Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Home: Two Easy, Authentic Mexican Recipes
May 4, 2020
Celebrating Cinco de Mayo this year in Mexico or at a Mexican restaurant might be out of the question this year, but that doesn’t cancel the celebrations. Prepare two authentic recipes created by chefs at two top resorts … from the comfort of your home kitchen. Then mix up a margarita and imagine you’re on a beach, soaking up the sunshine. Buen provecho!
Su Casa Chilaquiles
By Chef Eugenio Villafaña, Executive Chef, Palmaïa.
Oven-baked crispy tortilla chips soaked in charred tomato salsa with a hint of morita pepper, topped with “de la olla” style beans, sour cream, fresh cheese, avocado, oregano-infused pickled red onions, and cilantro. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
Tortilla chips:
- 16 5” corn tortillas cut into one-inch squares
- Vegetable oil in a spray bottle
Charred tomato sauce:
- 2 spoons olive oil
- 10 ripe plum tomatoes
- 1 yellow onion
- 6 garlic cloves, large
- 3 pieces morita pepper
- 1 spoon of Chef’s seasoning*
- a bunch of fresh cilantro
- vegetable stock, as needed
Add-ons:
- 2 cups “de la olla” beans
- sour cream
- fresh cheese
- 2 ripe avocados
- fresh cilantro sprigs
Directions:
Tortilla chips:
Preheat the oven at 350°F. Place tortilla squares on an oven baking sheet, spraying vegetable oil making sure all tortillas are coated. Stick it in the oven for 5 minutes, stir constantly for a total of 20 minutes. Let it cool aside.
Charred tomato sauce:
- Heat up the grill (if not available, keep your oven on).
- Boil 2 cups of water, remove from heat and add the morita peppers. Set aside.
- Remove stem end sides of the tomatoes, peel onion, peel garlic. Coat all vegetables with olive oil and place over the grill or a baking sheet and place in the oven, turning them from time to time until charred.
- Blend tomatoes, onion, garlic, hydrated morita peppers and cilantro with a spoon of Chef’s seasoning, adding just a fair amount of vegetable stock to allow a proper smooth blending.
- Transfer sauce to a heated pan with a spoon of olive oil and carefully “fry” the sauce, adjust season with sea salt. Let it boil for 3 to 5 minutes to medium heat.
Serving:
- Place tortilla chips in a heated casserole, once the sauce is ready, add the hot red salsa until the tortillas are fully coated with the sauce. You can add less sauce if you want them less soupy. Transfer to a plate or bowl layered with desired amount of “de la olla” beans, sour cream, fresh cheese, pickled onions, diced avocados and fresh cilantro sprigs.
Hacienda Encantada Baja Fish Tacos
Delicious fish tacos, just like across the border!
Ingredients:
Fish:
- 1 lb halibut, cut into 1 x 3 inch pieces
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp coriander
- Lime zest
- 1 T canola oil
- ¼ tsp salt
Crema:
- 8 oz. sour cream
- 2 T lime juice
- Lime zest
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
Pico de Gallo:
- 1 ½ lbs tomatoes, chopped
- ¾ cup red onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeño, chopped
- ¼ tsp salt
- Corn tortillas
- Shredded cabbage
Directions:
Halibut:
- Mix chili powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, coriander, lime zest, and salt in bowl
- Cover halibut with above mix
- Heat canola oil in frying pan over medium heat
- Cook halibut in pan for 2 minutes on each side
Crema:
- Add sour cream, lime juice, lime zest, cumin and salt to small bowl and mix
- Add water if too thick
Pico de Gallo:
- Place tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and salt in mixing bowl and mix
- Add halibut to corn tortilla, top with shredded cabbage, pico de gallo and cream and enjoy right away!
What are your Cinco de Mayo plans?
