Cinco de Mayo Menu

If everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, then everyone is Mexican on Cinco de Mayo. The 5^th of May is a great way to celebrate the heritage of a country that borders our own.

You can certainly do a taco bar but if you want to be a little more adventurous, here are some considerations. The soup takes a fair amount of chopping and slicing but is really quite simple.

Quick Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooking oil
• 16 corn or flour tortillas
• 1 (28-ounce) can enchilada sauce
• 2 cups grated or shredded mozzarella or queso blanco cheese
• 1/2 cup cotija cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked beef, chicken, or pork, optional

Directions:

• Heat oven to 400 F.
• Pour just enough sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish to cover it. Pour the rest of the sauce into a large bowl.
• Pour 1 cup of oil into a medium-sized saucepan and heat until it’s hot, but not sizzling. You want to warm the tortillas in the oil, not fry them.

• Using tongs, dip each tortilla, one at a time, into the hot oil until it is warmed through and pliable. Remove tortilla from oil and drain it briefly on a paper towel.
• Dip the warm tortilla into the sauce and then place it in the bottom of the baking dish.
• Place just less than 1/4 cup of cheese down the center of the tortilla and add the same amount of meat or chicken. Fold half of the tortilla over the cheese and meat, then the other half, so that the tortilla is rolled around the filling. Tuck in ends if you can. Turn it over so it is seam-side down and its weight will help keep it in place.
• Repeat for each of the tortillas making two layers of enchiladas in the dish, if necessary. Pour any remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle the cotija cheese over the top.
• Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until enchiladas are hot throughout and cheese is melted.

Pozole de Pollo: Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, halved
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken
• 12 cups chicken broth
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/4 pounds canned hominy
• salt
• 3/4 pound white or purple cabbage, for garnish
• 6 medium radishes, for garnish
• 6 to 8 limes, for garnish
• 1/4 cup dried oregano, for garnish
• 2 tablespoons ground ancho chile, for garnish

Directions:

• Cut one half of the onion into 3 pieces.
• In a large soup pot, place onion pieces and chicken into broth and boil gently for about 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
• Skim off and discard any foam that rises to top of cooking liquid.
• Remove chicken and let cool enough to handle safely. Shred or chop chicken into bite-sized pieces.
• Remove pieces of onion from broth and discard them.
• Return chicken to broth and add garlic and cumin.
• Empty hominy into a strainer. Rinse under running water, then drain.
• Add hominy to the broth and salt if necessary.
• Allow to boil gently for 20 to 30 minutes so flavors can meld. 

To prepare garnishes

• Cut cabbage into shreds

• Remove stem and tail of radish then thinly slice each piece.
• Dice other half of onion. Cut limes into halves or quarters
• Place sliced radishes, diced onion, and cut limes on a serving plate or in a bowl.
• Place dried oregano and ground chile pepper into a small serving dish—either together side-by-side in a shallow bowl, or in separate small condiment dishes.
• Before serving, taste for salt.

Red Rice

Ingredients :

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1/3 cup white onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• salt
• 1 serrano chile
• 1 sprig cilantro

Directions

• In a large heavy saucepan, heat the vegetable oil on medium-high heat. Add the rice, onions and garlic. Saute until the rice has an opaque color and is fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• Add the chicken broth, tomato paste and salt. Mix well to incorporate evenly.
• Add the chile and cilantro. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until rice is ready, about 30 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve immediately.