos.

Chiles Rellenos, literally means “stuffed peppers.”  Consisting of roasted fresh poblano peppers stuffed with a melting cheese, then covered in batter, and fried.  It is often served in a tomato sauce although the type of sauce varies widely.   Traditionally Chiles Rellenos is made with an egg batter, however as we were served chiles in a corn meal batter, that is what we have recreated here.  We hope that you enjoy them as much as we did.

Chile Rellenos

CHILES RELLENOS
12 large pablano chiles with stems
1/2 pound shredded Monterey Jack cheese , plus extra slices for garnish
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup yellow or white cornmeal
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs

Prepare Tomato Sauce and keep warm (recipe below).

Lay the chiles directly over the flame of your cook top turning frequently  (or roast under the broiler of your oven) until they are completely blistered and the skin has begun to turn black.  Remove from flame and place the chiles in a brown paper bag to continue steaming/cooking until they are cool enough to handle.  Gently peel chiles leaving stems on.  Cut small slit below the stem, removing seeds.  Stuff the chiles with shredded cheese being careful not to split chile.

To make the batter, sift flour with baking powder and salt.  Stir in the cornmeal.  Lightly beat the eggs, and blend with the buttermilk.  Combine milk mixture with dry mixture and blend together.  Slightly moisten each chile with water, then dip in plain flour, then in batter.  Repeat the dip in the flour and dip again in the batter.  Allow to drain slightly before gently lowering into vegetable oil, which has been heated to 375 F.  Fry until golden.  Drain on paper towels.  Keep warm on platter in 300 degree oven while completing frying.  Place one or two chiles on a plate, top with tomato sauce and cheese slices.  Serve immediately.

TOMATO SAUCE
1 1/3  cup tomatoes – peeled, and chopped
1/3  small  yellow onion
1 large garlic clove
2 tablespoons  chopped green chiles
1/3  tablespoon    Oil — vegetable
1/8  cup chicken stock
1/8  teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves

Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic and chiles in blender or food processor and puree. Lightly coat a medium saucepan with the oil, add tomato mixture.  Cook over medium heat for10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add chicken stock, salt, cloves and cinnamon.  Simmer gently 15 minutes.

Find other great Mexican recipes in our newly released Mexican Recipe Collection.

Mexican Recipe Collection from Peppercorn Press