My Patriotic Fruit Salad (Viva Mexico!)

Manana es Dia de Independencia, y esta noche vamos a celebrar con el grito “Viva Mexico! Viva!”

The national dish for Mexico this time of year is the exceptionally beautiful chiles en nogada, which happens to be red, white and green, como la bandera de Mexico.

But so is this, and whereas chiles en nogada has upwards of 19 ingredients (!!), this has just two:

Delish & Low-Cal: Joy’s Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

As fall arrives, it’s cold and rainy here in Mexico City (seriously, it’s 55 degrees and raining heavily right at this moment). Meaning, I want soup. Steamy, spicy soup.

But because I try to cook vegetarian at home, my options are limited. Mexico is a meat-lover’s paradise (and trust me, I’m not judging: I’ve partaken of the cooked animal flesh many ‘o times here). But one fail-safe at home dish is tortilla soup, using Mexican ingredients.

Truth be told: I’ve been making this recipe for years now, borrowing heavily from this Epicurious recipe that was printed in Bon Appetit in 1997 – wow! The way I prepare it is really a hybrid between tortilla soup and sopa de lima. And it’s my favorite of any I’ve tried…

Ingredients:

• glug of olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (or more)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste (I use ketchup)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (I use a lot more plus at least 2 tsp of chili powder)
• 4 cups canned vegetable broth, adding more water if needed
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (again, I use liberally)

• bag of good tortilla chips (totopos en espanol), crush some to sprinkle on top of finished soup
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (I use canned whole tomatoes, a pantry item that’s always usable)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed, drained
• at least 1 cup chopped zucchini — or more depending on how much you like this veggie. I chop it into fourths.
• At least one jalapeno pepper (with seeds — we like spice, take ‘em out if you don’t) or any other spicy chile
• Can throw in a cup or so of frozen or fresh corn kernels
• Can throw in a 1/2 cup or so of fresh chopped carrots
• Limes — lots of em. I like the small sweet kind
• Shredded cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top (if you’re a bad girl)
• salt and pepper, claro

Pour glug of olive oil onto large nonstick saucepan. Add onion, cover and cook over medium-low heat until almost tender, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, stir 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste or ketchup, cumin and chili powder. Add broth and 2 tablespoons cilantro; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until flavors blend, about 15 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to simmer before continuing.) Can add water if this is too thick for your taste.

Add tomatoes, beans, zucchini, extra veggies (if desired) and chile pepper to soup. Cover; simmer until zucchini is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. If broth is too laden with veggies, add little bits of water until you reach desired soup consistency. Add more spices if you wish to avoid diluted taste.

Squeeze in juice of 1 lime. Add desired amount of salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with remaining extra cilantro. Squeeze a bit more lime (depending on your lime preference — I like a lot). And you may want to shred a little Manchego cheese on top.

Tastes great as leftovers, btw. (I don’t know the exact nutrition breakdown, pero,  black beans have fiber, limes have vitamin c, carrots have vitamin A and fiber, tomatoes have vitamin C and lycopene, garlic is always good for you….and this has just a teensy bit of olive oil. So, it’s low-fat, low-cal, vegetarian and nutrient-dense. AND TASTY.)

A Mexico Must-Do: Take a Cooking Class in Oaxaca

I stuff Oaxacan cheese into a flor de calabaza. (Note the apron: It's the only time you'll ever see me wear one!)

While we vacationed in the Mexican state of Oaxaca a few weeks ago, we signed up for a cooking class at Casa Crespo Bed and Breakfast in Oaxaca City –  it was a handy hop, skip and jump from our accommodations at The Hotel Aitana. While I don’t typically associate “cooking” with “vacation” (it just doesn’t sound as good as “vacation” and “swimming in the Pacific”), I can now admit: it was a blast.

In less than 5 hours, we somehow managed to shop at the mercado and prepare no less than 10 dishes: corn tortillas, red salsa, passionfruit salsa, passionfruit juice, quesadillas with pumpkin flowers, black bean soup, stuffed-and-fried pumpkin flowers, sliced Poblano peppers with cheese and creme freche, “fiesta” mole with chicken and…lastly but certainly not leastly, Oaxacan chocolate ice cream.

Hungry yet?

Our Many Hours of Making Mexican Mole

STEP 1: Deciding

A mole vendor in the Xochimilco mercado. In the front row are the powdered moles; behind them, the wet moles that look like ice cream.

In the markets here, there’s usually a few stalls that sell different types of powdered mole. A few weeks ago, Brendan bought some powdered mole from the mercado near his office, to take back with us to the States and give as gifts to a couple of our friends. He kept some for us, and this weekend, we finally decided to cook with it.

A little background on mole, from my very limited knowledge: Mole is derived from the Aztec word for sauce. It’s usually made from a complex mixture of ingredients, and can be prepared many different ways (guacamole, for example, is one you definitely know). Brendan bought a fairly common variety — mole poblano, a dark-brown spicy mole with a strong chocolate flavor. Before we could make the mole, though, we needed answers:

1. How do you go from powdered mole to real mole? (Most recipes assume you’re making your mole from scratch, or have canned mole).
2. What do we put under the mole once we prepare it?

After about an hour of internet searching and much speculation, we decided to make some type of vegetarian enchiladas. I used to make green chile enchiladas back in college in New Mexico, and so I was familiar with the cooking techniques. And to make the mole, we decided we could probably boil some veggie broth, and add the mole powder until we got a mole-like consistency (like chocolate syrup), and pour that on top of the enchiladas.

STEP 2: Shopping

We headed to our local mercado — a damn good one known as the Mercado Medellin — to purchase:

• chayote, a local vegetable that’s pretty bland, so good for a possible enchilada stuffing
• ajonjoli (sesame seeds)
• the usual purchases of onions, cilantro, limes

Next, we bought freshly made corn tortillas from the tortilleria near the mercado.

Then we went to the big truck that parks in our neighborhood where vendors sell productos de Oaxaca, including fresh Oaxacan cheese (among other goodies). We bought a quarter-kilo of cheese, to put in and on top of the enchiladas.

STEP 3: Preparing

All things considered, our ineptitude with Mexican cooking didn’t really get in the way.

I pre-cooked the sliced chayote in the oven for a long time (I tried to roast them, realizing our roaster doesn’t seem to work). Then I stuffed the chayote, refried beans and cubed Oaxacan cheese into each enchilada. I rolled them up flauta-style, and put them in a big pan and sprinkled more cheese on top. Meanwhile, Brendan worked his magic on the mole, which filled the apartment with a spicy chocolate aroma (um, yum). I threw the enchiladas in the oven for about 20 minutes (at 7,500 feet elevation, cooking takes longer than normal). Then, when they were done, I poured the mole on top.

STEP 4: Celebratory Face Stuffing

Wow. These little guys came out gorgeous and tasty. The innards (chayote, cheese and beans) were mild enough to not compete with the highly flavorful mole.

Mole poblano enchiladas with chayote, Oaxacan cheese and beans.

If You See Chiles en Nogada on the Menu, ORDER IT

Is this not a most beautiful platter of food?

Chiles en Nogada, by Flickr user El Imaginario

I FINALLY had it this weekend, at Restaurante El Cardenal. After an appetizer of delicious tacos de pato (duck tacos) this arrived on my table, and after one bite, I couldn’t stop talking about it. Do you know how delicious this is? I asked my lunchmates between bites. OMG, you have no idea how good this is. Wow, omg.

The recipe is as complicated as it looks, but essentially, chiles en nogada is a spicy pork-potato-raisin-and-other-fruits casserole stuffed into a poblano chile, topped with an almond (or walnut) cream sauce, and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds (the dish would not be complete without the seeds — that final burst of sweetness after the spicy pork? Oh yeah.)

The dish represents the flag of Mexico. And I thoroughly devoured my flag.

Recipe: Papaya-Cantaloupe-Coconut Salad

So, we discovered yesterday that one of the large grocery store chains here in Mexico City has online ordering and delivery. Just like NYC. I signed up and went a little nuts — since we don’t own a car, we can only carry so many groceries home, even though it’s a fairly short two-block walk. This was my chance to get heavy, fluid-based products. In mass quantities. And bet your bippy, indeed I did:

Along with this juicy papaya from Chiapas, I bought a coconut, cantaloupe, limes and bananas. The produce here is exceptionally fresh, since it’s all grown nearby. Year-round.

But, there’s just two of us, and the dog. So, what the hell did I do with all this produce?

I made a mouth-wateringly good fruit salad. Check out my bounty:

Random Recipe: Joy’s Just Peachy Margarita

It’s been a long week, even though it’s Tuesday. The solution: Joy’s Just Peachy Margarita.

Ingredients:

• One shot of tequila (less is better here – tequila doesn’t really mix well with peaches (esta sabor loco!) but with enough peach nectar, you won’t notice, nor care. Yes, work with me, folks – I’m culling from ingredients already in my fridge to invent a new drink.)
• 8-10 oz of peach nectar
• Splash of agua mineral con gas

Add ice, drink up.

It’s a lovely color, no? I wish I had a blender, cuz I totally want to try it all slushy.

Random Recipe: No-Calorie Agua de Jamaica (Hibiscus Flower Iced Tea)

Wow, I have even more appreciation for food photographers after trying, in vain, to capture the garnet red of agua de jamaica. It’s a really stunning deep red color, and it’s hard to capture if your crappy corporate housing has a patio that doesn’t catch the full Mexican sun. (I can’t wait to move into our apartment, which gets tons of sunshine).

Agua de jamaica (pronounced huh-mike-ah and in English means Hibiscus flower water) is similar to a Kool-aid berry flavor, but has a subtle smoky, spicy flavor to it. It’s got three main ingredients: dried jamaica flowers, sugar and water. I opted to make a no-calorie version today using Splenda, and it was great.

Best thing about the tea, other than its taste: It’s loaded with chemicals that are good for you, but be warned: it’s also a mild diuretic.

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup dried jamaica flowers (be sure to rinse them off first)

- 2 1/2 cups water

- Splenda, to taste

- Ice, and lime for garnish

Directions:

Bring water to a roiling boil. Add hibiscus flowers, stir over heat for about a minute. Turn off heat, and let flower water sit for about 10 to 15 minutes. Using a thin mesh colandar, strain out flowers. Let tea mixture cool. Then, pour into glasses and add desired level of ice, Splenda and lime squeezes. If the jamaica flavor is too strong, add more water.

(Note: Hibiscus flowers can stain, so try not to spill on your Old Navy sweatshirt.)

Random Recipe: Aloo Phujia, or Potatoes, Tomatoes and Peas w/ Hot Curry

Inspired by our recent success at making a fun couscous dish, I decided to get even more experimental and try an Indian vegetarian dish. Of all the incredible vegetarian cuisine in the world, Indian is my favorite. Always flavorful and filling.

So, I found this recipe, which was highly rated by users. Again, I pretty much used the recipe as inspiration only, and took the dish in my own direction. Let me say, quite humbly, it was totally delicious.

Aloo Phujia

Ingredients:

- 3-4 baking potatoes, peeled and chopped into small cubes

- 3 large tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped into 1/2-inch cubes

- 1 bag frozen peas

- 1 small red onion, chopped and diced

- 1/4 cup or so vegetable oil

- Hot curry spice

- Cumin, cayenne pepper and salt, to taste

- Cooked white rice, and pita bread, to serve with dish

Directions: Cook onion over medium heat, with some vegetable oil, in a large, coverable dish. Once glossy, add potatoes, curry and more oil, stir well, cover. Let simmer 1o to 15 minutes over medium-low heat. Add other spices and salt to desired taste. Also, test potatoes — when about half-way done, add tomatoes. Stir well, leaving lid on uninterrupted for a good 5 minutes. Then, test — are potatoes done? They probably will be, but if not, just keep simmering over medium-low heat until potatoes are done, stirring occasionally. When potatoes are done, stir in about 1/2 of the bag of frozen peas. Stir well. Can add vegetable oil at any point if dish is too dry. Serve over rice and with warmed or roasted pita bread. (Can roast pita bread directly on stove, if desired. Makes it crispy.)

Random Recipe: Halloumi and Couscous with Roasted Red Peppers

When I saw this recipe, well, I knew I had to take a stab at making it. So we whipped it up this weekend, and omg, it was delicious.

As usual, we didn’t exactly follow the recipe. We made ours look and taste less like a salad, and more like a main entree. This recipe easily serves 4-5 people.

Halloumi and Couscous with Roasted Red Peppers

- 2 cups couscous

- 2 cups vegetable broth

- 1 can artichoke hearts

- 1 jar roasted red peppers (the fancier, the better). Chop ‘em up into 1/4-inch-wide slices if peppers are jarred whole.

- 1 can chickpeas, drained

- 6 ounces plain yogurt, mixed with your preferred amount of cayenne pepper and chili powder

- 2 packages of halloumi cheese

- juice of one or two lemons

Directions: Boil veggie broth, and pour over couscous. Stir gently, then cover couscous and let sit for 10 minutes. Slice halloumi into 1/4-inch thick slices, and grill on skillet, with a little olive oil. Let brown on both sides. Set aside.

When couscous is done, stir in chickpeas, red peppers (add broth of red peppers, too), artichokes (we also like to chop these up into smaller bits). Pour into large flat serving platter. Drizzle yogurt mix over couscous, and squeeze some lemon juice over yogurt. Then, add slices of halloumi. Serve, giving everyone more yogurt mix to add more if they prefer. (Couscous is a dry dish, so the yogurt really helps keep it moist.)

Random Recipe: Angel Hair Pasta with Sauteed Halloumi, Tomatoes and Spinach

My recent post on grilled halloumi sandwiches got quite a bit of search engine traffic. Clearly, people are desperate for halloumi recipes. And I totally understand.

So here’s another one for you: Pasta with Sauteed Halloumi, Tomatoes and Spinach

Ingredients:

- One bag arugula or spinach, chopped and de-stemmed

- One container of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

- Package of halloumi, sliced into 1/2-inch cubes

-1/2-3/4 package of angel hair also would work great

- Lotsa olive oil

- Salt and pepper to taste

- Small hot pepper, chopped (remove seeds if spice-averse)

Directions: Pour some olive oil, about 5-6 tablespoons, in a skillet, turn on medium high heat. Saute halloumi cubes until golden on all sides. They’ll lose their shape a little, but will basially stay cubed.

Remove cubes and drain on plate. Add tomatoes and pepper to skillet, cook 5-7 minutes until tender but still firm. Cook pasta in boiling water, adding spinach/arugula at the same time as the pasta. Remove and drain when pasta is aldente (cooked but still firm). Pour back into pot, adding tomatoes/peppers, halloumi. Stir well, adding olive oil, salt and pepper until desired flavor level.

Variations: This probably would be good with some lemon juice and basil, too. And it may take a little experimentation to get the right arugula balance.

Recipe adapted from Pittas.com

Random Recipe: Chargrilled Halloumi Sandwich

Since moving to Astoria this summer, I’ve been exposed to a whole new world of Mediterranean cuisine. My favorite discovery is halloumi cheese, which hails from the island of Cyprus. It’s made from sheep and goat milk, and it has a very high melting point, so you can grill it – directly on the grill – and it won’t fall apart.

It’s like steak, but made of cheese. And frankly, even if I weren’t a vegetarian, I’d prefer halloumi to steak.

So, taking inspiration from a recipe from the excellent Café Bar, we bought some halloumi from the grocery store and made our own version this weekend. We don’t have a BBQ grill right now, so we basically fried it on the stovetop, and it was still amazing and I’m still calling this “chargrilled,” even though it technically isn’t. 

Ingredients:

-One block halloumi cheese, cut into ¼ inch thick slices

-Good sliced sourdough bread, or Panini-style flatbread

-Fresh basil

-Ripe tomato, thinly sliced

-finely chopped garlic

-Olive oil

-Salt

In a skillet, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add half a teaspoon garlic, stir. Add 4-5 slices of halloumi, sprinkling some salt on cheese. Saute for a few minutes, then flip cheese slices.

Brush olive oil on two slices of bread. Place the sautéed cheese on one slice of bread, then add two slices of tomatoes and several sprigs of basil. Place other slice of bread on top. Place entire sandwich in skillet, pressing down on it with spatula. Flip after a couple of minutes. Serve hot.