5 de Mayo Fiesta

I have to admit I have never really celebrated 5 de Mayo, I was born and raised in Mexico and to me it was just a free day from school and work, sure, I know the history about the Battle of Puebla and what it means for Mexico, but we just never really celebrated it, in fact I believe it is more celebrated abroad (specially in the USA) than in my own country. 

But now that I have a little one it is a great excuse to share with him a bit of mexican culture and traditions, as well as some nice mexican food. So here are some recipes to get into the mexican mood, enjoy and provecho! 

Sopes de Chorizo

Mexican sopes are some sort of cousins to the tortillas. Sopes are made with the same ingredients as tortillas. However, their size and thickness is much different. Sopes are smaller that tortillas in diameter. In fact, the are only about 7.6cm across. Furthermore, they are significantly thicker than tortillas. Despite their difference in shape and scale, sopes are used in a manner that is quite similar to tortillas. Like tortillas, they can be filled with cheese, beans, avocado, guacamole, salsa, pico de gallo, chorizo, and chicken, to name a few of the most popular fillings. They are great for lunch or snacks for a mexican themed party, but you can also have them as side dish. 
You will need a tortilla press to make the sopes, but if you cannot find one you can the bottom of use a glass jar to flatten the dough. 

Ingredients:

For the sopes:

• 2 cups corn flour or masa harina
• 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• Vegetable oil (canola) for frying

For the filling:

• 1 can fried beans warmed
• 100g chorizo cooked and drained
• 75g Queso fresco (or low salt feta) crumbled

Directions:

1. Mix the masa harina, all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. 
2. Gently add the warm water and mix slowly until the masa is consistent and without clumps. You may have to add more warm water if you find that it is difficult to form the sopes with your hands.
3. Start rolling the dough in your hands and make each of the sopes from a ball of dough around the size of a walnut. Make all of the balls in advance and cover them with plastic wrap to avoid drying out.
4. Place a damp towel on your kitchen counter. Place each ball of dough in your hand and gently press it flat until it is the size of a golf ball. Put the ball of dough on the damp towel when you are finished.
5. Flatten each ball of dough further with the bottom of a glass bottle or a tortilla press until the sopes are roughly 6-7cms in diameter. Raise a little border around the sopes to hold the filling in.
6. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add enough canola oil so that the bottom of the pan is coated completely.Place each of the sopes into the frying pan and cook them for about a minute on each side, or until they are golden brown. 
7. After you have cooked each of the sopes, place them on paper towels or a clean towel to soak up the excess oil.
8. Wait until the sopes are cool enough to handle and spread a thick layer of beans on them, sprinkle with some chorizo, cheese and lettuce. Serve with salsa and guacamole.

Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup or Aztec Soup is one of those WOW dishes for me, it is so rich and tasteful, not to spicy but with some kick, with crunchy tortillas and nice creamy avocado: I just love it! It is a really old recipe that has managed to still be present at mexican tables. The original version has no chicken, carrot or zucchini but I added it to make it richer and yeah, to "hide" veggies for the kids. (but you can leave them out to make it more traditional)

Ingredients:

• 4 medium tomatoes
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 4 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 kilo corn tortillas 
• 2 tablespoons chopped carrot
• 2 tablespoons chopped zucchini
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped seeded jalapeno or ancho pepper
• 1 bay leaf (if you can get some epazote use it instead)
• 1/4 cup cubed avocado
• 1/4 cup shredded Fresco cheese or some monterrey Jack
• Sour cream for garnishing

Directions:

1. Brush the tomatoes, onion and garlic with 1 teaspoon oil. Roast close to the heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until tender. Peel and discard charred skin from tomatoes; place in a blender. Add onion and garlic; cover and process for 1-2 minutes or until smooth.
2. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste; bake for 5-6 minutes on each side. 
3. Cut the tortillas in fine strips.
4. In a large saucepan, heat remaining oil. Fry tortilla strips until crisp and browned, careful not to burn them; remove and set aside on a paper towel.
5. In the same pan, cook the carrot, zucchini, cilantro, cumin and chili powder over medium heat for 4 minutes. 
6. Stir in the tomato mixture, chicken broth, tomato puree, jalapeno and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
7. Cut chicken into strips and add to soup; heat through. Discard bay leaf. Add the tortilla strips.
8. Garnish with the avocado slices, sour cream and cheese before serving.

Green Sauce Chicken Tamales

Tamales are a favorite comfort food in Mexico, eaten as both breakfast and dinner, and often accompanied by hot atole or champurrado, maize-based beverages of indigenous origin. Street vendors can be seen serving them from huge, steaming, covered pots called  tamaleras.

The most common fillings are pork and chicken, in either red or green salsa or mole. Another very traditional variation is to add pink-colored sugar to the corn mix and fill it with raisins or other dried fruit and make a sweet tamale (tamal de dulce). This recipe is for chicken soaked in a medium spicy green tomato sauce, and even when it does take some time (and patience) to prepare them, they are really worth it!

Ingredients:

For the Dough

• 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 cups masa harina
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup vegetable shortening or lard
• 1 cup dried corn husks (not sweet corn)
• 1 cup sour cream

For the filling

• 220g dried corn husks (outer shell of the corn to wrap the tamales in)
• 450g tomatillos rinsed (green tomatoes)
• 4 serrano chiles chopped
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 2/3 cup fresh cilantro chopped
• salt and peper to taste

Directions:

Filling:

1. Soak the corn husks in a bowl of warm water utnil they are completlty covered and allow them to get soft 9anything from 3 hours to a day).
2. Broil the tomatillos until they blacken in spots turning once, about 5 minutes per side. Once soft transfer them to a food processor or blender and mix until smooth (you can also use canned tomatillos, and mix them directly with a little bit of their water)
3. Add the chiles and garlic and mix well.
4. Heat oil, add the tomatillos and cook for a few minutes, reduce the heath and allow it to reduce to a thick sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Stir in the chicken and cilantro to the sauce, cover and set aside.

Dough:

1. Beat the shortening or lard using an electric mixer, add 1 tablespoon of broth until fluffy.
2. Combine the masa harina, baking powder and salt. Stir into the shortening mixture adding more broth to form a somewhat spongy dough.

Preparing the Tamales:

1. Spread the dough out over the corn husks to 3cm thickness.
2. Place one tablespoon of chicken mixture into the center.
3. Fold the sides of the husks in toward the center and place in a steamer (you can also tie the ends on both sides to prevent the filling from coming out).
4. Steam for an hour and serve warm.