Espinazo de Puerco en Chile Colorado (Pork Neck Bones in Red Chile)

 "Espinazo en Chile Colorado" is a soup composed of pork neck bones swimming in a rich reddish stock who's color comes from flavorful dried Guajillo or California chilies, thickened with corn masa dough. It is served hot topped with minced onion, cilantro, limes, a side of warm corn tortillas and your choice of hot sauce or red salsa. If you think this dish is going to be fiery hot and spicy fear not. The soup is actually extremely mild if you use "Guajillo" chilies, and completely absent of spiciness if you use "Chile California" (which are Anaheim peppers that when ripened red are dried).

My mother remembers enjoying this dish often growing up Zacapú, Michoacan, Mexico which was shared to her through one of her neighbors. Growing up she always liked helping around her friends mother's kitchens, and learning a thing or two from them. To this day it remains one of her favorite and most memorable dishes :)

Main Ingredients (to boil and simmer neck bones):
-2 1/2 lbs pork neck bones (washed well under running water, my mother likes to soak it quickly in water with salt and vinegar, swoosh it around for a minute then drain, and rinsing again under cold water)
 -8-9 cups water
-1/2 onion
-2 garlic cloves
-2 bay leaves
-1 teaspoon dried oregano
-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
-1 heaping tablespoon chicken bouillon powder or beef bouillon
-salt to taste (I used about 1 tsp. you can use less or more)

Finishing Ingredients:
-7 dried guajillo or California chilies
-2 roma tomatoes (optional, if you have it use it, if not don't worry I didn't use it)
-2-3 raw garlic cloves
-1/2 cup of prepared corn masa dough (you could use 1/2 cup of dry maseca that has been mixed with water to a dough consistency)
-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (like the spice or 2 whole ones that you grind freshly)

To garnish and serve:
-minced fresh onion
-finely chopped cilantro

Directions:
(1) In a large pot, bring all the main ingredients to a boil over high heat, give a good stir, cover and simmer on medium low for 1 1/2- 2 hrs until pork neck bones are very tender.

(2) Meanwhile get the dried peppers, remove the stem, cut open and take out veins and seeds, rinse them under water, and put in a small pot if you want to add tomatoes, get two small tomatoes, cut them in half and add them to the pot together with the chilies. Cover with water, and bring to a boil over high heat, then turn off and allow to rest and soak for atleast 15- 20 minutes. Set aside.

  Afterwards in a blender blend the chilies with cumin, black pepper, cloves, raw garlic cloves, and masa dough along with some of the soaking liquid. Set this blended mixture aside.

(3) Now when pork neck bones are tender, remove the neck bones from the pot, and strain the stock into another pot through a strainer to get rid of any grit and pieces of things in the stock, that way you will have a clearer stock, and end up with a smooth result.

(4) Afterwards add the pork neck bones back to the pot with the stock that has been strained and bring back to a boil. Add all the contents that you blended in the blender, but strain it as you add it in.

Allow to come to a rolling boil while stirring occasionally, and when it does allow to boil an additional 10 minutes so the corn masa that was blended thickens the soup and cooks through.

(5) It should look like this after 10 minutes.

A close up

Here it is served before topping with a little bit of fresh minced onion, cilantro and lime along with some hot sauce. Don't forget to serve with a side of warm corn tortillas.

Please Note: This is not a super thick stew, it is more like a soupy gravy, if you want it thicker you could add more corn masa dough I would say up to a cup, but do not over do it, the next day it will be even thicker. 

ALSO if you like this recipe and the flavors of Chile Guajillo and California you might also enjoy my blog posts and recipes for the following recipes all of which feature those dried peppers by clicking on the titles of the following:

"Trozos de Res in Chile Rojo" (Beef in red chili),

"Costillas de Puerco en Chile Colorado Con Nopales" (Pork Ribs in Red Chili with Cactus),

"Tortitas de Camaron en Chile Colorado Con Nopales" (Dry Shrimp Fritters in Red Chili with Cactus), "Chilaquiles" (Fried Tortilla Strips in Red Chili),

"Enchiladas Estilo Michoacan" (Red Enchiladas Michoacan-style),

"Menudo" (Red Tripe Stew),  

"Pozole Rojo" (Red Pork and Hominy Stew)

Enchiladas Suizas (Enchiladas in a Tomatillo Cream Sauce)

"Enchiladas Suizas" is something very new to me. I had seen this style of enchilada presented in cooking videos I subscribe to (cooking videos from people I consider talented and smart Mexican home cooks). The word "Suizas" would throw me off because it means "Swiss" so I decided to do what anyone in this modern age does I "googled it" turns out this style of Enchilada is from  a restaurant called Sanbornes Cafe located in Mexico City.

 It is essentially green enchiladas, except that the green tomatillo sauce used has sour cream incorporated into it. How the name Swiss came to be I have no idea (maybe some versions use Swiss cheese or because it has dairy?). Anyways since I am a huge fan of sour cream and the likes regardless of calories it all worked out (hey I work out enough okay end of story). After seeing other recipes this is my version and adaptation of preparing these enchiladas, I will add some notes on the bottom that may help you customize or tweak the recipe a bit to your liking plus some tips I found helpful...

Oh also I wanted to add that my family LOVED the Enchiladas! So did I, and they were a HIT! At first my mother frowned a bit at the idea of  enchiladas that go in the oven (she's had them in the past but considers them an "American" thing not Mexican, because growing up where my mom was born and raised in Zacapú, Michoacan, Enchiladas are dipped in the sauce green or red or mole or whatever, then lightly fried after dipped in sauce, filled, rolled up, and served fresh hot with queso fresco, lettuce and other delicious toppings... I have that version of enchiladas posted on my blog if interested see recipe for "Enchiladas Estilo Michoacan" ).... however my mom didn't deny that she loved these enchiladas, and it was also practical to just have a big tray of delicious warm enchiladas, and nice to have everyone sitting together as opposed to me or her having to cook the stove top variations at the moment people eat it.

...any who here is the recipe :)

Ingredients for sauce:
-2 lbs tomatillos
-2 serrano chilies (a type of green spicy chili)
-1/2 onion
-1 bunch of cilantro (washed well I use the stems as well)
-2 cloves of garlic
-1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
-salt to taste
-ground black pepper to taste
-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional I like the tough it gives it)
-approximately 1 cup of Mexican cream (you can use regular sour cream)
-approximately 4 cups water or chicken stock

Main ingredients:
-24 corn tortillas (NOT FLOUR TORTILLAS)
-1/4 cup more or less cooking oil (to lightly fry tortillas, makes them pliable and stronger so they won't turn mushy in the sauce)

Ingredients for the filling:
-shredded chicken (I used 2 leftover roasted chicken breasts, if you don't have that you can boil some chicken breasts with salt, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, and pepper with enough water to barely cover, and when tender, cool down, drain and shred the breasts)

-I also made some filling them with refried beans (a good idea for a delicious vegetarian option I have the recipe for refried beans on my blog or feel free to use any other you may like see recipe for "Refried Beans" if your vegetarian or afraid of using lard to prepare them use olive oil or another kind of oil)

 Ingredients for topping:
-shredded white cheese we used Monterrey Jack (I know it's an American type of cheese but it sure as hell is delicious) you can use "Queso Oaxaca" or "Manchego" cheese any really good white melting cheese that you like. The amount you use depends on how much cheese you like, I put enough to cover the enchiladas lightly on top, about 1/2 lb.

Directions for sauce:
(1) If tomatillos are large cut in half, throw them in a pot with chile serrano, and onion. cover with some water (approximately 4 cups) or chicken stock, bring to a boil and let cook on high until tomatillos change color (about 5 minutes)

(2) Now scoop out tomatillos, chilies, and onions and throw them in a blender RESERVE the cooking liquid in a seperate container or bowl you will use it to thin out the sauce and blend as needed, along with spices, raw garlic, and cilantro. Put enough liquid to blend until smooth, then add the sour cream and continue to blend until well incorporated.

(3) Now that your sauce is ready, heat the same pot where you made the sauce until it's really hot, add some oil and when oil is hot add the sauce you blended and let it simmer for 10 minutes so all the flavors mend, then remove from heat, mean while you can do other stuff... I forgot to take pictures of the sauce simmering unfortunately :(

(4) Set sauce aside

Directions for softening tortillas:
(1) Heat a small pan with oil on high heat, and lightly fry each tortilla on both sides just enough for it to puff slightly and make some movement but don't over do it, you just want to soften them, if you over fry them they will turn HARD you do not want that, make sure the oil is hot though and they bubble when you add them in.

... I know this seems REDUNDANT and greasy etc. BUT if you skip this step you will get mushy enchiladas that won't be able to hold their shape, and look not appealing, the frying makes them flexible and prevents them from falling apart and helps maintain texture. You can pat dry them with paper towels after the frying however so it's not so greasy.

... use tongs or a spatula or however you feel comfortable to fry and set aside.

Directions for assembling enchiladas:
(1) Have you fillings ready and on hand, also your softened lightly fried tortillas, and pre- heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

(2) Get the baking dishes you are using to bake the enchiladas, and put enough sauce on the bottom of the dishes to lightly coat the bottom of the dish.

(3) Put filling in tortilla, and roll like a taquito, here are some pictures to help you.

we made one tray of bean ones and another of chicken ones.

carefully arrange in baking dish, and pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas (I like to lade the sauce over the to coat evenly) top with shredded cheese.

(4) Bake in oven at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes, the only reason to bake them is to melt the cheese, so they don't need to be that long in the oven. They should look like the picture below after baked :)

Use a spatula to serve

We enjoyed them with sour cream, guacamole, a red salsa, and lettuce on the side. Enjoy!

NOTES:
(1) Enchiladas aren't typically "swimming in sauce, they have some sauce, not too much not too little, so if your looking for something swimming in sauce this is not it.

(2) Another way to prepare these is with the same ingredients, BUT you can make these at the moment people are gonna eat them, by simply stuff the lightly fried tortillas when they are hot right away, arranging them on the persons plates and ladling the sauce over, then topping with fresh crumbled cheese since you wouldn't throw it in the oven if you opted for this option.

(3) Don't be afraid to thin out the sauce, it will thicken when it goes in the oven, and tortilla will soak most of it.

Salpicon de Pollo (Avocado Chicken Salad)

Salpicon in Mexican Cuisine is a salad made of shredded meat, finely diced vegetables & herbs (onion, tomato, avocado, green chilies, & cilantro) dressed in lime or vinegar, salt, and a generous drizzle of olive oil. It is served on "Tostadas" which are crispy round fried tortillas (think of it as a large round tortilla chip) topped with shredded lettuce, your favorite salsas, and Mexican cream if desired. 

Salpicon is typically made with shredded beef, but I have chosen to make it with chicken breast, because it's well lighter, healthier, and it's what I had on hand. Also there are a lot of variations (some have cubes of cheese, some olives, capers, strands of spicy pickled jalapenos and carrots and even some include green beans) as you can see it really depends on the preference of the cook.

My version is very simple chopped tomatoes, onions, jalapeno peppers, and LOTS of diced avocado dressed in white wine vinegar (lime can be used in a pinch), salt to taste, and fruity extra-virgin olive oil. Think of it as a chopped guacamole with shredded chicken (beef can be used too, or for non meat eaters, canned tuna or canned salmon would be delicious) really you can be creative use what you like (even chopped celery would probably be good in here) however I do not recommend using chopped cucumbers or lettuce mixed into the salad because they will turn soggy and release liquid when left to cool in the fridge or overnight.

Well here's the recipe :)

BEFORE YOU BEGIN you have to boil, and then cool and shredd chicken breast here's how:
(1) Wash chicken breast in running cold water, cover with water in a large pot, add 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder, a piece of onion, and 2 cloves garlic. Bring to a boil and boil 30 minutes until tender, remove, cool, and shred.

It is now ready to use for the salad. The same can be done with beef but boil 1 to 1 1/2 hours (use flank steak or beef sold for shredding)

Ingredients:
-2 large cooked chicken breasts or 1 - 1 1/2 lb. flank/ beef (cooked, cooled, and shredded)

-6 roma tomatoes diced
-1 medium onion minced
-1 bunch of cilantro minced
-3 fresh jalapeno peppers finely minced (more or less to taste, you may omit if you can't stand the heat or de-vein/ remove the inside and only use the green flesh lol.)
-5-6 medium hass avocadoes diced
-1/4- 1/3 cup white wine vinegar or lime juice(depends how tangy/ sour you want it, use less if you like)
-1/4 cup olive oil (more or less to your preference)
-salt to taste (at least 1 teaspoon)
-black pepper to taste (optional)

Directions:
(1) Mix all ingredients on the ingredient list together

(2) Your salad is now complete  (after mixing it in a bowl I transferred to a serving dish it can be eaten right away or put in the fridge a couple of hours to let the flavors meld)

 Ingredients to serve 
-Tostadas (you buy these pre-made or you deep-fry corn tortillas and drain)
-1/2 a head of washed ice berg lettuce finely shredded (julienned), kept in ice water to prevent wilting or drying
-Mexican cream (just thin out regular sour cream if you cannot get it with a little milk to a thick but smoother cream)
-your favorite hot sauces/ salsa (I used a chile de arbol sauce, and a raw spicy green avocado based salsa which I'll post in the future, you can see other salsa recipes on my blog on the left hand index under "Mexican Salsas"

I didn't take a picture of the salad assembled on the tostada, because I forgot but here's the table set up, I like to spread some of the cream on the tostada, then top it with shredded lettuce and salsa

 P.S. if you like this post you may enjoy another post i have for "Tostadas de Pollo" (chicken tostadas) it's basically a de-cnstructed version of this. ALSO a already cooked rotisseri chicken that is store bought may be used to skip having to boil the chicken meat.

ALSO... I know I haven't posted much but jsut been enjoying my summer, lounging, went on a little travel, spending it with my loved ones, and yes I do cook almost daily but just haven't had time to make a post, I want to thank all the readers that stick around :) ... there's more posts to come :D