orange
FRESH JíCAMA AND ORANGE PICO DE GALLO
Pico de jícama y naranja
Makes 8 servingsINGREDIENTS
1 large or 2 small jícamas, 1 1/2 pounds, peeled and cut into sticks
3 oranges, peeled and separated into segments or sliced
3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice
3 tablspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, or more taste
1 tablespoon dried ground chile Piquín or Tajín, or to taste
1/2 cup shelled roasted (not salted) peanuts, chopped and toastedTO PREPARE
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to create a vinaigrette.Place the jícamas and oranges in a salad bowl. Toss with the vinaigrette. Let it all marinate for about 10 minutes, either inside or outside of the refrigerator. Sprinkle with the peanuts and serve.
ANCHO CHILE AND ORANGE JUICE TEQUILA CHASER
Sangrita
Makes 10-12 small servingsINGREDIENTS
1 ounce or 2 ancho chiles
3 cups fresh-squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup white onion, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt, or to tasteTO PREPARE
Heat a comal or dry skillet over low-medium heat until hot.Remove the stems, seeds and veins from the ancho chiles. Toast over the hot comal or dry skillet, over medium heat, for about 15 seconds per side, until chiles have softened and then begin to toast, have changed their color and released their aroma. Be careful not to burn them.
Place the chiles in a saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, until they rehydrate and look plump; let cool.
Place chiles and 1/2 cup of their cooking liquid in a blender along with the orange juice, lime juice, white onion and salt. Purée until smooth.
Serve as a drink alongside tequila in caballitos or straight, poured over ice cubes. Sangrita can be refrigerated for up to a week.
This episode puts a twist on tequila by using it in a number of tasty, savory and sweet recipes sure to impress special guests. Mixologist extraordinaire Derek Brown shows Pati how to make one of his signature cocktails, and she uses tequila to ignite a main dish.
Orange and Almond Flan
Flan de Naranja y Almendra
Serves 12INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar for caramel
1 1/2 cups peeled and slivered almonds
3/4 cup sugar for flan
10 eggs
1 3/4 cups orange juice
Grated zest of an orange
2 tbsp quince liquor, or Grand Marnier, optionalTO PREPARE
Preheat the oven to 360 degrees.In a pan, heat the cup of sugar over low heat until it achieves the consistency of caramel. It takes a while, but don’t leave it unattended and move the pan as it begins to melt. Once it looks like caramel and is melted, decide how dark and strong you want the caramel to be. The lighter the color of the caramel, the lighter flavor. But be careful because if it gets too dark it can taste bitter and can burn quickly. Take it off the heat and pour it into the bottom of a flan or round tube mold or into 10 individual custard cups. Do so quickly, since caramel hardens fast.
Place the almonds and remaining sugar into the blender or food processor and finely grind. Add the orange juice, orange zest and blend. Add in the eggs and quince liquor or Grand Marnier and puree until combined. Pour the flan mixture on top of the hardened caramel in the molds.
Place the molds in a hot water bath in a deep baking pan. Make sure the water comes up to about half the height of the molds and that the water is very hot. Slide the baking pan with the molds into the oven. Bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a flan comes out clean. When ready, take them out of the oven, out of the water bath and allow to cool.
If flans will not be eaten on the same day, they can be covered and refrigerated, for up to a week. Before unmolding, you can place the molds in a container with very hot water for 5 to 10 seconds, so that the sugar will melt a bit, and help the flan come out. You can also run the tip of the knife around the rim of the flan. Then turn the flans onto a plate, but wait a bit until most caramel pours on top of each flan.
CHILORIO BURRITAS
Burritas de Chilorio
Serves 8INGREDIENTS
3 pounds boneless pork (butt, shoulder or loin with some fat on!) cut into 2″ chunks, or substitute for chicken
1 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
5 dried ancho chiles (about 55 grams), tops and seeds removed
1 1/2 cup of the chile soaking liquid (see below)
1/2 cup white onion, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
2/3 cup cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, or more to taste
Flour tortillas, warmed, optionalTO PREPARE
Place rinsed meat chunks in an extended heavy pot. Barely cover with the orange juice and water, add a teaspoon of salt and set over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, bring the heat down to medium and let is simmer for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until most of the liquid has cooked off and the meat is thoroughly cooked, and has rendered most of its fat.Meanwhile, remove the stems from the chiles, make a slit down their sides and remove their seeds and veins. Place them in a bowl, cover them with boiling hot water, and let them sit and rehydrate for about 15 minutes. Place the chiles and 1 1/2 cups of their soaking liquid in the blender along with the onion, garlic, parsley, oregano, cumin, black pepper, vinegar, and puree until smooth.
Once the meat is ready, place it in a bowl along with any remaining cooking broth. Once it is cool enough to handle, shred it with your hands or using two forks.
In the same pot, heat oil over medium heat. Pour in the chile sause and let it season and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. Toss in the shredded meat along with any of its remaining cooking broth. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and let it cook, stirring often, until the meat has absorbed most of the chile sauce, which will have thickened, seasoned and changed color to a much darker tone. It will take about 20 minutes. Taste for salt and add more if need be.
Serve with warmed flour tortillas on the side. If you wish, spoon chilorio on tortillas and roll them into burritas or burras. They are wonderful with refried beans and avocado or guacamole on the side as well.
They go hand in hand, Autumn and Pumpkins.
In the US, I see them scary faced on Halloween, and then, sweetly dressed as pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. Yet to me, one of their best impersonations is as Calabaza en Tacha: Pumpkin cooked in a Piloncillo Syrup.
Craving Tacha, I paired two things: The pumpkin I saved from my boys’ Halloween makeover and my new orange flamed French Oven.
It was a matter of time. The French Oven needed a sweet Mexican ride to become baptized in my kitchen.
Continue reading You have a Pumpkin? Turn it into Tacha!
Continue reading
You have a Pumpkin? Turn it into Tacha!
This salsa does hurt.
But just a little.
Yet it goes oh-so-well with the Pollo Pibil, which together with red pickled onions makes for a delicious Yucatecan meal. A bowl of this Habanero salsa is standard on just about every table in Yucatán. Around there, people drizzle some spoonfuls, or drops, on just about everything.
I recently found this salsa is heavenly combined with Louisiana style Bar-b-que and some baked beans (!). While it can make people very unhappy if not given a warning of how spicy it is, for the Yucatan class we had in December, the 20 batches made were gone before the middle of the meal. We did give our guests a warning… While my cooking team kept saying I was making too much, we made some bets, and much to my surprise, I won. I have learned now, that the American and international palate is much more open, than say a decade ago, for spicy foods.
Continue reading Do You Dare? Habanero Salsa!
Continue reading
Do You Dare? Habanero Salsa!
The bitter orange or naranja agria is a citrus fruit that has a peculiar bitter flavor and a very high acidity that works very well for marinades and to tenderize meats and seafood. It also has a distinct look. It is not very pretty; it’s small, with a pale, somewhat dull colored pebbly textured skin that appears to be speckled with sand or dust. However, slice it down the middle, and you will find a shinny, juicy, deep orange and wonderfully flavored pulp.
It found its way to Mexico through the Spaniards, who got them from the Arabs, who got them from the Persians. In any case, bitter oranges found a wonderful reception in Mexican soil, especially in some regions such as the Yucatan Peninsula and Veracruz. It is used in many ways: to prepare ceviches, sauces, soups, marinades, salsas, pickles… to name some (continue for more information and photo).
Continue reading Bitter Orange
Continue reading
Bitter Orange
Our friends Tamara and Sean are crazy foodies and fans of the richness and versatility of chilies. So after receiving the invitation to join them next week for their Thanksgiving feast, I started playing with options on what to bring; with chilies of course.
This is one of the things I came up with and can’t wait for them to try: creamy and soft sweet potatoes bathed in a buttery orange-piloncillo syrup sprinkled, with toasted chile de arbol. How good are they? That fork in the picture I just shot accounts for my third consecutive serving today. How easy are they to make? Read below…
Continue reading Sweet potatoes with orange-piloncillo syrup and chile de árbol
09 May 2013
Talks at Google: Pati Jinich
04 May 2013
CBS This Morning: Chef Pati Jinich’s Cinco de Mayo feast
03 May 2013
Fox News Radio: Cinco de Mayo with Pati’s Mexican Table
02 May 2013
All Things Considered: This Little Piggy Cookie Is A Sweet Mexican Find
01 May 2013
The Chew: Pati Jinich Heats Up The Kitchen
30 May 2013
The Asian Influence in Mexican Cooking
29 Sep 2013
Book Tour: Baltimore Book Festival
24 Oct 2013
Mex-Americana: The Evolution of Mexican Food in the US
05 Dec 2013
Popular Mexican Holiday Dishes
