Posts Tagged ‘Cinco de Mayo Recipes’

A Salsa for Cinco

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023

I have been celebrating Cinco de Mayo since I was in graduate school in Texas. This holiday commemorates the Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

The day is actually more significant culturally here in the United States than it is in most of Mexico. Over the years, it has come to represent a time for celebrating Mexican heritage (and of course Mexican food) in this country.

For some Americans, Cinco de Mayo is primarily a drinking holiday. I’m not much of a drinker, but I am an eater. I like to prepare something Mexican or Tex-Mex on May 5. Sometimes I’m moved to make enchiladas. Other times I’ll just throw together a little guacamole.

This year I’m putting together a salsa based on a recipe from my cousin Mardi. I like to serve it as a sort of salad or side dish; it is satisfying with or without tortilla chips.

The term salsa, as readers may know, means sauce in Spanish. The Aztecs and the Mayans began preparing a type of salsa millennia ago. Their version apparently contained tomatoes, chiles, beans, and squash. The Spanish conquistadores took note of this tasty condiment in the 1500s and gave it its name.

Salsa was not part of mainstream U.S. culture until the mid- to late 20th century. In the 1940s, former college football star David Pace and his wife Margaret opened the first salsa manufacturing plant in Paris, Texas, making what Pace called “picante sauce.” (The Pace company’s salsa is still called this and is still popular.)

I think I would have liked David Pace, who died in 1993 at the age of 79. According to his obituary in “The New York Times,” he was known for more than his picante sauce business, which was sold to Campbell’s after his death for more than $1 billion.

“Mr. Pace also patented an executive chair in 1967 that could be opened flat for taking a nap,” the obituary noted.

My father, who insisted on installing a couch in his office in Rockefeller Center so that he could sleep for a few minutes every afternoon, would have approved. So do I; I have been known to take a cat nap myself.

In the latter part of the 20th century, Mexican foods and salsa in particular found their way into mainstream American cuisine. By the 1980s, salsa was available pretty much everywhere in this country, and in 1991 it surpassed stalwart catsup as Americans’ favorite condiment.

In 1998, it was deemed a vegetable by the U.S. Department of Agriculture so that it could be classified thus in school-lunch programs.

There is much to love in salsa. It’s generally healthy and low in fat yet high in flavor. Unlike ketchup, it is made up of identifiable foods and contains little or no sugar. It’s vegan and tastes fresh even when (as in the salsa below) most of the ingredients come from a can or the freezer.

It is also easy to make at home and infinitely variable. When I think of salsa, tomato comes to mind first and foremost. Nevertheless, I have made salsa by adding cilantro, lime juice, onion, and salt to many different fruits: strawberries, blueberries, peaches, mangoes, and pineapples.

Mardi’s salsa adds a little protein to the mix by mixing in black beans. This type of salsa is often known as confetti salsa. It’s made up of small, discreet, colorful ingredients, just like confetti.

If you try it at home—and I encourage you to do so—think about adding flavors you like or have in the house. Some people throw in part or all of a can of green chiles. Some use a fresh jalapeño or some hot sauce for heat instead of the chipotle. Some eliminate the olives and add more beans. You can’t really go wrong.

One warning: This is the sort of recipe that absolutely depends on individual taste. I started with the amounts I mention in the formula below and then ended up adding quite a bit more cumin, chipotle, and lime juice.

The end product was spicy and citrussy and fabulous. I know not everyone likes spice, however. To employ a phrase I generally dislike but find appropriate when it refers to flavor, “you do you.”

If you don’t get around to making this dish until after May 5, never fear. All of May is National Salsa Month, so designated in 1997 to honor the 50th anniversary of Pace Picante Sauce.

Confetti Salsa

I find that the best way to chop herbs like the cilantro here is to wash and dry them, then place them in a sturdy, narrow container like a juice glass and cut them with clean kitchen shears.

Ingredients:

1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1-1/2 cups corn kernels (In summer these would be fresh; at this time of year I put frozen kernels in a colander and let them defrost and drain.)
1 4-ounce can pitted ripe olives, drained and cut into little rounds (If all you can find is a 6-ounce can, either save some olives for another occasion or go ahead and use the whole can.)
at least 25 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 very small red onion, or part of a larger one, diced
1 handful cilantro, chopped
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
dried chipotle chile powder (Start with 1/4 teaspoon.)
cumin seeds, or ground cumin if that is all you have (Start with 2 teaspoons.)
the juice of 1 to 2 limes (Start with 1 and then add more as needed; I used 1-1/2 most recently.)
1 splash olive oil, plus more as needed
1 avocado, cut into chunks

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, combine the beans, corn, olives, tomatoes, onion pieces, and cilantro. Mix well. Sprinkle the salt, chipotle, and cumin seed on top; then blend in the lime juice and the olive oil. Try the salsa and add more chipotle, cumin, oil, and lime juice to taste.

If you’re eating the salsa soon after you make it, add the avocado chunks along with the other vegetables and fruits. Otherwise, refrigerate the salsa until you’re ready to serve it, and then stir in the avocado. That method avoids discoloration of this delicate fruit.

Serves 4 to 6 as a salad or a small party as a dip.

Back with Tortilla Soup

Thursday, April 28th, 2016

I'm back!

I’m BACK!

This week I returned to cook once more with my friends at Mass Appeal. I do a lot of fun things in the winter, but I don’t cook on TV. My Hawley hill is a bit hard to negotiate in icy weather.

Ice is now a thing of the past, however (and wasn’t too much with us this past winter anyway!). The daffodils waft in the breeze, my dog Cocoa has a new spring in her step, and I’m back with co-hosts Seth Stutman and Ashley Kohl.

I straddled two holidays for my Wednesday segment. We’re still in Passover so I made my delicious matzo crunch. (I have shared the recipe before on this blog.)

The gang at Mass Appeal wanted to look ahead to Cinco de Mayo—and so did I. So I revised my previous recipe for tortilla soup. I love the way this soup came out! It’s warm enough for the cool temperatures we’re having yet spicy enough to evoke Mexico and the American southwest.

If you forget about the cheese and the tortilla crisps, it’s reasonably healthy as well.

Here is my new recipe—and below I am sharing the videos for both dishes I made.

Happy Passover. Happy Cinco de Mayo. Happy SPRING! And happy birthday to my dear friend Peter.

tsweb

Tinky’s Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

for the soup:

extra-virgin olive oil as needed for frying the vegetables
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
6 small (6-inch) corn tortillas
2 teaspoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons cumin (ground or seeds)
1 quart chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 can (10 ounces) tomatoes with green chiles
1 chipotle in adobo (more if you like), roughly chopped
canola or grapeseed oil as needed for frying tortilla strips
2 cups cooked chicken in strips or chunks (optional but good)
2 cups cooked corn kernels (optional but good)

for garnish:

corn tortilla strips made from 3 of the tortillas
cilantro leaves (optional)
sour cream (optional)
shredded cheddar cheese or queso fresco (optional)
lime wedges to squeeze for juice

Instructions:

In a 4-quart pot or Dutch oven heat a little olive oil. Add the onions, the garlic, and the green pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender (5 minutes or so).

Cut the tortillas into strips. Add the strips from 3 tortillas to the vegetable mixture (set the others aside), along with the chili powder and the cumin. Cook, stirring occasionally, for another minute. Add the chicken stock, salt, tomatoes, and chipotle, and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer the soup, almost covered, for 25 minutes.

While the soup is simmering use the remaining tortilla strips to make a garnish of fried yumminess. Let them sit on paper towels for at least 15 minutes to dry out; then fry them in oil until they are crispy. Set them aside to drain on the paper towels.

Remove the soup from the heat, and puree it with an immersion blender. (You may also use a regular blender as long as you blend carefully in batches.) Stir in the chicken and the corn, if you are using them, and return the soup to the boil. Ladle into bowls.

Garnish the soup with your homemade tortilla strips plus any other garnish of your choice. Serves 4.

And here are the videos!

 

Run of the Mill Guacamole (But How I Love That Mill!)

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

 
It’s Cinco de Mayo, and I’m making guacamole.
 
My guacamole isn’t original or trendy. But it’s really, really good. It tastes as fresh as can be. And really what more do you need in guacamole?
 
It’s a dish the boys in my family enjoy making—and eating.
 
I’m sure most readers know this, but in case jalapeño novices are lurking out there I offer a little warning:
 
BE CAREFUL while chopping the jalapeño. Wear gloves if you can; otherwise, just wash your hands as quickly as you can afterward, and be careful not to touch anything that could encounter any part of your body while chopping. These peppers can sting!
 
Tinky’s Guacamole
 
Ingredients:
 
3 scallions (green onions), white and some green parts, chopped (I’ve also been known to use about 2 tablespoons of finely chopped red onion)
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 small jalapeño pepper (more if you like spicy foods!), with the stem and seeds removed, finely chopped
1 small ripe tomato (optional—only use it if in season), cored and chunked
5 sprigs fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
the juice of 2 limes
3 small, ripe avocados
1 teaspoon salt
 
Instructions:
 
In a 1-quart bowl, combine the scallions, garlic, pepper pieces, tomato (if desired), cilantro, and lime juice.
 
At this point, you may leave the mixture for a few hours. About 15 minutes before you want to eat the guacamole, get out your avocados. Slice them in half lengthwise, stopping at the pits.
 
Separate the avocado halves from the pits, and use a spoon or fork to scoop out the flesh of the avocado. (If there is brown flesh, don’t use it; aim for the light green stuff.) Put the flesh in the bowl with the onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, and lime juice.
 
Mash the avocados into the mixture with a fork, adding the salt as you mash so that it is stirred in. You don’t have to mash them too much; a few chunks add to the flavor.
 
Place the guacamole in a decorative bowl, and serve it with tortilla chips (homemade are the best, but they’re also the most fattening!).
 
Serves 6 to 8.
 
 

From left to right: Alan, Michael, and David mash avocados into guacamole.

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Tortilla Soup

Monday, May 4th, 2009

 tinkycinco2web

Tomorrow  is el Cinco de Mayo, the fifth of May. This day commemorates the victory of Mexican forces over the French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.  It’s also a day on which we in the United States celebrate the heritage of our Mexican residents and neighbors.  

For many Mexicans this year the Cinco de Mayo holiday will be dimmed by worry about the flu epidemic. Chicken soup can’t cure colds and flu, of course, but any mother will tell you that the soup’s warmth comforts those who are sick. So let’s celebrate the ability of the Mexican people to rise above challenges—epidemiological or military—with a little chicken-based tortilla soup.

 

This soup comes in many different versions so feel free to change it to your taste. Some people like to put the tortilla pieces in the soup to cook for a while (to make a sort of chicken-noodle soup). If you have a fresh hot pepper, feel free to substitute it for the red pepper flakes in the recipe; I was sticking to ingredients I could purchase at my local general store so I didn’t have one on hand.

 

Tortilla Soup

 

Ingredients:

 

canola oil as needed for frying

1 onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1 15-ounce can stewed tomatoes

1 4-ounce can green chiles

4 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)

1 tablespoon chili powder

salt to taste

red pepper flakes to taste (these provide spice)

3 to 3-1/2 cups corn kernels (at this time of year I use frozen)

4 corn tortillas

2 to 3 cups shredded cooked chicken

chopped cilantro to taste

grated cheese to taste (Monterey Jack or cheddar; the first melts better and the second has more flavor)

2 limes, cut into wedges

 

Instructions:

 

In a small frying pan, sauté the onion and garlic in a little oil until they brown. Pop them into the blender with the canned tomatoes and the green chiles. Blend well.

 

Add the tomato mixture to the chicken stock. Stir in the chili powder, salt, red pepper flakes, and corn. Bring the soup to a boil; then reduce the heat, almost cover the soup, and let it simmer until the flavors have blended (at least 1/2 hour).

 

While the soup is cooking, cut the tortillas into small strips. Let them sit on paper towels for at least 15 minutes to dry out; then fry them in oil until they are crispy. Set them aside to drain on the paper towels.

 

When the soup is almost ready, stir in the chicken and cilantro. Cook for a few minutes more, until the chicken is heated through.

 

Ladle the soup into bowls, and have your guests add tortilla strips, cheese, and lime juice from the wedges to taste. Serves 4 to 6.

tortillasoup-web