HOLIDAYS & ENTERTAINING: Aaron Sanchez’s Roasted Chile Arbol Salsa

November 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

1 pound plum tomatoes (about 4)

3 to 8 chiles de arbol, depending on how spicy ou like it

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium white onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the broiler.
  2. Put the tomatoes on a baking sheet and broil, turning occasionally, until the tomatoes are nice and charred, 10 to 12 minutes.  Take the tomatoes out, let them cool just until you can handle them, slip off the skins and cut out the tough cores.   Transfer the tomatoes to a big bowl (don’t you dare forget the tomato juice that has leaked out and reduced to awesomeness on the baking sheet.) then roughly chop them.
  3. While the tomatoes are broiling, heat a dry skillet over medium heat and toast the chiles (in batches, if necessary), flipping them over occasionally, until the just begin to smoke, about 5 minutes.  Set them aside in a bowl.
  4. Put the olive oil, onion, and garlic in a saucepan, set it over medium heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions is soft, about 7 minutes.  Add the toasted chiles, tomatoes, and 2 cups water, bring to a simmer, and cook for about 12 minutes, so the flavors come together.  Let it cool a bit.
  5. Carefully transfer the mixture to a blender.  Add the cilantro, salt, and pepper and puree until the mixture is very smooth.
  6. Pour the mixture through a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl.  Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.
  7. Store the salsa in the refrigerator, tightly covered for up to a week, or in the freezer for a month.

 

 

This recipe was originally published in Simple Food, Big Flavor by Aaron Sanchez (Atria Books) and is available for purchase HERE.

Filed Under: Aaron Sanchez, Chef Cocina, Healthy Options, Hosting and Holidays, Make It With Mom!, Recipes, Sauces, Sides Tagged With:

Weekend Cooking: Aaron Sanchez’s Short Ribs With Mole

November 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The classic way to serve mole is to spoon the rich sauce over simply prepared chicken.  But imagine what happens when something as tasty as mole teams up with the ultimate crowd pleaser; absurdly tender beef short ribs, the kind that you can dig into the spoons.

Serves 8

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, chopped

4 pounds bone-in short ribs, trimmed of excess fat

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large white onion, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

5 cups beef stock (low-sodium store-bought is fine)

1 cup mole (see recipe for Mole, My Way by Aaron Sanchez)

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 1 /2 teaspoons whole dried oregano (preferably Mexican), crumbled

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Sesame seeds and radish matchsticks, for garnish

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Heat a large ovenproof pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Cook the bacon until it’s brown and crisp.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a large bowl.
  3. Season the beef with salt and pepper.  Working in batches, brown the short ribs on all sides in the bacon fat in the pot, about 5 minutes per batch.  Transfer the short ribs to the bowl with the bacon and discard most of the fat in the pot.
  4. Add the onions and garlic to the remaining fat in the pot and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes.  Add ½ cup of the stock.  Bring it to a boil, scraping up browned bits in the pot with a wooden spoon.  Add back the beef, bacon, and any accumulated juiced.  Stir in the mole, the rest of the stock, the vinegar, oregano, and 2 teaspoons salt.  Bring to a boil, cover the pot, and put it in the oven. Cook until the meat is falling off the bone, about 2 ½ hours.
  5. Serve it from the pot at the table, garnished with the cilantro, sesame seeds, and radish, spooning it into bowls for your guests.

 

This recipe was originally published in Simple Food, Big Flavor (Atria Books) and is available for purchase HERE.

 

Filed Under: Aaron Sanchez, Chef Cocina, Dinner, Featured Stories Tagged With: ,

Aaron Sanchez’ Perfect Mole

April 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Aaron Sanchez' Perfect MoleChef, restaurateur,and cookbook author, Aaron Sanchez offers us his favorite preparation of mole using chiles, dried fruit, and of course, Mexican chocolate.  This recipe makes a large amount which can keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator or up to three months in the freezer.

AARON SANCHEZ’ PERFECT MOLE
Makes: 1 gallon

Ingredients
½ lb guajillo chiles, (about 32), stemmed, seeded and deveined
½ lb pasilla chiles (bout 24), stemmed, seeded an ddeveined
½ lb ancho chiles (about 16), stemmed, seeded, and deveined
2 medium yellow onions, quartered
4 medium tomatoes, cored and quartered
10 fresh tomatillos (about 1 lb), husked and rinsed
8 large whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup pitted prunes
1 cup dried apricots
½ cup raisins
1 bottle red wine
2 TBSP dried whole oregano (preferably Mexican)
1 TBSP cumin seeds
1 TBSP fennel seeds
2 TBSP black peppercorns
5 whole cloves
2 large canela (Mexican cinnamon) or 4 cinnamon sticks
4 quarts chicken stock (low-sodium)
2 sweet (black) plantains (about ¾ lb)
Vegetable oil
1 oz Mexican chocolate
5 corn tortillas, charred over an open flame until blackened in spots
Salt

Read Related: Kitchen Savvy: Get to Know Sofrito

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 500°.
  2. Spread the guajillo, pasilla, and ancho chiles on a baking sheet an dput in the oven.  Cook fo 2 minutes, or until they are fragrant.  Take the pan out of the oven (leave the oven on), transfer the chilies to a large bowl or pot, and pour in enough water to cover them.  Let the chiles soak until they are soft, about 45 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, put the onions, tomatoes, tomatillos, and garlic on a clean baking sheet and roast in the oven until the vegetables are slightly charred, about 7 minutes.  Take the pan out of the oven and set it aside.    Combine the prunes, apricots, and raisins with the red wine in a medium saucepan.  Bring it to a strong simmer and cook until the fruit has absorbed most of the wine and the remaining liquid is syrupy, about 10 minutes.  Set aside.
  4. Heat a dry medium skillet over medium-low heat.  Sprinkle in the oregano, cumin, fennel, peppercorns, cloves and canela.  Cook, stirring constantly so as not to burn the spices, until they just begin to smoke.  The moment the do, transfer them to a spice ginder and grind to a fine powder.  Drain the chiles and discard the soaking water.  Combine the chiles, vegetables, fruits and ground spices in a very large heavy-bottomed pot.  Pour in the chicken stock, gring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, until the flavors meld.
  5. Meanwhile, peel the plantains (just as you peel a banana) and slice them crosswise into 1-inch thick pieces.  Heat 3 inches of oil in a deep skillet over medium heat and fry the plantain slices until they’re golden.  Scoop them out with a slotted spoon or a skimmer and add them to the mole pot along with the chocolate and tortillas.  Simmer for 15 minutes more.
  6. Remove the pot from the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature.  Puree the mole in batches in a blender until it’s very smooth.  Season with salt to taste.  Store in airtight containers.

 

Simple Food Big FlavorThis recipe was originally published in Simple Food, Big Flavor (Simon & Schuster) and is available for purchase Here.

 

Learn more about Aaron Sanchez.

Filed Under: Aaron Sanchez, Chef Cocina