I realized from the Nationwide Audubon Society that turkeys had been doubtless first domesticated by the Mayans of southern Mexico some 2,000 years in the past. At this time, turkey is not on many Mexican menus, and the per capita consumption within the U.S. is greater than seven instances larger.
Nonetheless, a latest Friendsgiving menu took a Mexican flip, melding conventional Thanksgiving components with chile peppers, cilantro, avocados, and tortillas.
We ready turkey enchilada-stuffed butternut squash, Mexican mashed potatoes (papas con chile), and apple pie taquitos for this meal. I loved it greater than any previous Thanksgiving feast, and most of my visitors did, too. This meal could possibly be made anytime, because it does not require the herculean effort or logistical precision of a conventional Thanksgiving dinner. In case you are searching for one thing completely different at your vacation desk, give these a attempt.
Turkey is named pavo in Mexico, and it’s mostly ready entire, with a mole sauce. The butternut squash dish right here makes use of floor turkey and a selfmade pink enchilada sauce. You should use the canned model, however I implore you to make your personal. It is not exhausting, and the flavour payout is price it.
You’ll be able to even play with the warmth ranges and use a customized mixture of dried chiles. Many giant supermarkets carry dried chiles; a Mexican grocer could have a greater choice. No, you’ll be able to’t substitute recent chiles. They do not produce the complicated, smokey taste of their dried counterparts. In the event you did not already know, a chipotle is a dried jalapeño, an ancho is a dried poblano, and a dried mirasol is a guajillo. Save the recent peppers for the potatoes.
I like to make use of the extra flavorful pastured floor turkey. Their pure grass and bug weight loss program lends higher style and diet, to not point out higher residing situations for the hen. Floor turkey tends to have much less fats than its floor beef counterparts, however fats carries taste and retains the meat from drying out. Attempt to discover 85% lean and search for a mixture of white and darkish meat if you need the best-tasting outcome.
This was the primary time I used crushed tortilla chips in a recipe, and I’m so completely happy that I did. I now have a use for the bottom-of-the-bag bits that I have been throwing out. The salty, crunchy topping on the squash may substitute for bread crumbs or croutons in pan-fried rooster, fish, casseroles, soups and salads.
The papas con chile, or potatoes with chile, used a mixture of pink and inexperienced peppers. Becoming, as pink, white and inexperienced are the colours of the Mexican flag. It made for a fairly dish on the desk and the plate. The chiles gave a pleasant chew to the in any other case wealthy and, dare I say, bland potatoes.
We used homegrown Empire apples to make the filling for the apple pie taquitos. You wish to use old school apples with a sweet-tart profile that holds up when cooked. A mix of Granny Smith and Pink Girl can be nice and are straightforward to search out. Serve them like apple pie — with a dollop of recent whipped cream or a scoop of excellent vanilla ice cream.
• Leslie Meredith is the winner of the 2019 Prepare dinner of the Week Problem and teaches folks learn how to develop and cook dinner “actual” meals. She runs Farmhouse Faculty on a historic homestead in Campton Hills. See the college’s Fb or Instagram pages @FarmhouseSchool or contact Leslie at meals@dailyherald.com.
Crimson enchilada sauce
2 cups, plus 3 tablespoons rooster or vegetable broth, divided
1 cup white or yellow onions, chopped (about two medium ones)
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
7 gentle dried chiles (Crimson New Mexico, aka hatch, ancho or guajillo) with stems and seeds eliminated
1-2 sizzling dried chiles (arbol, pink serrano or pink jalapeño) with stems and seeds eliminated
1 cup water
1 teaspoon floor cumin
1 teaspoon floor coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon candy marjoram
¼ cup tomato paste
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Toast chiles in a sizzling, dry skillet till their aroma is launched they usually begin to change coloration, about 1-2 minutes per facet. Take away to a heat-proof bowl.
Warmth 2 cups of broth and water in a small saucepan till steaming. Pour over the chiles to melt, about 20 minutes.
Warmth 3 tablespoons of broth over medium warmth in identical skillet used to toast the chiles. As soon as very popular, add the onions and sauté for 4 minutes or till tender and beginning to brown. Add garlic and cook dinner one other minute.
Add onion combination, rehydrated chiles and their liquid to a blender. Take away the middle cap from the lid and canopy with a clear, folded kitchen towel. Do not fill greater than midway. Beginning on the bottom pace and permitting steam to dissipate, combine till easy. You might step by step enhance the pace if wanted, being cautious to not let steam construct or the contents to spill out of the highest. Just a few seen flecks are OK.
Return blended combination to the skillet and stir within the spices and salt. Deliver to a boil, then cut back to a simmer and cook dinner, coated with lid ajar, for 15-20 minutes. Add the tomato paste and vinegar and proceed to cook dinner uncovered one other 5 minutes or till thick sufficient to coat the again of a spoon. Add a bit extra broth whether it is too thick.
Makes 3½ cups
Leslie Meredith
Turkey enchilada-stuffed butternut squash
1 medium to giant butternut squash, halved vertically and deseeded
1 teaspoon, plus 1 tablespoon impartial oil, divided
Salt and pepper, to style
2 pink onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, pressed
¾ pound floor turkey
2 poblano, diced (could substitute with bell peppers)
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1¼ cups pink enchilada sauce
½ cup crushed tortilla chips
Contemporary cilantro, roughly chopped
Sliced avocado, sizzling sauce, and/or bitter cream, for serving
Preheat oven to 425 levels
Rub the reduce facet of the squash halves with a teaspoon of the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, reduce facet down, on a lined baking sheet for 35-45 minutes or till fork tender. Enable to chill sufficient to deal with.
Whereas squash cooks, make the filling. Add a tablespoon of the oil to a pan over medium warmth. As soon as shimmering, add the onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring continuously, till simply starting to brown. Add the turkey, breaking up with a wood spoon, and cook dinner till evenly browned. Add garlic, diced peppers and extra salt. Prepare dinner one other 5 minutes, stirring continuously, earlier than including black beans and enchilada sauce. Simmer one other 10 minutes, cowl, and take away from warmth.
When squash is prepared, flip it over and use a spoon to smash it down and create a slim properly down the centerline. Pour or spoon within the filling and high with crushed tortilla chips. Flip the oven right down to 400 levels and bake for 14-20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with avocado slices, sizzling sauce, and bitter cream on the facet.
Serves 4
Leslie Meredith
Papas con Chile are Mexican mashed potatoes. Added pepper jack cheese makes them additional creamy.
– Courtesy of Leslie Meredith
Papas con Chile are Mexican mashed potatoes. Added pepper jack cheese makes them additional creamy.
– Courtesy of Leslie Meredith
Papas con Chile (Mexican mashed potatoes)
1½ kilos russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 small onion, diced
1 poblano, pink bell, or pink Anaheim pepper, diced
1 serrano, jalapeño, or pink Fresno pepper, diced
¾ cup shredded pepper jack cheese
¼ cup bitter cream
2 tablespoons milk, as much as ½ cup
Salt and freshly floor black pepper, to style
2 tablespoons recent cilantro, chopped
Add potatoes to inventory pot and canopy with 1 inch of water. Deliver to a boil over medium warmth and cook dinner till fork tender, about 10-Quarter-hour. Drain and return to the pot.
Warmth ½ a tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium excessive warmth. As soon as foaming, add the onions and cook dinner for five minutes, stirring often. Add peppers and cook dinner 4-5 minutes or till smooth. Add combination to cooked potatoes and stir in cheese, bitter cream, 2 tablespoons of the milk and remaining butter (reduce into small items). Season with salt and pepper to style. Mash by hand, including extra milk if wanted to achieve desired consistency. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
Serves 4
Leslie Meredith
Apple Pie Taquitos make an ideal dessert out of recent apples and cinnamon. You should definitely serve with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
– Courtesy of Leslie Meredith
Apple Pie Taquitos make an ideal dessert out of recent apples and cinnamon. You should definitely serve with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
– Courtesy of Leslie Meredith
Apple Pie Taquitos
3 tablespoons, plus ¼ cup butter, divided and extra for greasing
1½ teaspoon, plus 1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
6 medium apples, peeled, cored and reduce into ½-inch cubes
1/3 plus ½ cup sugar, divided
¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons water, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
8-x-8-inch flour tortillas
½ cup packed brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, non-obligatory
Preheat oven to 350 levels and grease a baking dish
Soften 3 tablespoons of the butter and 1½ teaspoons of cinnamon in a saucepan over medium warmth. Stir in apples, 1/3 cup sugar and ¼ cup water. Cowl and cook dinner, stirring often, for 4-6 minutes or till the apples simply begin to soften.
Whisk cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water in a small dish. Add to the apples whereas stirring and proceed to cook dinner till the apples are tender however not mushy and filling has thickened. Take away from warmth to chill.
Fill tortillas evenly with the cooled filling. Roll up tightly and place seam facet down within the baking dish, nestled tightly collectively.
Deliver ½ cup sugar, brown sugar, ½ cup water, ¼ cup butter and salt to a boil in the identical saucepan used for the apples. Scale back warmth to a simmer and stir in vanilla. Prepare dinner, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Pour sauce over tortillas, sprinkle with remaining cinnamon, and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce in half to serve, topped with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Makes 16
Leslie Meredith
