Tortitas de Atun (Mexican Tuna Fritters)

My mother calls these "Tortitas de Atun". I believe "Tortitas" would refer to anything that's round and "patty" like, however me and my Tata (grandmother) refer to them as "Frituras de Tuna" direct translation would be "Fritters of Tuna" but it is my mother's recipe, and so I'll respect her word choice and name the recipe "Tortitas de Atun" for this post.

The Tuna fritters are delicious, fluffy, spongy, eggy, sinful (because I must admit they are somewhat greasy) easy and quick to prepare fritters that we will make in my household when we want to make a really quick meal it literally takes less that 10-15 minutes to put together and another 10-15 to fry them. You can eat them with any hot sauce you have in the fridge, and some corn tortillas. If you wish a simple salad can be served with them or simply served with rice (probably not traditionally Mexican but heck being raised pre-dominantly in a Cuban food culture rice just feels right with everything)

Ingredients:
-4 egg whites
-4 egg yolks
-1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
-1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste if needed)
-1 teaspoon ground black pepper (more or less to taste)
-1 small roma tomato minced very finely (pulp, seeds removed, only the firm flesh no liquid)
-1/2 onion minced very finely
-3 cloves of garlic mashed to a paste or minced very finely
-1/2 a bunch of Cilantro cleaned pat dried, finely minced (I had very little left in the fridge so I used less)
-2 cans of tuna packed in water
-oil to pan-fry (I used canola)

Directions:
(1) Seperate egg whites from egg yolks. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff and white, they should form peeks when you turn off and pull the egg beater out, when stiff beat in egg yolks, add flour, season with salt and pepper (careful not to over do the salt the canned tuna is salty already).

(2) Gently fold in onion, garlic, tomato, cilantro, and canned drained tuna.

(3) Now that your batter is formed, heat oil on medium high to high heat (not to high it will burn the fritters) when oil drop batter in by large spoonfuls to form patties, and let them fry until golden brown on one side while spooning over hot oil on them, when golden brown flip with spatula and let brown on other side.

(4) Drain them, and place them in a large plate with paper towels or paper bags to drain excess oil.
PLEASE NOTE:
-Do not expect these to be firm, super crunchy fritters, these are somewhat crispy on the outside, fully cooked inside but are tender and fluffy from the eggs, like fluffy scrambled eggs.

Huevos Rancheros (Mexican Ranch Style Eggs?)

Don't know a proper english translation but it's basically scrambled eggs with minced tomato, onion, chili pepper, seasoned with salt and pepper, topped with cilantro

My mother say's there are several versions of "Huevos Rancheros" depending where your from in Mexico, your preference, etc. she say's some cooks will sautee the tomato, chile pepper, and cilantro with salt and pepper then set aside on a plate, then fry a tortilla place on top, then cook the eggs however they prefer and place on top like a layer thing, etc.

Ingredients:
-6 eggs (beaten with a small splash of milk)
-1/2 onion minced
-1 green chile pepper minced (we use Serrano or Jalapeño)
-1 small roma tomato minced (or 1/2 a big tomato)
-salt and pepper to taste
-1/2 a bunch more or less to taste of minced cilantro leaves (washed of course)
-oil to cook (whatever you want traditionally lard is used, my mom likes to use olive oil for most things though you can use any neutral flavored oil to)

Directions:
(1)Heat a pan on medium high heat with oil or lard, when oil is hot enough add minced onion and chili pepper, sautee until onions are lightly caramelized and a bit translucent (shouldn't take forever maybe 10 minutes at MOST)

(2)Add roma tomato and continue to cook until tomato releases juices and cooks down a bit (a couple minutes) season with salt and pepper to taste.

(3)Add beaten eggs swoosh around to mix, let it as the egg cooks from edges just slide it with spatula so raw egg can flow and cook, cook until eggs are fully cooked, you can add more salt and pepper to taste if you want but usually my mom heavely adds it prior to adding eggs so the sautee is salty enough to flavor eggs.

(4)Now turn off heat and top with minced cilantro.

(5)Serve however you'd like, there's no rules to how to enjoy it :) traditionally though maybe some corn tortillas, refried beans, hot sauces on the side, and a hot coffee with milk. I wasn't to hungry so I just ate a little with 2 tortillas and a glass of milk.

NOTE:
-My mother told me some people like to add chunks of red bell pepper to this, etc her preference is not to do that.

Huevos Con Longaniza (Eggs with "Longaniza"?)

This is a very simple Mexican egg scramble with "longaniza", onion, garlic, and chili pepper seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.

Mexican pork longaniza is simply called "Longaniza de Puerco" is a type of sausage that is fresh, and can be removed from casing and crumbled I am not sure what it is seasoned with but I believe it has dried "Chile California" maybe cumin, allspice, pepper, etc. not so sure. My aunt who is from Mexico knows how to make this type of sausage from scratch. I'll have to ask to her and make some., she makes the filling and just uses it as needed in certain dishes.

The Mexican "Longaniza" is not the same as the "Mexican Chorizo", the Longaniza is more heavely seasoned, the chorizo is a more pale color and is very very fresh (if you get it at the right places and are observant of what you get) it is also more greasy.

Mexican Chorizo get's a bad reputation for being "overly" greasy, I must say it really depends what brand you buy, and where you buy it, the one I buy is from "Vallarta" (a chain of of stores that sells mostly Latin, Central, and South American products, it cater's mostly to Mexicans) at that store I can find the chorizo fresh, it's not branded I don't know if they make it on site but they have these huge ropes they cut off of when you ask for Chorizo at the deli & creamerie within the store.

A lot of the pre-packaged brands are kinda gross to me, they are toooo greasy, runny, fall apart easily etc. and overly salted, if you are using a pre-packaged one that is like that, be sure that when you fry it in the oil to drain some of the fat.

Ingredients:
-6 eggs
-1 Mexican Pork Longaniza
-1/2 onion minced
-2 cloves garlic minced (optional)
-1 green chili pepper, serrano or jalapeño pepper is what we use (optional)
-salt to taste
-black pepper to taste
-oil for cooking

Directions:
(1)Beat eggs with some salt and pepper (if you wish you can add a small splash of whole milk),

(2)Heat a little bit of oil on medium high heat, remove casing from chorizo and sautee until lightly browned and it renders a bit of fat. (the one I used was pretty lean), now add onion, chili pepper, until onions are a bit translucent (maybe 5 minutes?), when they are add garlic, stir until fragrant (1 minute or so) then add beaten eggs and slide with a spatula, kind of like making a tortilla when it curdles and get's firmer flip in sections until cooked and your done.

(3)Serve with whatever sides you want (like I said typically refried beans, cream or fresh cheese, some type of salsa, and corn tortillas) or you can use it as a filling for corn tortillas to make "Tacos" also you can make a "breakfast burrito" by using it as a filling for a Burrito (made with a big flour tortilla)

PLEASE NOTE:
-This can be made using Mexican chorizo in place of "longaniza" you can prepare refried beans with Mexican chorizo or longaniza, just use lard in place of oil, skip the garlic, chili pepper, and black pepper and fry the chorizo or longaniza and add onion then mash in the beans.

-Here is the basic refried bean recipe:

http://nathanscomida.blogspot.com/2008/12/frijoles-pintos-fritos-refried-pinto.html

Carne Guisada Con Chile En Rajas (Beef Sautee with Roasted Pasilla Peppers)

IMPORTANT PLEASE READ BEFORE RECIPE:
"Chile En Rajas" is used in a variety of Mexican dishes, it is fresh Pasilla Chiles sometimes also called "Chile Poblano" it resembles a green bell pepper in size and color except it is more sharp looking and is mildly smokey and spicy with no hint of sweetness. The peppers are fireroasted, covered in a plastic bag to sweat then peeled, seeded, and cut into long strands. This is called "Chile En Rajas"

My mother learned to make a dish in which beef is sauteed with aromatics then tossed with the "Chile En Rajas" she didn't learn this from her mother though, she takes care of an elderly Mexican lady sometimes and the lady told my mother how to cook it for her, my mother liked it and introduced it to our household.

You can see another way to prepare these chiles on my other blog post for "Chiles Rellenos" here:

http://nathanscomida.blogspot.com/search?q=Chile+Relleno

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced and cut into pieces steak (you can use sirloin, etc.)
-1 onion chopped
-2 tomatoes (fireroasted, peeled and chopped)
-3 cloves garlic minced finely
-1 teaspoon ground cumin
-1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
-1-2 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
-5 fresh Pasilla/ Poblano Chiles (fireroasted, peeled, seeded and cut into long strands)

Directiona:
(1)Fire roast "Chiles Pasillas" by placing them on the flame on the stove while until all or most parts are blackened you can rotate it or move it around with some tongs aka "pinsas" (in Spanish)

(2)Put in a plastic bag 10 minutes (this well help the skin come of easier because of the steam)
(3)Get a wet paper towel on your hand, lay the chile on your hand and peel of all the outer skin by hand. Make a small opening, remove seeds and core then slice into thick long slices. Set aside

(4)Now in a "comal" (griddle) put aluminum foil and fire roast the tomato until blackened on some sides, let cool a bit then peel and dice. Now also have all your other stuff prepared
(5)Now heat a pan on high heat for a little bit, now lower to medium high add 1 tablespoon of lard and melt it let it heat and brown the meat on one side for about 5-8 minutes during that time sprinkle with salt, cumin, and pepper, do not touch meat let it brown and the juices released evaporate.
(6)Now add another tablespoon of lard and sautee onions until translucent, add garlic sautee until fragrant, add diced tomatoes and sautee until they release some juice, now add the fireroasted cut into strands chile pasillas, fold in gently, let it cook a couple minutes, taste for salt, add a little more if necessary then toss gently and your done.
(7)Serve with rice and beans or tortillas and beans or you can use it as a taco filling.
P.S. I know what I am about to say is not "traditional" or "authentic" but for my reader's who may not be able to get a hold of Pasilla/ Poblano Chiles that are fresh maybe green bell pepper would work fine in it's place even though the taste will be different but can end up with nice results for sure

ALSO you don't have to use lard I just used it because it's more traditional, but you can use any oil you like, I have preference for extra-virgin olive oil for anything, I love the taste and it's good for you.