All of these recipes, and probably for the next few days, come from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen. I love this book.
Roasted tomatillo-serrano salsa
Preheat broiler on high. Put rack as high as it will go. On a large cookie sheet place 6-8 tomatillos (husks removed and washed), 3-4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled, 3-4 serrano peppers and broil until blackened. It takes my oven about 8-9 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for another 6-7 minutes. Put the tomatillos and their juices that are in the bottom of the pan, along with the garlic (peel it first), and the serranos (with the stems removed. I leave the seeds in them) into a food processor. Add a chipotle in adobo. (I like it for the smokiness) Process until smooth. Meanwhile chop about 4 oz of onion into a small dice and rinse under cold water. Pour the tomato mixture into a large bowl. Add the onions, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1 tsp of salt or to taste, a couple of capfuls of apple cider vinegar and a tsp of sugar. Stir. Cool and serve.
This is the basic recipe that I use for all my salsas. The tomatillos can be replaced with roma or use a combination. I have even made it with canned tomatoes and only roasting the chilis and the garlic. Any fresh pepper would work also.
Pot of Mexican Beans
Usually I pressure cook my beans, but since it's cold and snowy I decided to make these on the stovetop. I only soaked these for about an hour. I don't think soaking really makes much of a difference.
In a large pot, I browned about an ounce of chorizo and a cut up slice of bacon in a little olive oil. Then add 1 cup of chopped onion. Cook until soft. Add your drained beans. Cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for a couple of hours. Season with salt, then cook another 15-20 minutes.
Green Poblano Rice
Simmer 2 chopped poblanos in 1 2/3 cup chicken broth for 10 minutes. Put in food processor with a handful of cilantro and salt to taste. Process, then strain through a mesh strainer. In a pot, saute 1 cup rice and 1 small diced onion in 1 tbsp olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add 5 chopped garlic cloves. Add the poblano broth to rice. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes covered.
Chorizo Potato Tacos with escabeche
These are easy, and I love them.
Boil 4 potatoes whole until tender. Remove let cool, then dice into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces.
Brown 6 oz Mexican chorizo until cooked through. Remove with slotted spoon, leaving as much grease in the pan as you can. You may need to add a little olive oil. Add potatoes. Let brown, turning occasionally. When finished, add the chorizo back to the potatoes and warm through. Serve on corn tortillas with escabeche
Escabeche: Dice and peel one med carrot. Put in a large skillet. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil. Cover and cook over med heat about 5 minutes, until crisp tender. Stir in 2 peeled and diced garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, 1/3 cup cider vinegar, 2 tbsp dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup water. Simmer until sugar is dissolved. Add 1 thinly sliced red onion ( I used white since that was all I had). Stir and let cool. Flavors will improve with time.
