flan napolitano de queso

Hola everyone, it's Cinco de Mayo!!!

The 5th of May, although not Mexico’s national holiday, is the day celebrated around the world as the symbol of Mexican heritage and pride. And this year it also happens to be the 30th birthday of my sister Shamu!!!

It’s hard to believe that little Shamu is 29+1, and even more scary to think I’m not far behind her . . . .

Happy 30th Shamu! I hope you have a whale of a day.

To celebrate her birthday, here's a delicious, rich Mexican cake made with cream cheese and flavoured by a sticky caramel top. Another great recipe from Robot and Tia.

This recipe also concludes the week of Mexican cooking, with:
1. Tamarind Margarita - tangy cocktail
2. Salsa de Chipotle y Tomato - smoky, sweet sauce
3. Conchinita Pibil - citrusy pork roasted in banana leaves
4. Sangrita - tomatoy drink to sip with tequila
5. Budin Azteca - layered tortilla casserole
6. Chiles con Queso - chillies drenched in cheesey sauce
7. Flan Napolitano de Queso - steamed caramel cheese cake

Flan Napolitano de Queso (Steamed Caramel Cheese Cake)
Recipe by Tia Bicky & Robot. Serves 6-8.
Ingredients:
6 eggs
375ml evaporated milk
375ml sweetened condensed milk
250ml (1 cup) milk
250g cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3/4 cup of sugar
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180'C.
2. Carefully melt the sugar in a saucepan and allow to brown gently to form a caramel. Pour into a cake tin or flan mould.
3. Mix all of the other ingredients together in a blender.
4. Add the blended ingredients into the tin on top of the caramel, then cover tightly with aluminium foil.
5. Place inside a bain-marie in the oven for approximately 50 minutes or when an inserted knife or skewer comes out clean.
6. Leave to set in the refridgerator for at least 2 hours.
7. When cooled, turn upside down and serve with luscious cajeta.

If you have a unique take on a Mexican classic or can recommend a special Mexican dish that isn’t very well known, please leave a link in the comments section below. Let’s share the love of Mexican food around!

Now here’s some brilliant ideas from the rest of the net:

Drinks
Agua de Sandia (watermelon drink)
Agua de Tamarindo (sweet tamarind drink)
Agua Fresca Cítrica (citrus drink)
Agua Fresca de Pepino y Limón (cucumber & lime drink
Champurrado (thickened hot chocolate)
Chico (tequila & blackberry cocktail)
Horchata (almond & rice drink)
Michelada (spicy beer cocktail)
Ponche (fruit punch)
Piña y Menta Fresca (pineapple & mint cocktail)
Prickly Pear Margarita
Rompope (Mexican eggnog)
Spicy Hot Chocolate
Tamarind Margarita
Tepache (spiced, fermented pineapple drink)

Sauce
Chocolate Mole
Pecan Mole
Salsa de Chipotle y Tomato
Salsa Verde (tomatillo sauce)
Salsita de Chile Habanero (habanero sauce)

Snacks & Salads
Beef Empanadas
Cabbage, Jicama & Cucumber Salad
Chicken, Olive & Chorizo Empanadas
Elote (grilled corn)
Ensalada de Nopalitos (cactus salad)
Esquite (corn snack)
Jicama-Pineapple Salad
Oaxacan Eggplant Spread
Pickled Jalepeños

Soup
Caldo Tlalpeño (chipotle, avocado & lime broth)
Frijoles Negros con Chochoyotes (soupy black beans & dumplings)
Menudo Rojo (red chilli tripe stew)
Pozole Rojo (pork & hominy red stew)
Sopa de Fideos (noodle soup)
Sopa de Flor de Calabacín (squash blossom soup)

Main Courses
Arroz Verde (green herb rice)
Acorn Squash Quesadilla
Baja Fish Tacos
Camarones en Pipian (prawns in almond & chilli)
Cemita Strata (leftover bake)
Chilaquiles (bean & tortilla bake)
Chiles en Nogada (chillies in walnut sauce)
Chiles Rellenos (stuffed chillies)
Chile con Carne
Conejo en Mole Rojo (rabbit in red mole sauce)
Garnachas
Guisada de Guilota (quail braised in tomatillo sauce)
Huevos Motuleños (Motul-style eggs)
Huevos Rancheros (ranch eggs)
Huitlacoche Quesadillas (corn fungus toasties)
Mixiote de Carne (beef baked in banana leaves)
Mole Negro Oaxaqueño (Oaxacan black mole)
Pescado a la Veracruzana (Veracruz-style fish)
Pescado Almendrado (fish in almond sauce)
Pescado con Salsa de Acuyo (fish with Acuyo sauce)
Quesadilla Cake
Salpicón de Camarónes (Veracruz-style prawn cocktail)
Tequila Chicken
Tongue Tacos
Tostadas

Desserts
Arroz con Leche
Black Bean, Chilli & Chocolate Sorbet
Calabaza y Camote (candied squash & sweet potatoes)
Capirotada (bread pudding)
Chocolate Fritters w Dulche de Leche
Cinnamon & Chocolate Flan
Leche Quemada (burnt milk fudge)
Lime Margarita Ice Cream
Pan Dulce (sweet buns)
Pastel Tres Leches (three-milk cake)
Pepita Brittle
Polvorones (Mexican wedding cakes)
Rosca de Reyes (sweet bread for Epiphany)
Spiced Sweet Potatoes & Guava in Syrup
Torta del Garbanzo (sweet chickpea cake)

budin azteca - mexican vegetarian casserole

This great vegetarian casserole is a spicy Mexican lasagne made from layers of tortillas, cheese and chopped vegetables.

It's the fifth recipe in the seven day lead up to Cinco de Mayo!

Budin Azteca (Aztec Casserole)
Recipe by Tia Bicky & Robot. Serves 4-6.
Ingredients:
12 corn or flour tortillas
1 cup grated cheese
Filling
1 cup corn kernels
3 finely chopped zucchinis
1 cup chopped buttons mushrooms
1 finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ cup chopped fresh coriander
Salt & pepper, to taste
Sauce
1 can of poblano chillies (or 2 fresh char-grilled poblano chillies)
½ cup milk
½ cup cream
1 vegetable stock cube
Method:
1. Heat olive oil in a frying pan, then fry all filling ingredients (except coriander) until soft. When finished, stir in coriander.
2. To make the sauce, in a blender process the sauce ingredients together. Add more chillies to the sauce to taste.
3. Preheat the oven to 180’C.
4. Heat the sauce in a saucepan to thicken slightly.
5. Quickly fry the tortillas in oil to harden slightly. This prevents them from falling apart in the casserole.
6. In an ovenproof baking dish assemble layers of filling, sauce, grated cheese and tortillas, as you would prepare a lasagne.
7. Finish with a layer of grated cheese on top.
8. Place in oven for 20 minutes or until well heated all the way through with the cheese melted and bubbly on top.
Note: Add shredded chicken to the filling for a non-vegetarian version. If poblano chillies are not available a salsa verde or spicy tomato based salsa could be substituted.

cochinita pibil - citrus roasted pork

Cochinita Pibil (also known as Puerco Pibil) is a traditional Mexican recipe using recado rojo, or achiote, a paste made from ground annatto seeds. The paste itself is pretty flavourless, but its real value comes from the vibrant, natural red colour it gives to food.

Cochinita Pibil is basically pork that’s been marinated in orange juice then slow-roasted in banana leaves to lock in the moisture while cooking.

It's from the Yucatán and the traditional recipe uses bitter oranges. The orange juice gives a really interesting, fresh flavour to the rich meat.

The Mayan word "pibil" means "buried" and “cochinita” means “suckling pig”, so perhaps technically my version is “Puerco Pibil” (puerco meaning pork). But since Cochinita Pibil is the more common term, no matter what kind of pig you're cooking, I’m sticking to it!

Like many of my recipes leading up to Cinco de Mayo, this one comes from my Mexican pals, Tia Bicky & Robot.

Cochinita Pibil
Tia Bicky's adaptation from Mexico: The Beautiful Cookbook. Serves 6-8.
Ingredients:
1.5 kilos of cubed pork
50g recado rojo (achiote paste)
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
2 teaspoons of salt or more as required
3 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 2 oranges
Squeeze of lime
Fresh Banana leaves
Method:
1. Dissolve the achiote paste in the orange juice using your fingers, add vinegar and salt.
2. Marinate the pork in the juice. There should be enough liquid to coat all of the pork in excess, otherwise add more juice mixture.
3. Marinate overnight or at least 6 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 180’C.
5. Prepare the banana leaves by heating them over the flame very briefly on the stove top until the oil starts to come out of the leaves.
6. Line an ovenproof dish with banana leaves crosswise so that you can wrap the ends over the top after adding the pork.
7. Mix the pork with a lime squeezed over the top and 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or more to moisten).
8. Fold the banana leaves over the pork completely and cover tightly with aluminium foil.
9. Cook in oven for at least 90 minutes or until the meat shreds easily with a fork, but ensure the pork remains moist.
10. Shred the pork completely before serving. Serve with rice or tortillas, orange pickled onions and other accompaniments such as black beans, guacamole and salsas.
Note: oranges in Australia are much sweeter than Mexico so lime juice is added. You can omit the lime if you’re using Mexican oranges. Also, the original recipe uses pork lard instead of olive oil.

Orange Pickled Onions
Ingredients:
2 red onions finely sliced
Orange juice
Lime juice
habanero or jalapeño chiles, finely sliced
2 tablespoons white vinegar
Salt
Method:
Mix the finely sliced onions with juice, vinegar, salt to taste and chillies. Leave to marinate for 2 hours.
Notes: Traditionally the recipe uses habaneros but they can be too hot for some people so Tia uses pickled jalapeños instead.

tamarind margarita

This margarita is the festive drink to kick off my seven days of Mexicana, all in the lead up to Cinco de Mayo!

The 5th of May, although not Mexico’s national holiday, is the day celebrated around the world as the symbol of Mexican heritage and pride. And this year it also happens to be the 30th birthday of my sister Shamu!!!

So, in honour of my Mexican friends, who have opened my eyes to true Mexican flavours, I have decided to post a week’s worth of Mexican recipes.

On Cinco de Mayo itself, I'll also post an extensive list of Mexican recipes from around the internet.

Real Mexican food is fresh, light and dances in your mouth. Although it may contain them, true Mexican cuisine isn’t bogged down by cheese and sour cream, nor destroyed with an overload of macho chilli. It’s all about balance to heighten the flavour experience.

One such example of sweet, sour and a little kick is the tamarind margarita. The sour pulp of the tamarind fruit is balanced with sugar syrup and bold tequila for the perfect, refreshing cocktail by the pool, seaside or just relaxing in your own backyard.

Tamarind Margarita
Recipe by Robot & Tia Bicky. Makes 2 – 4.
Ingredients:
125ml (½ cup) tequila
2 tablespoons tamarind paste
60ml (¼ cup) sugar syrup
Juice of 2 limes
Ice
Method:
Blend ingredients with ice in a blender until slushy consistency. Serve immediately.

esquite: mexican corn snack

Elote is a typical Mexican dish, served by street vendors around the country. It consists of grilled corn served with accompaniments like lime, salt, chilli, mayonnaise, sour cream, cheese and even shredded chicken.

I prefer esquite, which is identical to elote only the corn kernels are sliced from the cob into a glass and the accompaniments piled on top so you can eat it more easily with a spoon.

Now I have never been to Mexico, so my experiences of elote and esquite come purely from my dinners at the home of Mexican amigos Vicky & Roberto.

We're hoping to make it to Mexico in January 2010, as part of a huge around-the-world journey, but since it's a very ambitious holiday plan it might not happen. Fingers crossed.

In anticipation, I made Mexican food a focus cuisine for my 2009 Food Challenges and have made quite a few things already. This being another one!

We usually eat our elote and esquite sprinkled with tajin, but since this Mexican seasoning of powdered chilli, salt and dehydrated lime juice isn’t readily available all over the world I’ve provided an alternative recipe.

Esquite

Vicky & Roberto's recipe. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
2 corn on the cob
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1 lime, cut into quarters
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of salt
Olive oil

Method:
1. Heat your BBQ.
2. Brush the corn with the olive oil then grill until cooked through.
3. Slice the kernels from the cobs, into a bowl, and squeeze out corn milk from the cob.
4. Toss the corn with salt and cayenne then divide between bowls.
5. Allow people to top their corn with mayonnaise and cheese to their taste, then provide lime quarters for squeezing.

Variation: ¼ teaspoon tajin instead of cayenne pepper.

Corn, also known as maize, is one of the many wonderful and delicious food sources to come from the Americas.

Corn originated in Mesoamerica then spread across the American continent. Once the Europeans began to colonise the Americas, corn spread all over the world.

The word maize comes from the indigenous Taino through Spanish while the word corn used to be applied to any kind of cereal.

It’s believed that corn was first domesticated in Mexico more than 9,000 years ago. By 1500BCE it started to spread all over the Americas and became the staple food for pre-Columbian North American, Mesoamerican, South American, and Caribbean cultures.

When corn cultivation spread to the US Southwest (1st millennium CE) and US Northeast and south-eastern Canada (2nd millennium CE) it created new landscapes as Native Americans cleared forest and grassland for their crops.

Corn is the most widely grown crop in the Americas and the US produced 332 million tonnes annually on its own. It’s therefore not surprising that five of the world’s top ten corn producers are located in the Americas. The top producers are, in order, the US, China, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, India, France, Indonesia, Canada and Italy.

Corn contains and an indigestible protein which can cause an allergic reaction leading to rashes, swelling, itching, diarrhoea, vomiting, asthma and even anaphylactic shock. What’s even stranger is that people with corn allergies almost always have peach allergies too.

Check out the Weekend Herb Blogging round-up over at Cheryl's Gluten Free Goodness.

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Corncobs.jpg

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes weekend herb blogging whb entrée starter snack corn elote esquite beef recipes elote recipes esquite recipes corn recipes mexican recipes mexican food mexican cuisine

caldo tlalpeño

Last night's dinner caused me to do some research on its name to find out where it came from.

Tlalpan is a municipality of the Mexican 'Distrito Federal': an independent self-governing area, separate from the rest of Mexico. The majority of Mexico City is located within the Federal District. The main indigenous language in Tlalpan was an uto-Aztecan language called Nahuatl, from which the word "tlalli" gave rise to Tlalpan's meaning "on the land".

This ancient borough is the source of a wonderful, light and sour soup which one could almost describe as Mexico's answer to tom yum.

The soup uses chipotle chillies, which for Australians are considerably hard to come by. My supplier is Fireworks Foods, an online store selling all things spicy, including seeds for rare chilli plants. Prices are very reasonable and delivery is swift.

For the uninitiated, chipotle are smoked jalapenos. The ones used in this recipe are those coming from a can with adobo sauce, so they're sweet, smoky and moist. You only use a few chillies in this recipe, so I freeze the remainder, individually wrapped, in a big freezer bag so I can access them in small portions in future.

We cook a vegetarian version, but traditionally this soup uses a rich chicken stock and chicken meat that has been fried then shredded. You can use this method if you prefer, or even add the chicken afterwards (which is what I usually do).

We were introduced to this soup by our wonderful friends: Mexican Robot and his honorary Mexican lady, Bicky.

Caldo Tlalpeño (Chipotle, Lime & Avocado Broth)
Vicky & Roberto's delicious recipe serves 3 main, 5 entrée
Ingredients1.6 litres rich vegetable stock
½ white onion, diced finely
1 carrot, cubed
400g can mixed beans (kidney, lima, chickpeas etc)
1-2 chipotle chillies in adobo sauce, depending on your taste
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Juice of 2 limes
1 avocado, cubed
2 corn tortillas (or flour)
2 tablespoons coriander, roughly chopped
Olive oil for frying
Method
1. In a pot with a little oil, sauté garlic and onion until transparent.
2. Add stock and carrot and cook until carrot is tender (give or take 20 minutes).
3. Meanwhile, slice tortillas into thin strips. Fry in oil until crispy.
4. Add chilli and beans then cook until warmed through and tender.
5. In serving bowls divide the lime juice and avocado cubes. Top with soup then coriander. Pass tortilla croutons separately.
Note: traditionally the soup uses chicken stock and shredded chicken poached in the broth.