Chili Corn on the Cob

Boil corn for about 2-3 minutes or until bright yellow. Drain them and dress them with butter, salt, Chili powder or Chipotle powder, Parmesan cheese and a squeeze of lime.

Or put the corn on the BBQ and it would be even better!

Chicken Mole ("Mole-eh!")

This recipe is for one of the most authentic and complicated Mexican dishes you can find. Chances are, if you haven't traveled to Mexico...and really experienced the true Mexican lifestyle, you probably have never heard of a Mexican Mole. A Mole is basically a sauce with a crazy amount of ingredients, including dark Mexican chocolate. It can be used in a variety of dishes, but traditionally served over chicken pieces, with rice or beans.
There's a lot of preparation, I was always really intimidated by this recipe. It's pretty complex. Finally I decided to just go for it, test my skills! I found a great version online, translated it from Spanish to English and made a couple additions and subtractions, just to make it my own. It took a few hours, but the result was perrrrfect! Don't shy away from the amount of chili's that are used here, these types of chilies are more for flavor and don't hold much heat. In fact if you wanted it to be spicy you should add something else to it like Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce.


Ingredients:

2 kilos of chicken pieces (skin on)
white rice or re-fried brown beans with cooked with minced garlic, as a side.

For the Mole:

7-9 Mulato Chilies
5-7 Pasilla Chilies
4-6 Ancho Chilies
1 cup plus 9 tbsp Vegetable oil
4-5 Tomatillos (mexican green tomatoes)...I prefer the canned version, otherwise you will need to remove the husks and boil them until soft.
4 cloves of Garlic
20 Black Pepper Corns
5 Cloves
1 Cinnamon stick
1 tsp roasted Chili seeds (use the seeds that will be removed from the Ancho, Pasilla and Mulato Chilies in this recipe)
3 tbsp of Raisins
1/4 cup Pumpkin Seeds (look for the seeds without the shells)
1/4 cup Almonds (sliced or whole)
2 dried-out Corn Tortillas , torn into pieces.
6-7 cups of Chicken Broth (saved from when you boil the chicken pieces from this recipe)
50 grams (or more to taste) of Mexican Chocolate


Directions:

First, season chicken with salt and pepper.
Second, Cook the chicken in about 10 cups of water.
Third, prepare the mole:

step 1: Cook the chilies in 2 tbsp of oil until crispy, not burned. make sure to flip them. They will start to puff a bit.
step 2: While the chilies are soft after cooking on the stove, remove the seeds and stems (reserve 1 tbsp of the seeds)
step 3: Soak the chilies in warm water for 30 minutes
step 4: Make a paste with the chilies using some of the water they soaked in with either a mortar and pestle or a food processor.
step 5: Grind the pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and chilies together, and set aside in a separate bowl.
step 6: Blend tomatillos with garlic, add the ground spices and set aside.
step 7: Heat a non-stick frying pan. Add the following ingredients (without mixing) and until: raisin are puffed, almonds are golden, pumpkin seeds slightly golden, broken-up tortilla piece slightly heated. Add a bit of oil if needed.
step 8: (Except for the chili paste) Add all the mole ingredients (the raisins, almonds, pumpkin seeds, tortilla and tomatillo sauce with the spices together in a food processor. Use some of the chicken stock to keep the right saucy consistency.
step 9: Heat a large pot to medium heat. Cook the chili paste for about 15 minutes in the remaining oil. This will really bring out the flavor and smokiness of the chilies. Mix frequently. Lower the heat.
step 10: Add the rest of the blended ingredients into the pot with the chili paste and the rest of the vegetable oil (it seems like a lot of oil but it gives the sauce a great texture and shine). Add the chocolate and cook for 15 minutes over high heat.
step 11: Add the remaining chicken broth and simmer for an additional 45 minutes.
step 12: In the last 15 minutes add the chicken pieces to the pot.

Serve with fresh corn tortillas, rice, and re-fried beans or rice.


*Gluten free

Spicy Guacamole Salsa

At the taco stands in Zihuatanejo, the guacamole served on the side was a bit different than the regular "thick and chunky" guacamole that we're all used to. It was more watered-down. More like a sauce or salsa to pour onto the tacos. And a little Spicier!

Ingredients:
1 large avocado
juice of 1 lime
1 clove of minced garlic
1 ancho or passilla chili
1tsp cumin
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp chili powder (optional)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat a frying pan to medium heat. Drizzle small amount of olive oil into pan.
Place Ancho or Pasilla Chili onto the pan. When the chili starts to heat up flip it onto it's other side. Once it starts to puff up, remove the chili from the pan and place it into a bowl with 1 cup of warm water. Let sit for about 15-20 minutes. Then Scrape the seeds out.

In a blender, put in the avocado, lime juice, garlic, ancho/ pasilla chili, cumin, cilantro, olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend together. Start adding the water until you get a smooth consistency (like a creamy soup). Add some chili powder to taste.

serve as a side to any Mexican meal


*Gluten free

Real Corn Tortillas

2 cups masa harina, finely ground maize (corn) i.e; maseca
1 to 1 1/4 cups of hot water
pinch of salt

In a medium bowl, mix ingredients for about 2 minutes until smooth.
The key is to get the right consistency. If dough is too sticky add more masa harina. If dough is too hard add just a few drops of water.

Divide dough into 2 inch size balls. With either a tortilla press, a rolling pin, or even the counter top and a frying pan, press each ball of dough flat between two sheets of plastic wrap. Until tortillas are about 1 millimeter thick.

Preheat a cast iron tortilla pan at about medium to medium-high heat. Place tortillas onto the heated pan. Leave them until they start to turn a little golden one one side then flip them. Once they are cooked nicely all the way through on both sides (and not burned), about 2 minutes, set them aside wrapped up in a cloth. Tortillas will soften as they sit in the cloth.

Also try cutting tortillas into quarters, deep fry to make your own tortilla chips!

*Gluten Free

Try Pulled Chicken Tacos!

Mexican Pulled Chicken Tacos

This is my favorite recipe to pass around. I came up with this recipe while waiting in line at a Mexican "tienda" in Kensington market while living in Toronto. I was just making conversation with the woman behind me about how I wanted to make real Mexican tacos.
About five years ago my boyfriend and I had lived in Zihuatanejo Mexico for about six months. That's where my love for spice really emerged. The most unforgettable, out of all the delicious meals has to be the Tacos. And once I was back in Canada I had to re-create them!
So between the woman in line at the "tienda" and some of my own memory and experiences while in Zihuatanejo I came up with this recipe for Pulled Chicken Tacos:

Ingredients:

approx. 1 chicken breast per person
a piece of El Yucateco Annatto paste
juice of 1 orange
1-1 1/2 cups chicken stalk
4 tbsp (approx) olive oil

taco seasoning (mix ingredients):
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp cumin
about 1/2 tbsp chipotle powder
1/4 tsp chili powder (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Fixings:
corn tortillas
1/2 cup of red onions
1/4 cup cilantro
guacamole
lime slices
grilled pineapple pieces
salsa verde (green) or..
salsa rojo (red)


Boil chicken in a pot with enough water to cover. Boil for about 15-20 minutes, until chicken is able to pull apart easily. Remove and reserve the water. Pull the chicken apart with two forks until it's very stringy, no big pieces..

Heat pan to medium. Put a bit of oil into the pan and throw in the chicken. Add the Annatto paste and work it into the chicken with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle the taco seasoning mix over the chicken, mix and let the flavors come out a bit. Cut a big orange and squeeze as much juice as you can out of both halves into the pan. Then take about a cup/ cup and a half of the leftover stock (boiled chicken water) and pour that into the pan. Give it a little shake bring it to a bubble then let simmer on med- low heat until all the juices are soaked in.

While the chicken is simmering, prep the tortillas, and guacamole and salsa.
chop the red onion into small pieces and finely chop the cilantro. Mix the two together and drizzle in some olive oil, salt and pepper. Chop some pineapple and grill it (optional, but delicious!).

Set it all up and dig in while it's hot!