From cheese enchiladas to intricate Oaxacan-style moles, Austinites of Mexican heritage have had a tremendous impact on the way this city eats. Generation after generation has influenced and changed not just the Mexican food served here, but Austin dining as a whole. Today the city boasts a wide range of Tex-Mex, Mexican, and Mexican-influenced restaurants.
On one end of the spectrum is poor, misunderstood Tex-Mex, the Texas-born regional cuisine that highlights the many delicious uses of melty yellow cheese, chile con carne, and flour tortillas. On the other end, the term interior Mexican refers to the many regional cuisines of Mexico and includes foods like tacos al pastor, cochinita pibil, and the aforementioned moles. Austin is lucky to be home to two giants of each cuisine: Matt’s El Rancho, one of the great Tex-Mex institutions, and Fonda San Miguel, one of the premier interior Mexican restaurants in the country.
Matt and Janie Martinez opened Matt’s El Rancho in 1952. Now run by their children, Matt’s El Rancho still makes tortillas in house. The most famous dish at Matt’s El Rancho is, undoubtedly, the Bob Armstrong Dip (this page), a tricked-out queso topped with guacamole and spiced ground beef. But the restaurant is famous for more than just Bob dip: Their chile relleno is renowned (and was reportedly President Johnson’s favorite food), as are their fajitas and old-fashioned tacos. Not to mention the margaritas.
In part a response to the Tex-Mex dishes served across Austin and the rest of Texas, Tom Gilliland and the late Miguel Ravago opened Fonda San Miguel in 1975 to focus on interior Mexican dishes. Championed by none other than legendary cookbook author Diana Kennedy, Fonda San Miguel has become famous for its epic Sunday brunch buffet, its tequila and mezcal lists, and signature entrées like chiles en nogada and the chipotle-rubbed grilled lamb chops shared later in this chapter (this page). The restaurant is also known for its art collection, featuring artists like Juan Torres Calderón, Francisco Zúñiga, and Rufino Tamayo, as well as folk art from all over Mexico.
These restaurants may serve very different menus, but the Austin restaurant world of today couldn’t exist without either of them. Restaurants here don’t often fall neatly into the categories of either Tex-Mex or interior Mexican, instead happily drawing inspiration from both traditions.
It’s not uncommon to order a bowl of chips and queso followed by an entrée of cochinita pibil, or to see frozen strawberry margaritas listed on a menu next to an extensive selection of mezcals. And to our great benefit, these cuisines continue to evolve and cross-pollinate.
Former Texas land commisioner Bob Armstrong was a Matt’s El Rancho regular. Apparently bored of the typical menu offerings, legend has it Armstrong asked Matt Martinez Jr. to make something up just for him. Martinez added a scoop of beef taco meat and a scoop of guacamole to the restaurant’s queso, and Tex-Mex history was made. Armstrong died in 2015, but he’s still on a first-name basis with Matt’s El Rancho diners, who order small Bobs and large Bobs every day.
You can make any of these three components separately, if you like, or make a vegetarian Bob by swapping the beef for some pinto beans (this page). Serve this with tortilla chips.
Makes 1 large Bob, with a bit of leftover meat and guac. Serves 6.
For the meat
8 ounces (225 g) ground beef
¼ cup (35 g) finely diced red bell pepper
¼ cup (35 g) finely diced onion
1 stalk celery, finely diced
½ teaspoon granulated garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Heat a pot over medium heat, then add all the ingredients. Cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent and the meat is cooked, about 5 minutes. Most of the liquid should evaporate, but the mixture shouldn’t be dry. Keep warm while you prepare the other components.
For the guacamole
2 ripe avocados, peeled, pits removed
Juice of ½ lemon
½ teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small Roma tomato, finely diced
Salt
Combine the avocados, lemon juice, granulated garlic, and oil, mashing everything slightly. The mixture should be chunky, not smooth. Stir in the tomato and season with salt.
1 stalk celery, finely diced
¼ cup (35 g) finely diced red bell pepper
¼ cup (35 g) finely diced white onion
½ cup (75 g) diced poblano pepper
½ cup (90 g) diced Roma tomato
2 cups (225 g) shredded or cubed American cheese (processed cheese will work in a pinch)
Bring 1 cup (240 ml) water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the celery, bell pepper, onion, poblano, and tomato and boil briefly to cook everything, about 1 minute. Turn the heat down to low, and gradually whisk in the cheese. Heat for a few minutes, stirring constantly. The second all the cheese is melted and everything is heated through and smooth, remove from the heat so it doesn’t overcook. Do this step right before serving: If you used American cheese the dip will separate as it cools; if you used processed cheese it will develop a skin on top as it sits.
Pour the hot queso into a wide, shallow serving bowl. Add a scoop of meat and a scoop of guacamole, about ½ cup (120 ml) of each. Do not mix. Guests should combine the queso, guacamole, and ground beef together with tortilla chips as they eat it.
Believe it or not, queso isn’t the only thing named after beloved statesman Bob Armstrong. Thanks to his role in convincing the state to purchase a 300,000-acre ranch on the Texas-Mexico border—including its eight-mile-wide collapsed ancient volcano—the visitor center at Big Bend Ranch State Park has been named in his honor.
Tex-Mex gets a bad rap. Outside of Texas, it’s almost a dirty word: It’s used to mean fast food or substandard, Americanized “Mexican.” But ask any former Austinite who has moved out of state what they miss most about living here, and the answer is not going to be the bluebonnets. Half of those Tex-pats will dreamily sigh about queso, while the rest will swoon over memories of migas tacos. Or, heck, just a decent tortilla.
Why? Since it’s so hard to get good Tex-Mex outside of Texas, it’s the definition of home for lots of Texans. Dishes like crispy tacos (this pages), Chile con Carne Enchiladas (this page), or queso made with processed cheese (this page) are maddeningly underappreciated in the rest of the country.
The key to understanding Tex-Mex is to stop thinking about it as a variation on Mexican food. There are similarities, but Tex-Mex is an American regional cuisine that was born and raised in Texas. Cookbook author Robb Walsh argues in his Tex-Mex Cookbook that the roots of Tex-Mex can be traced to the nineteenth-century chili queens of San Antonio—and even further back, when eighteenth-century immigrants from the Canary Islands brought their love of cumin with them to Texas.
But Tex-Mex as we know it today, with its bowls of neon-orange queso and combo platters, evolved in the twentieth century. Texas Monthly food editor Pat Sharpe notes in a 2003 article, “Classic Tex-Mex was born in Texas in the Mexican restaurants run by first- and second-generation immigrants during the first third of the twentieth century. It peaked in a kind of golden age (the color of melted Velveeta, no doubt) that lasted roughly from World War II to the Vietnam War.”
Indeed, many of Austin’s Tex-Mex restaurants—including Matt’s El Rancho, Maudie’s, and Joe’s Bakery—have been in business since the mid-twentieth century and remain open today. Tex-Mex continues to evolve, blending with interior Mexican as more recent Mexican transplants bring their traditions to Texas, and taking cues from modern restaurant trends.
But no matter what happens, we’ll always have queso.
This ever-so-slightly dressed up guacamole comes via veteran Austin chef David Bull, whose Second Bar + Kitchen now has a few popular locations. The red onion and cilantro give this guacamole a little more jazz than the super-simple version used for the Bob Armstrong Dip (this page), and it’s spiked with a bit of red wine vinegar for added depth.
Makes 1 medium bowl of guacamole, about 2 cups (480 ml).
4 small ripe avocados
¼ cup (45 g) finely diced tomato
¼ cup (35 g) finely diced red onion
2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
½ jalapeño, minced
½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
Juice of ½ lime, or more to taste
2 teaspoons coarse salt, or more to taste
Mash the avocado in a bowl, leaving it a little bit chunky. Add the remaining ingredients, including additional lime juice or salt if you prefer, and stir to combine. Serve immediately.
You cannot have Tex-Mex without rice and beans. There are probably as many recipes for rice and beans as there are Tex-Mex restaurants in Austin, but this is how I make them.
Serves 6 as a side.
For the restaurant-style rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup (65 g) finely diced onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup (185 g) long-grain white rice
2 cups (480 ml) chicken stock or water
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until the onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and rice and cook for another minute, stirring constantly so the tomato paste doesn’t burn.
Add the stock and stir until the tomato paste dissolves. Add the cumin and salt and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook without removing the lid for 20 minutes. If there’s still liquid in the pot after 20 minutes, remove from the heat and let the rice rest for 10 minutes with the lid on—it should soak up the rest of the liquid. Fluff the rice with a fork.
For the refried beans
2 tablespoons lard or bacon grease (or, if you must, vegetable oil)
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups (515 g) cooked pinto beans (this page or store-bought), drained, 1 cup (240 ml) cooking liquid reserved
Salt
Melt the lard in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until you can smell it, about 1 minute, then add beans with about ½ cup (120 ml) of their liquid. Mash the beans with the back of a spoon or a potato masher until you’ve gotten all of them, more or less—it doesn’t need to be perfectly smooth. Add some of the beans’ cooking liquid until you reach your desired consistency, then season with salt. Serve with the rice.
Queso is an infinitely customizable dish. I like my queso popping with roasted green chiles and with a teensy bit of “real” cheese (i.e., not processed cheese) to give it those camera-ready cheesy strings when you dip into it. But feel free to play with this: Adjust the amount of chile to your liking, switch the sharp cheddar to another type of cheese, add some roasted garlic, or top it with Louisiana-style hot sauce for extra kick.
The best way to serve this at a party is in a slow cooker set to low. Or else just demand everyone eat it straight out of the pot the second it’s ready, while it’s still piping-hot, creamy, melty perfection. Allowing queso to go cold is a crime against Tex-Mex.
Makes 1 large, party-size bowl of queso, about 6 cups (104 L).
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup (125 g) finely diced white onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 poblano peppers, roasted (see this page), seeded, peeled, and finely diced
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
Salt and black pepper
1 package (2 pounds/910 g) processed cheese, such as Velveeta, cut into ½-inch (12-mm) cubes
1 cup (115 g) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup (40 g) chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Sauté until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the poblanos and tomatoes and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Sauté for another minute.
Turn the heat down to low. Add a handful of the processed cheese at a time, stirring between each addition until the cheese melts and the mixture is smooth. When all of the processed cheese is melted, add the sharp cheddar and stir until it has melted as well. Stir in the cilantro, if using, reserving a little bit of it to sprinkle on top as garnish. Serve immediately.
Cheese enchiladas doused in chile con carne sauce are the epitome of classic Tex-Mex. This version is made with Maudie’s classic chile sauce—meaning it’s pretty much just meat and chile powder. Corn tortillas are wrapped around a gooey, yellow cheese filling, and then smothered with chile sauce, chopped onions, and cilantro. This right here is proper Texas comfort food.
Restaurants don’t make enchiladas quite the same way you would at home: They make them one serving at a time, directly on the plate, which is then run under a broiler-like heating element called a salamander (hence servers constantly warning you about hot plates). At home, it’s easier to do them in family-size batches in a baking dish in the oven, and cook them just long enough that everything gets piping hot. Serve these with Rice and Beans (this page).
Serves 6 with 2 enchiladas each.
1 recipe Chile con Carne Sauce (this page), warm
¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
12 corn tortillas
3 cups (340 g) shredded mild cheddar, Colby, or American cheese
Chopped onions (optional)
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Heat the oven to 400°F (205°C).
Ladle about 1 cup (240 ml) of the sauce into a greased 9 by 13-inch (23 by 33-cm) baking dish.
Heat the oil in a small skillet and add a tortilla; cook until just soft, 5 seconds on each side. Remove the tortilla to a plate and place a row of shredded cheese about the thickness of your thumb down the center of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla and place it in the baking dish. Repeat this process until all of the tortillas are used and the baking dish holds a row of tightly rolled tortillas. Ladle the rest of the sauce over the top and sprinkle with any remaining cheese.
Bake until bubbling and hot, about 10 minutes, and serve, topped with chopped onions and cilantro, if desired.
The great thing about enchiladas is they come in an endless variety of filling and sauce combinations. So, much like you would in a restaurant, you can customize this recipe with your choice of filling and your choice of sauce. Simply swap out the sauce and filling in the Chile con Carne Enchiladas recipe with your choice of the sauces and fillings (this page). Then follow the method to make the enchiladas of your dreams.
2 CUPS (480 ML) FILLING OF YOUR CHOICE:
Carne Molida (this page)
Braised Pork, any variation (this page)
Wild Boar Carnitas (this page)
Chicken Tinga (this page)
Hongos (this page)
Swiss Chard and Butternut Squash (this page)
Red Mole Chicken (this page), shredded
Leftover barbecue (Chapter 1)
4 CUPS (960 ML) SAUCE OF YOUR CHOICE:
Ranchero Sauce (this page)
Enchiladas Tejanas Sauce (this page)
Verde Sauce (this page)
½ Verde Sauce; ½ crema (or heavy cream)
Red Mole Sauce (this page)
Green Mole Sauce (this page)
Green Chile Queso (this page)
The key to these lovely smoky lamb chops is to toast and grind your own chipotle powder. You can use store-bought if you like, but it is not super difficult to make the seasoning yourself and it makes a world of difference. This will make more of the chipotle rub than you’ll need, and the leftover rub is delicious on basically anything you would cook on the grill.
Serves 6.
For the rub
¼ cup (24 g) chipotle chile powder (see instructions or use store bought)
¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
3 dried chipotle chiles, seeds and stems removed
1 dried ancho chile, seeds and stems removed
6 garlic cloves, peeled
⅓ cup (80 g) salt
2 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano
For the lamb chops
4 pounds (1.8 kg) bone-in loin lamb chops
2 tablespoons olive oil
To make the chipotle powder: Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the chipotle and ancho chiles in batches, turning them as they puff up, about 10 seconds on each side. Drain on paper towels and let cool; the chiles should be crisp and dry once cooled. Grind into a powder in a spice grinder or, in a pinch, a food processor.
Put the chipotle powder, the garlic, salt, and oregano in a food processor and grind into a coarse rub. If the rub looks wet, dry it in a 150°F (65°C) oven for an hour or so. Let cool. The rub will keep in an airtight container in the pantry for up to three months.
Make the lamb chops: Rub the lamb chops all over with the oil. Then dust the chops with the rub, brushing off any seasoning that doesn’t stick.
Heat a charcoal grill (or a cast-iron grill pan) to high heat. Grill the lamb chops for about 3 minutes on each side for medium-rare, and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
This is a colorful, spicy salad that would be at home at a cookout or served with grilled meat like Chipotle Lamb Loin Chops (this page).
Serves 6 as a side.
2 cups (220 g) grated chayote
2 cups (220 g) grated jicama
2 Fresno chiles, cut into thin strips
½ cup (55 g) thinly sliced red onion
Arbol dressing (recipe follows)
Palm dressing (recipe follows)
¼ cup (10 g) chopped fresh cilantro
Combine the chayote, jicama, chiles, and onion in a bowl. Add the arbol dressing—watch out, it’s spicy—and palm dressing to taste, then fold in the cilantro and serve.
Yields 1 cup.
10 dried arbol chiles
⅓ cup (15 g) finely chopped fresh cilantro
⅓ cup (17 g) finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh epazote (optional)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
½ cup (120 ml) olive oil
Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon agave nectar
Salt and black pepper to taste
Toast the chiles in a small saucepan over medium heat until they are fragrant, about 1 minute, watching carefully to make sure they don’t burn. Let the chiles cool, then chop them finely.
Put the chiles in a bowl with the cilantro, parsley, epazote (if using), mint, oil, lemon zest and juice, and agave and whisk to combine. Season with salt and black pepper.
Palm Dressing
Yields ½ cup.
¼ cup (85 g) grated palm sugar
¼ cup (60 ml) fresh lime juice
Microwave the palm sugar for about 5 seconds to soften, then add the lime juice. Whisk to combine.
Much like Fonda San Miguel, El Naranjo is a restaurant that seeks to introduce Austinites to the regional specialties of Mexico. Specializing in Oaxacan food—husband-and-wife owners Iliana de la Vega and Ernesto Torrealba had a restaurant there before moving to Austin—El Naranjo is known for the complex sauces of that region, called moles.
This red mole combines chiles, cinnamon, sesame, chocolate, pecans, and more for a sauce that is velvety and deep. It’s also good with turkey, or as a sauce for enchiladas.
Serves 8.
Salt
½ white onion, peeled
4 whole, unpeeled garlic cloves
2 whole chickens, cut into 8 pieces each, or 16 pieces of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks
Mole rojo (recipe follows)
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the onion and garlic. Once the water is boiling really hard, add the chicken. Immediately reduce the heat to barely a simmer and cook for 45 minutes, until the chicken pieces float on top. Remove the chicken to a platter and cover it with mole rojo.
8 ounces (225 g) dried ancho chiles
8 ounces (225 g) dried guajillo chiles
1 pound (455 g) Roma tomatoes
1 white onion, cut in half, peeled
6 whole, unpeeled garlic cloves
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup (50 g) pecans
½ cup (75 g) roasted unsalted peanuts
¼ cup (40 g) brown sesame seeds
1 (1-inch/2.5-cm) stick Mexican canela (Ceylon cinnamon)
8 black peppercorns
4 whole cloves
1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
1½ cups (360 ml) chicken stock
7 ounces (200 g) Mexican chocolate, such as Abuelita
Salt
Sugar
Remove the stems, seeds, and veins from the chiles and toast them in a dry skillet for 10 to 15 seconds, until fragrant. Put the chiles in a bowl and cover with very hot water, then let soak for 15 minutes.
Set a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and roast the tomatoes, onion, and garlic until they begin to show brown spots.
Remove from the pan and set aside. When completely cool, peel the garlic.
Heat 1½ tablespoons of the oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the pecans and peanuts. Sauté until toasted, about 2 minutes, then add the sesame seeds, canela, peppercorns, cloves, and oregano and remove from the heat.
Drain the chiles and put them in a blender or food processor. Add about ½ cup (120 ml) fresh water and blend until smooth. Transfer the chile puree to a bowl. In the blender, combine the roasted vegetables and the pecan mixture with ½ cup (120 ml) water and blend until smooth. If the chile or vegetable mixture seems very gritty, pass it through a mesh strainer.
Heat the remaining 1½ tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chile puree and fry, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add the vegetable puree and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the stock and chocolate and let the mixture simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mole coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and, if the mixture is at all bitter, sugar.
There are probably dozens of family restaurants in Austin that serve tacos, burgers, fancy margaritas, and the like. But there is only one Jack Allen’s Kitchen, where they get their ingredients from local farms, switch up the menu with the seasons, and, oh yeah, the food is incredibly good. Founded by veteran Austin chef Jack Gilmore (father of Barley Swine/Odd Duck’s Bryce Gilmore), JAK is a restaurant of giant booths, killer cocktails, and daily market specials, including these fabulous enchiladas.
These are not rolled like your typical Texas-style enchiladas, although the flavors are about as Texan as it gets. Instead, they’re stacked, like a lasagna, with layers of spicy, creamy tomato-based sauce and pulled chicken between the tortillas . . . and baked with eggs on top. They make a (very) hearty brunch or dinner.
Serves 6.
For the sauce
1½ cups (360 ml) JAK’s Salsa (this page)
1½ cups (360 ml) heavy cream
For the enchiladas
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 corn tortillas
1 recipe Chicken Tinga (this page)
1 cup (115 g) shredded Oaxacan cheese or Monterey Jack
6 eggs (optional)
Heat the oven to 500°F (260°C).
Make the sauce: Combine the salsa and cream in a saucepan and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Make the enchiladas: To achieve the ideal tortilla texture, heat the oil in a small sauté pan and fry the tortillas one at a time until slightly softened, 10 to 15 seconds on each side.
Grease a 9 by 13-inch (23 by 33-cm) baking dish, then spread a large spoonful of the sauce in the dish. Layer the enchiladas like you would a lasagna—flat, not rolled—in this order: tortillas, chicken, sauce. Repeat until the ingredients are used up, ending with the sauce, then sprinkle the top with the cheese.
Crack the eggs on top and bake for about 8 minutes, until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. (Or, if not using the eggs, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.) Let sit for 5 minutes before eating.
Alcomar is primarily a mariscos (seafood) restaurant, but one of its signature dishes is actually vegetarian. This makes for a showstopper of a dinner party dish: the squash, goat cheese, and chard-stuffed chiles lined up on a platter with a luxurious pistachio cream sauce ladled over them is a photo-worthy centerpiece. You can even make and stuff the chiles ahead of time, heating them when your guests arrive. The filling here also works well as a stuffing for vegetarian enchiladas (see this page).
Serves 8.
4 cups (560 g) peeled, seeded, and ½-inch (12-mm) diced butternut squash (about 1 medium)
4 tablespoons (60 ml) olive oil
Salt and black pepper
8 poblano peppers, as long as you can find
½ white onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups (120 g) chopped Swiss chard leaves (ribs removed; about 1 bunch)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
8 ounces (225 g) goat cheese
1 recipe pistachio cream sauce (recipe follows), warm
¼ cup (30 g) shelled pistachios, toasted
¼ cup (45 g) pomegranate arils
Heat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, toss the squash with 1 tablespoon of the oil until coated. Season with a couple big pinches of salt and pepper. Spread the squash in a single layer on the sheet pan and roast it until cooked through but not mushy, about 20 minutes.
Roast the poblanos (see this page) and remove their skin. Cut a slit in the chiles in order to remove the seeds, but otherwise leave them whole so you can stuff them. Set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and sauté until it wilts, about 2 minutes. Add the squash and brown sugar and season everything to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Stuff each chile half-full with the chard and squash mixture, then add 1 ounce (28 g) of the goat cheese to the middle of each pepper. Fill the chile the rest of the way with the chard and squash mixture. Place the stuffed chiles in a greased 9 by 13-inch (23 by 33-cm) baking dish. (You can make the recipe up to this point and refrigerate it, covered, as long as overnight if necessary.)
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Cook the stuffed chiles until they begin to steam, about 20 minutes. (Add another 10 minutes if they are still chilled from being refrigerated.) Ladle about ½ cup (120 ml) of the pistachio sauce over the top of each chile, either on individual plates or all together on a serving plate. Sprinkle the chiles with pistachios and pomegranate seeds. Serve any leftover sauce on the side.
Pistachio Cream Sauce
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced garlic
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
½ cup (120 ml) dry white wine
1½ cups (360 ml) heavy cream
¾ cup (95 g) shelled roasted pistachios
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (240 ml) crema or crème fraîche
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the cloves, cinnamon, lemon juice, and wine, stir, and bring to a boil. Cook to reduce the sauce until the liquid has almost completely evaporated.
Lower the heat to medium-low and add the cream. Bring to a simmer and add the lemon zest, pistachios, and salt. Let simmer for a few minutes to soften the pistachios. Remove from the heat and carefully transfer to a blender (or use an immersion blender). Blend until smooth. Pour the sauce back into the pot and bring it back to a simmer. Whisk in the crema. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.
The sign at Curra’s Grill says the restaurant is “All-Mex.” As in Tex-Mex and interior Mexican, all rolled into one. This cochinita pibil veers toward the latter: the pork is marinated in a spicy-sweet citrus and achiote mixture, and it is then wrapped in banana leaves and cooked low and slow for a few hours. Serve these with hot fresh tortillas and chopped red onions.
Serves 12.
1 large can (7 ounces/199 g) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chiles minced, with the sauce
1 package (3½ ounces/100 g) achiote paste (annatto)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 cup (240 ml) orange juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon chicken base or bouillon powder
1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1 pork shoulder (10 pounds/4.5 kg), cut into 3-inch (7.5-cm) cubes
1 cinnamon stick
2 pieces star anise
1 bay leaf
Banana leaves
In a small bowl, combine the chipotles and their sauce, the achiote, paprika, orange juice, cumin, black pepper, oregano, salt, chicken base, and garlic powder to make the marinade. Place the pork pieces in a large bowl and add the marinade as well as the cinnamon stick, star anise, and bay leaf. Stir to combine, making sure all of the pork is coated in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or up to 24 hours.
Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
Line a large Dutch oven or heavy, oven-safe pot with aluminum foil, leaving plenty of excess foil hanging over the sides. Run the banana leaves under hot water to make them pliable, and then line the aluminum foil with banana leaves. Add the meat and its marinade to the banana leaf–lined pot, then cover the meat with more banana leaves, and use the foil to seal everything into a packet. (The idea is to trap the steam coming off the meat as it cooks.) Put the lid on the pot, over the foil packet.
Transfer to the oven and bake until the meat is tender, about 5 hours. Allow everything to cool for about 20 minutes before opening the banana leaf packet so you don’t get burned by the steam. Pull the meat into large pieces before serving in tacos or, as they do at the restaurant, with fried plantains.
Many recipes in this book begin with roasting chiles of all kinds, with poblanos and New Mexico green chiles (Hatch chiles) being most common. Here’s how:
Wash and dry your chiles.
Ideally, roast the chiles on a grill or directly on the gas burners on your stove (not in a pan, but directly on the grates). Turn the chiles periodically with tongs until the skin is blistered all over—don’t worry if the skin burns, but if the chile catches fire you’ve gone too far. If you have an electric stovetop, you can roast the chiles on a foil-lined baking sheet in the oven at 400°F (205°C) for about 10 minutes, or until the skin blisters. (The oven method is also good if you need to process a lot of chiles in a short amount of time.) You can also broil the chiles on a foil-lined baking sheet until blistered, flipping them with tongs halfway through in order to blister both sides.
When the chiles are fully blistered and piping hot, put them in a plastic bag or a heat-tolerant glass bowl covered with a pot lid or plate. This allows the chiles to steam themselves with their own heat, loosening the skin further. Let them cool completely in the bag or bowl, or at least until you can easily handle them, about 20 minutes.
Refer to your recipe, but in general, remove the skin, seeds, stem, and veins from the chiles and dispose of them. You might want to wear disposable gloves for this step, especially if you have sensitive skin, or use a butter knife to scrape away the charred skin. You should now have chile flesh that’s ready to be used in whatever recipe you’re making.
