SOUTH OF THE BORDER FLAVORS

 

South of the Border Flavors

 This year the old saying, ‘April showers bring May flowers’ appears to be merely wishful thinking, but a few rainy days may improve our outlook for those flowers.  The crabapple outside our kitchen window is valiantly trying to put out green buds, but spring, Maine style, is taking it’s time.

          One of the various ethnic holidays we have adapted in the US, especially with food, is Cinco de Mayo, on May 5^th. This is a holiday commemorating the Mexican victory over French at that date, followed by the re-establishment of the Mexican government with the help from US.

Today, with our interest in ethnic food it is easy to find Mexican restaurants, tortillas in every grocery store and salsa and guacamole have become staples in many households.  However, I can still recall a time in early 1970’s when, having returned from a Southwestern vacation, I found it almost impossible to replicate tacos in Philadelphia. Here are some old and new recipes to celebrate not only Cinco de Mayo, but to tease our tastebuds with flavors from south of the border.

Chunky Guacamole

          In a small bowl mix: 2 tblsp. fine chopped red onion, 2 chopped medium tomatoes, 1-2 avocados, peeled and chopped, ½ tsp. salt, 2 tblsp. white vinegar and 2 shakes Tabasco sauce (optional). Mix and smash everything with a fork to blend, but keep it relatively chunky. (Real Mexican protocol is mashing the last step with your hand.) Serve with corn chips.

                                      Sopa de Albóndigas

    

      

This Mexican meatball soup is an adaptation from Elena Zelayeta’s “Elena’s Secrets of Mexican Cooking”.

1)    Prepare the meatballs by thoroughly mixing by hand: ½ lb. lean ground beef, ½ lb. ground pork, ¼ cup raw rice, 1 tblsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, 1 slightly beaten egg and 1 tblsp. chopped mint leaves.

2)    Shape the meat mixture in 1 inch balls by rolling the mix with your hands.

3)    In in 4 quart pot sauté 1 chopped onion for 5 minutes in 2 tblsp. oil, stir in 1 minced garlic clove and sauté for an additional minute. Add 2 ½ quarts beef stock, 4 oz. tomato sauce and bring to boil.

4)    Drop the meatballs in boiling broth, turn down heat to simmer, cover pot and cook for 30 minutes.

5)    Remove lid, stir in 1 cup frozen peas and 1 cup frozen corn kernels. Cook for 5 additional minutes and serve. This soup freezes well.

Tortillas can take on many forms in a ‘South of the Border’ menu from tacos to ‘sopas’ to tortas filled with a variety of fillings. Quesadillas like tacos are the easiest to serve for a hearty and filing meal and can contain ingredients only limited by your imagination. Here is a recipe inspired by a mushroom/Reuben/Quesadilla seen in “Food and Wine”, taking advantage of the meaty quality of shitake mushrooms and thus allowing the recipe to be severely simplified for quick preparations. This may sound as unusual as a lobster Reuben, but it is amazingly tasty.

                                  Shitake Cuban Quesadillas

 1)    In a large pan sauté 3 oz sliced shitake with 1 thinly sliced shallot in 1 tblsp. olive oil and 2 tblsp. butter. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. kosher salt, 1 tsp. cumin, ½ tsp. garlic powder, ¼ tsp. lemon pepper. Allow the mushrooms to brown on a side before turning, 3-4 minutes to a side. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. grated orange zest.

2)    Spread each of  4 (9-10 inch) flour tortilla with whole-grain Dijon mustard, top with 2 large slices of Swiss cheese set crosswise, layer ¼ of the mushroom mix in a strip along the center, top the mushrooms with 1 tblsp. chopped kosher dill pickle. Fold each tortilla in half.

3)    Fry the quesadillas 2 at a time in a large pan in 2 tblsp. vegetable oil 1-2 minutes to a side. Cut in wedges and serve topped with sour cream and a sprinkling of chives (optional).

It may be a little difficult to find a live Mariachi band to serenade you with songs like “La Bamba”, “Guantanamera” or “Besame Mucho”, but you can always listen to a recording as you dine on flavors ‘South of the Border”.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)