The Other Side of the Tortilla

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Mexican Christmas Traditions

Ya tenemos 6 meses!

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I can’t believe last week I passed the six month mark since I began The Other Side of The Tortilla. It feels like only a short time ago that I started contemplating how to share my quest for Mexican culinary and cultural nirvana in the kitchen. Thank you so much to those of you who have become big fans along the way; I appreciate your loyal support, feedback and passing my site on to friends and family via word of mouth (or email…or tweet…or Facebook).

My goal with the site is not just a personal one to chronicle all I’ve learned from family, friends and cherished cookbooks about traditional Mexican cooking in order to someday pass the wisdom down to my own children; I also want to help educate others about Mexican cuisine and culture. I’m always open to suggestions for improvement or new elements you’d like to see, so please hit me up via the comments or by emailing me by clicking on the contact section to the right if you’d like. I frequently get comments via email in both languages, which I think is so cool. Thanks to all you wonderful readers, I’ve already gotten some great suggestions on how to enhance your experience here on The Other Side of The Tortilla. You can expect to start seeing a little bit of video here and there very soon. One note: I do moderate the comments only for purposes of keeping my site free of spam, but I make a conscious effort to approve legitimate comments as soon as possible so we can have a lively discussion.

To commemorate this little 6-month milestone anniversary, I created a graphic using words that have commonly appeared in my posts since I started back in August 2009. The more frequently a word appears in posts from the last six months, the larger the font size. I hope you have as much fun looking at it as I have!

When it’s quiet around here, it can only mean one of two things: I’m either busy in the kitchen or writing and revising new recipes. Lately, I’ve been busy with a bit of both. If you follow me on Twitter, then you already know that I often post photos taken on the fly in the kitchen; if you didn’t, you do now, so head over and follow me there if you’d like some sneak peeks every now and then. Most commonly, people have been telling me I’m making them hungry, so I must be doing my job well, right?

Here’s what I’m currently working on in the Tortilla Test Kitchen that you can expect to see coming up soon (in no particular order–to keep some element of surprise!):

  • champurrado
  • salsas rojas
  • sopas
  • carnes
  • flan
  • guisados

Also, I’ve recently been asked to write a guest post about why native foods are such an important element of cultural bonding (both in adult-to-adult and adult-to-kid relationships) at SpanglishBaby.com, a parenting site for raising bilingual kids. I’m very excited to be able to contribute over there and will cross-post my article here on the Tortilla later this month. They found me thanks to someone passing on the word about the blog. I’m also honored to have been mentioned on The Tiki Tiki Blog in their weekly El Buzz section as a blog to watch a few months back and hope to contribute a thing or two over there in the coming months.

So again, thanks for reading. I hope you will continue to enjoy my adventures in the kitchen and will share the site with a friend or two.

If you like the wordle image above, you can make your own by going to wordle.net. The custom color palette was created with colors from photographs that appear or are scheduled to appear here on The Tortilla.

Rajas con crema

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Rajas con crema, a hearty dish made with poblano chiles, onion, crema mexicana and a little bit of cheese, is a favorite in my house. As one friend put it, “anything that comes out of your kitchen at least once a week has got to be good.”

Rajas are particularly popular in central and Southern Mexico, and are so versatile I’ve seen them served as breakfast, lunch and dinner. I can’t speak for all of Mexico, but at least in Mexico City when someone is talking about rajas, they are usually talking about strips of poblanos or this dish specifically.

rajas con crema

According to my husband, José, rajas con crema are the best when the poblanos have a spicy bite, but they’re not too hot. Usually you can tell how hot the poblanos are when you’re removing the seeds after roasting because the heat will burn your skin and if you breathe in too deeply, you might cough. In that case, you may want to soak them in a solution of vinegar and water so they’re not too spicy. If those two things don’t happen, sometimes I skip the vinegar and water soak after roasting the chiles. However, f you soak them too long, the chiles are a little sweet rather than spicy but still delicious nonetheless.

If you’ve never prepared rajas before, you’ll want to first read my tutorial on how to roast poblano chiles before you skip to the directions below.

Some rajas con crema recipes call only for cream, and lots of it; others call for so much cheese that it’s more of a queso fundido in disguise. Mexican sour cream isn’t actually sour like American sour cream; it has a less acidic taste and a thinner consistency. The cheese should melt slowly and not be gooey, and it should be barely visible once incorporated. It’s really more of a bonding agent so the cream doesn’t get soupy.

RELATED: Vegetarian queso fundido with rajas

My version, based on a recipe José grew up eating, strikes a perfect balance. Some people like to eat rajas con crema over rice, or as a side dish with meat like carne tampiqueña (a grilled filet or skirt steak) or cecina (a thinly-cut aged salted beef). In our house, as you may already be fully aware if you’re a regular reader, the taco is king. However you decide to serve it, though, I guarantee it won’t be long before you’re making it again.

chiles poblanos asados
We like to serve rajas in corn tortillas as tacos. Sometimes I make cecina to accompany the rajas but they can stand up as a vegetarian meal on their own or as a hearty side with rice, beans, meat or whatever else you’d like.

RELATED: How to roast poblano chiles

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Rajas con crema

Yield 12 servings

Rajas con crema is a hearty dish made with poblano chiles, onion, Mexican sour cream and a little bit of cheese. It's used as a taco filling or served as a side dish.

Ingredients

  • 5-6 poblano chiles, roasted, skinned and cut into strips
  • 1/2 of a large white onion, sliced into rings and then cut in half (to make half moon strips)
  • 2 tablespoons salted butter (do not substitute margarine)
  • 5 ounces crema Mexicana
  • 1/2 of coarsely shredded Chihuahua cheese
  • A pinch of kosher salt, or more to taste

Instructions

  1. Roast poblano chiles. Allow them to sweat for 15 minutes, then peel off the skins, remove seeds and cut into strips. 
  2. Using a deep skillet, melt the butter and cook the onions in the butter on medium-low heat until they start to change color and caramelize a bit (slightly transparent and a little brown). Turn off burner and remove pan from heat.
  3. Add the chile strips (rajas) in the pan with the onion, stir to coat well with the remaining butter, and warm over medium heat until the rajas are warm and a little wilted.
  4. Add about 5 ounces of crema and stir in well. Cook for about 2-3 minutes and then reduce heat to low and add a half cup of coarsely grated Chihuahua cheese (if you can't find cheese labeled Chihuahua, any cheese labeled "queso para fundir" will do). The cheese should melt slowly and not be gooey, and it should be barely visible once incorporated. It’s really more of a bonding agent so the cream doesn’t get soupy. Once the cheese is melted, turn your burner as low as it will go, just so it is on to keep the rajas warm.

Notes

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, and reheated on the stove over medium heat or in the microwave at 30-second intervals.

 

How to make ponche navideño

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It’s not the holidays in Mexico without ponche navideño. This Mexican Christmas punch is served during las posadas, Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) and at holiday parties, and is often spiked with brandy or rum.

ponche navideño

This recipe gives me such warm, fuzzy feelings and memories of being back in Mexico with our family for Christmas. Typically, this is a holiday punch, but in my house we sometimes drink it all winter long if we can find all the ingredients. …

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December in Mexico City

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If you hadn’t already heard, The Tortilla is turning into a traveling food blog for the month of December (and part of January)! I arrived here in Mexico City late Tuesday night, narrowly escaping blizzard-like conditions that hit Chicago shortly after my plane took off in the early afternoon. As I claimed my luggage, I began to feel a little trickle of sweat down the back of my neck. It’s been warm here, with highs in the upper 70s during the day (or around 25 degrees C if you use the metric system) and about 50 degrees F at night (10 degrees C). I’m not used to such warm temperatures in Mexico City in December because I usually don’t get here until Christmas Eve when it’s already chilly. Last year on Christmas Eve I remember wearing a winter coat.

Obviously, the first stop after leaving the airport was at a taquería for tacos al pastor. Knowing I had 10 more days ahead of me, most of which would end up taco-filled, I held back a bit and didn’t overindulge like I normally would. Last time I failed to pace myself with the tacos, I ended up with a case of killer indigestion that only a box of Onotón and some Melox could subdue.

Wednesday was my birthday, and if you’ve been a reader long enough you’ve probably already guessed I went to one of my favorite places for sopa de tortilla, La Guadiana in San Ángel. I also was treated to some delicious taquitos de chicharrón prensado and Sábana Azteca, a very thin piece of steak over a bean sauce, covered with cheese and topped with rajas con crema. I was in heaven.

While here, I’ve been dreaming up what recipes to share with you in the coming months. I’m working on learning a few holiday recipes from my suegra–including one of my favorites, ponche Navideño. It’s a Christmas fruit punch, served warm. The recipe comes from José’s abuelita.

For lunch yesterday, we made empanadas with a picadillo de carne molida (ground beef) that had jitomate (red tomato), cebolla (onion) and chile. Thought we cheated and used pre-made dough, they tasted just like they were made from scratch. I’m in the process of obtaining and translating the recipe, which I hope to share here very soon. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek of what they look like:

empanadas

I’ll be posting more soon from Mexico once I’ve got more photos and stories to share. ¡Hasta luego!

SOPA DE TORTILLA

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I love tortilla soup. I will order it just about anywhere, at any time of year, and I’ve been known to judge the entire menu of a restaurant solely on the quality of their sopa de tortilla. I’m obsessed in every sense of the word–and having not been able to find a version I deem delicious in Chicago, I learned how to make it.

This soup is very representative of a typical Mexican kitchen and uses the traditional flavors and textures of the tomato, chile, avocado, epazote and tortilla. I’ve never cared much for tomato-based soups or broths, but this soup converted me.

The secret, I’ve found, is adding a few crunchy little pieces of chicharrón (also known as pork rinds or cracklings here in the U.S.). They add a depth to the soup’s flavor that I’m convinced cannot be achieved otherwise. All of my favorite places in Mexico for tortilla soup serve it similarly; all the ingredients for assembling the soup are brought to the table separately and the waiter puts it together right in front of you, almost like a little show with your meal….

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