Salsa Newsletter forApril, 2002
Issue 12

Today's Recipe
Chiles en Nogada

I guess I might have to change the name of this stupid newsletter. I'm getting so many requests for recipes other than salsas, I am no longer able to ignore them. So starting with this issue I'm going to be giving you some recipes for some real Mexican dishes. Some that you've never heard of - others that you have maybe heard of, but just thought they were way too complicated to try. I'll also be concentrating on correcting all the misinformation that the self-proclaimed 'Celebrity Chef's' have been dishing out. Oh, I'll still be doing the salsas, but I think it's time to do some real cooking.

This first recipe is for 'CHILES en NOGADA', a favorite of yours and, I hope, a favorite of mine.

For those of you who don't know who I am, my name is Spencer Moore and along with my son Spencer am the chef owner of a couple of restaurants in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Mama's Royal Cafe is an upscale breakfast restaurant thought by many, myself included, to be the best breakfast place in the whole country. My other restaurant is Felix' - a dinner place specializing in original recipes and regional specialties not often found in restaurants. We also claim to have the world's largest salsa bar, with between 25 and 40 salsas on any given day. You can check out the menus at the web sites (www.mamascabosanlucas.com and www.felixcabosanlucas.com).

When the food network did that show at Felix', the host (Kieth Famie) was evidently impressed with all the salsas we had on display. He made an offhand remark referring to me as the 'SALSA KING'. They evidently believed their own hype because they are flying me up to Reno and comping my stay to judge a Salsa Contest. What's even funnier is that they are billing me as a "CELEBRITY CHEF JUDGE -- SPENCER MOORE, THE SALSA KING." I guess that, in the words of Lyndon Johnson, "It's better to have him inside the tent pissing out - than outside pissing in." Salsa King, hmm? I wonder if there's some bucks in this? They even wanted a biography for publicity purposes, so I made up a beauty. Maybe I'll print it in the next issue. Anyway, you and I both know that no matter what they say, I'm really just a raggedy-ass old hippy who happens to be a really good cook. I wonder if this means that my son Spencer is now the "CROWN PRINCE of SALSAS"

Have you noticed what all the self-proclaimed 'Celebrity Chef's have in common? Every one - Asian, Italian, Cajun, French, Yuppie even a couple of the Mexican guys and Martha?

It's the Olive oil!

They all work with at least a half dozen bottles of Olive oil. They have the 'regular', the 'Virgin', the 'Extra Virgin', the 'Extra Extra Virgin', and that one special bottle of $700 dollar 'Estate Bottled' Olive oil made from the first growth olives from dwarf trees that have been picked by hand by 14 year old Tuscan virgins during the full moon and squeezed by hand and aged for 27 years in charred White Oak casks (from sunken Viking ships) stored in a secret cave high in the Albanian Alps. Bullshit! Let me tell you a little about the Olive oil available on most supermarket shelves.

But first a little background.

The Italian Olive oil exporters aren't stupid....., so when all these self-proclaimed celebrity chef's created a huge demand for Olive oil, the exporters decided that 'there was gold in them thar hills' - so to speak. There was not near enough good Olive oil to fill this artificially created demand, so they did what any good capitalist would do. They bought up all the junk Olive oil in Greece and Spain and shipped it into Italy in tank trucks where the put it in fancy cans and bottles stuck huge price tags on it and shipped it off the unwary American consumers. This is Olive oil that use to get tossed in the garbage or fed to the pigs, and the self-proclaimed 'Celebrity Chef's are trying to make us feel stupid if we don't use it. Forget them!

Most of that Olive oil has a strong, sorta musty taste and will make whatever you're cooking taste worse - not better. Remember, Olive oil imparts a taste to everything you use it in, so if you use it in everything - everything will taste the same... and that's just not what cooking is all about. We use oil in cooking for many reasons - to keep things from sticking - because we like the taste of fried stuff (French fries taste different than mashed potatoes) - we like the appearance, a beautiful golden brown - or maybe we like the crispy texture. All of these things will happen with any neutral tasting oil, so save your money - get a cheap old Corn or Safflower oil... it will work just fine for most everything I teach you. And remember, 'Cooking is fun and cooking is easy. If it was hard work or took any brains at all, the human race would have died out centuries ago'.

 

Return to top

Good Morning:
My husband and I were in CABO in October where we have a timeshare. One of the best places to eat breakfast is Mamas. Is there a chance that you will share the wonderful French toast with stuffed cream cheese and bananas.
Thank you
Kathie

Yep, glad to. Next issue.
Spencer

________

Just wanted to tell you that we had a great meal at your restaurant while we were there on vacation- I wish we had found out about it last yr. when we were there- I'm sure we will be back again - there were 8 of us there for dinner and we had the bouillabaisse I would love to have the recipe if you will share it with us- thanks again
Carol De Souza
Rhode Island

Yes, I will be getting to the Bouillabaisse soon. And it's really simple to make and almost impossible to screw up - unless, of course, you add a lot of that junk Olive oil.

________

Spencer
We enjoy your newsletter, and your restaurant. We've been coming to Cabo for about 8 years now twice a year. Plan to retire there-love it. When we were there last we had Chilaquilles for breakfast. Do you have a recipe you could pass along for those. ?
See you in April.
Howard and Connie Hinsdale

Yes, I promise, I will get to the Chilaquiles too.
Spencer

________

Hola Mr. Moore,
I've been looking forward to receiving your salsa newsletter .We live in Cabo part of the year so we have often eaten in your restaurants. The February and March e-mails have come through truncated on my machine. I'm not sure why, and am wondering what we can do. You have my correct address so that isn't a problem. Does any one else have this difficulty? If not, it must be my carrier!! If the next one does not come through, I'll let you know so you can delete my address, thereby saving you time and money.
Sincerely,
LR Whitehead

I don't know if any one else is having problems. If they are I wish they'd let me know so we can fix it. Anyhow, you can always go to the newsletter archive on ourwebsite to see what you've missed.
Spencer

________

Spencer-
Thanks for the nice response to signing up. (I know, I know, it's standard! Still-nice) I love to eat and fix Mexican food! ( My friends say I'm half Hispanic- not even close, full German heritage). DH and I just spent a lovely week in Cabo and fell into Felix' by accident. Wonderful experience! I mainly use two books for my recipes: "Adventures in Mexican Cooking", Ortho books; authored by Angelo Villa and Vicki Barrios. This was the first book I found that gave traditional recipes, terms and ingredients. I also recently came across "The Cuisines of Mexico" by Diana Kennedy at an antiques store. I live in Toledo, Ohio, which has a rich Mexican culture base so I have good local resources for ingredients. I am tickled with your web site and I look forward to trying more authentic recipes!
Thank You-
Linda Winzeler

I'm not familiar with the Villa-Barrios book but the Diana Kennedy book is a wonderful place to learn about Mexican cuisine. She has a couple of other books out as well and I use her books for reference all the time. I do find her recipes real hard to work with and very labor intensive so I pretty much just use them for getting a general idea, sorta use them as a road map. I wind up simplifying and adapting most of them to a modern kitchen. I also really like "the Complete Book of Mexican Cooking" by Elisabeth Lambert Ruiz. I don't know if it's still in print but if you run across a copy I recommend that you grab it.
Spencer

and a recipe from a reader...

Dear Spencer,
Here is the recipe for the easiest salsa:

1 Lb. can of whole tomatoes
12 oz. can of whole hot pickled jalapeno chiles
1 medium onion quartered
1 clove of garlic
1 bunch of cilantro
1 bunch of green onions

Put whole tomatoes, jalapeno chiles (stems removed) also use all the juice, carrots, and onions that are pickled with the chiles, medium quartered onion, and clove of garlic in a large food processor, blend just until everything is chopped. Remove lid and put just enough cilantro in to cover the top of the food processor over salsa replace lid and blend just enough to chop cilantro. Remove lid pour salsa into a large container. Chop green onion by hand and add to salsa mix and serve on anything.

It's not fancy but by using the hot pickled chiles adds lots of flavor and salsa will last in sealed container for two weeks.
Debbie Lourenco
Sassy Steer Restaurant
Colton, Calif.

Thanks, I'll pass it along.
Spencer

 

This is a world class dish and I think it rates a place right up there with any of the classic dishes from anywhere in the world. Here's how I describe it on the menu at Felix'.......

" I think that this dish ranks with any of the great dishes of the world. It is both beautiful to look at and to taste. A true classic, this is an absolutely wonderful dish from the city of Puebla where it is traditionally served on St. Augustine's day (August 28). It is also a popular dish throughout the country on September 15, Independence day -- since the colors of the dish are those of the Mexican flag, red, white and green. Poblano chiles stuffed with minced pork, raisins, dried fruit, tomato, onion, herbs and spices. It is served with a delicious white walnut sauce and usually garnished with fresh pomegranate seeds. This is a complicated dish to make with many layers of flavor and is rarely found in restaurants."

When you read the recipe it will sound a bit daunting..... don't be afraid. It's really quite simple to make.... uh, well after the first time anyway. I avoided making this dish for a long time because all the recipes were evidently written by some jerk celebrity chef or another and they made it sound so damn complicated I just didn't want to get involved. They called for processors and ricers and dicers and 3 beam balance gram scales and organically grown cinnamon flown in from Sumatra and mortars and pestles..... and - as usual - it was all bullshit! Hell I haven't even owned a triple beam balance gram scale since the 60's and I wasn't even a cook then. The measurements I give are not exact and that's intentional. It doesn't matter. We're not talkin' rocket science or neuro-surgery here, we're talkin' cooking. It calls for Poblano chiles but it is definitely not a spicy hot dish since Poblanos are mild to begin with and we will be removing the seeds and veins. This recipe should serve 4 people - 2 chiles apiece.

8 Poblano Chiles
Roasted and peeled with the stems left on. If you don't know how to roast chile.... It's easy. Hold the chile by the stem over an open flame, until it is black. The skin will sizzle and pop, and when you are done burning it, it will look like a mess. Wrap the burnt chile in a dry cloth to cool. Once it is cool, the skin will come off on your fingers. You might want to wash them under cool water to remove bits of black stuff. You want to slit the chiles from the top to the tip and remove the seeds and veins.

a little Butter
or lard or rendered fat from the pork

2 lbs Cooked Pork
I generally use shoulder but you can use most anything from left over pork chops to loin - as a matter of fact the cheapest cuts are probably the most flavorful. I simmer the pork for at least an hour - it should be falling apart.

1 small onion
chopped pretty fine

6 cloves of garlic
or 3 or 9... Hey, you know how much garlic you like - chopped fine

10 (or so) whole cloves
Don't use ground cloves - it's just not the same. Smash the cloves with the side of a knife or the bowl of a spoon or something. You might want to toss the pointy ends of the cloves because they will never soften up and will be like little pieces of toothpicks in your chiles.

8(or so) whole pepper corns
coarsely crushed

1/2 tsp cinnamon

raisins
You don't want to get a raisin in every bite - so go easy - maybe about 40 should do it.

slivered almonds
a couple of tablespoons should do

assorted dried fruit
Don't use candied fruit - too sweet. Chop the fruit into raisin sized pieces. I use whatever is available when I'm in the market place. Apricots, peaches, apples, pineapple, banana whatever you can find - mix it up. You'll want about 4 heaping tablespoons.

tomatoes
The quality of tomatoes in the market these days is so lousy that for the first time in my life I'm recommending canned tomatoes. Put about six through the blender and save the liquid from the can - we're gonna need it later.

pomegranate seeds
If you can't find fresh pomegranates - don't even bother making this dish. They are really important. Oh, the dish will taste all right but it just won't be the same.

OKAY, LET'S GO!

The secret to this one is preparation - like most everything else in the world. If you have all your ingredients ready at hand it gets real simple.

the filling

Chop the cooked pork really, really fine. Start it in a frying pan with the butter (or lard) over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and brown the whole mixture stirring occasionally. Add the blended tomatoes and every thing else except the pomegranate seeds. (The reason I like using crushed black pepper and crushed cloves instead of the finely ground powder is twofold. One - when you crush them yourself the flavor is much stronger. The powdered loses its taste rapidly on the shelf - in your home or in the store. The second reason is that if you use the powdered every bite tastes of clove and with the crushed you get a bite of clove every once in a while. And you get a bite of raisin - once in a while and a bite of almond and a bite of black pepper and a bite of dried peach or apple or pineapple. Every bite of this dish you should get a new taste. My son describes it as "Tasting like Christmas" every bite is like opening a new present. Anyway add some of the liquid from the tomatoes and simmer it for a half hour or so to let the raisins and dried fruit plump up and for the cloves and peppercorns to soften. Let it cool. As a matter of fact everything so far can be done way in advance - even the day before.

the sauce

The sauce is a thick rich white sauce with a walnut base. In Spanish walnuts are 'nogales' - hence the name 'Chiles en Nogada'. The sauce is served at a warm room temperature. Don't try to heat the sauce - it will thin way out and (since there's a lot of sour cream in it) may even separate.

20 - 25 walnuts
broken up in pretty small pieces - your gonna soak them in milk so if they're in big chunks it will take too much milk to cover them. milk or cream - if you want it even richer than itÕs gonna be - enough to cover the walnuts

white bread 1 or 2 slices
crusts removed

1/4 lb cream cheese

1-1/2 cups sour cream

salt to taste

cinnamon to taste
depending on how stale the cinnamon is somewhere around a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon.

okay, let's make the sauce

All the recipes I found told me to soak the walnuts in the milk for at least 24 hours. I did - for a while - but I don't any more. I can't taste any difference at all. I just throw the walnuts and milk into the blender and start it up. Add the white bread and the sour cream and keep blending... it should be pretty runny. Start throwing in little pieces of cream cheese with the blender going on a low speed, until the sauce has thickened up to the consistency of barely pourable mayonnaise. Toss in about 1/2 the cinnamon and taste it. It should taste of cinnamon, but just barely, if it needs more - throw it in... If you want to add salt now is the time to do it. The sauce is done and you're almost a gourmet Mexican chef.

putting it all together

The dish is all done - we just have to assemble it and heat it up. At the restaurant we put it together hot. Hot chiles and hot filling and we burn our fingers and swear a lot. You don't have to do this. You can use the filling and chiles direct from the fridge. Just take a spoon and put the mixture into the chiles - fill them pretty good and pat them and caress them until they look real pretty. Heat them up in a lidded pan with a little water or hell, you could even do them in a microwave. Arrange two chiles on a plate and put some sauce over them. I like to put the sauce over the middle of the chiles leaving a little bit of the stem end and the pointy end showing. If you completely cover the chiles it will still taste great but it will look like a pile of mashed potatoes in that yucky country gravy your mom use to make out of canned cream of mushroom soup - so let the beautiful green chiles show. Sprinkle some pomegranate seeds over the top..... brother, or sister - as the case may be - you have just made an incredible dish.