A Recipe From:

Mexican Modern

New Food From Mexico

by Fiona Dunlop 

Photographs by Jean-Blaise Hall

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

2 jalapeño chilies, seeded, deveined, and sliced, or 2 oz. (55g) canned jalapeños in escabeche (pickled chilies)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 bay leaf

salt, to taste

14 oz (400g) fresh raw shrimp, shelled

10 1/2 oz (300g) fresh raw crayfish

1 lb 5 oz–1 lb 9 oz (600-700g) trout filet, cut into chunks

juice of 1 lime

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then add the onion, jalapeño chilies, garlic, and tomatoes. Fry over low heat until the onion has softened and the tomato has become a pulp.

Add 1 3/4 pints (1 liter) of water, the cilantro, bay leaf, and some salt. Cover with a lid and slowly bring to a boil. Carefully drop the seafood and trout into the broth and simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

Before serving, remove the bay leaf and add the lime juice.

Tapado often contains a wide variety of seafood: squid, crab, shrimp, red snapper, sea bass, or even shark. If you have access to fresh, reasonably priced crab meat, add 1/2 pound of it to this dish!

Ingredients

•    1 tablespoon vegetable oil
•    1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
•    2 cups coconut milk
•    1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
•    1/4 teaspoon ground achiote (annatto)
•    1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch strips
•    1 1/2 pound fish filets (red snapper, sea bass or tilefish) cut in 2-inch pieces
•    1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
•    1/2 teaspoon salt
•    1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
•    1 medium plantain, peeled and chopped
•    1 medium tomato, diced
•    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
•    3 tablespoons minced cilantro leaves
•    Freshly grated coconut

Instructions

Pour the vegetable oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper and saute until softened, about 1 minute.

Add the coconut milk, oregano and achiote and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer about 5 minutes, until it starts to thicken. Add the plantain, tomato and seafood and simmer just until the seafood is cooked, about 10 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with minced cilantro and freshly grated coconut and serve.

This particular ceviche is spicy because the addition of a fair amount of crushed ajís or whatever dried chiles you have available. The use of corn and sweet potatoes signal this dish as being very typically Peruvian. Serve it as an entree for lunch or dinner on those hot and sweltering days of summer. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup fresh lime juice

• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

• 3 dried ají chiles, seeds and stems removed, crushed in a mortar, or substitute 2 New Mexican chiles (mild) or 6 piquins (hot)

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 large red onion, sliced paper thin

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 pound white fish fillets, such as catfish, cut into 1 inch pieces

• 1 pound cleaned shellfish (clams, oysters, or mussels or a mix)

• 1 teaspoon paprika (optional)

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, Italian preferred

• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch thick slices

• 3 ears of fresh corn, cleaned and cut into 2-inch thick slices

• 4 Bibb lettuce leaves

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients except the potatoes, corn, and lettuce a large ceramic bowl, mix well, cover tightly, and refrigerate for 3 to 5 hours. If the citrus juice doesn’t cover the fish, add more.

Just before serving, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and drop in the sweet potatoes and boil for 10 minutes. Then, add the rounds of corn to the pot and boil for another 10 minutes. Drain the vegetables thoroughly.

Drain the fish in a colander to remove the marinade and arrange the fish on the lettuce on 4 dinner plates. Garnish with the sweet potatoes and the rounds of corn.