Making Mexican at home

[heidih]

What are the other ingredients I would need,for example?

Lior - there is a topic here about a basic kitchen pantry for Mexican cuisine.

[Lior]

Thank you Heidi. I read that post before and now again as I forgot about it. There are so many names there, and I don't really know what they are. I guess I will have to start doing some research!!

[Jaymes]

Thank you Heidi. I read that post before and now again as I forgot about it. There are so many names there, and I don't really know what they are. I guess I will have to start doing some research!!

Not familiar with your town, but I have lived several places where Mexican ingredients are very hard to come by. Usually I can find a Mexican-themed restaurant there, though. The food is usually not particularly authentic or good, but I've chatted up the owners, and managed to add a few things for me to their orders from their suppliers.

[Lior]

After a bit of research I decided to start with making my own corn based tortillas. I went to the health food shop, the supermarkets etc to look for "masa harina"-fine ground corn flour processed with lime... No such luck. If I dont find any, can I replace with regular corn meal or the fine powdery white corn flour?

[andiesenji]

After a bit of research I decided to start with making my own corn based tortillas. I went to the health food shop, the supermarkets etc to look for "masa harina"-fine ground corn flour processed with lime... No such luck. If I dont find any, can I replace with regular corn meal or the fine powdery white corn flour?

Sorry, you can't make tortillas from regular corn meal.

It's not the same thing. Masa harina has been nixtamalized which changes the properties of the corn, making the protein and other nutrients easier to digest.

A friend in Alabama says she has had some luck with grinding canned hominy (similar process) and pressing it in a colander and drying it then grinding it again but it is a time-consuming project and I don't think she is truly pleased with the results.

Some friends who visited Israel a couple of years ago found a Mexican restaurant not too far from Tel Aviv and they sent me the URL to pass on to other folks who had planned a trip over there and who keep kosher and this restaurant is so. You might phone them and ask if they can recommend a source.

Amigos Mexican Grille

(They tried another Mexican restaurant in Jerusalem which was not even remotely authentic with "tortillas" which were sort of like pita.)

[Darienne]

Perhaps you could try flour tortillas. They are authentic in the areas of Mexico where they grow flour, mainly in the state of Sonora.

Then you could get on to the main dishes, etc.

[Lior]

Thank you both very much!! Yes, I read all about the nixtamalized thing-very amazing. I know that when the Maya made their cacao drink they often mixed it with this masa harina to make it thick and this process makes the corn healthier and all. AMazes me how ancient peoples find these things out...

ANyhow, I will also check with the specialty stores for cooks-none are near me which is a hassle, but do-able at least...An hour's drive, which is not the end of the world!

I wanted corn as then I can eat it as well...

Thanks!XX

Edited November 9, 2011 by Lior (log)

[andiesenji]

Lior, you can do a lot more with masa than just tortillas. It is used in tamales, a significant portion of them.

I use it in tamale pie, which is an American dish but leans heavily on Mexican traditional flavors.

There are also the thicker, sopes, which can be filled with almost anything. Very versatile. Sopes recipe and method.

I think they were mentioned earlier in this thread.

[EatNopales]

This wasn't quite at home, but it was at a friend's house. A local Mexican restaurant owner came and gave a hands-on class in making a variety of the less complicated Mexican dishes. She is from Guadalajara originally but now cooks for small town Canadians. (just to give it all some perspective)

It was a wonderful day for me. Made my first corn tortillas. Managed to burn my finger also. A warrior's wound.

We made the following:

* Tilapia ceviche with tostadas

* Ensalada de nopal

* Cochinita pibil

* Hand-made Corn tortillas/tostadas

* Sopes/Chalupas

* Flan de caramelo

* Horchata

I made some palanquetas to bring for a little gift and they were well and enthusiastically received. Also brought home some 'doggy' containers for DH's supper.

Congrats on the warrior wound! How was the Cochinita versus your prior attempts?

[EatNopales]

After a bit of research I decided to start with making my own corn based tortillas. I went to the health food shop, the supermarkets etc to look for "masa harina"-fine ground corn flour processed with lime... No such luck. If I dont find any, can I replace with regular corn meal or the fine powdery white corn flour?

Sorry, you can't make tortillas from regular corn meal.

It's not the same thing. Masa harina has been nixtamalized which changes the properties of the corn, making the protein and other nutrients easier to digest.

A friend in Alabama says she has had some luck with grinding canned hominy (similar process) and pressing it in a colander and drying it then grinding it again but it is a time-consuming project and I don't think she is truly pleased with the results.

Some friends who visited Israel a couple of years ago found a Mexican restaurant not too far from Tel Aviv and they sent me the URL to pass on to other folks who had planned a trip over there and who keep kosher and this restaurant is so. You might phone them and ask if they can recommend a source.

Amigos Mexican Grille

(They tried another Mexican restaurant in Jerusalem which was not even remotely authentic with "tortillas" which were sort of like pita.)

You can't make tortillas from Hominy... but I did recently make Hominy Cakes from some Pozole leftovers based on a recipe in the CONACULTA series.. and those were pretty delicious & simple.... grind the hominy, mix in an egg & a tablespoon of masa harina per cup.. add in some leftover proteins and/or cheese... panfry or roast on a cookie sheet. They are very nice with a Guajillo sauce.

[EatNopales]

After a bit of research I decided to start with making my own corn based tortillas. I went to the health food shop, the supermarkets etc to look for "masa harina"-fine ground corn flour processed with lime... No such luck. If I dont find any, can I replace with regular corn meal or the fine powdery white corn flour?

Sorry, you can't make tortillas from regular corn meal.

It's not the same thing. Masa harina has been nixtamalized which changes the properties of the corn, making the protein and other nutrients easier to digest.

A friend in Alabama says she has had some luck with grinding canned hominy (similar process) and pressing it in a colander and drying it then grinding it again but it is a time-consuming project and I don't think she is truly pleased with the results.

Some friends who visited Israel a couple of years ago found a Mexican restaurant not too far from Tel Aviv and they sent me the URL to pass on to other folks who had planned a trip over there and who keep kosher and this restaurant is so. You might phone them and ask if they can recommend a source.

Amigos Mexican Grille

(They tried another Mexican restaurant in Jerusalem which was not even remotely authentic with "tortillas" which were sort of like pita.)

You can't make tortillas from Hominy... but I did recently make Hominy Cakes from some Pozole leftovers based on a recipe in the CONACULTA series.. and those were pretty delicious & simple.... grind the hominy, mix in an egg & a tablespoon of masa harina per cup.. add in some leftover proteins and/or cheese... panfry or roast on a cookie sheet. They are very nice with a Guajillo sauce.

[EatNopales]

Perhaps you could try flour tortillas. They are authentic in the areas of Mexico where they grow flour, mainly in the state of Sonora.

Then you could get on to the main dishes, etc.

Coincidentally wheat flour tortillas were invented in the late 16th Century by Sephardic Jews in what is now Monterrey

[kalypso]

You can't make tortillas from Hominy... but I did recently make Hominy Cakes from some Pozole leftovers based on a recipe in the CONACULTA series.. and those were pretty delicious & simple.... grind the hominy, mix in an egg & a tablespoon of masa harina per cup.. add in some leftover proteins and/or cheese... panfry or roast on a cookie sheet. They are very nice with a Guajillo sauce.

Which CONACULTA book EN? That sounds pretty good.

BTW, did I tell you I found amaranth flour when I was in Veracruz? In Xico, to be exact. Bought some, but haven't worked with it yet. It's a very fine, light and airy grind, akin to cake flour.

[Lior]

Hi

We cannot get hominy here at all!!! I will look up what tamales are...

In the meantime I found a store called Tres Pesos that carries all sorts of Mexican products-including the masa harina and corn flour Minsa or Minessa or something like that (??)in extra white-whatever this flour is... SO I will look up a few recipes and then go there!! Yaay!!

[Darienne]

It was a wonderful day for me. Made my first corn tortillas. Managed to burn my finger also. A warrior's wound.

We made the following:

* Tilapia ceviche with tostadas

* Ensalada de nopal

* Cochinita pibil

* Hand-made Corn tortillas/tostadas

* Sopes/Chalupas

* Flan de caramelo

* Horchata

Congrats on the warrior wound! How was the Cochinita versus your prior attempts?

I have to admit I liked mine better. Mine was the Robert Rodriguez recipe. I don't know where hers came from. (Not suggesting that his is authentic or that he is a chef or anything.) Mine was nippier. And lime. She used vinegar. Mine had more ingredients and was slow cooked. Hers was not. But then I always tend to like my own food better. What the hey! I like what I like.

Thanks for the information about the flour tortillas.

[EatNopales]

You can't make tortillas from Hominy... but I did recently make Hominy Cakes from some Pozole leftovers based on a recipe in the CONACULTA series.. and those were pretty delicious & simple.... grind the hominy, mix in an egg & a tablespoon of masa harina per cup.. add in some leftover proteins and/or cheese... panfry or roast on a cookie sheet. They are very nice with a Guajillo sauce.

Which CONACULTA book EN? That sounds pretty good.

BTW, did I tell you I found amaranth flour when I was in Veracruz? In Xico, to be exact. Bought some, but haven't worked with it yet. It's a very fine, light and airy grind, akin to cake flour.

Sorry I don't remember exactly which volume (I borrow them from the local library) but it was one of the Guerrero issues.

[EatNopales]

You can't make tortillas from Hominy... but I did recently make Hominy Cakes from some Pozole leftovers based on a recipe in the CONACULTA series.. and those were pretty delicious & simple.... grind the hominy, mix in an egg & a tablespoon of masa harina per cup.. add in some leftover proteins and/or cheese... panfry or roast on a cookie sheet. They are very nice with a Guajillo sauce.

Which CONACULTA book EN? That sounds pretty good.

BTW, did I tell you I found amaranth flour when I was in Veracruz? In Xico, to be exact. Bought some, but haven't worked with it yet. It's a very fine, light and airy grind, akin to cake flour.

Hola... how does it compare to the stuff from Bob's Red Mill? I was just gifted a book written by Sebastian Verti where he has an entire section devoted to Amaranth... it seems that La Costena (which sponsored the book) sells Amaranth pasta.

[EatNopales]

Hi

We cannot get hominy here at all!!! I will look up what tamales are...

In the meantime I found a store called Tres Pesos that carries all sorts of Mexican products-including the masa harina and corn flour Minsa or Minessa or something like that (??)in extra white-whatever this flour is... SO I will look up a few recipes and then go there!! Yaay!!

Minsa... it is one of the major mills of Masa Harina (Maseca being the other giant)

I am not surprised Tres Pesos exists in Israel... I have heard several Jewish-Mexican celebrities talk about going abroad to Israel to reconnect with roots etc., whine about how much they missed the food after a few weeks.

[Lior]

great! Thanks for the insider info- just waiting to have some free time to go there!!!

[rancho_gordo]

Hola... how does it compare to the stuff from Bob's Red Mill? I was just gifted a book written by Sebastian Verti where he has an entire section devoted to Amaranth... it seems that La Costena (which sponsored the book) sells Amaranth pasta.

I've also tried a faro pasta. Sometimes, wheat is popular for a reason.

Not that it matters, but that Verti book was published a few times and Costeña just slapped their logo on a special edition. I have another Spanish and English version, neither with the sponsorship.

[rancho_gordo]

I had a surprise supply of really fresh, organic Mexican pumpkin seeds so i've been playing around with pepita recipes. What a great sauce! I mostly used the Mole Verde from Alicia Gironella's Larousse de la Cocina mexicana and I think I'm smitten.

The sauce is basically roasted pepitas, tomatillos, garlic, onion, radish greens, romaine leaves, epazote, parsley, chiles. She calls for sesame seeds but I didn't have any.

I served this for lunch yesterday, with plain rice and a salad of nopales, tomatoes and queso fresco.

[Lior]

Well it is a beginning. So I drove to Holon, where there is a store called Tres Pesos, behind an open vegetable store, and it was pouring blessed rain!

It is on the second floor of some storage house or something and consists of a few quaint rooms- one main one and a few small offices. There are some sombreros and baskets and mexican looking things and a with a few shelves and a lovely variety of products, most of which I have no idea what they are. The owner is very charming and chatted to me for at least 20 minutes and gave me tips and all. On Thursday there will a Maya fair at the docks in Yafo and a chef from Mexico will also be there. I would so love to go but can't!!!!!! SO here is what I did/learned today: (Oh, I have NO IDEA if I did things right-thickness, thinness etc...)

[Lior]

final result:

[Lior]

I am sure I did some wrong things. how does it look and what should I do/change?

[Darienne]

It looks great! Hooray for you!!!!