Enchiladas with Black Beans, Chorizo and Fresh Mexican Cheese

This recipe, adapted from Rick  Bayless is a great way to start the New Year.

1 cup  dry black beans soaked at least 4-6 hours in cold water; throw out the soaking water and new water and cook in unsalted water for about 2 hours until tender.

Use a rib of  fresh fennel chopped (fennel which has an anise taste adds a special undertone to the beans.

1  long chorizo (mild or hot) crumbled and lightly fried in 1 TBS cooking oil

1 medium  onion diced

Salt, about 1/2 teaspoon
12 corn tortillas (plus a few extra, in case some break)
About 3/4 cup Serrano-Tomatillo Salsa (optional)
3/4 cup (about 3 ounces) crumbled Mexican queso fresco, dry goat cheese or salted farmer’s cheese
3 tablespoons roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

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Directions

1 To make the sauce-   put soaked  beans in large pan cover with fresh water; bring to a slow boil and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Do not salt them until after they are thoroughly cooked.

Smash the beans with a bean masher or put into a food processor or blender. Return to the pan and add water to the consistency of a creamy soup. Season with salt.


2.  Prepare tortillas by taking them from the package (presuming you are not making them from scratch) and placing them in the microwave to cook at about 30 seconds for three tortillas. Do this until all tortillas have been softened.

Lightly fry the chorizo in a skillet over medium low heat until it is done.   Drain off all  at.


3.  Roll the tortillas with a generous 2 TBs of Chorizo and a slice of Oaxaca Cheese- if you do not have access to Oaxaca cheese you can use another melting cheese such as Monterey Jack or Mozarella.

Scrape any bean sauce remaining on the plate back into the pot. (If the sauce has thickened, add a little water to get it back to the original consistency.) Quickly bring it to a simmer, spoon it over the folded tortillas (there should be a considerable amount of sauce), strew with the warm chorizo, splash with the optional salsa, then sprinkle on the crumbled cheese, chopped parsley and the remaining sliced onion.  Serve your delicious enfrijoladas without hesitation--they don’t take well to delays.
Advance Preparation.   The black beans can be prepared through Step 1 several days ahead; the chorizo can be cooked, too.  Store separately in the refrigerator, covered. Reheat the sauce slowly in a covered pan, thinning if necessary. Warm the chorizo before heating the tortillas and finishing the dish.
Shortcuts.   Though the flavor and color won’t be as nice, the beans could be replaced with 2 drained 15-ounce cans of black beans.
Variations and Improvisation.   The avocado leaf (or fennel) could easily be omitted or replaced with 2 or 3 canned chipotles en adobo or toasted-and-soaked red-black chipotles or chiles pasillas oaxaquenos (in fact, with the chipotle or pasilla oaxaqueno you won’t really miss the chorizo--either in the beans or on the top). Spooning soft goat cheese onto the tortillas before folding them makes the dish more substantial (you can omit the cheese garnish, if you wish). Bacon, ham or other sausage can replace chorizo; enfrijoladas are also delicious splashed with Roasted Tomatillo-Chipotle Salsa. In short, with bean sauce and tortillas as a base, you can vary toppings (or fillings) as you like.
Plantain Enfrijoladas with Sour Cream: Prepare the bean sauce, tortillas and chorizo as described in Steps 1 and 2. Fry 1 diced ripe plantain in a little vegetable oil over medium heat until browned. Dip the warmed tortillas in the warm sauce as described in Step 3, filling them with a mixture of the fresh cheese and chorizo as they are folded into quarters and layed in an ovenproof baking dish. Sauce them, then bake them covered in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes or so, until very hot, then drizzle with a little crema or sour cream thinned with a little milk. Garnish with the fried plantains, onion and parsley.

Emerald Corn Chowder Poblano

Emerald Corn Chowder  Poblano

Traveling to Chicago? If you happen to find yourself in O'Hare Airport. Specifically in the American Airlines terminal, you are one lucky traveler. You do not have to settle for a warmed over burger or unappetizing mall food, because Rick Bayliss's Frontera Bar and Grill restaurant has a wonderful small food service near gate K4!  This past Friday I passed on an opportunity to have lunch before my trip because I knew I could get something yummy at Frontera. Indeed their Poblano Corn Soup was delightful and it is easy to make.


Recipe from Rick Bayliss's Salsas That Cook
 6 cups serves 4 to 6 people

The  flavors of this comforting soup are enriched with masa harina, the dough  used for making corn tortillas. Whether you use the easily accessible dehydrated masa harina or the fresh dough available from tortilla factories if you are lucky enough to live in California, the Southwest, Chicago or Brooklyn.  According to Bayliss  this is based on a classic soup from Central and Eastern Mexico  called chileatole.

INGREDIENTS
1 small  onion, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 large fresh poblano chile, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups corn kernels  (freshly or frozen)
2 cups Frontera Roasted Tomatillo Salsa or if you have another brand from Mexico like Herdez or your own homemade you can use that.
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons freshly ground corn masa for tortillas
        OR  masa harina (corn "flour")
Salt, about 1/2 teaspoon
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan saute  the onion and poblano chile for 5 in oil  until tender. Place one cup of corn and both cups of salsa into a blender or food processor. Pulse into a smooth puree and press through a medium-mesh strainer back into the pan or pot.  Add Chicken broth, partially cover and simmer over medium-low, stirring often, for 30 minutes. In a bowl, add the dry masa or nixtamal (fresh masa) to 1/4 cup water, making sure it is smooth. Add to the chicken broth/corn mixture and stir until it thickens. Taste for salt , add  remaining corn kernels,   simmer and serve with chopped cilantro.

Blue Corn Crepes

       For the Blue Corn Crepes

 

       1.  1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

       2.  3/4 cup blue cornmeal (found in specialty stores like Whole Foods)

       3.  3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

       4. 1/2 teaspoon salt

       5.  2 cups whole milk 

       6.   3 large eggs

       7.   2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus additional for brushing skillet
       For the Filling

1. A medium yukon gold potato, peeled and diced
2. Salt to taste
3. 1/2 cup  half and half 
4. 1 Tbs  butter
5. 2 tablespoons diced onion
6. 1 jalapeño pepper seeded and minced
7. 2 cups freshly cut corn kernels (in a pinch you can use frozen)
8. 2 tablespoons green onions 
9. Freshly ground pepper
10. Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (to go on top)
11. Washed, sliced radishes for garnish  

1. In a bowl, whisk the eggs.  Add blue cornmeal,  masa harina, salt until blended. Let the batter stand for 30 minutes. 
2. Place potato in saucepan, cover the potato with water, add a pinch of salt and simmer til soft.  Place in bowl and mash until chunky. Add half and half/
3. Melt butter in a frying pan and add  onion and diced jalapeño; cook over medium heat until soft.  Add  corn and stir until tender. Add green onions. Mix corn with potatoes and season with salt. 
4. In a large nonstick skillet place a generous two TBS of  canola oil. When hot, add 2 tablespoons of  crepe batter, coat the bottom of the pan and cook over moderately high heat until lightly browned. Turn over the crepe and cook 1 minute longer. Place on a baking dish. This makes about 8 crepes.
5. Turn on the broiler oven and spoon  potato-corn filling (2 Tbs) into each crepe; fold in half and transfer to a baking sheet. Broil until browned . 
6. When done, gentle garnish with fresh pieces of cheese. 
7.  You may garnish with crisp, slice radishes if you wish!

Holiday Vegetable Cornbread Stuffing

Here is a great fall dish that uses cornbread and butternut squash. This is a perfect treat if you want to make stuffing that is "outside the bird

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2   onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 4 cloves garlic,diced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 package cornbread stuffing mix (standard size)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Put cubed winter squash, onions, and garlic in a large bowl. Add cumin and olive oil and sitr. Place  mixture in a single layer onto a  baking dish(-like a lasagne pan).
3. Roast vegetables for 30 minutes  stirring occasionally.
4. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees
5. Combine roasted squash, cilantro, and broth  in a large bowl. Add the stuffing mixture  and toss together.
6. Spoon into a greased 9×13 casserole dish. Cover with foil.
7. Bake for 30 minutes.
8.  

Caramelized corn with fresh mint

4 to 5 cups fresh corn kernels about 12 cobs), or two 16-ounce bags frozen  corn
4 ounces unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
Salt.

1. If using frozen corn, drain between layers of paper towels until thawed, about 30 minutes.
2. In a wide skillet, melt half the butter over high heat. Add half the corn and cook, stirring often, until golden and browned (kernels may begin to pop), about 10 minutes. Stir in half the mint and sprinkle with salt. Transfer to a serving bowl. Repeat with remaining corn, butter, mint and salt.

Day of the Dead- Special Fruit Atole

Fruit Atole (Hot drink made from corn starch and fruit.)

The word atole  comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word atolli. It is based on corn- in this case, Maizena or corn starch although some versions use masa harina, the same flour that is used to make tortillas. It is popular throughout the year but always is included in the Day of the Dead celebrations where it is part of the ofrendas, or altars where food is offered.
Ingredients:

10 cups of whole milk
1/2- 3/4 cup of grated piloncillo or Mexican brown sugar (more or less to taste)
2 lb. fresh fruit (pineapple or strawberries are great)
1 stick of cinnamon bark
1/4 cup of cold water
1 cup corn starch (Maizena)
1  teaspoon of good quality pure vanilla extrac

Preparation:

Wash, cut, and gently cook your choice of fruit in a small amount of water until soft. Drain and place in  blender and blend until soft puree results.  In a saucepan, combine fruit, milk, sugar. Dissolve the corn starch with about 1/4 cup of water and combine it with other ingredients. Place mixture over low heat, stir with a wooden spoon until it thickens. Add sugar  and stick cinnamon and bring to a slow boil. Bring to slow boil until the fruit, cornstarch mixture is thoroughly cooked (at least 15-20 minutes) Sti constantly to keep it from becoming lumpy.  Remove  cinnamon stick and take off the heat. Cool and serve in individual mugs.

Serves 8-10 people

Corn Risotto with Sage and Bacon

Corn Risotto:

6 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cup arborio rice
1/2 cups dry white wine
2 ears of corn freshly cut from cob (in desperation during the winter months you could use frozen corn but it is better to wait until summer).
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons sage  (preferably fresh)  chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
4 strips of bacon diced
Parmesan or Romano cheese, freshly grated.

1. Bring stock to a low boil in a pan and keep simmering while preparing the risotto.
2. In another pan  heat  olive oil over medium heat then add diced onions. Keep stirring until  cooked (about 10 minutes)
3. Add rice and stir until color becomes translucent. Add  white wine and stir.  
4. Add chicken stock a little bit at a time until it is completely absorbed.
5. Finally incorporate the fresh uncooked corn and sage into the mixture. 
6. The corn will quickly cook inside the rice after a few minutes.  Finally you may add some butter and season with a pinch of  salt and pepper.
7. Add the diced bacon bits.
8. At the end fold in a good cup of freshly shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese