Make Room for Mexican!

Even since I purchased my Spanish and Mexican cookbooks, I've had culinary tunnel vision.  But when I wind up cooking dinners like the one I made, I can't bring myself to think it's a bad thing!  Using a few simple, fresh ingredients, you can whip up a delicious Mexican feast in next to no time.  Most of the ingredients are easy to find, but you may have to search to find chayotes, which are a squash variety native to central America.  If you cannot locate chayote, substitute yellow summer squash.  Serve with seasoned rice.

Baked Snapper
juice of 1 lime
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 t. dried oregano
2 whole snapper, cleaned*

Preheat the oven to 350. In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, garlic, and oregano. Now, make shallow incisions in the bodies of the fish on each side.  Place the fish in a baking dish large enough to accomodate both fish without them touching, then pour the lime juice blend into the fish's cavities and rub into the incisions, as shown in the photo.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.  Serve with Veracruz salsa.   

* You can also use fillets of firm whitefish, such as cod or tilapia, if you don't want to use whole fish.  If the fillets are less than 1 inch thick, reduce cooking time to 20 minutes. 

Veracruz Salsa
generous splash olive oil
2 fresh serrano chiles
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
2 shallots, sliced into thin strips
4 tomatoes, diced
1/2 c. picked jalapenos
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 cup green pimiento-stuffed olives
generous grind fresh black pepper
salt to taste

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the chiles, garlic, bay leaves, and shallots, and cook until the shallot has softened, stirring intermittently.  Next, add the tomatoes, jalapenos, and cinnamon.  Cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until the tomatoes are no longer firm.  Now, add the olives and salt and pepper, and cook just until the olives are heated through.  Serve over baked fish.  This is also delicious added to rice.  　

Chayote Salad
2 chayotes, peeled and halved
2 tomatoes, diced
1 shallot, sliced into thin strips
3 T. olive oil
3 T. white wine vinegar
1 t. dijon mustard
1 t. anise seeds
salt and finely ground black pepper to taste

Boil the chayotes for 5-10 minutes, until the flesh has softened up a bit.  Let cool, then dice.  Combine the diced chayote and all remaining ingredients in a large glass bowl.  Serve cold.  　

Stinging Margaritas　
1/2 cup tequila
1 cup Simply Limeade
splash Triple Sec
1 serrano chile, halved
kosher salt mixed with a dusting of cayenne, to rim glasses

Combine all ingredients except salt in a cocktail shaker with a few ice cubes.  Shake for 30 seconds, then pour into margarita glasses rimmed with the spiced salt.  Recipe serves two. 

Ingredient Spotlight - Cactus Pads (Nopales)

Artichokes.  Asparagus.  Fresh peas.  I doubt many of my fellow New Englanders would add cactus to this list of veggies we associate with spring, but if we lived in Mexico, we might change our tune.  Cactus pads, or nopales, are grown and sold in Mexico and are at their best in the spring, but they are neither common nor easy to find in the U.S., especially the northern U.S.  This is unfortunate.  If you ever see nopales at the market, do yourself a favor and pick up a few.  Just be careful picking them up - after all, they ARE cactii, and they WILL stab you. 


Preparing nopales is a pain in the you-know-what (and the hands, if you're careless), but I'm willing to put up with a little aggravation in order to experience new tastes and textures.  I found that nopales taste like a cross between a green bean and an artichoke, with the texture of cold Chinese-style jellyfish...wait, what?  OK, I guess I could compare it to just-barely-cooked calamari...but the jellyfish comparison is far more accurate, so if you haven't tried jellyfish, get on that!  Anyway, to prepare fresh nopales, simply trim the edges and slice off the spines using a small, sharp paring knife, then slice into bite-sized pieces, boil in salted water for about 10-15 minutes, and use in recipes of your choice.  I've included two refreshing recipes below!

Nopales Salsa

1 lb. nopales, prepared as described above*
1/2 red onion, minced
1 cup canned tomatillos, drained and chopped
2 fresh serrano chiles, minced
1 t. dried oregano
juice of 1 lime
splash olive oil
handful chopped cilantro
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a glass bowl.  Chill at least 24 hours to let the flavors blend, then serve as desired.

* If you cannot find fresh nopales, prepared nopales in a jar can be purchased online. 

Individual Rice Bowls with Nopales Salsa

1 cup cooked rice, seasoned with Goya Adobo
1/2 c. shredded grilled chicken (you can also use pork, steak, or shrimp)
1/2 c. nopales salsa
avocado slices, to serve
sour cream, to serve
lime wedges, to serve

In a shallow bowl, place the rice, chicken and nopales salsa alongside each other.  Garnish with the avocado slices, sour cream, and lime wedges.