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Entertainment | Restaurants & Dining | May 2006  
Recipes from Mexico: Green Ceviche
RRNewswire
 This recipe is the brainstorm of a young Mexican chef named Daniel Bravo Garibi, who has worked at several restaurants in Mexico City. Most recently he has been cooking on a ship for the Greenpeace environmental group.
 Ceviche:
 • ¾ pound red snapper fillets
 • ½ cup orange juice
 • ½ cup lemon juice
 • 2 teaspoons olive oil
 • ½ teaspoon salt
 • Freshly ground pepper
 Green paste:
 • 2 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded, optional
 • 1 clove garlic
 • ½ cup each, fresh: mint leaves, basil leaves
 • ¼ cup each, fresh: parsley leaves, cilantro leaves
 • 1/3 cup olive oil
 • ¼ teaspoon salt
 Chile infusion:
 • 6 dried cascabel chiles
 • 1 clove garlic
 • ¼ cup olive oil
 • 1/8 teaspoon salt
 Garnishes, optional:
 • Blue and white tortilla chips
 • 4 strips orange zest
 • Cilantro, parsley, mint and basil leaves
 >> For the ceviche, press or pound the fillet to flatten; chop into small pieces. Place in a medium bowl or food-storage bag. Add juices, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste; toss to coat fish. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
 >> For the paste, combine the serrano chiles, garlic, herbs, olive oil and salt in a blender; blend until it forms a paste, adding water if necessary.
 >> Set aside.
 >> For the infusion, place the cascabel chiles and garlic in a dry skillet over medium-high heat; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
 >> Place in a blender; add olive oil and salt. Blend until a paste forms, adding more as necessary.
 >> Put the ceviche in wine glasses. Top with 2 teaspoons of the paste on one side and 1 teaspoon of the chile infusion on the other. Garnish with tortilla chips, orange zest and herbs.
 >> Makes 4 servings.
 Mole negro with chicken and pork
 This sauce recipe is adapted from Petra Gutierrez de Romero, whose family operates a stall in La Merced market, selling chiles and other dried goods. She has worked in the market for 30 years, and also worked as a cook for 17 years. Serve this with warm tortillas.
 • ¼ cup sesame seeds
 • ½ cup vegetable oil
 • 1 small chicken, cut into pieces, 2 ½ to 3 pounds
 • 2 pounds pork country ribs, trimmed, separated
 • 1 small ripe plantain, peeled, chopped
 • ¼ cup chopped peanuts
 • ¼ cup chopped almonds
 • ¼ cup raisins
 • ¼ cup packed brown sugar
 • 3 cups chicken broth
 • 1 small corn tortilla
 • 1 stick cinnamon
 • 4 vanilla wafers
 • 1 concha-style bread roll or other yeast roll
 • 2 tablespoons chopped Mexican-style chocolate
 • 1 teaspoon ground pine nuts
 • 4 to 8 dried ancho chiles
 • 2 to 4 dried mulatto chiles
 • 1 to 2 dried pasilla chiles
 >> Heat a large dry skillet over low heat; cook the sesame seeds until they are fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl. Cover; set aside.
 >> Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat; add the chicken. Cook, turning chicken occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side; transfer to a platter. Add pork ribs to the skillet; cook, turning, until ribs are browned, about 3 minutes each side. Transfer to the platter.
 >> Add 3 tablespoons of the oil to the skillet. Add plantains; cook, turning often, until golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl; set aside. Repeat process, separately cooking the peanuts, almonds, raisins and brown sugar, adding a bit more oil as needed. Stir mixture together. Puree half of the mixture in a blender with ½ cup of the broth. Pour through a strainer; reserve liquid. Repeat with the remaining half of the mixture in a blender and ½ cup of the chicken broth. Pour through a strainer; reserve liquid. Set aside.
 >> Process tortilla, cinnamon stick, cookies, roll, chocolate and pine nuts together in the clean blender until crumbly; set aside.
 >> Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat; add the ancho chiles. Cook, stirring, until very fragrant, about 2 minutes; transfer to a medium bowl. Repeat with mulatto and pasilla chiles. Pour boiling water over cooked chiles to cover; set aside 30 minutes. Puree in a blender. Pour through a strainer into a Dutch oven; discard solids.
 >> Add remaining 2 cups of chicken broth to the Dutch oven. Heat mixture to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to a simmer. Add the chicken, pork, plaintain-nut mixture and tortilla mixture to the Dutch oven; cook until pork is tender, about 2 hours. Set aside to cool, about 20 minutes. Remove meat; shred meat with a fork. Stir shredded meat into the sauce; pour into a serving bowl or platter. Decorate with reserved sesame seeds.
 >> Makes 6 servings.
 Cactus-paddle salad
 • ¾ teaspoon salt
 • 4 medium fresh cactus paddles (nopales), trimmed, scraped, cut into strips or 1 jar (12 to 15 ounces) cactus pieces, drained
 • 1 large tomato, cored, diced
 • 1 small onion, diced
 • 6 cilantro sprigs, chopped
 • 3 tablespoons olive oil
 • 1 tablespoon balsamic or cider vinegar
 • 1/8 teaspoon oregano
 • 1/8 teaspoon salt
 • 8 Romaine lettuce leaves
 • 3 tablespoons crumbled Mexican queso fresco or feta cheese
 • 2 pickled jalapenos, drained, sliced
 • 8 radishes, thinly sliced
 >> Heat 6 inches of water and ½ teaspoon of the salt to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the cactus. Boil, uncovered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain; transfer to a large bowl. Add tomato, onion and cilantro; set aside.
 >> Whisk together the oil, vinegar, oregano and salt; pour over the vegetables. Toss to combine. Line a platter with lettuce leaves; top with salad. Sprinkle with cheese; garnish with jalapenos and radish slices.
 >> Makes 4 servings.
 Sources
 • Mexican markets and specialty stores are the best source for authentic ingredients. In addition, many supermarkets have expanded their Mexican-food aisles.
 • Online ingredient sources include: Mexgrocer.com, Gourmetsleuth.com, Amazon.com | 
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