Mexican Christmas Traditions

Name: Mangonadas
Prep time: 35 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 2 mangonadas
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1/2 cup apricot spreadable fruit (not jelly, jam or preserves); Juice of 1 lime; 2 1/4 teaspoons McCormick Gourmet Collection ground ancho chile pepper; 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar; 4-5 large dried apricots, rehydrated in warm water for 30 minutes; 2-3 tablespoons chamoy; 2 cups frozen mango chunks; 1 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice (about 3-4 large navel oranges); Chile lime salt, such as Tajín, to taste

Mango cantaloupe paletas with chile powder

8 · Sep 13, 2014 · 5 Comments

Mango and cantaloupe are a great combination not only because they're both at peak availability during the summer, but also because both fruits are sweet enough when ripe that they don't need to be sweetened with sugar to make juices or other treats like popsicles.

These mango cantaloupe popsicles are keeping me in denial about the end of summer drawing near.

I really love these popsicles because they're not syrupy sweet like store-bought popsicles, and the chile powder in the fruit mixture adds just the right amount of heat so that they're still kid-friendly. Optionally, if you like, you can also sprinkle or dip the popsicles in some more chile powder before eating to add extra spicy flavor. ...

Sweet potato flan

28 · Aug 21, 2014 · 3 Comments

This post is part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with California Sweetpotatoes and Latina Bloggers Connect. All opinions and the recipe are my own.

Sweet potato flan is a non-traditional flavor for a very traditional dessert, but if you’re a sweet potato fan, I guarantee you’ll like this rich, decadent dessert. Mashed sweet potato gives this recipe a more dense, textured quality than your traditional flan.

I like cooking with sweet potatoes because they can be prepared in a variety of ways from savory to sweet. This low-carb and vitamin and mineral-rich vegetable is considered a superfood and one sweet potato contains more than one day’s worth of Vitamin A. My favorite way to eat them is baked and sprinkled with a little chopped piloncillo, ground cinnamon and a little bit of butter, which is what led to the idea to create this flan recipe....

How to make mangonadas

415 · Aug 20, 2014 · 8 Comments

A mangonada is a quintessential Mexican treat, made of mango, orange juice, chamoy and chile lime salt, and they're sold just about everywhere from street vendors to neverías in Mexico.

This post is part of a compensated campaign with McCormick & Company but the recipe and opinions here are my own.

It's very popular, especially in the warm weather months, as it resembles an American slushie. You can grab one to go on the street or enjoy it with friends in an ice cream parlor.

If you’ve been reading The Other Side of The Tortilla for awhile, you may remember I interviewed Chef Kevan Vetter about the 2013 McCormick Flavor Forecast and how global flavor trends were incorporating Mexican flavors and sensibilities on a worldwide scale. This year marks McCormick's 125th anniversary of the company celebrating the role flavor plays in all of our lives, inspiring flavorful conversation and giving back to communities around the world.

I'm thrilled to see that this trend and interest in Mexican cuisine has been growing exponentially and is again incorporated in the most recent report. The McCormick Flavor Forecast 2014 report includes two flavor insights particularly suited to highlighting Mexican cuisine: A worldwide obsession with chilies and a growing taste for regional Mexican fare in North America. Of the Mexican flavors considered to be trending globally this year is chamoy, a sweet and spicy condiment made with apricot, lime, chiles and salt. Chamoy also happens to be a key ingredient in the mangonada.

Chamoy is a versatile condiment, as it can be used in both sweet and savory dishes; anything from a salsa for dipping fruit or making jicaletas (jicama popsicles) to marinating meats or using it as a meat glaze.

RELATED RECIPE: Mango and chamoy paletas

Although bottled chamoy can be found in most Mexican supermarket chains in the U.S. as well as for purchase online, I like to make my own so I know exactly what's in it. Most of the commercially produced chamoy is loaded with sugar, preservatives and dyes. My version of chamoy uses apricot fruit spread (not jelly, jam or preserves) and natural ingredients so you can feel good about indulging in this treat. There are multiple brands that offer apricot fruit spread, which is more or less a jam or preserve made with little or no added sugar.

Ground ancho chile provides a subtle, earthy spice to this homemade chamoy without being overpowering. If you want to make your chamoy on the spicier side, you can add about ½ teaspoon more to the recipe below. And if you need to thin out the chamoy, you can add a little lime juice and store leftovers in the refrigerator. For a modern twist to the traditional mangonada, you can try substituting pineapple juice for orange juice.

Mangonada #recipe with homemade chamoy from theothersideofthetortilla.com #mexican #flavorstory @mccormickspice

2 votes

Mangonadas

Prep 35 mins

Total 35 mins

Author Maura Wall Hernandez

Yield 2 mangonadas

A traditional Mexican mango and orange juice slush with chamoy and chile lime salt, mangonadas are served everywhere from street vendors to neverías in Mexico and are very popular especially in the warm weather months.

Ingredients

For the homemade chamoy:

½ cup apricot spreadable fruit (not jelly, jam or preserves)
Juice of 1 lime
2 ¼ teaspoons McCormick Gourmet Collection ground ancho chile pepper
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4-5 large dried apricots, rehydrated in warm water for 30 minutes

For the mangonadas:

2-3 tablespoons chamoy
2 cups frozen mango chunks
1 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice (about 3-4 large navel oranges)
Chile lime salt, such as Tajín, to taste

Instructions

For the chamoy:

Add 4-5 large dried apricots to a cup of warm water and allow to soak for 30 minutes to rehydrate. When the apricots are rehydrated, discard the water.
Add ½ cup spreadable fruit, juice of one lime, ground ancho chile pepper and apple cider vinegar to a food processor and run on high until completely smooth.

For the mangonadas:

Add 2 cups frozen mango chunks to blender and pour orange juice on top. Seal the top of the blender and blend on high until completely smooth.
Spoon chamoy around the inside of the glass, then pour the mango and orange juice mixture into the cup.
Top with more chamoy and swirl with a spoon.
Sprinkle chile lime salt on top and serve.

Notes

The prep time in this recipe includes 30 minutes of inactive prep time for soaking the dried apricots.

Cuisine Mexican

Gluten-Free Chocolate Amaranth Bars

160 · Aug 18, 2014 · 4 Comments

This post is part of a compensated collaboration with Wilton. All experiences, opinions and the recipe here are my own.

In Mexico City’s San Ángel neighborhood, there’s an artisanal candy store I love called Dulcería El Secreto. They make authentic, traditional and artisanal Mexican candies—the kind that were made long before commercial candy production, with recipes that have been passed down through generations. They carry a variety of palanquetas, garapiñados, pepitorias, pulpa de tamarindo con chile, and a lot of traditional Mexican candies that may have fallen somewhat out of favor in recent decades, but are currently having a renaissance.

One of these traditional candies, barras de chocolate con amaranto—known in English as chocolate and amaranth bars—is a very simple but authentic candy that has been enjoyed in Mexico for many decades. You may also know these treats by another name (with a variation of ingredients) — they are similar to alegrías. They're typically cut into bars or circles and sold everywhere from street vendor stands to high-end artisan candy stores. They're also a naturally gluten-free treat, and Wilton Candy Melts are also safe for those who follow a gluten-free diet.

RELATED RECIPE: How to make pepitorias...

Chiles toreados

426 · Jul 21, 2014 · 10 Comments

Chiles toreados are a dish that you’ll commonly find in taquerías in Mexico.

They’re usually made with serrano or jalapeño chiles that are sautéed in oil until the chiles are blistered. There are many different ways to make chiles toreados—some people use the chiles alone, but I like to cook onions with them too. There are also a variety of ways to make the sauce, which is part of the beauty of this recipe. There’s no wrong way to make them; it’s just a matter of personal taste.

This post and recipe are part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with Kikkoman and Latina Bloggers Connect.

Rather than cook the chiles in vegetable oil, I’ve opted for a slightly healthier method by using coconut oil spray to cut down on the amount of oil used. No need to worry about your chiles tasting like coconut, though—the taste won’t infuse into the chiles.

This dish can be served as an appetizer or as an accompaniment to tacos of your choice. Chiles toreados are also naturally vegan-friendly!

I've eaten this spicy, salty side dish in both hole in the wall and upscale taco joints and the taste varies slightly from place to place. Some cooks like to add oyster sauce for a little umami flavor, but I prefer to keep mine classic with just lime juice and soy sauce. Kikkoman soy sauce is a versatile ingredient that can be used to cook many different types of cuisines. In Mexico, you'll also often see chiles toreados served in sushi bars and restaurants, as it's a perfect pairing for dipping rolls, similar to the spicy mixture of soy sauce and wasabi paste that is traditionally used in Japanese cuisine.

This particular dish is most commonly made with regular soy sauce, but if you're trying to keep your sodium intake down, you can substitute Kikkoman low-sodium soy sauce or even the lime ponzu for a lighter, less salty flavor. I typically use the low-sodium Kikkoman soy sauce in my kitchen. If you want to make the dish spicy, use serrano chiles (and if you like it REALLY spicy, add another chile or two); if you want to make it less spicy, substitute jalapeño chiles for the serrano chiles.

3 votes

Chiles toreados

Prep 5 mins

Cook 15 mins

Total 20 mins

Author Maura Wall Hernandez

Yield 2-3 servings

A classic Mexican taquería dish, chiles toreados are roasted serrano or jalapeño chiles, blister cooked with onion and marinated in a soy sauce and lime juice mixture.