Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

After I came back from my Minnesota trip, I found my refrigerator extremely clean. Had the kitchen elves snuck into my house and cleaned it for me? Well, that kitchen elf is actually my mom. She has this "thing" where she likes to clean her kids' houses while they're out on vacation. I don't mind it at all; I actually like it, but I don't like it when she questions my experiments she finds in there like my sourdough starter, and the gin-soaked raisins, and the crazy looking preserved lemons.

Nevertheless, after she cleaned my fridge, she asked me what was I going to do with the tomatillos she found in there, and then I though, "oh, crap! I forgot I bought those." I've been meaning to make tomatillo salsa only because I love it so much poured warm over huevos rancheros, or as a cold salsa for tortilla chips. You can also use it as the verde sauce for enchiladas. This is one of those recipes that should be passed down because it's so common, so good and quite easy. Lastly, I don't seed my Serrano, but you can if you don't want too much heat.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound tomatillos, husked
• 1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper
• 1 poblano pepper, seeded
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• pinch of Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• Water or chicken broth (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic, jalapeno and poblano for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, oregano, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky. If you want a more loose sauce, thin it out with a little water or chicken broth, one tablespoon at a time.

Cheese Pupusas

Pupusas are similar to corn tortillas, only thicker and stuffed with cheese, beans or meat. The pupusa originated in El Salvador and I personally love them because I enjoy the corn flavor of the masa dough. If you ever have any leftover refried beans, you can use that to stuff pupusas. At my local Salvadorian restaurant they serve pupusas with a curtido, which is a pickled cole-slaw, and salsa roja. However, you can top it with your favorite salsa and even some crema fresca.

INGREDIENTS (makes 5 to 6 pupusas)

• 2 cups Masa harina
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 cup grated quesillo, queso fresco, farmer's cheese, mozzarella, Swiss cheese or a combination of any of these cheeses

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, mix together the masa harina and water and knead well. Knead in more water, one tablespoonful at a time if needed, to make a moist, yet firm dough. (It should not crack at the edges when you press down on it.) Cover and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
2. Roll the dough into a log and cut it into 8 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball.
3. Press an indentation in each ball with your thumb. Put about 1 tablespoon of cheese filling into each indentation and fold the dough over to completely enclose it. Press the ball out with your palms to form a disc, taking care that that the filling doesn't spill out.
4. Line a tortilla press with plastic and press out each ball to about 5-6 inches wide and about 1/4-inch thick. If you don't have a tortilla press, place the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper and roll it out with a rolling pin.
5. Heat an ungreased skillet over medium-high flame. Cook each pupusa for about 1-2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and blistered. Remove to a plate and hold warm until all pupusas are done. Serve with curtido and salsa roja.

Easy Chilaquiles con Queso

Chilaquiles are fried tortillas with a tangy tomato sauce and smothered in cheese. In our family, we like to eat chilaquiles with eggs and a side or refried beans.

There are many chilaquiles recipes out there. Some suggest you make your own tomato sauce, while others tell you to bake the chilaquiles. Truthfully, we've never baked our chilaquiles and we always use canned tomato sauce. El Pato tomato sauce is good, but you can also use Las Palmas red enchilada sauce. Now, if you're really, really tired and don't want to bother with the frying of the tortillas, go to your local carniceria or ethnic grocery store and buy good homemade tortilla chips and use those instead (then there's no need to fry!). These are just little tricks I learned from my mom.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

• 8 corn tortillas, stale and torn in pieces
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 can (7-3/4 oz.) El Pato tomato sauce (yellow can with duck, can use more if needed)
• 1/2 cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• salt

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Oil is ready when small piece of tortilla thrown in bubbles. Fry tortillas in batches, until crisp and golden. Remove and drain on paper towels. Drain oil, reserving enough to leave a nice residue in pan.

Add tomato sauce to pan and stir over medium heat until warm. Add tortillas and stir together until warm. Add salt to your liking. Top with cheese. Take off heat. Once cheese melts, add onions, then top with cilantro. Serve with eggs, refried beans, or with breakfast potatoes.

Lasagna de Enchiladas

I decided to try a new twist on enchiladas by making them "lasagna" style. I saw an episode of Good Eats and this is how Alton Brown prepared his enchiladas. I like the concept, and it's quite easy if you buy the canned sauce, but it doesn't look very pretty when you plate it. But the dish is very yummy. I cut the recipe in half since it's just the two of us, but the recipe below serves 6 to 8 people. If you really like spicy food, try using the hot enchilada sauce instead.

INGREDIENTS (serves 6 to 8 Obama supporters)

• 1 (28oz) can of Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce (mild)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups shredded queso fresco or Monterey Jack
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Crème fraîche or sour cream
• Chopped cilantro
• Slices of avocado (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Place the entire can of enchilada sauce into a sauce pan wide enough to fit tortillas in it and simmer on low until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the chicken until cooked through, approximately 7 to 9 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place in a medium bowl. Add the onions to the same pan along with a generous pinch of salt decrease the heat to medium-low and sweat for 4 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and cook until the onions are tender, 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the chicken back to the pan and 1/4 cup of the simmering enchilada sauce. Mix to combine and remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large skillet (or the same one you used to cook chicken but make sure it is clean) add 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and heat on medium-high. When oil begins to shimmer, add one tortilla (or two if you can fit them) and fry for 10 to 15 seconds per side. Remove with tongs and drain on paper towels. Repeat this with remaining tortillas.

Spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Place 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the dish. Dip 4 tortillas into the remaining sauce and lay them into the bottom of the dish. Cut 1 of the tortillas in half to evenly cover the bottom of the dish.

Top this with half of the chicken mixture and 1 cup of the cheese. Starting with 4 more tortillas, repeat the layers, ending with the last 4 tortillas on top. Pour remaining sauce over the dish and top with remaining 1 cup of cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese on top is bubbly. Serve slices of enchilada lasagna with a little crème fraîche and a sprinkling of cilantro and slices of avocado on the side.