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dirtydog

dirtydog

dirtydog

dirtydog

dirtydog

dirtydog

Basic Chile Poblano Rajas

You can use different peppers or seasonings but this is a good basic recipe, by Rick Bayless.

I N G R E D I E N T S

4 medium, fresh chiles poblanos, roasted and peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2/3 cup crema, whipping cream, or broth
1/2 teaspoon mixed dried herbs (thyme, Mexican oregano, marjoram)
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon (to taste, adjust as needed if using broth with salt)

I N S T R U C T I O N S

Chiles: Stem and seed the roasted chiles. You can remove the veins if you want a more mild rajas. Slice the chiles crosswise into 1/4" strips.

Heat the oil in a heavy sauté pan over medium heat and fry the onions until they brown, about 7 -8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and chile strips, cook 2 minutes.

Add the cream or broth, herbs, and bay leaves and simmer until the liquid reduces enough to just coat the vegetables. Remove the bay leaves, taste and adjust salt as needed.

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dirtydog

dirtydog

dirtydog

Recipes in this episode:
- Enchilada Lasagna
- Masa Tots
- Ultimate Nachos

dirtydog

dirtydog

In Mexico, practically every meal is accompanied by a stack of fresh warm corn tortillas, much in the way that bread is served here in America. As you eat, you can wrap whatever is on your plate in a fresh tortilla, and voilá, you have a taco. Almost everything tastes good in a taco smothered with fresh salsa, and that goes for fish as well. Preparing a taco is much like preparing a sandwich; it's all in the assembly. For these fish tacos you will be preparing and then assemblying the fish, the tortillas, the salsa, and the cabbage or lettuce.

• 1 lb of very fresh fish fillets - (Good fish for tacos are firm fish like swordfish or shark)
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

• 1 doz corn tortillas (3 tortillas per person)
• Vegetable oil or butter (optional, depending on how you heat your tortillas)

• Salsa - (See Mango Salsa Recipe.)
• 1 ripe Avocado

• Cabbage (or iceberg lettuce)
• Cider vinegar
• Salt

1 Prepare the salsa. Either use store bought or make your own. (See above link for Mango Salsa, which is especially good with fish.)
2 Prepare the cabbage and avocado. Thinly slice cabbage. Put in a small serving bowl. Sprinkle with cider vinegar (about a Tbsp) and salt (about a tsp). Mix in the vinegar and salt. Peel avocado and remove seed. Chop and reserve for later.
3 Heat the tortillas. Unless you have made fresh tortillas from scratch, you will need to soften them somehow. One way to easily soften and heat a tortilla to simply heat it in the microwave for 20-25 seconds on high heat, on top of a napkin or paper towel to absorb the moisture that is released. We often will heat two tortillas at once in the microwave, heating them for a total of 40 seconds.
Another way is to heat a well seasoned (black) large cast iron skillet to medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil to the pan or spread a half a teaspoon of butter on one side of one tortilla. Place tortilla in the pan (butter side down if you are using butter). As the tortilla sizzles, flip the tortilla with a spatula so that the other side gets some of the oil or butter from the pan. Continue to flip every 10-30 seconds until the tortillas begins to develop air pockets, about a minute. If the pan begins to smoke, lower the temperature. You can skip the butter or oil if you wish and just heat the tortillas up on the skillet without them. We have found that the flavor of packaged tortillas benefits from heating them with a bit of oil.
Remove the tortilla from the pan and place it folded on a plate. If the pan is large enough you can prepare two or more tortillas at once. Continue until all the tortillas (estimate 3 per person) are cooked. Set aside.
4 Cook the fish. Soak the fish fillets in cold water for at least one minute. Pat dry with a paper towel. Heat a large stick-free skillet to medium high heat. Add a couple of teaspoons of olive oil to the skillet. Place fish on skillet. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the fillets. A thin fillet may take only one minute on each side to cook. A thicker fillet may take a couple of minutes. Fish should be still barely translucent when cooked. Break off a piece and test if you are not sure. Do not overcook the fish. Remove from pan when done to a separate plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5 Assembly. I think tacos are best when you assemble them yourself. Place the plate of tortillas, the plate of fish, the salsa, the cabbage, and the avocados on the table and let everyone assemble their own.

Serves four.

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dirtydog

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large mango, chopped
• 1/3 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• Juice of 1 lime

PREPARATION:

Combine mango, red onion, black beans, cilantro and jalapeno in a medium bowl. Squeeze lime juice over mixture. Stir well, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

dirtydog

Shrimp Tostadas

1 pound cooked shrimp
1 3/4 cups (14.5 ounce can) diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup (1 small) chopped white onion
1/2 cup (4 ounce can) diced green chiles
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 3/4 cups (16 ounce can) refried beans with jalapeños, warmed
1 (10-count) package tostada shells, warmed *
2 1/2 cups shredded romaine lettuce

* or fry corn tortillas flat

Combine shrimp, tomatoes, onion, chiles, cilantro, vegetable oil and lime juice in medium bowl; cover. (May be prepared ahead and refrigerated.)

Spread about 2 tablespoons beans over each tostada shell. Top with 1/4 cup lettuce and 1/2 cup shrimp mixture.

dirtydog

dirtydog

hillbilly

I usually use this way to make tacos!