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How To: Black Beans from Scratch...
Saturday, 26 January 2013
This post is the first in a series of 'how to' posts. I've been observing a few of our customers in the market and getting e-mails asking how to use some of the most basic Mexican ingredients. I guess I take for granted some of the knowledge that comes natural over the years by just eating, cooking or watching others handle Mexican ingredients and I now need to take a step back and answer things like...
how do I use corn tortillas?
do I heat them or can I eat them cold?
how do I work with dried chilies? do I cook them, soak them, boil them, toast them?
how do I use courgette flowers?
A common one revolves around beans. Beans are delicious, nutritious low in fat and quite filling. Black beans, or turtle beans as they are also known, are part of our staple diet in Mexico. They are full of iron and really easy to cook. I often find people buying the cans of beans we sell in the shop considering to buy the raw ones, but after some pause, choosing to buy the tinned ones instead. Don't take me wrong, the tinned ones are lovely and very handy, but I often wonder why people prefer them to the real deal, to the ones you make from scratch. Are they put off by their look, the overnight soaking, the cooking and the storing of a whole kilo of cooked beans? I must admit that the general lack of enthusiasm for this wholesome raw ingredient baffles me.
I've posted before my recipe for home made refried beans using pinto beans. Here I want to share with you how to make whole black beans from scratch. Once they're made, they are very versatile: you can eat them whole, as a soup (as I have done here) or you can make them into black refried beans as the recipe above. Whatever you chose to do with your beans, this post is meant to demystify the handling of this lovely pulse and to encourage you to cook them from scratch. Don't be put off by having to cook a whole kilo of these beans, they freeze extremely well, so cook the kilo and divide it in 4-6 portions and freeze them whole. Whenever you're making refried beans or your favourite chili con carne, take them out and defrost them overnight or in the microwave.
Note: you will need a pressure cooker for this; if you don't have one and are a Mexican food enthusiast, you might consider investing in one? Argos does all sorts of pressure cookers for as little as 23 euro and you will use it many, many times in Mexican cooking.
Beef Barbacoa in Red Salsa...
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
I recently blogged about barbacoa and how it is my one food connection with my dad. When I made the barbacoa for that post, I froze a small amount for this post as I knew once I had shared that recipe, I had to share this one too. These Tacos of Barbacoa en Salsa Roja are perfect for any leftover barbacoa you may have. Since it is only two of us in the house, I often make drunken barbacoa and set half of it aside for this dish in the freezer, it's a quick and delicious way to make some tacos fast.
You can serve them with a side of beans and a delicious portion of home made red salsa. If you don't want to make salsa from scratch, use some of our shop bought ones. This is a super fast Mexican dinner and your family will love it!
Turkey Enmoladas
Sunday, 6 January 2013
As those of you who know me, and those of you who've been patient enough to read previous ramblings in this blog, I absolutely hate food waste. I don't throw food away if I can help it; some of my Irish family find this odd and jokingly call me the queen of leftovers, so naturally, two weeks after Christmas I am still feeding my dearest and nearest turkey! Normally, Alan always asks - 'what's for dinner today?', nowadays, he asks: 'is the turkey finally all gone?' - the poor thing!
Today, he was a happy man, I cooked the last of the turkey and in his own words, he was nearly sorry that it was the last bit, as he wouldn't have minded another meal like this. Honest, it took 15 minutes to make (Jamie Oliver would be proud) and it tasted delicious! Besides, I finally got a chance to blog about a recipe I often recite to My Mexican Shop customers when they come to the market and ask how to use the ready made Mole sauce we sell in the shop, so beware, this is what I call a LAZY recipe, it's quick, simple and tastes delicious! If you have enough time, you could make the mole from scratch, but to be honest, the ready made sauce tastes good and if I am going through the effort of making mole paste from scratch, I'd rather make it the centre of the meal and not just a sauce.
Please use proper corn tortillas as we traditionally do in Mexico, enchiladas made with wheat tortillas are too heavy and soggy and they are far less healthy than the corn tortillas as they contain fat (often partially hydrogenated one) while corn tortillas, apart from being coeliac friendly, they are made with maize flour, water and salt. The flavour is totally different too, so even if you only try this recipe once, make it with proper corn tortillas. Enjoy!
Spicy Turkey Tacos
Thursday, 27 December 2012
I don't know about you, but I seem to be incapable of ever judging what size turkey to buy so that I don't have a massive amount of it left after our traditionally Irish Christmas dinner. This year was no exception, the 14 pound bird was indeed too much, so I was left with about 5 pounds of cooked turkey! Now there's only so much turkey sandwiches you can eat and after two days, I have to fight the urge to choke it all in the bin.
So, today I set myself the task of finding a way to use my leftover turkey in a wise way. Turkey used like this will make a lovely filling for tamales and it will taste fantastic in gorditas, which is what I did with mine last year, but it is also incredibly good spooned in corn tortillas with some black refried beans as quick taco super. So go on, do something different with your turkey and avoid the turkey going bad.
A quick note on the two dried chilies we're using here. Cascabel, which literally means ‘rattle’, are little round dried chilies slightly smaller than a golf ball. They are of a dark ruby colour and full of small loose seeds which if shaken, make a rattling noise. They have a slightly bitter flavour and are quite mild in heat.
Pasilla dried chilies are very mild as well, but long, wrinkly and black with a red tint to their flesh. The name literally means 'little raising' and they are wonderfully fragrant with a subtle grape flavour, a bit like a raising, which I reckon is the reason for their name. Like with most dried chilies, one must be careful handling them. Use gloves if this makes you feel more comfortable, otherwise make sure to wash your hands well a couple of times once you’re finished handling them.
The Gift of Food this Christmas...
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
I love Christmas, it is my favourite time of the year. Growing up our house was filled with the Christmas spirit: colourful decorations everywhere, a big Christmas tree in the hall full of red, green, gold and silver ornaments and multicoloured lights. The whole house lit up and dressed to spread joy and happiness. Nothing said Christmas as much as mam's kitchen though: full of aromas from all the dishes that she would serve up for family and friends.
Mam loves her kitchen, her double oven would be working overtime: baking galore with cookies, sweet breads, savory dishes and the traditional Mexican Christmas fare for the many parties she and my father would hold during the month of December. Mam taught me that love was best expressed in plentiful bowls of food, and share and spread widely a bite at a time. Every year she would make tons of edible gifts for neighbours and friends, this is a tradition I have tried to keep as much as possible. I bake or make something edible every year and put it in nice containers with ribbons and a card and we deliver them every year to our closest friends.
So when I was contacted by The Theatre of Food to take part in some workshops in Cork City Christmas Market in December, I chose to do Edible Gifts. So apart from sharing a few ideas there, this year I'll be making a few different edible gifts. Starting with this recipe for buñuelos, a fried wheat tortilla, dusted with sugar and cinnamon. I've chosen to use an old basket I had in the house and I made it pretty with some recycled Christmas decorations I found in the attic.
