mexico – Mel's Mosaic

As it’s been so hot recently, wanted to make a refreshing salad that pairs with Mexican food. Remembered a great one from a Mexican cookbook I have, Mexico The Beautiful Cookbook: Authentic Recipes from the Regions of Mexico. It’s with chayote squash and pretty simple. The hardest part is peeling the squash.

Ingredients

2 lb (1 kg) chayotes (vegetable pears/chokos)
salt
6 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings

Directions

-Place the chayotes, unpeeled, in a large saucepan. Cover with water, add a pinch of salt and cook, covered, for 30-40 minutes or until they can easily be pierced with a fork. Drain and let cool for 5 minutes. Peel the chayotes, cut in half, then cut each half into 3 or 4 strips. Chill.
-Combine the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and oregano. Stir well and correct the seasonings.
-Before serving, mix the chayotes with the dressing, top with the onion and sprinkle with more oregano if desired. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Very refreshing, easy to make and pairs well with tuna steaks, salsa and guac, too! Oh, and margaritas, of course.

Wanted to make a new (to me) recipe the other day and did some Mexican food research in a great cookbook — Mexico The Beautiful Cookbook. Wanted something fairly unique versus the normal tacos, etc. Found a recipe that sounded great — Pistachio Mole. Had to give it a try. I had to alter it a bit because of some of the dairy factors.

The quick mention:

Martha Chapa puts together the unusual and delicate combination of pistachios and avocado leaves in this new version of mole.

Ingredients:

8 chicken legs with thighs (I used chicken breasts)
3 cups white wine
3 cups water
2 onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic
4 avocado leaves, fresh or dried**these are pretty much non-existent in the States — the best substitute I found based on research is a combination of bay leaves and cracked anise seed
salt
6 tablespoons butter (I used olive oil)
2 tablespoons oil (sort of brought this and the above together)
1 chile poblano, roasted, peeled and membranes removed
10 oz shelled pistachios, skins removed
freshly ground pepper

Garnish

1/2 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
fresh avocado leaves (optional)

Directions

First, the fun part was roasting the chile — I no longer have a gas stove so tested the ability of doing this on an electric (coil) one. Quite interesting. I turned on all fans and opened all windows.

-In a large covered saucepan over medium heat, simmer the chicken in the wine and water along with 1 onion and the garlic, avocado leaves and salt until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the chicken, reserving the stock, and return to the saucepan.

-While the chicken is cooking, heat the butter and oil in a skillet. Add the chile, remaining onion and the pistachios and saute until lightly browned.

In a blender or food processor, grind this mixture with a little of the reserved stock, then simmer in a covered saucepan over very low heat for 30 minutes. Pour over the chicken and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Before serving, add pepper and more salt if needed.

-In a small skillet, saute the onion in the butter for 5 minutes or until translucent. Garnish with the onions and, if you like, fresh avocado leaves.

The end results was quite unique. I love pistachios so you can never go wrong. It could have used a touch more salt and I would say maybe a hint of lemon. I would definitely recommend trying this.