Paletas (The Mexican Popsicle)

So, a couple of weeks ago, we kicked off the BBQ season with Memorial Day and pico de gallo. Now, with the official start of summer coming up, only one food can push burgers and steaks from my mind - ice cream!! Unfortunately, Mexico doesn't really do ice cream well (and a pint of Haagen Dazs costs like $8!), but Mexico does offer a variety of other frozen treats - raspaditas, carlotas and my personal favorite, paletas.

Now paleta is just Spanish for "popsicle", but it's definitely not the same - mostly because it comes in a bag instead of on a stick. (And yes, that does make a difference; it's much better this way because as it melts, it goes back into the back and you drink it at the end. Also, less mess.) Paletas can be water- or milk-based and in any flavor you can imagine. Some of the most popular ones here are chocolate, vanilla, cacahuate (peanut), strawberry, mango and coconut. The two most Mexican choices of the popular paletas are grosella (which is artificial strawberry - think fruit roll-up style) and my fave flavor rompope (Mexico's popular year-round eggnog).

Rompope
1 liter (1 qt) whole milk
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cinnamon stick
1 liter (1 qt) rompope, or eggnog

1 - Put milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon stick in a large pot over a low flame. Stir well until sugar dissolves.

2 - Add the rompope. Cook for 5 minutes, then remove the cinnamon stick.

3 - Continue to cook the mixture on low heat until it thickens slightly, about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4 - Allow to cool slightly. Stir the mixture well and pour into whatever popsicle molds you have. (It's OK if you don't have bags. I guess.)

5 - Put into the freezer and freeze overnight, or until frozen. (Well said, right?)

6 - Enjoy the next day, best tasting during an unbearable mid-day heat.

Grosella
2 liters (1/2 gallon) water
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. grosella

1 - Put water and sugar in a large pot over low heat. Stir well until sugar dissolves.

2 - Take off the heat, and add the grosella.

3 - Stir well, and allow to cool some.

4 - Follow the same freezing and enjoying steps from the rompope recipe.

Nopales (Cacti)

A nopal (or nopales, plural) are the paddles of a prickly pear, or a paddle cactus. However, if you are planning to eat it, calling it a nopal is just more appetizing (at least for a gringa like me). Mexicans make good use of this plant, chowing down on the nopales as a side or topping to many savory dishes and the prickly pear fruit (tuna in Spanish) as a sweet snack. I am not sure about the actual terminology, but the cactus pad has a "slime", which means the nopales have to be cooked properly to be enjoyable.

The nopal has been a part of Mexican cuisine for 12,000 years among the indigenous cultures. In fact, the nopal is crucial to the Aztec origins of Mexico City. The myth goes that the god Huitzilopochtli told the Mexica people where to settle, that their city should be where they found a snake on a nopal being eaten by an eagle (the basis for the symbol in the middle of the Mexican flag). That is where Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City) was founded in 1325.

Mythology aside, nopales are loved in Mexican cuisine. They are eaten as a salad, a topping for tacos, mixed in with pico de gallo or straight-up fried or grilled. The best tasting and simplest preparation, which can be used in any of the above dishes - and then some, is comal cooking, and the procedure is as follows:

1 - Make sure to buy fresh nopales that have had all the prickles scraped off (which is usually done in the supermarket).

2 - Score the paddle lightly three to five times. Rub with a very small amount of oil on both sides (maybe one squirt with a spray bottle, if you have one).

3 - Sprinkle with salt.

4 - Cook on a comal (griddle) over low heat about 10 to 15 minutes on each side, or until cooked through with the slightest coloring (but, do not char!)

In Mexico, nopales are fresh, but you can also buy them sliced and jarred or canned. If you live in a very, very Latin neighborhood, you may be able to find them, or even fresh, but you can definitely get them online at mexgrocer.com.

Huitlacoche Recipes Pt. 2 - Soup

OK, so here is our second most common recipe for huitlacoche. I know, it looks like sludge or some Oliver Twist style gruel, but, ultimately, it's just like cream of mushroom soup. Maybe you could eat it with your eyes closed.







Cream of Huitlacoche

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup leeks, chopped
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1 cup huitlacoche
salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups cream
1 Tbsp. cilantro

Directions

1 - Melt butter with olive oil in a large pot over low heat.

2 - Add the onions, leeks and jalapeños, and cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

3 - Add the huitlacoche, stir well, and continue to cook for about 10 more minutes.

4 - Add the garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 more minutes, and add the chicken stock. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5 - Allow the soup to cool a bit. Then blend in a blender or food processor.

6 - Return blended soup to the pot over medium heat. Simmer until the soup thickens, about 30 to 45 minutes.

7 - Add the cream and more salt and pepper, if desired. Stir occasionally.

8 - Serve hot, topped with cilantro and accompanied by a crusty bolillo (or crackers or regular bread, whatever you got).

Huitlacoche Recipes Pt. 1 - Quesadillas

What food isn't made not only edible but also delicious by adding some cheese, deep-frying it, cooking it with a whole lot of heavy cream or creaming it with butter? Nothing. These recipes are the most common and most delicious uses of huitlacoche. Today, we will start with the cheesy - quesadillas. Enjoy! - if you dare.

Huitlacoche Quesadillas

Ingredients
12 corn tortillas
2 cup melting cheese (like queso asadero or monterrey jack)
1 small onion, chopped
1 chile poblano, chopped
1 cup huitlacoche, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
frying oil

Directions

1 - Heat some oil in a saute pan over low heat. Add the onion and chile, and cook for 5 minutes.

2 - Add the huitlacoche. Saute on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Set aside.

3 - In a separate saute pan, add some oil, and heat over a medium flame.

4 - Put a tortilla in the hot oil. After 15 seconds, flip the tortilla over.

5 - Add a scoop of cheese and a scoop of the huitlacoche mixture to one side of the tortilla. Fold the empty side over the filling.

6 - When the tortilla is crispy and the cheese is melted, remove the quesadilla to drain on a paper towel.

7 - Serve at least with salsa, or go to town and also add lettuce, crema and queso fresco.

Huitlacoche

Huitlacoche, corn smut or Mexican truffles, call them what you will (although try to avoid any of the translations that include the word "excrement"), this blue fungus is an edible tumor that grows on diseased corn. Huitlacoche is also a delicacy in Mexico, and has been ever since Aztec times, finding its way into many popular dishes, especially those with masa.

Despite the attempt to rename it "Mexican truffle", huitlacoche has not really caught on as a food stuff outside of Mexico. While taking photos, I must admit, I'm not particularly tempted to ingest them either (although I'm generally anti-fungus as food, no matter what you call it), and I can see why the average gringo farmer is more likely to top it with pesticides instead of cheese. However, if you do like mushrooms, the Mexican truffle is a very cheap option with an earthy and smoky flavor. Or, luckily, many of the recipes hide the huitlacoche with melted cheese and chiles.

Because farmers generally treat huitlacoche as if it were a vegetable infirmary stateside, it can be hard to find fresh. But, if you are looking to try this very unique Mexican ingredient, Goya cans huitlacoche, and while it may not be stocked in the Latin aisle of your supermarket, you can find canned huitlacoche online for about $8.

Mex-aroni and Cheese

Fancy macaroni and cheese seems to be the en vogue food recently. While I truly love the out-of-a-box, powdered orange "cheese" variation, I must admit that these gourmet varieties have me pretty tempted, too, what with their three types of fancy French cheeses and bechamel sauce. Inspired by an episode of the Barefoot Contessa (yes, yes, we get La Condesa Descalzada down here in Mexico), I decided to make my own.

OK, so it wasn't just the televised inspiration; I actually just ran out of the boxes that I brought back with me from home in January. This recipe is not really fancy, but it does have a bechamel sauce and no boxed, powdered cheese. This recipe is not overly Mexican (and definitely NOT authentic) either, but it is a tasty Mexican-inspired variation on an American classic.

Ingredients
1 lb. macaroni elbows (or other short grain pasta)
2 cups of broccoli, prepared
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
3 cups milk
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. chile de arbol
2 cups 4-Mexican cheese blend (Kirkland!), packed
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup chorizo, cooked and crumbled

Directions

1 - Cook pasta according to the directions on the package. (Make sure to add salt to water, in case the package doesn't mention it.)

2 - In a small saucepan, heat the milk over low heat, but do not bring to a boil.

3 - Meanwhile, in a larger saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour, and stir. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

4 - Add the heated milk to the butter-flour mixture, whisking continuously. Cook on medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

5 - Take the sauce off the heat. Add the salt, pepper, and chile de arbol (also known as crushed red pepper, but that doesn't sound very Mexican). Add the cheese, and stir until melted.

6 - Heat the oven to 400* F.

7 - Toss the broccoli and pasta in the cheese sauce, and pour into an oven-safe dish.

8 - Mix the breadcrumbs with the chorizo, and sprinkle the mixture on top of the pasta.

9 - Bake about 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and crunchy and the cheese is nice and bubbly.