Texas Home Cooking Read online

  2 cups unsalted beef stock

  ½ cup soy sauce

  2 dried chiles de árbol, crushed, or 2 fresh jalapeños, chopped

  2 large onions, sliced into thin rings

  In a small saucepan, reduce the stock to 1 cup. Add the soy sauce and chiles, and stir.

  Place the onions in a medium bowl, and pour the marinade over them. Cover the bowl, and refrigerate it for several hours or overnight.

  Present the onions cold as a garnish, or heat them in the top of a double boiler and serve them warm. They will keep for at least 10 days.

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  The name Texas derives from the way the original Spanish colonists spelled an Indian word meaning ally or friend. A confederated group of Caddo tribes in the eastern part of the state called each other tayshas. The Spanish adopted the term and wrote it as Tejas, which became Texas over time.

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  Arnoldo De León's thorough study, The Tejano Community, 1836–1900, shows that the staples of the Mexican diet in nineteenth-century Texas were beans, corn tortillas, and chiles. On festive occasions the Tejanos fixed tamales, cabrito, and barbacoa (barbecue). Otherwise they ate much as their Anglo neighbors did, with an emphasis on simple preparations of eggs, game, domesticated stock, and homegrown produce. Some of the main dishes we associate with Tex-Mex cooking today—such as enchiladas and tacos—probably came up from Mexico later, though their essential ingredients were common in Texas from early on.

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  Ensalada de Nopales

  Eating cactus sounds strange to some people, but the young, tender leaves of the prickly-pear cactus have been a delicacy in south Texas for two centuries. Usually roasted or grilled, the nopales have a mild vegetable crunch and tang that makes them a frequent addition to salads.

  2 cups prepared nopales, sliced in thin ribbons or diced

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  3 tomatoes, preferably Romas or another Italian plum variety, chopped

  ¼ cup sliced green onions

  2 garlic cloves, roasted ([>]) and minced

  1 fresh serrano or jalapeño, minced

  Juice of ½ lime

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  2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  2 tablespoons crumbled or grated mild Mexican cheese, fresco or asadero, or Monterey jack

  1 tablespoon minced cilantro

  Makes about 3 cups

  Toss together the nopales, tomatoes, green onions, garlic, and chile with the lime juice in a medium bowl. Add just enough olive oil to bind the mixture together lightly. The salad can be served immediately or chilled several hours. Just before serving, mix in the cheese and cilantro, and spoon the mixture onto a serving plate.

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  Nopales are frequently called "tunas" in the Southwest, and some early Anglo settlers referred to them as "Texas figs."

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  Technique Tip

  In Texas and the Southwest, nopales (also called nopalitos) frequently can be bought fresh, especially at Hispanic and Latino markets. The spines have generally been removed. To prepare fresh nopales for salad, either grill the pads or boil them 30 minutes in lightly salted water. Change the water after the first 15 minutes of cooking. Outside the Southwest, look for canned nopales in Mexican food sections of supermarkets. Rinse the vinegary solution from the nopales before using them.

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  Albondiga Soup

  Albondigas are Mexican meatballs. South of the border they are sometimes made of seafood, but in Texas the most common core is beef or a combination of beef and pork. We use rice as the starch in the dish, though some people prefer finely minced corn tortillas, and we cut the usual greasiness by not cooking the albondigas completely in the soup.

  SOUP

  1 tablespoon peanut oil

  ½ medium onion, chopped

  3 garlic cloves, minced

  ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground

  ½ teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican

  6 cups unsalted beef stock

  2 cups chopped seeded red-ripe tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes

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  2 canned chipotle chiles

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  2 teaspoons adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles

  1 potato, peeled and cubed

  2 carrots, grated

  1 teaspoon salt

  ½ cup grated zucchini

  ¼ cup uncooked rice

  ALBONDIGAS

  ½ pound ground beef

  ¼ pound ground pork

  ¼ cup shredded zucchini

  1 egg

  1 garlic clove, minced

  3 tablespoons uncooked rice

  1 tablespoon minced cilantro

  ½ teaspoon salt

  ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground

  ¼ teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican

  Chopped cilantro and mint, optional, for garnish

  Serves 6

  In a large, heavy saucepan or stockpot, heat the oil, and sauté the onion and garlic with the cumin and oregano until the vegetables are softened. Pour in the stock, and add the tomatoes, chipotle, potato, carrots, and salt. (The zucchini and rice will be added later.) Simmer the soup for 20 minutes while you form the albondigas.

  In a bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients, and mix well. Form the mixture into small balls, about ¾- to 1-inch in diameter. In a large saucepan, bring to a boil enough water to cover the meatballs, and add them. Boil for 5 minutes to eliminate some of the grease. Drain the albondigas, discarding the cooking water. Add the albondigas, along with the reserved zucchini and rice, to the soup. Continue simmering the soup 30 minutes.

  Serve the soup with generous sprinklings of cilantro and mint, if you like.

  Tortilla Soup

  Tortilla soup originated in Mexico as a way to use old tortillas and leftover poultry, but it developed into one of the classics of the national cuisine. If you want the full flavor of the dish, don't skip the steps of roasting the garlic and broiling the onions. These actions add a smoky mellowness to the soup, which you can enhance even more by using smoked poultry.

  8 cups unsalted chicken stock

  6 roasted garlic cloves, minced ([>])

  ½ cup chopped seeded red-ripe tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes

  1 medium onion, half chopped and half sliced into thin rings

  1 fresh jalapeño, sliced into thin rings

  1 chipotle chile (whole if dried, or minced if canned)

  1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican

  2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey

  Juice of 1 lime

  Salt to taste

  4 corn tortillas, sliced into thin strips and toasted or broiled until crisp

  Chopped cilantro, cubed avocado, and crumbled Mexican asadero cheese or grated Monterey jack cheese, for garnish

  Serves 6

  In a large, heavy saucepan, bring the stock to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered until the stock is reduced to approximately 6 cups.

  Add the garlic, the tomatoes, the chopped half of the onion, the jalapeño, the chipotle, and the oregano to the stock. Continue to simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat another 30 minutes. While the soup cooks, place the remaining onions (sliced) on a greased baking sheet, and broil them until they are softened and a little brown around the edges. Add the broiled onions, the chicken, and the lime juice to the soup, and continue simmering until the chicken is just heated through. If you have used a dried chipotle, remove the chile and either mince it and return it to the pan or discard it, depending on how spicy you want the meal.

  To serve, place a small handful of tortilla strips in each bowl and pour the soup over. Pass the garnishes separately.

  Corn Tortillas

  Ready-made tortillas are now sold all across the country, from Tacoma to Tallahassee. Most taste like inner-tube patches, and most people don't
know they shouldn't. Make your own to find out how flavorful fresh tortillas are. They aren't difficult as long as you use an inexpensive tortilla press, a wonderful gadget that substitutes for centuries of experience in patting out the masa by hand.

  2 cups masa harina

  ½ teaspoon salt

  1¼ cups warm water, or more as needed

  Makes 1 dozen 5- to 6-inch tortillas

  Heat a dry griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat. In a large bowl, mix the ingredients with a sturdy spoon or your hands until the dough is smooth and forms a ball. A food processor can speed up this step. The dough should be quite moist, but hold its shape. Add a little more water or masa harina, if needed, to achieve the proper consistency.

  Form the dough into twelve balls approximately 1½ inches in diameter. Cover the balls with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out. If any of the balls do dry out before cooking, knead more water into them. Unlike the dough for flour tortillas, this dough can be reworked.

  Place one ball of dough between the two sheets of plastic sold with the tortilla press, or use two plastic sandwich bags. Press the ball in the tortilla press until it is flattened to the desired thickness, generally about ⅛ inch. Carefully pull the plastic from the round of dough, and lay the dough on the hot griddle or skillet. Cook the tortilla for 30 seconds. Flip it, and cook it for 1 minute on the other side. Then flip it back over to cook about 30 seconds longer on the first side. The tortilla will be speckled with brown flecks. Cover the cooked tortillas with foil to keep them warm while you shape and cook the remaining balls of dough.

  Serve the tortillas warm in a napkin-lined basket with butter or salsa, or reserve them for another use. Tortillas taste best the day they are made.

  Variation: To make taco shells, deep-fry corn tortillas in 350° F canola or corn oil. Use two forks to fold the tortilla in half quickly, and insert the tines of one fork in the fold so that the shell remains open about one-half inch. Fry just until crisp, usually less than a minute. Drain, and stuff with taco fillings.

  Flour Tortillas

  The very notion of flour tortillas would have bewildered Tejanos and Mexicans in the past. Corn and tortillas were so closely linked they seemed invented for each other, which is almost the case. The much newer flour version originated in the northern Mexican state of Sonora, and found greater acceptance across the border in the United States than in the southern part of Mexico. The same is true of dishes made with flour tortillas, such as burritos.

  2 cups all-purpose flour

  1 teaspoon salt

  1½ teaspoons baking powder

  1½ teaspoons oil, preferably canola or corn

  ¾ cup lukewarm milk or water

  Makes 6 to 8 tortillas, approximately 6 to 7 inches in diameter

  Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Into the dry ingredients pour the oil, and mix with your fingertips to combine. Add the milk or water, working the liquid into the dough until a sticky ball forms.

  Lightly dust a counter or pastry board with flour, and knead the dough vigorously for 1 minute. The mixture should be "earlobe-soft" and no longer sticky. Let the dough rest, covered with a damp cloth, for about 15 minutes. Divide the dough into 6 to 8 balls, cover them again with the damp cloth, and let them rest another 15 to 30 minutes (or refrigerate them up to 4 hours).

  Lightly dust a counter or pastry board with flour, and roll out each ball of dough into a circle or oval approximately ¼ inch thick. A tortilla roller (much like a short section of broomstick) is easier to use than a conventional rolling pin. If you want nicely rounded tortillas, trim off any ragged edges and discard them. To avoid toughening the dough, roll it out only once.

  Heat a dry griddle or heavy skillet over high heat for 5 minutes. Cook the tortillas 30 seconds on each side, or until the dough looks dry and slightly wrinkled, and a few brown spots form on both surfaces.

  Serve the tortillas warm in a napkin-lined basket with butter or salsa, or reserve them for another use.

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  As recently as 1956 the head of instruction at Mexico City's Culinary Arts Institute, in a cookbook written for Americans, expressed distaste for flour tortillas. Josefina Velazquez de Leon said they were acceptable if you couldn't find masa harina for corn tortillas, but they wouldn't taste right.

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  Quintessential Quesadillas

  An official of the Tortilla Industry Association, trying to boost sales, recently proposed broadening the appeal of quesadillas by calling them "cheese sandwiches." We figure this marketing whiz should take a Spanish course—as Jim Hightower once suggested to a political opponent—so he could become bi-ignorant.

  8 flour tortillas

  ½ pound mild cheddar cheese

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  4 fresh jalapeños, sliced in thin rings

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  2 teaspoons ground dried red chile, preferably ancho or New Mexican

  Fried Chipotle Chorizo ([>]) or bacon bits, optional

  1 cup shredded red cabbage, for garnish

  1 cup Pico de Gallo ([>]) or other Salsa

  ½ cup crema ([>]) or sour cream

  Serves 4

  Preheat the oven to 350° F.

  Arrange four of the tortillas on a baking sheet. Top with equal portions of the cheese. Scatter the jalapeño slices and a sprinkling of the ground dried red chile over each. Those who can't resist meat may want to add a bit of chorizo or bacon, but don't overdo it. The cheese should predominate. Top with the remaining tortillas.

  Bake the quesadillas 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts and bubbles. Cut the double-decker tortillas into quarters. Transfer the wedges to a serving plate, and garnish with the cabbage, offering Pico de Gallo and Crema on the side.

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  What was the first full-fledged Tex-Mex restaurant in San Antonio? Most people assume it was the Original Mexican Restaurant on Losoya Street, which opened about 1900 and closed in the 1960s. That's probably wrong. A leading historian of the city, Charles Ramsdell, says that a Madame Garza ran an earlier establishment on the fringes of the red-light district as early as 1889. According to one patron it attracted both "the best people of the city" and a more colorful crowd from the local neighborhood.

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  Crema

  This tangy thickened cream is the same as Jrench crème fraîche and tops dishes from mole to quesadillas. It's even good on peach cobbler. While expensive in the stores, crema is easy and cheap to make at home.

  1 cup whipping cream (preferably not ultra-pasteurized)

  2 tablespoons buttermilk

  Makes about 1 cup

  In a small glass or earthenware bowl, combine both ingredients. Cover the bowl loosely, and let it stand at room temperature for 8 to 24 hours, until the cream is thickened and tart. Stir it well, cover it tightly, and refrigerate it. Use it as needed. Crema keeps for up to 10 days.

  Pico de Gallo

  Literally translated as "beak of the rooster," pico de gallo is a superb salsa fresca, best when made with fresh fully-ripe tomatoes. It's associated with fajitas and a few other dishes, but it works well for many purposes.

  3 small red-ripe tomatoes, diced

  ½ bell pepper, red or green, chopped

  ¼ cup chopped cilantro

  ⅓ cup tomato juice

  2 tablespoons chopped onion

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  4 fresh jalapeños, minced

  Juice from ½ lime

  ½ teaspoon salt, or more, to taste

  Makes approximately 2 to 2½ cups

  Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl, and mix well. Refrigerate the salsa for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to develop. Serve it chilled, with fajitas, chips, or other dishes.

  Year-Round Salsa

  This is a good substitute for salsa fresca, handy in periods when fresh tomatoes and chiles aren't available. It's milder than Pico de Gallo, but if you wish you can make it more
piquant with the addition of extra chile.

  2 cups canned crushed tomatoes

  2 fresh or pickled jalapeños, minced

  1 tablespoon minced onion

  1 garlic clove, minced

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  ½ teaspoon cayenne or crushed chile de árbol

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  Generous pinch of cumin seeds, toasted and ground

  Generous pinch of dried oregano, preferably Mexican

  Dash of white vinegar, optional

  Makes about 2¼ cups

  Stir all the ingredients together in a bowl, or, for a smooth sauce, purée them in the blender. Refrigerate the salsa for at least 30 minutes for the flavor to develop. Serve it with chips, warm tortillas, or other dishes.

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  If you want to get really down-home with Tex-Mex cooking, check out Lucy Garza's excellent South Texas Mexican Cookbook. Mrs. Garza tells how to prepare the dishes she was raised on in the Rio Grande Valley several decades ago. Among the favorites she describes are chicharrones (pork cracklings, a Christmas specialty), cabeza en barbacoa (barbecued beef head), and tripas asadas (grilled tripe). Other recipes range from a jalapeño bean dip to Mexican wedding cookies.