Tangy Pasilla Shrimp Camarones En Escabeche Rojo Food

SHRIMP IN ESCABèCHE

Steps:

• Toss together onion, vinegar, oregano, and 1 teaspoon salt in a shallow glass or ceramic dish.
• Simmer oil, bay leaves, garlic, and peppercorns in a small saucepan 10 minutes, then let stand until ready to use.
• Add shrimp to a medium pot of boiling salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 4 quarts water), then remove from heat and let stand, uncovered, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain well, then stir into onion mixture along with oil mixture.
• Chill shrimp in escabeche, covered when cool, stirring occasionally, at least 12 hours. Discard bay leaves and serve shrimp cold or at room temperature.

CAMARONES CON CREMA (MEXICAN SHRIMP IN CREAM)

Steps:

• Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place bell peppers, onion, and garlic in the butter and saute until tender and onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and set aside. Save pan and juices and keep warm.
• Combine broth and green chiles in a separate pan and bring to a simmer. Turn off heat and add cream cheese, stirring slowly until incorporated. Add Mexican crema, chile de arbol, cumin, and oregano. Stir again. Add peppers, onion, and garlic; stir to incorporate. Remove from heat.
• Heat reserved pan with juices over medium-high heat. Cook shrimp until they are bright pink on the outside and the meat is opaque, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Stir shrimp into cream mixture and serve.

CAMARONES EN ESCABECHE

Steps:

• Saute the shrimp, a few at a time, in a little of the olive oil until lightly brown, adding more oil as needed. Place in a covered dish or jar.
• In a saucepan, combine the remaining oil with the bay leaf, cumin, nutmeg, garlic, paprika, vinegar, onions, chiles, salt, and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil slowly and simmer until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Pour the vinegar mixture over the shrimp. Chill overnight.
• Serve on Romaine leaves, garnished with radishes and green olives.

TANGY PASILLA SHRIMP (CAMARONES EN ESCABECHE ROJO)

Steps:

• In a very large (12-inch) skillet, heat the olive oil over medium. Add the chile pieces and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. (Don't cook them too long, as they'll burn and taste bitter). Add the red onion and cook another minute while the onion wilts slightly. Add the balsamic vinegar, sugar, 1/3 cup water and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Simmer another minute to allow the flavors to come together.
• Add the shrimp to the skillet with the sauce. Cook, stirring, until they are just barely cooked through (they will turn pink but be slightly translucent at the center), 6 to 8 minutes. Put the shrimp into a shallow serving bowl and garnish with the cilantro leaves. This dish is delicious served warm, at room temperature or cool.

CHICKEN ENCHILADA SUIZAS (RICK BAYLESS)

Steps:

• For fresh tomatoes: Roast the tomatoes and chiles on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, until they're darkly roasted (they'll be blackened in spots), about 6 minutes. Flip them over and roast the other side-5 or 6 minutes more will give you splotchy-black and blistered tomatoes that are cooked through. Cool. Working over your baking sheet, pull off and discard the blackened tomato skins and, for round tomatoes, cut out the hard "cores" where the stems were attached. Transfer tomatoes and chiles to a food processor or blender, along with all the juices on the baking sheet. Blend to a smooth puree.
• For canned tomatoes: In a small dry skillet, roast the chiles over medium heat, turning regularly, until they're soft and splotchy-black, about 5 minutes. Place in a blender or food processor along with the drained canned tomatoes. Blend to a smooth puree.
• In a medium-size (4- or 5-quart) pot (preferably a Dutch oven or Mexican cazuela), heat the oil or lard over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until golden, about 7 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high, and, when noticeably hotter, stir in the tomato puree. Cook, stirring, until darker in color and thickened to the consistency of tomato paste, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the broth, partially cover and simmer 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon. The sauce should be a slightly soupy consistency-not as thick as spaghetti sauce. If it is too thick, stir in a little additional broth. Keep warm over low heat.
• Other preliminaries. Stir the crema (or one of its stand-ins) into the sauce. Put the chicken in a bowl and stir 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture into it. Taste and season with additional salt if you think it needs it. Have the cheese at the ready.
• Heat the oven to 350°. Smear about 1/4 cup of the sauce over the bottom of 4 to 6 nine-inch individual ovenproof baking/serving dishes or smear about 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. Lay the tortillas out on a baking sheet (2 sheets if you have them, for more even heating), and lightly brush or spray both sides of the tortillas with oil. Bake just to warm through and soften, about 3 minutes. Stack the tortillas and cover with a towel to keep warm.
• Working quickly so the tortillas stay hot and pliable, roll a portion of the chicken into each tortilla, then line them all up in the baking dishes. Douse evenly with the remaining sauce, then sprinkle with the cheese. Bake until the enchiladas are hot through (the cheese will have begun to brown), about 15 minutes. Garnish with onion rings and cilantro sprigs. These are best served piping hot from the oven.
• MAKE AHEAD The sauce can be made a day or two ahead; refrigerate covered. Once the tortillas have been heated in the oven, you need to work quickly and steadily toward serving in order to preserve their beautiful texture. Once out of the oven, the finished dish softens to near mush over a period of 15 to 20 minutes.

SALSA DEL DIABLO ROJO

Steps:

• Cut tops off peppers. Leave the seeds.
• Cut onion into manageable pieces.
• Dice Garlic.
• Run all vegetables through the shredding blade of your food processor. If you don't have a food processor, diced all vegetables into small pieces.
• Using the mixing blade of your food processor, pulse all vegetables together, then add can of tomatoes. Run for 30 seconds.
• Pour in salsa mix and lime juice. Blend for approximately 1 minute.
• Pour into serving bowl and enjoy!

ENCHILADAS ROJAS

Steps:

• THE SAUCE: Heat a dry skillet or griddle over medium. Tear the chiles into flat pieces, then toast them a few at a time: Use a metal spatula to press the chile pieces flat against the hot surface, skin side up, until they are aromatic and have lightened in color underneath, about 10 seconds. (If heat is right, you'll have a slight crackle when you press them down, but you shouldn't see more than the slightest wisp of smoke.) Place in a bowl, cover with about 3 cups very hot tap water, lay a small plate on the chiles to keep them submerged and soak for 20 minutes.
• Use a pair of tongs to transfer the rehydrated chiles to a food processor or blender. Measure 1 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid and add it to the chiles along with the garlic. Blend to a smooth puree, then push through a medium-mesh strainer into a pie plate. The consistency should be like that of canned tomato sauce. Taste (the sauce will be a little rough on the tongue at this point) and season highly with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon.
• OTHER PRELIMINARIES: Set out the grated cheese and sliced onion. If using the optional chicken, warm it in a microwave or in a small skillet over medium-low heat (for stove-top heating, you'll want to dribble in a little water to keep it from sticking).
• FINISHING THE ENCHILADAS: Heat the oven to 350°F Place the sauce and tortillas near the stove, with a baking sheet beside them. Set a small (8-inch) skillet (preferable nonstick) over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the oil or lard. When the oil is hot, dip both sides of a tortilla into the sauce, then lay it in the oil. Let is sear and sizzle for about 20 seconds, then use a small spatula to flip it over. Sear the other side for about 20 seconds. Transfer to the baking sheet, folding it occasionally and then heating another tablespoon of oil or lard to fry a new batch. Arrange the fried, folded tortillas in groups of three, overlapping them. Pop them into the oven to heat through, about 5 minutes.
• While the enchiladas are heating, in a small bowl, toss the lettuce with the vinegar and a good sprinkling of salt.
• Divide the warm enchiladas among four dinner plates and sprinkle liberally with the grated cheese. Top with the sliced onion, chicken (if you are using it) and a generous portion of the dressed romaine. These wait for no one.

CAMARONES EN CREMA CON CILANTRO - SHRIMP IN CREAMY CORIANDER

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the butter, when it begin to foam, add the garlic, tomatoes, coriander, sherry, and shrimp, and cook, stirring, 4 to 5 minutes.
• To prepare the sauce, in a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter.
• When it begins to foam, add the flour and cook, stirring, until well blended but not brown, 2 minutes.
• Raise the heat to medium, whisk in the stock and milk, and cook, whisking, until the mixture comes to a boil.
• Add the salt, pepper, Tabasco, and Worcestershire.
• Add the sauce to the shrimp, stir to blend, and cook over low heat 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove to a heated serving platter and serve hot with Arroz Blanco.

PUMPKIN SOUP WITH RED CHILE (SOPA CALABAZA CON CHILE ROJO)

Steps:

• Place the peeled pumpkin pieces and bay leaves in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven. Pour enough water to completely cover the pumpkin. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 45 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft. Drain the pumpkin, remove the bay leaves. Let the pumpkin cool and reserve.
• Heat oil in a heavy soup pot, add the onion and cook over low heat for 3-4 minutes or until just soft, add the garlic and parsley and cook another 1-2 minutes. Place the pumpkin, in 2 or 3 batches in a blender or food processor. Add a little of the chicken broth each time and blend until smooth. Add the onion, garlic and chile flakes to the last batch.
• Pour the mixture back into the soup pot, add the rest of the chicken broth, salt, pepper, allspice and chocolate and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through.
• Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve.