KITCHEN TECHNIQUE BASICS
Brown:
To cook over medium to high heat in a small amount of fat until deep-brown. Don’t stir or move the food until the brown crust has developed.
Dice:
To cut into neat, evenly sized cubes.
Fry:
To cook until golden in ¼ inch to ½ inch hot fat.
Simmer:
To cook just below a boil.
Sauté:
To cook food quickly over high heat, stirring to cook evenly.
Puree:
To blend (in a blender, not a food processor) with a very small amount of liquid until thick and smooth, which may take several minutes. Scrape down the sides of the blender several times. For a perfectly smooth puree, run the puree through a food mill.
Soups
Using just a handful of simple ingredients, Mexican cooks excel at creating soulful, delicious soups out of what seems like nothing. Simple
caldo
(what we call stock or broth) is the base of most Mexican soups, as well as a flavorful addition to many sauces, moles, and stews.
Most Mexican kitchens have a pot of some type of
caldo
bubbling away on the stove, tossed together from bits of chicken or beef and a few vegetables and herbs.
Caldos
are easy to make in the slow cooker—easier than on the stove top, really—and require no attention.
Add more vegetables, meat, chiles, and spices to the broth to create a substantial soup for the midday or evening meal, like
Sopa Azteca
or
Puchero de Res
. Caldo de mariscos (seafood soup) is a coastal soup with many variations, like
Caldo de Camarones
, which is full of fresh shrimp.
Hearty
ollas
and
pucheros,
also based on a
caldo,
are brothy stews that are full of meat, sually vegetables, and a starch such as potato. Some, like
Mole de Olla con Bolitas
and
Pozole Rojo
and
Pozole Verde
, reach far back into pre-Spanish culinary traditions. They are usually rich with dried chiles and
nixtmal
(hominy) or thickened with ground nuts and herbs.
Purely indigenous
atoles,
which predate the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico, can be either a soup or a drink. Based on water thickened with dried or fresh corn or nuts, they are seasoned with chiles and herbs and ground to a smooth consistency. Authentic Aztec
xocolatl
(chocolate drink) is an
atole
made of cocoa beans ground with nuts and chiles and thickened with corn. Bright-green
Chileatole
is made of fresh corn and poblano chiles.
Sopa seca
is peasant food: simple and quick to make, it is also, more importantly, filling and cheap. These are made by pouring a boiling liquid (either
caldo,
boiled and sieved tomatoes, or water) over fried pasta, rice, or slices of bread and simmering until the starch absorbs most of the liquid and forms a nearly dry soup. This is old-fashioned home cooking, Mexican style.
Sopa de Frijol
SPICY BEEF SOUP WITH MAYOCOBA BEANS
Serves 4 to 6
Northern Mexican cooks make an art of simple cowboy cooking with this substantial soup with a
picante
kick—just the thing for a cold night. The yellow-green mayocoba beans (also known as peruviana) cook with the beef, absorbing the rich chipotle-infused broth until they are pale and creamy-soft. Any pink, red, or brown bean, such as pinto, bayo, or flor de mayo, may be substituted. This soup has a definite kick. If you prefer a milder version, you can reduce or omit the chipotles.
2 large poblano chiles
1 cup dried mayocoba beans, rinsed and picked over
2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed and cut lengthwise into strips
2½ pounds very lean chuck or stew beef, cut into ¾-inch cubes
4 slices bacon
1 large white onion, diced
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
1 tablespoon dried epazote or whole dried Mexican oregano
1 (7-ounce) can chipotles in adobo, with liquid, finely chopped
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice, or 3 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped
2 cups water
TO SERVE
Warm corn or flour tortillas
Char the poblanos over a gas flame or under a broiler until they are blistered on all sides. Let cool slightly, then peel, seed, and cut into 1-inch pieces.
Place the beans in the bottom of a 5-quart slow cooker. Top with the poblanos, jalapeños, beef, bacon, onion, garlic, salt, cumin, and epazote. Add the chipotles, tomatoes, broth, and water to the cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Turn the cooker to the warm setting and uncover. Let the soup settle for 15 minutes, then, using a large spoon, skim off as much fat as possible. Remove the bacon, cut it into small pieces, and return to the soup. Thin the soup, if desired, with a little more broth or water. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot with warm corn or flour tortillas on the side.
VARIATIONS
• Substitute cubes of peeled red or white rose potato for the beans.
• For smoky flavor without the heat, substitute 3 tablespoons soy bacon bits for the chipotles.
Sopa Azteca
Sopa Azteca
CHICKEN SOUP WITH TORTILLAS AND AVOCADO
Serves 4 to 6
There are as many recipes for this soup as there are cooks in Mexico. One of the simplest versions consists only of a bit of sautéed tomato and water poured over lightly fried corn tortillas. This flavorful version gets its zip from tomatillos, dried chiles, and fresh herbs.
2 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
½ cup hot water
2 tomatillos, husked and washed
2 Roma tomatoes
½ small white onion, diced
1 large clove garlic
1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced
2 chicken breasts (about 1½ pounds total)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups water
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, or 12 fresh epazote leaves, shredded
TO SERVE
3 corn tortillas
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Diced Hass avocado
Lime wedges
Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chiles and toast on both sides, turning occasionally and pressing down with a spatula, until they soften and blister. Remove from the pan. When the chiles are cool enough to handle, tear them into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Add the hot water and soak the chiles, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
While the chiles soak, line the skillet with a piece of aluminum foil. Add the tomatillos to the skillet and roast over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until lightly charred in spots and softened. Remove the tomatillos from the skillet.
In a blender, combine the chiles and their soaking liquid, the tomatillos, tomatoes, onion, and garlic and puree until very smooth. (For a smoother texture, you can press the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, if you like.) Transfer the puree to a 5-quart slow cooker. Add the carrot, chicken, salt, broth, and water and stir. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, or until the chicken is tender.
While the chicken is cooking, cut the tortillas in half, then cut the halves into strips ¼ inch wide (or cut them into small squares.) Heat the oil in a small skillet and fry the tortillas until crisp. Drain on paper towels.
Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and discard the skin and bones. Shred or dice the chicken into 1-inch pieces and return to the broth. Add the cilantro. Heat through, taste, and adjust the seasoning.
