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Recipes

“Spanish and Latin Cuisine”

Homemade Tortillas

Cheese Quesadillas

Tortilla de Patata

Pico de Gallo y Guacamole en Molcajete

Chicken Paella

Arroz con Leche

Handmade Flour Tortillas

This unleavened dough is considered to be Mexico’s everyday bread. Wheat tortillas are made with all-purpose flour and corn tortillas are made with masa harina, which is a fine-grained corn meal. All tortillas are prepared the same way: once the dough is formed, it is rolled into little balls and then either rolled out by hand or pressed with a tortilla press. Once formed, they are cooked on a griddle, or in Mexico a comal, until lightly blistered on each side and then filled with cheese, meat or vegetables.

Makes eight 9- to 10-inch tortillas

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, more for kneading and rolling

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup vegetable shortening cut into small pieces

2/3 cup warm water

In a medium bowl, stir the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the shortening and cut it into the flour with a pastry blender or two table knives until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in 2/3 cup warm water with a fork until a shaggy dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and soft, 3 to 4 minutes, reflouring the surface as necessary. After kneading, the dough should not be sticky.

Portion the dough into eight equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Cover the balls loosely with plastic wrap and let rest on the counter for between 30 minutes and 2 hours.

When ready to cook the tortillas, heat and lightly grease a large dry skillet or griddle over medium heat until hot. Working with one ball of dough at a time (keep the remaining dough covered) and using just enough flour to prevent sticking, roll the dough to a 9 to 10-inch round. The dough should be so thin that you can just barely see through it, and it should be more or less circular, though an amoeba shape is fine too. You can also use a tortilla press.

Peel the dough off the counter and lay it in the skillet or on the griddle. Cook until the tortilla bubbles and puffs and the bottom browns in spots, 45 to 60 seconds. If any gigantic bubbles form, pierce them so the tortilla cooks evenly. Flip with a spatula and cook until the second side gets brown in spots and any translucent, raw-looking areas become opaque, another 45 to 60 seconds. (If the tortillas brown too quickly or start burning in spots, reduce the heat to medium low.)

Transfer to a clean dishtowel and cover to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining dough, stacking and covering each tortilla as it’s cooked.

Because they’re not loaded with preservatives, these tortillas taste best when freshly made. They’ll stay pliable as long as they’re kept warm. Leftover tortillas may be frozen (let cool first). Rewarm individually cooled or thawed tortillas on a griddle or skillet, or wrap several in foil and heat in a 350º F oven until warm and pliable, about 10 minutes.

Cheese Quesadillas

Very common throughout Latin America as well as the U.S. Quesadillas are made from tortillas filled with savory ingredients such as cheese, meats and beans or a mixture of the three. After filled and folded they are usually cooked on a griddle and served as an appetizer.

Makes about 60 wedges

2 (10 ounce) package flour tortillas - or make your own

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Salsa, guacamole (recipes follow) and sour cream for serving

Lightly oil a griddle; heat over medium heat. Place a tortilla on griddle and top evenly with some of the cheese mixture. When cheese begins to melt, fold tortilla in half using a spatula. If using homemade and they are too crisp to fold, simply top with another tortilla, making a whole round one instead of a half.

Continue to cook until cheese is completely melted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Tortilla should be soft but slightly crispy around the edges.

With a pizza cutter, cut each halved tortilla into 3 pieces (if you used whole ones, cut them into 6 pieces). Serve warm with salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

Salsa or “Pico de Gallo”

Spanish for “rooster’s beak,” Pico de Gallo is historically eaten with the thumb and finger resembling the rooster’s pecking beak. This Spanish accompaniment composed of tomatoes, onions and jalapeños can be found throughout Latin America consisting of various ingredients.

Makes about 2 cups

8 plum tomatoes, diced

1 small red onion, diced

1 jalapeño pepper, diced, seeds removed (oil your hands before touching them)

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 sprigs cilantro, minced

3 limes, juiced

½ teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and Freshly ground pepper

Toss all ingredients with the lime juice, cumin salt and pepper. The longer it sits, the more the flavors will emerge and blend together. More juices will also be released from the tomatoes.

Guacamole En Molcajete

This popular dip of mashed avocados is best served a little chunky, made at the last minute and mixed with ingredients that have been mashed in the traditional Molcajete y tejolete (mortar and pestle). The Molcajete normally is made of volcanic rock and its rough texture allows you to mash the ingredients into a fine paste that blends into the avocados.

Makes about 2 cups

¾ cup chopped onion

2 teaspoons minced jalapeño chili, or more, to

taste (oil your hands before mincing)

2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves

1½ – 2 teaspoons salt, or more, to taste

2 small vine-ripened tomatoes

4 ripe Haas avocados

In a medium-size bowl, mortar or a Mexican molcajete (lava stone mortar), thoroughly mash ¼ cup of the onion with the chili, 1 tablespoon cilantro and the salt to make a paste.

Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally, squeeze out the juice and seeds and discard. Chop and add to bowl.

Cut the avocados in half lengthwise, cutting around the pit. Gently twist the top half of the avocado off to separate the halves. Carefully tap the pit with the edge of a sharp knife and twist it out. Remove pit from knife with a towel. Reserve pit.* Using a paring knife, slice the avocado flesh of both halves lengthwise, then crosswise, cutting down to the skin, to form a grid. Scoop the avocado into the bowl with a spoon.

Add the remaining onion and cilantro, and gently fold all the ingredients together. Season with more chili and salt if desired. Serve with quesadillas.

*Tip: Place the whole pits of the avocados into the guacamole and cover the guacamole surface completely with plastic wrap. This helps to keep it from turning brown. Remove pit before serving!

Tortilla de Patata

Similar to the Italian “frittata,” this tortilla, which in Spain is a thick flat omelet, is composed of eggs, onions and potatoes. It is prepared as one big “tortilla” then cut into bite sized portions. These are very popular in tapas bars throughout Spain and can contain many different ingredients. Tapas are small plates of food or appetizers that can be served either hot or cold. Tapas are normally accompanied by small glasses of Sherry, which is a fortified wine that was originally made in southern Spain in the town of Jerez. Tapas were originally salty items that were served in bars on small plates placed on top of sherry glasses to keep the flies and dust out of the sherry. The saltiness of the tapas encouraged people to drink more sherry.

Makes 20 tapas

1 cup olive oil

½ medium onion, chopped

3 medium potatoes cut into teaspoon-sized pieces (about 1 pound)

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

4 large eggs

Bread for serving (20 slices of French bread, baguette)

In a large non-stick skillet (about 10 to 12 inches in diameter), heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté it for about 5 minutes, until it is light golden. Add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes longer, stirring, until they are tender.

Raise the heat to medium-high and cook the potatoes for 1 to 2 minutes longer, until they are lightly browned, crisp on the outside, and soft on the inside. Place a colander over a large metal bowl and pour onions and potatoes into it, draining off the oil. Return about 2 scant teaspoons of the oil to the pan. Pour the extra oil into another container for another use.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs lightly. “Temper” the eggs by gradually adding spoonfuls of the hot potato mixture until all the potatoes are added; mix well. Set the mixture aside.

Heat the skillet over high heat, tipping the pan to assure that the oil is evenly distributed. When it is very hot, pour the egg mixture into the pan. Use a spatula to spread the mixture evenly in the skillet. Shake the pan gently to prevent sticking and burning and cook the omelet for about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking the omelet for 10 to 12 minutes longer until the eggs begin to set. There can be some slightly unset in the middle, but the omelet should be one piece when you shake it.

Lay a flat plate over the skillet; make sure the plate is slightly larger in diameter than the skillet. Using pot holders to hold plate and skillet together, invert the omelet onto it. (Do this over a clean work surface for insurance.)

Return the empty skillet to the stove, add another 2 teaspoons of the reserved oil and heat it over high heat. When the oil is hot, slide the omelet off the plate and into the pan (the uncooked side should be facing down). Shake the pan gently to prevent sticking and cook the omelet for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 3 minutes longer, until the omelet is set. Slide the omelet onto a fresh clean serving plate and let the omelet cool slightly.

Cut the omelet into 20 small squares and wedges and serve them skewered with toothpicks on top of thin slices of bread.

Chicken Paella

Saffron-flavored rice is combined with any variety of meat and/or shellfish and prepared in a pan also known as a paella. Saffron is a spice that comes from the yellow-orange stigma of the purple crocus plant. It is a very expensive spice because there are only 3 stigmas per plant that have to be hand picked and then dried. (14,000 stigmas or about 5000 crocuses will only yield 1 ounce of saffron!) The saffron has a very subtle taste and beautiful yellow color that showcases the rest of the ingredients. Chorizo is a very flavorful, coarsely ground pork sausage used throughout Mexico and Spain. The Mexican chorizo normally uses fresh pork, while the Spanish version uses dried, smoked pork.

Makes 24 servings

2 cups fresh or frozen peas

14 ounces chorizo sausage

24 serving-size pieces of chicken

Salt and freshly ground pepper

½ cup olive oil

2 cups coarsely chopped onion

2 red peppers, coarsely chopped

4 large cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste

5 cups long-grain rice

1 can (28 ounces) crushed Italian tomatoes (about 3 cups)

8 cups chicken stock (more if needed)

3 teaspoons saffron threads, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 375º F.

If using fresh peas, blanch the peas in lightly salted water, drain and set them aside. If using frozen peas, simply thaw them. Cut chorizo into ½-inch thick rounds.

Dry chicken pieces thoroughly and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Heat ¼ cup of the oil in a huge paella pan. Sauté chicken, moving the pieces around the pan until thoroughly browned and almost totally cooked, for about 10 minutes. Remove to a large platter.

Add the chorizo as you are removing the last of the chicken and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to the platter with the chicken. Keep warm in oven to almost finish cooking (this procedure is simply to help to shorten the final cooking time).

Adding the remaining oil only if necessary, immediately add the onions, peppers, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to the pan. Cook and stir for 4 minutes. Add the rice and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stock and saffron.

Bring everything to a boil while arranging the chicken and chorizo in the pan. Sprinkle the peas over the top. After it comes to a boil, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the rice and chicken are tender and all the liquid has been absorbed. If it won’t fit in your oven, simple keep it on top over medium heat, turning occasionally to help it cook evenly. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

For use in the A la Carte Kitchen:

Pan / Rice / Chicken Stock / Tomatoes / Saffron
Paella / 3 cups / 4½ cups / 2 cups / 2 teaspoons
Stainless All Clad / 2 cups / 3½ cups / 1 cup / 1 teaspoon

Arroz Con Leche

Rice Pudding

This traditional rice pudding has two important steps involved. The initial step is to cook the rice until tender. Once cooked, you add the rice to a white sauce made of sugar, flour and milk, similar to a béchamel (made with butter). The rice releases starch which helps to make the sauce creamy. The final step involves tempering where you add some of the hot rice-milk mixture to whisked eggs to warm them up. Then add this warmed egg mixture to the hot rice-milk mixture, stirring constantly to prevent lumping and to keep the eggs from scrambling.

Makes 20 to 25 servings, or about 9 cups

5 cups water

5 tablespoons butter, divided

1 ½ teaspoons salt

2 cups uncooked rice

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup all purpose flour

5 cups milk

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

To cook rice: In large saucepan, bring 5 cups of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and the salt. Stir in the rice, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook about 17 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.

In a 4-quart saucepan with a spoon, combine sugar and flour; mix very well. Gradually stir in milk until smooth, and then add the cooked rice. Over medium heat, cook mixture, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and begins to boil (about 10 minutes). Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove immediately from heat.

In a large bowl, with a wire whisk, beat eggs and “temper” by whisking in a small amount (about a cup) of the hot milk-rice mixture. Slowly pour the egg mixture back into saucepan, stirring rapidly to prevent lumping and to keep the eggs from scrambling. Over low heat, cook, stirring constantly, until very thick (do not boil) and mixture mounds when dropped from spoon.

Remove from heat; stir in remaining butter and the vanilla; cool slightly. Pour into individual serving dishes or one large serving dish. Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon. If holding for a period of time, cover surface of mixture with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming and refrigerate. Serve warm or chilled.