CDMX

< Previous130SOPAS SOPA TARASCA TARASCA SOUP From the heart of Michoacán state to my beloved CDMX, sopa tarasca positions itself as one of our favourite soups. Its similarity to sopa Azteca might get you confused – they are served with the same toppings – but the di erence between them is in the thickness of the soup, and, of course, the rich ﬂavour of the pinto beans. 3 dried pasilla chillies, stalks, veins and seeds removed 1.5 litres (51 ﬂ oz) chicken stock 1 dried ancho chilli, stalks, veins and seeds removed 11 Tortillas de maiz (see page 228) 5 roma (plum) tomatoes, cut in half ½ white onion, roughly chopped 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano 2 garlic cloves 200 ml (7 ﬂ oz) vegetable oil, plus 2 tablespoons extra 1 tablespoon table salt 2 black peppercorns 2 bay leaves 100 g (3½ oz) Frijoles negros (see page 226) 1 litre (34 ﬂ oz) bean cooking water (see page 226) To serve 2 avocados, cut into 3 cm (1¼ in) dice 150 g (5½ oz) sour cream 150 g (5½ oz) queso fresco or feta, crumbled Cut one pasilla chilli into thin strips and set aside – we’ll use this to garnish the soup. Place 500 ml (2 cups) of the chicken stock, the remaining pasilla chillies and the ancho chilli in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 3–5 minutes, until the chillies are so . Add one tortilla and continue to simmer until so , then transfer the mixture to a blender, add the tomato, onion, oregano and garlic and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture into a bowl, discarding any remaining solids. Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium–high heat. Add the tomato mixture, salt, peppercorns and bay leaves and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until the mixture darkens in colour. Place the beans and bean cooking water in a blender and blitz until smooth, then strain the mixture into the sauce and add the remaining chicken stock. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through, then pick out the bay leaves and peppercorns and discard. Cut the remaining tortillas into strips 1 cm (¹⁄3 in) wide. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium–low heat. Lower a tortilla strip into the oil to test if the oil is hot enough. If it sizzles, then the oil is ready. Working in batches, fry the tortilla strips for 7 minutes or until crisp, then transfer to a bowl lined with paper towel to drain. Lower the reserved pasilla chilli strips into the oil and fry for 1 minute until crisp. Drain on paper towel. To serve, divide the fried tortilla strips among bowls and pour the soup over the top. Finish with the avocado, sour cream, cheese and fried chilli strips, and enjoy. S E R V E S 6 S E R V E S 6130SOPAS SOPA TARASCA TARASCA SOUP From the heart of Michoacán state to my beloved CDMX, sopa tarasca positions itself as one of our favourite soups. Its similarity to sopa Azteca might get you confused – they are served with the same toppings – but the di erence between them is in the thickness of the soup, and, of course, the rich ﬂavour of the pinto beans. 3 dried pasilla chillies, stalks, veins and seeds removed 1.5 litres (51 ﬂ oz) chicken stock 1 dried ancho chilli, stalks, veins and seeds removed 11 Tortillas de maiz (see page 228) 5 roma (plum) tomatoes, cut in half ½ white onion, roughly chopped 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano 2 garlic cloves 200 ml (7 ﬂ oz) vegetable oil, plus 2 tablespoons extra 1 tablespoon table salt 2 black peppercorns 2 bay leaves 100 g (3½ oz) Frijoles negros (see page 226) 1 litre (34 ﬂ oz) bean cooking water (see page 226) To serve 2 avocados, cut into 3 cm (1¼ in) dice 150 g (5½ oz) sour cream 150 g (5½ oz) queso fresco or feta, crumbled Cut one pasilla chilli into thin strips and set aside – we’ll use this to garnish the soup. Place 500 ml (2 cups) of the chicken stock, the remaining pasilla chillies and the ancho chilli in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 3–5 minutes, until the chillies are so . Add one tortilla and continue to simmer until so , then transfer the mixture to a blender, add the tomato, onion, oregano and garlic and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture into a bowl, discarding any remaining solids. Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium–high heat. Add the tomato mixture, salt, peppercorns and bay leaves and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until the mixture darkens in colour. Place the beans and bean cooking water in a blender and blitz until smooth, then strain the mixture into the sauce and add the remaining chicken stock. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through, then pick out the bay leaves and peppercorns and discard. Cut the remaining tortillas into strips 1 cm (¹⁄3 in) wide. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium–low heat. Lower a tortilla strip into the oil to test if the oil is hot enough. If it sizzles, then the oil is ready. Working in batches, fry the tortilla strips for 7 minutes or until crisp, then transfer to a bowl lined with paper towel to drain. Lower the reserved pasilla chilli strips into the oil and fry for 1 minute until crisp. Drain on paper towel. To serve, divide the fried tortilla strips among bowls and pour the soup over the top. Finish with the avocado, sour cream, cheese and fried chilli strips, and enjoy. S E R V E S 6 S E R V E S 6149148COMIDA CORRIDACOMIDA CORRIDA CARNE EN CHILE PASILLA CON PAPAS STEAK IN PASILLA SAUCE WITH POTATOES The pasilla chilli is the dried version of the chilaca chilli. It has a unique, strong, bi er ﬂavour and dark colour, and one of the best ways to use it is to cook pork or beef steaks in a pasilla sauce. Chefs and cooks have to be creative with their comidas corrida if they want to win over the lunchtime o ce-worker crowd, so they need interesting menus that use seasonal ingredients, fruits or vegetables. This dish is not an ‘everyday’ menu item, but you’ll ﬁnd it at least once a month as a special of the week. 4 dried pasilla chillies (about 80 g/2¾ oz), stalks removed 1 garlic clove 1 black peppercorn 80 ml (¹⁄3 cup) vegetable oil 1 tablespoon table salt 1 chicken stock cube, crumbled 4 potatoes, cut into 3 cm (1¼ in) dice 1 white onion, ﬁnely sliced 4 x 125 g (4½ oz) beef minute steaks To serve Arroz Mexicano (see page 237) Frijoles negros (see page 226) Tortillas de maiz (see page 228) Boil the chillies, garlic and peppercorn in 300 ml (10 ﬂ oz) of water for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly, then transfer to a blender and blitz to a smooth sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the pasilla sauce, salt and chicken stock cube, then bring to the boil and cook, stirring frequently, for 7 minutes or until the sauce darkens in colour. Add the potato and cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion in a single layer and place the minute steaks on top. Cook, occasionally turning the steaks, for 4–5 minutes, until the steaks are just cooked through, then add the onion and steaks to the pasilla sauce, reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes or until the potato is tender. Divide the steak, potato and pasilla sauce among plates, and serve with arroz Mexicano, frijoles negros and tortillas on the side. S E R V E S 4 S E R V E S 4149148COMIDA CORRIDACOMIDA CORRIDA CARNE EN CHILE PASILLA CON PAPAS STEAK IN PASILLA SAUCE WITH POTATOES The pasilla chilli is the dried version of the chilaca chilli. It has a unique, strong, bi er ﬂavour and dark colour, and one of the best ways to use it is to cook pork or beef steaks in a pasilla sauce. Chefs and cooks have to be creative with their comidas corrida if they want to win over the lunchtime o ce-worker crowd, so they need interesting menus that use seasonal ingredients, fruits or vegetables. This dish is not an ‘everyday’ menu item, but you’ll ﬁnd it at least once a month as a special of the week. 4 dried pasilla chillies (about 80 g/2¾ oz), stalks removed 1 garlic clove 1 black peppercorn 80 ml (¹⁄3 cup) vegetable oil 1 tablespoon table salt 1 chicken stock cube, crumbled 4 potatoes, cut into 3 cm (1¼ in) dice 1 white onion, ﬁnely sliced 4 x 125 g (4½ oz) beef minute steaks To serve Arroz Mexicano (see page 237) Frijoles negros (see page 226) Tortillas de maiz (see page 228) Boil the chillies, garlic and peppercorn in 300 ml (10 ﬂ oz) of water for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly, then transfer to a blender and blitz to a smooth sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the pasilla sauce, salt and chicken stock cube, then bring to the boil and cook, stirring frequently, for 7 minutes or until the sauce darkens in colour. Add the potato and cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion in a single layer and place the minute steaks on top. Cook, occasionally turning the steaks, for 4–5 minutes, until the steaks are just cooked through, then add the onion and steaks to the pasilla sauce, reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes or until the potato is tender. Divide the steak, potato and pasilla sauce among plates, and serve with arroz Mexicano, frijoles negros and tortillas on the side. S E R V E S 4 S E R V E S 4173MARISCOS PESCADO AL AJILLO FISH WITH GARLIC & CHILLI I feel very lucky to live in Sydney and have the ﬁsh market close to my home. Buying fresh seafood was trickier in Mexico City because the city is in a valley a long way from the ocean. I’ve embraced the Australian favourite ﬁsh – barramundi – and discovered the easiest way to cook a good barramundi ﬁllet is to make it ‘al ajillo’, which means with garlic and guajillo chilli seasoning. Because I usually cook with whole chillies, I get frustrated when I ﬁnd small broken bits of chilli in the bo om of my shopping bag, so I decided to make good use of them. I add them to the salt shaker to make chilli salt – and magic happens! 4 x 180 g (6½ oz) skinless barramundi ﬁllets or other ﬁrm white ﬁsh ﬁllets table salt and ground white pepper 3 dried guajillo chillies, stems and seeds removed, deveined 2 tablespoons olive oil 50 g (1¾ oz) unsalted bu er 5 garlic cloves, ﬁnely sliced Arroz Mexicano, to serve (see page 237) lime wedges, to serve Season the ﬁsh with salt and white pepper, about three pinches per ﬁllet. Set aside. Using scissors, cut the guajillo chilli into strips 5 mm ( in) wide. Heat the olive oil and bu er in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, until fragrant and starting to change colour, then add the chilli and continue to cook for 3 minutes – the chilli will turn the bu er and garlic orange. Using a slo ed spoon, remove the garlic and chilli from the pan and reserve. Add the ﬁsh to the pan and cook for 4–5 minutes each side until just cooked through. Return the garlic and chilli to the pan and cook for 1 minute to warm through. Divide the ﬁsh and garlic chilli sauce among plates and serve with arroz Mexicano on the side and a few lime wedges. S E R V E S 4 S E R V E S 4173MARISCOS PESCADO AL AJILLO FISH WITH GARLIC & CHILLI I feel very lucky to live in Sydney and have the ﬁsh market close to my home. Buying fresh seafood was trickier in Mexico City because the city is in a valley a long way from the ocean. I’ve embraced the Australian favourite ﬁsh – barramundi – and discovered the easiest way to cook a good barramundi ﬁllet is to make it ‘al ajillo’, which means with garlic and guajillo chilli seasoning. Because I usually cook with whole chillies, I get frustrated when I ﬁnd small broken bits of chilli in the bo om of my shopping bag, so I decided to make good use of them. I add them to the salt shaker to make chilli salt – and magic happens! 4 x 180 g (6½ oz) skinless barramundi ﬁllets or other ﬁrm white ﬁsh ﬁllets table salt and ground white pepper 3 dried guajillo chillies, stems and seeds removed, deveined 2 tablespoons olive oil 50 g (1¾ oz) unsalted bu er 5 garlic cloves, ﬁnely sliced Arroz Mexicano, to serve (see page 237) lime wedges, to serve Season the ﬁsh with salt and white pepper, about three pinches per ﬁllet. Set aside. Using scissors, cut the guajillo chilli into strips 5 mm ( in) wide. Heat the olive oil and bu er in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, until fragrant and starting to change colour, then add the chilli and continue to cook for 3 minutes – the chilli will turn the bu er and garlic orange. Using a slo ed spoon, remove the garlic and chilli from the pan and reserve. Add the ﬁsh to the pan and cook for 4–5 minutes each side until just cooked through. Return the garlic and chilli to the pan and cook for 1 minute to warm through. Divide the ﬁsh and garlic chilli sauce among plates and serve with arroz Mexicano on the side and a few lime wedges. S E R V E S 4 S E R V E S 4191POSTRES PASTEL DE ELOTE SWEETCORN CAKE Abuelita! My grandmother is the person who comes to mind when I think of pastel de elote; she loved a slice of this delicious spongy piece of heaven. I was very lucky to walk with her, holding hands, every Thursday to our closest weekday street market in Claveria, where the main street would be closed to make way for more than 50 brightly coloured stalls in front of the mercado building. Whenever I’m back in the city, I visit this market with my Auntie Tere. We will both become teary when we end up at Abuelita’s favourite spot: the pastel de elotes and tamales stall. Gracias Tere. My dad makes pastel de elote at one of our restaurants and I think that, every time he makes it, my grandma’s presence is there with him, smelling, smiling and tasting. 500 g (3 cups) yellow sweetcorn kernels (about 3 sweetcorn cobs) 60 ml (¼ cup) evaporated milk 100 g (3½ oz) caster (superﬁne) sugar 150 g (5½ oz) unsalted bu er, so ened, plus extra for greasing 5 large eggs, separated 75 g (½ cup) plain (all-purpose) ﬂour, si ed Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a deep 1.5 litre (51 ﬂ oz) baking dish with bu er. Pulse the corn in a blender with the milk and sugar, until chopped into small chunks (we want to retain some texture inside the cake). Place the bu er in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk a ached and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well between each addition, then add the ﬂour and mix until well combined. Stir in the corn mixture, using a spatula. Using a di erent, clean bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until ﬁrm peaks form, then fold the meringue into the cake ba er using a spatula in slow movements. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish, cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Preheat the grill (broiler) to medium–high. Remove the foil from the baking dish and grill the cake for 5 minutes to create a lovely crispy golden ﬁnish. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature, then cut into slices and serve. The cake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. S E R V E S 8 S E R V E S 8191POSTRES PASTEL DE ELOTE SWEETCORN CAKE Abuelita! My grandmother is the person who comes to mind when I think of pastel de elote; she loved a slice of this delicious spongy piece of heaven. I was very lucky to walk with her, holding hands, every Thursday to our closest weekday street market in Claveria, where the main street would be closed to make way for more than 50 brightly coloured stalls in front of the mercado building. Whenever I’m back in the city, I visit this market with my Auntie Tere. We will both become teary when we end up at Abuelita’s favourite spot: the pastel de elotes and tamales stall. Gracias Tere. My dad makes pastel de elote at one of our restaurants and I think that, every time he makes it, my grandma’s presence is there with him, smelling, smiling and tasting. 500 g (3 cups) yellow sweetcorn kernels (about 3 sweetcorn cobs) 60 ml (¼ cup) evaporated milk 100 g (3½ oz) caster (superﬁne) sugar 150 g (5½ oz) unsalted bu er, so ened, plus extra for greasing 5 large eggs, separated 75 g (½ cup) plain (all-purpose) ﬂour, si ed Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a deep 1.5 litre (51 ﬂ oz) baking dish with bu er. Pulse the corn in a blender with the milk and sugar, until chopped into small chunks (we want to retain some texture inside the cake). Place the bu er in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk a ached and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well between each addition, then add the ﬂour and mix until well combined. Stir in the corn mixture, using a spatula. Using a di erent, clean bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until ﬁrm peaks form, then fold the meringue into the cake ba er using a spatula in slow movements. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish, cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Preheat the grill (broiler) to medium–high. Remove the foil from the baking dish and grill the cake for 5 minutes to create a lovely crispy golden ﬁnish. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature, then cut into slices and serve. The cake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. S E R V E S 8 S E R V E S 8Next >