Easy Recipes For Authentic Mexican Cuisine Right At Home!
STUDIO CITY (CBSLA.com) — SOL Cocina Executive Chef Deborah Schneider stopped by KCAL9 Thursday to discuss her new cookbook "The Mexican Slow Cooker".
The book, which is Schneider's fifth cookbook, is filled with her favorite "south of the border" recipes such as tortilla soup, barbacoa beef, mole negro and tamales.
SOL Cocina is a restaurant and bar in Newport Beach featuring coastal Mexican cuisine.
Try the following recipes at home:
Carne Pibil
Pork in Banana Leaves with Achiote
Serves 6
- 2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
- 3 ounces achiote paste
- 1/4 cup peeled garlic cloves
- 2 serrano chiles, stemmed
- 1/2 cup diced white onion
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 (12-inch) pieces banana or plantain leaf (see Note)
- 1/2 cup water
In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the cumin until fragrant, stirring frequently so it doesn't burn. Let cool completely and grind in a spice grinder.
Combine the ground cumin with the achiote paste, garlic, serranos, onion, salt, vinegar, and orange juice in a food processor and process until very smooth. Coat the pork evenly with half of the spice mixture.
Line the bottom of a slow cooker with one piece of banana leaf. Top with the pork and the remaining spice mixture. Add the water and place the second banana leaf over the pork. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Serve with chopped cilantro and the salsa.
Note
Fresh banana and plantain leaves can be found at Latin groceries. They should be washed and dried before use. Frozen banana leaves can usually be found in Asian markets.
Xni Pec Salsa
Makes 3/4 cup
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 1 small Roma tomato, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon seeded and minced habanero chile
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Let stand for 15 minutes, then adjust seasoning with salt and more habanero, if necessary.
Torta de Tamal
Tamal Pie
Serves 6
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/2 package dried corn husks, soaked or 4 (12-inch) squares fresh banana leaf, toasted
- Masa for Tamales
- 4 cups of your choice of tamale filling
With the shortening, liberally coat the bottom and sides of a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker insert. Line the bottom and two-thirds of the way up the sides with the corn husks or banana leaves, slightly overlapping the edges. Place half of the masa in the bottom of the cooker and spread evenly to the edges and 1/2 inch up the sides of the insert. Cover evenly with the filling. Spread the remaining masa over the filling.
Cover the masa with a layer of corn husks or a piece of banana leaf. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. The torta may be served at once or kept warm for several hours on low heat.
For more information, check out SOL Cocina.
