Mar
20

Mexican Fiesta

by Sofia   -   in Cooking

Olemme tulleet taas siihen aikaan vuodesta kun valoa riittää illalla ruokakuvien ottamiseen. Siitä ilosta täytyy heti jakaa resepti pitkästä aikaa! Uskoisin, että monessa lapsiperheessä meksikolainen ( tai joku meksikolaistyyppinen fuusioruoka) on melko suosittua. Yleensä lapset innostuvat jos pöydässä on paljon värejä ja itse voi rakennella omaa annostaan mielensä mukaan. Meillä ainakin tällaiset ateriat ovat erityisen mieluisia. Me söimme tämän iloisen värikkään illallisen maanantaina, mutta vain koska minulla sattui olemaan vapaapäivä. Jos kaiken tekee itse salsasta lähtien, ei tämä ole ehkä se ihan nopein arkiruoka jota ryhtyy valmistamaan väsyneenä pitkän päivän päätteeksi. Mutta ehdottomasti kokeilemisen arvoinen! Parasta ovat itse tehdyt nachot vielä hieman lämpiminä pehmeän guacamolen ja raikkaan mango-ananas salsan kera.

Finally there is enough light to take pictures of some dinner foods in the evening. To celebrate that I´m sharing a recipe for something else than baking for a change. And it´s about time. I recently had a lovely Mexican dinner with my friend with super fresh cocktails, fish tacos, crab tostadas and the most incredible candied corn ice-cream. It got us talking about Mexican food and I realised I have not shared some of my best recipes with you! I had a day off on Monday and this was our dinner but as it´s a bit time consuming I would say it´s maybe better for a weekend or at least prepare the salsa the day before. But it´s so worth making!!! The warm home made nachos, the creamy guacamole and the fresh salsa ( or is it pico de gallo when it´s fresh?). Please please please try this even just once and you can not go back to store bought nachos and salsa ( except if you live next to a Whole Foods and then you are just lucky!). 

Nachos ( tortilla chips)

1 package/ about 8 pieces of soft (corn) tortillas

(safflower) oil for deep frying

salt flakes

1. Cut the tortillas in to 8 pieces ( making small triangles). If you want you can make the tortillas yourself. (Or gluten free corn tortillas.)

2. Heat the oil in a pan and deep fry the tortillas in batches until crispy about 2-4 minutes ( they get a bit crispier when they cool down). Rest on some paper towel and sprinkle with (Maldon) salt.

Done! These are so so so much better than the store bought ones.  These need to be made!

Two useful hints when deep frying things. Make sure you have a lit for your pan on hand in case the oil should start burning ( never happened to me but you never know and water and air are your enemies if it does so lit on and the fire will extinguish). When you are done frying let the oil cool down and then pour it back to the bottle it came in, cap it and recycle accordingly ( as in don´t use again but trash it). Do not pour your oil down the drain as it will glog your pipes.

Guacamole

4-5 Avocadoes

juice of 1 or more limes/ lemons

1-3 garlic cloves

salt to taste

a big bunch of fresh cilantro ( use the stems too, they have plenty of flavour)

a little olive oil if you feel like it

( a dash of spice cumin, chilli etc. to your liking)

Mix in your stand mixer to your liking.

I know many people like bell peppers in their guacamole, or tomatoes or spring onions. Some like it more citric, others add some sour cream. We like ours garlicky, and with plenty of lime or lemon and cilantro. You can also keep it more chunky if you like. I love it smooth and creamy.  If you make it well before it will change colour and become brownish. You can try to avoid that by squeezing some lemon or lime on top or by adding the stones from the avocado on the salsa before you are ready to serve. Or then just give it a good stir before serving.

Mango & Pienapple Salsa

about 1 kg of tomatoes

2 dl chopped fresh pineapple

1 dl chopped  fresh mango

1/2-1 sweet onion ( use a mild one to your liking) ( salaattisipuli)

1 red chilli with seed or if you like yours spicier use some hot chilies

(a few tbls olive oil)

juice of 1 lime

a bunch of fresh cilantro ( korianteri)

salt to taste

spice cumin to taste ( juustokumina)

1. You will want to remove the skins and seed of the tomatoes. For easy skin removal first soak your tomatoes in boiling water for a few seconds and then put them in ice water. The skins peel right off. I like to use tomatoes in a vine as they are easy to dip ( as you have a “handle” and they are attached). De-seed and cut in to small cubes. The seeds will make your salsa too watery so it´s worth the bit of extra trouble.

2. Peel your pineapple and chop of a bit and cut it in to small cubes. Use the rest for dessert. Do the same with the fresh mango.

3. Chop the onion and chilli too. I like my salsa fresh but not too spicy so I only use a mild red chilli to give it some slight kick. You could use jalapeños or habaneros if you like yours hot. I also like to use a mild onion, we have big white ones that are called salad onions but I think they are sweet onions in English. You could add anything to your liking. Chop a big bunch of fresh cilantro in there too.

4. (Add some oil) and lime or lemon juice. Season with salt and cumin to your liking. I like to add just a little cumin to keep the freshness but it does give it an authentic flavour I like.

This salsa is really good and worth the little extra trouble of de-seeding and chopping. Even after all the trouble you will end up with some liquid over time ( as tomatoes and the fruit contain plenty of water) but you can just pour it out or stir your salsa every now and then. One way to get rid of extra water is to salt your peeled and de-seeded tomatoes and let the water “dry” out first but that´s just too much trouble in my opinion.

We like to serve these and then some corn tortillas with different toppings like salad, creme fraiche, more cilantro, the salsa and guacamole and chicken. Our girls love honey marinated chicken. I just marinate the ( organic) chicken with honey, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper, some paprika and spicy cumin. Cantaloupe melon is delicious on these “fajitas” too. And the girls love to fill their taco´s or tortillas themselves. With all this we serve grilled corn mexican street style. Cotija cheese is not readily available in Helsinki but I read from Martha Stewart that it´s similar to feta cheese and many recipes call for queso fresco or parmesan cheese. It´s basically butter, mayo, cheese, chilli and lime ( and more cilantro!).When grilling corn is not an option you can just bake them in the oven. We end this dinner with plenty of fresh fruit. Or try my favourite hot cocoa. Melt dark chocolate with a bit of hot water and add a dash of chilli and cinnamon if you like. Drink this from and espresso cup. It has to be small, bitter, strong and a bit spicy. And that caramel corn ice-cream. I wish I had the recipe for that. It was so good! I might have to use the rest of my dulce de leche from the cake and some popcorn and come up with a recipe.

Enjoy your Mexican inspired fiesta! And have a great weekend!

Jos haluat kysyä jotain resepteistä suomeksi niin laita minulle viestiä kommenttikenttään. Suosittelen lämpimästi kokeilemaan näistä resepteistä ihan kaikkia! Vaikka vaivaa joutuu näkemään hieman enemmän kuin ostamalla kaiken valmiina, niin lopputulos on aivan varmasti sen arvoinen. Tämän jälkeen kaupan nachot ja salsa eivät enää ole vaihtoehto! Toivon sinulle aivan huippu kivaa ja herkullista viikonloppua!

Lattemamma

p.s. How to peel a tomatoe. How to cut a mango.