ZARELA TAKES PART IN MEXICAN RESTAURANT WEEK WITH A VERY SPECIAL MENU

The Authentic Flavors of Mexico Foundation and the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture are very pleased to invite you to sample the culinary art of Mexico  through the NEW YORK AUTHENTIC MEXICAN RESTAURANT WEEK. The aim of this project is to spread and expand the Mexican cuisine, its flavors, aromas, and textures, as well as the consumption of Mexican dishes in the world, mainly in the United States and Canada.

Do not miss this experience that will open the doors to some of the finest Mexican cuisine in New York.

These restaurants have been selected and recognized by the Foundation as “Authentic Mexican Restaurants”  


New York Authentic Mexican Restaurant Week
September 8-15 2008
Lunch $25 / Dinner $35
Three course Prix-Fixe
Beverages, gratuities and taxes are not included

For reservations, please contact participating restaurants directly

                          We will be serving some of my favorite dishes

Appetizers Choice of:

Caldo de Huitlacoche con Noquis de Poblano

Chiles en Nogada,-a poblano chile filled with a meat and dried fruit  picadillo, topped with a walnut-cream sauce and pomegranate seeds

Enchiladas de Chorro -pancake-like enchiladas in red chile sauce

Entrees (choice of )

Pollo en Relleno Negro - chicken legs and thighs in the classic Yucatecan black sauce

Salpicon de Res estilo Chihuahua - Shredded beef salad with avocado, diced cheese and chipotle dressing

Pescado con Dos Salsas - Grilled fish with  green and  red sauces

Dessert

We will be pouring  L.A. Cetto wines from Baja California.by the glass or as a flight.

Menu will only be  available for dinner.

Hi, I am trying nixtamalization with my own flour corn grown in the backyard. What is the proportion of ashes to corn? Last night I boiled some ashes with my rainbow corn kernels and let it sit overnight. This morning they were very tender and swelled, very tasty to be popped right into the mouth and when mashed together were super sticky like pizza dough. But I could not tell difference between outer shell and the "flower", it was all very soft, nothing rubbed off and nothing was visible in the water. Any suggestions?

Answer:  It sounds as if the nixtamalization worked perfectly.  I am not familiar with that particular corn but nothing solid falls off.  What occurs is that a gel-like film forms and that is what you need to remove by scrubbing well. 

The proportion of ashes to corn is about 1 one cup ashes to 3 pounds corn.

Question:  There was a recipe in a magazine last November for Tamales de Chile Colorado.  May I have the recipe?

Answer:

Here you go

Sorry for the delay. Our site was hacked and we lost all ou content.  People can be so awful some times.  It's going to cost me a fortune to rebuild the site.

Anyway, here's the recipe.  It's not as difficult as it seems.  You can make the sauce up to three days ahead, cook the meat the day before and combine with the sauce, soak the husks over night and all you have to is make the masa and assemble the day of.

TAMALES CON CHILE COLORADO

Tamales with Red Chile

These festive red tamales are one of my earliest Christmas associations, and not mine alone. Right before Christmas last year, my friend Elisa’s brother came into Zarela to see how I was going to celebrate the holidays. The first thing he asked eas “Are you going to make tamales ?” This was the kind he meant. To a northern Mexican it’s the equivalent of “Have you bought your Christmas tree yet?”
Like most tamales, they are basically an assembly job. The different elements aren’t difficult in themselves but add up to a long marathon if you don’t have many willing hands to form a production line, as we did on the ranch. In fact, you can make any or all of the three major components (the red chile sauce, tamal  dough, and cooked pork) the day before and just do the final assembly when you are ready. You will have the best flavor if you use some of the pork stock to moisten the tamal  dough; if there is none on hand use Caldo de Pollo.

2 cups Salsa de Chile Colorado
1 pound dried corn husks
1 recipe Basic Tamal Dough
3 cups shredded Carne de Puerco Cocida or other shredded cooked pork

Make the salsa and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Place the corn husks in a large, deep bowl, cover with boiling water, and let soak while you prepare the filling.
Prepare the tamal  dough, preferably using pork stock to moisten it. When it is very light and fluffy, beat in ½ cup of the cooled salsa, mixing thoroughly to color the dough evenly.
In a mixing bowl, combine the shredded pork with the remaining red chile sauce.
Fill, fold, and steam the tamales using about ¼ cups of the red masa  mixture for each husk and placing about 1 tablespoon of the shredded pork mixture in the center of the masa.

Click on Read More for the rest of the recipe.