FUN MEXICAN RECIPES

Tired of boring lunches?  It can be tough finding new ways to use familiar ingredients. So you have to try this easy lunchtime Poblano grilled cheese sandwich with Oaxaca cheese and Spanish chorizo. The rajas or strips of charred Poblano peppers provides a mild heat to this hearty grilled cheese sandwich while the smoked Spanish chorizo adds a rich savory element making this a decadent meal perfect for sharing…if you can.

CHECK OUT OUR AMIGOS AT LATIN FOODIE



Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Oaxaca Cheese, Poblano Peppers, and Spanish Chorizo
Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 Poblano pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
3 to 4 ounces of Oaxaca cheese, shredded
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
2 slices good quality sourdough bread
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 link Spanish chorizo

Procedure:
1. Rub the Poblano pepper with 1 teaspoon olive oil and char over a flame on your stove until completely blackened. Place in a plastic bag for five minutes. Remove from bag and peel off the charred skin. Cut the pepper into thin strips and set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small sauté pan; add the sliced red onion and cook until translucent about 3-5 minutes.  Reserve.

3. Thinly slice the Spanish chorizo lengthwise.

4. Lightly butter one side of the two sour dough bread slices. Heat a frying pan over medium-low heat. Place a slice of the bread with the butter down in the frying pan.

5. Assemble the sandwich in the frying pan, layering all of the ingredients. Top with the other slice of bread with the buttered side up.

6. Heat sandwich until the bread is golden brown and the cheese starts to melt. Be careful turning the sandwich over as you do not want all of the ingredients to fall out. Cut in half and enjoy. 

Sweet Raisin Tamale Recipe

ARROZ GANDULES PUERTO RICAN RECIPE

This is a traditional Puerto Rican Recipe brought to you by our Amigos at Rican Recipes


Ingredients
1 lb. raw medium or long grain rice
1 15 oz. can gandules (pigeon peas)
2 1/2 tbsp. sofrito*
2 envelopes sazón seasoning with achiote 
2 tbsp. Manzanilla olives
1 1/2 tsp. capers
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 envelope onion soup* (my secret)
16 oz. water
Directions Place the vegetable oil, sofrito, sazón with achiote, gandules, olives, capers, onion soup and tomato sauce in a big pot.

Thoroughly wash rice and add to the other ingredients.

Pour water over the ingredients and stir well.
(Water should be about 1 inch above the ingredients).

Boil on medium high until all the water is absorbed.

Reduce heat to low and cover the pot with aluminum foil* and lid.

Cook for 35-40 minutes, depending on your stove.

Serve with pasteles or tostones.TipsIf you use onion soup, it will give your rice a better flavor and there is no need to use salt.

Rule of thumb: Add 1 1/4 tbsp. of sofrito for every cup of rice you are cooking.

Placing aluminum foil over the pot of rice. It gives the grains a chance to all pop evenly.
(Another one of my secrets).

Sweet Pie Con Queso

This is a great recipe on The Hispanic Food Network we know you'll love. It comes from Costa Rica. Where the scenery, food and people are as beautiful as the coast line they live on. This Sweet Pie with Queso will warm the soul.

FROM OUR AMIGA AT LAYLITA'S RECIPES

En Español [1]

This recipe for sweet potato patties stuffed with cheese is a variation of the popular Ecuadorian potato llapingachos. Llapingachos [2] are usually made with regular potatoes and are cooked on a griddle until crispy brown on each side. The sweet potato patties are great to serve for breakfast or brunch. You can also serve them with additional side dishes to make a full lunch meal, or make them bite size to serve as appetizers. The sweet potatoes are boiled and mashed, then mixed with a refrito or sofrito of onions and achiote/annatto. The mashed sweet potatoes are then stuffed with cheese – you can use your choice of quesillo, queso fresco, mozzarella, or any cheese that you like -, and formed into patties. Cooking the patties on the griddle is a little bit tricky since they are very delicate and fragile. My recommendation is to make sure the griddle is very hot and try to only turn them once, they are less likely to crumble if they get a nice sear. They take about 5-7 minutes on each side, but this might vary based on the griddle you are using. After the first one, you’ll probably have a better idea of how much time they need on each side. If you don’t have a griddle, you can also use a frying pan, it’s just a little harder to flip them over.

 


These llapingachos de camote or sweet potato patties are served with an Ecuadorian savory peanut sauce or salsa de mani. I also served them with some cebollas encurtidas or lime pickled red onions on top – the tanginess of the onions combines perfectly with the creaminess of the peanut sauce and the sweetness of the sweet potato. You can also add some avocado slices or diced avocado on top. If you want to make this a complete meal, serve it with some lettuce leaves, tomato slices, fried eggs or eggs cooked on the griddle, and some chorizo sausages.



Related recipes:

Recipe for salsa de mani or peanut sauce [3]

Recipe for cebollas encurtidas or pickled red onions [4]



Print [5]
Sweet potato patties stuffed with cheese {Llapingachos de camote}

Yield: ~ 12 medium sized llapingachos
Recipe for sweet potato patties stuffed with cheese, or llapingachos de camote, made with mashed sweet potatoes, onion and achiote refrito, and cheese. Serve topped with peanut sauce and pickled red onions.


Ingredients

• 6-7 sweet potatoes, about 3 pounds, peeled and cut in large chunks
• 2 tablespoon oil or butter
• ½ cup finely chopped white onion
• 1-2 teaspoons ground achiote
• 1 cup grated quesillo, queso fresco or mozzarella cheese – or a mix
• Salt to taste
To serve:

• Salsa de mani or peanut sauce [6]
• Curtido de cebollas or lime pickled red onions [7]
• Aji or hot sauce
• Avocado slices
• Fried eggs and grilled chorizo (for a complete meal)

Instructions

1. Boil the sweet potatoes until soft, about 20 minutes.
2. Heat the oil or butter over medium heat in a frying pan, add the onions and achiote, cook until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Mash the sweet potatoes with the onion achiote mix, add salt to taste.
4. Cover the mashed sweet potatoes and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour.
5. Make small golf size balls with the sweet potato mash.
6. Make a hole in the middle of each ball and fill it with the grated or crumbled cheese.
7. Gently shape the dough into thick patties and let rest in the refrigerator for about ½ to 1 hour (if you have the time).
8. Cook the patties on a hot griddle until browned on each side, about 5-7 minutes per side – adjust based on the temperature of your griddle. Turn them gently as they are very delicate.
9. Serve with salsa de mani or peanut sauce [6], lime pickled red onions, avocado slices and hot sauce.

Fun WNCN Recipe For The Holiday (ARROZ CON POLLO)

This is a staple for people growing up in Miami in the United States and in Cuban this is pretty much the staple dish. We hope you enjoy this authentic recipe. Visit the Cuban Recipe section on The Hispanic Food Network.


Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook
time: 45 minutes
Total
time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Yield:
8 servings


Arroz con pollo is enjoyed by many Latin cultures. The
Cuban version is highly spiced -- but NOT spicy hot. It's a favorite Cuban
Sunday lunch dish,

FROM OUR AMIGOS AT ICUBAN

 INGREDIENTS:

4 strips
bacon
8
chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
To taste salt,
pepper, and cumin for chicken
1/2 cup olive oil for
frying
1 large onion, chopped
5 cachucha peppers, chopped
(Substitute 1 large green or red pepper)
4 cloves garlic, mashed
1 12-ounce bottle beer
3 and 1/2 cups chicken
broth
1 (8-ounce)
can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon Bijol
Powder
1
bay leaf
2 teaspoons oregano
2
teaspoons cumin, ground
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black
pepper
3 1/2 cups
parboiled rice
1/2 cup frozen green baby
peas

Sauté the bacon in a large frying pan. Reduce heat
to low and let the fat render out of the bacon -- about 10 minutes. Meanwhile,
season the chicken lightly with salt, pepper and a little cumin. Once the fat is
released, remove the bacon, increase temperature to medium-high and add the
chicken to the hot bacon fat. Remove the
chicken when it is browned on both sides.


Add a little olive oil to the same pan you fried
the chicken in, and sauté the onion and green pepper until the onion is
translucent. Add the mashed garlic and cook an additional minute or two,
stirring frequently.


Take the chicken broth and beer and pour into a
large covered pot. Add the browned chicken pieces, cooked onions and green
pepper, tomato sauce, Bijol, bay leaf, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. And
hey, why let all that delicious bacon go to waste? Chop it up and toss it in!
Bring everything to a rolling boil, reduce
heat, cover and cook on low for 15 minutes.


Add the rice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
When the rice has absorbed some of the liquid, cover and simmer on low for about
30-45 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked and not soupy. Add the frozen
peas during the last five minutes of cooking only.


For a dinner, serve the whole chicken pieces with
the rice. For a party, you may remove the chicken, skin, de-bone and break it
into bite-size chunks. However, DO NOT try to substitute any boneless, skinless
chicken in this recipe -- unless you enjoy serving a disaster!

Funny Holiday Recipe To Warm You Up!

Albondigas al Chipotle

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs, plain
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped 
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 10 to 12 roma tomatoes
• 2 dried ancho chilies
• 2 to 3 chipotle peppers in adobo 

Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the ground pork, ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, onion and cilantro.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mix ingredients until well combined.  



 1 Shape meat mixture into 1-1/2 inch balls.  Place on a plate and refrigerate until ready to use.



 2 Place the tomatoes and dried ancho chilies in a medium saucepan or pot.  Fill saucepan with enough water to cover the tomatoes.  Bring to boil, over high heat.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.



5 Remove the stems and seeds from the chilies.  Place cooked chilies in a blender cup with the chipotles.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked tomatoes to the blender cup.  Puree the chilies and tomatoes until smooth. 

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4 Pour puree mixture into a 2 quart saucepan.  Add 1-1/2 cups of the liquid in which the tomatoes were cooked.  Season with salt and mix well.

5 Brink sauce to a boil over medium heat.  Carefully add the meatballs to the sauce.  Cover and let simmer over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes.  Serve over cooked spaghetti or Sopa de Arroz Blanco (white rice). Enjoy!



For a Torta de Albondigas al Chipotle (Chipotle Meatball Sandwich) serve meatballs and sauce over a toasted bolillo roll.  Top with your favorite cheese (I like queso fresco and/or Oaxaca cheese.) and broil in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts.  Top with fresh chopped cilantro.  Enjoy! 
VISIT THE HFNTV YOUTUBE PAGE TO SEE THE VIDEO
FROM OUR AMIGA AT LESLIE'S KITCHEN

Latin Quarters Bringing Puerto Rican Food To The Triangle

Walk into Latin Quarters in North Raleigh and it's like stepping into a little slice of the Island. "We wanted to give it an authentic feel,"said Julio Marrero, manager of the restaurant.

Arroz Con Pollo with Black Beans and White Rice

Authentic Tostones

Marrero and his partner Randy Hernandez who owns Tropical Picken Chicken in Wake Forest took over the restaurant 8 months ago. They changed the menu to Puerto Rican with a touch of Cuban and Dominican as well.
"We decided to go with primarily Puerto Rican because that's what we know. I grew up in the kitchen with my Mom and Dad cooking. We know how to make it authentic," said Marrero.

Marrero who was a contractor in the restaurant business recently relocated to Raleigh from the Bronx, NY to manage the restaurant. He says it's been a lot of work but it's a labor of love. "The people here are great. We're introducing them to a whole new style of cuisine. Sometimes people come in and think we're a Mexican restaurant but then I give them samples and they stay and absolutely love the food," says Marrero.

Latin Quarters also is a place where you can learn about Latin culture. On Wednesday nights there's a Latin dance class taught by professional dancers. On the weekend part of the restaurant turns into a dance floor where people can Salsa, Merengue and have a good time. "It's an older crowd that likes to come and have a good time. I was worried people would think this is a night club. But it's gotten popular because no one else is offering something like this. If you come on Wednesday night and learn how to dance then come back on Saturday night it will be a lot of fun for people," said Marrero.

But what really makes Latin Quarters special is the food. The menu features authentic Puerto Rican dishes like Arroz Con Pollos, Arroz Gandules, Tostones and Mofongo. "That's what we are really known for. People come from all across the state to come here. I was shocked when people started coming from Fayetteville, Chapel Hill and from a few hours away just to eat here," said Marrero.

The restaurant is also has a full bar stocked with authentic Puerto Rican rums," People love our Mojitos," Marrero says with a smile.

In the kitchen is Chef Anthony Alvarez who grew up in Puerto Rico and prides himself on using authentic ingredients. "Everything we make is just like it's made in Puerto Rico. I learned the cuisine on the Island. My mother and father taught me how to cook authentic Puerto Rican food,"says Alvarez.

Whether you come for the food or just a good time one thing for sure is you will leave a good feeling. Puerto Ricans are known for their warmth, hospitality and of course great food. "We've been received great by Raleigh so far and I'm excited about the future," said Marrero.