Tag: Appetizers

Healthy Mexican Food

Corn Salsa

manton

Corn salsa with nectarines?  Really?  Yes, and it is delicious.  I have made this salsa for pot lucks and also made it the night before of an overbooked day, because there is nothing like getting home hungry and tired and finding something healthy and delicious.  At De Las Mías we are all about adopting new and healthy habits. One of the ways we can add healthy habits is to change our environment.  When I came across an article on stacking up those healthy habits, I chose getting to those 3 veggies a day. As a result, I went on a mission to keep ready-to-eat veggies in the refri.  If I come home tired after a busy afternoon, and I see deliciousness waiting for me, I feel like a Super Mujer.  That is one less handful of fritos, doritos or chicharrones!  Roasting the corn ahead of time gives it a nice charred flavor and I highly recommend that you do that, but if you want to opt for a short cut, just sauté some frozen corn and try it that way.  Also, if you haven’t tried canned chipotle, go now and get yourself some.  This smoky jalapeño knows how to kick it up a notch.  Use sparingly until you can’t live without it.  (Hint:  I put it into the olive oil I drizzle on my popcorn!) This corn salsa is particularly tasty on a hot summer evening.  I must admit that I triple or quadruple the recipe because it goes fast.  I love it with a tall glass of my favorite jugo verde – La  Diosa Verde –  one of the green juices you can find at De Las Mías. It also goes super great with Tacos and it is just lovely as a topping for black bean tostadas.  Try it on Meatless Monday!

Healthy Mexican Food

Traditional and Healthy Frito Pie

manton

Frito Pie is one of those Southwest Chicano inventions that would make a traditional Mexican chef like Diane Kennedy cringe, but it is one of the most kid-friendly, festive and delicious stews you can eat in the street or in your own home. New Mexicans and Texans fight over who invented this famous concoction on an on-going basis. I don’t know who would win that feud, so let’s just say that it was a happy evolution!   

My own favorite experience is the memory of sitting on the grass on the Santa Fe Plaza and having my husband hand me what looked like a bag of Fritos  brimming with what I mistakenly called chile con carne.  I said, “What is that?” and he said, “Frito Pie, Man.”  When I asked where it came from, he said, “Woolworth’s.”  And when I dipped that plastic spoon into that glorious hot mess I was a changed woman. Chicano food at its very best! They still sell it on the Plaza in Santa Fe, so hurry up before it goes away.  The next best thing is to make it yourself.  Lori and Malena “hacked” it with ground turkey instead of beef, but it has so much New Mexico red chile in it that no one will ever know you didn’t use beef. It’s a lot healthier and just as delicious.

Reminder: This recipe falls squarely in the ‘Poquito de Todo’ category. We don’t want to give up our beloved foods but we want to go easy on the portion sizes! One cup is plenty! Use the Fritos like a garnish and not like a staple. If your hijitos are still developing their chile tasting buds, cut back on the chile or use a milder version. And please serve it with a tossed green salad! 

This one will take you home, Sister!

Makes 6 cups. 1 serving = 1 cup.

Healthy Mexican Food

Nopalito Salsa

manton

Nopalito Salsa – Prickly Pear Cactus Salsa: Healthy, Tangy and Delicious

Did you say nopalito salsa? Cactus salsa?  Yes, amiga, that’s what I said!  Okay, first let’s dispel the stereotype that all Latinos eat cactus.  They don’t.  (You saw it here first!) Nopalitos are of the prickly pear variety, and they are healthy and delicious, and many Mexicans and Mexican Americans, but not all, eat them.  Case in point: I once brought a platter of nopalitos con chile to a picnic pot luck in Northern New Mexico and not one person ate them.  The hostess was kind enough to dip her spoon and take a bite and say something, like, “Tangy,”  but that was about it.  And nopalitos are tangy, and are made tangier with a squeeze of lemon or lime, but they are an acquired taste and not universally eaten by all Latinos.

But if you’ve had them and like them, try this simple and delicious salsa.  And if you haven’t had them, try them! Start with this simple, tangy and delicious salsa. Serve it with corn chips! YUM! Or make yourself a  little soft shell taco with a nice warm corn tortilla. DOUBLE YUM! It is also wonderful as a side dish!

This recipe is “seria.”  I say that because it was developed by Lori, La Madrina en la Cocina and she prepared the nopalitos from scratch.  You can find fresh-cut nopalitos already prepared and free of thorns at Mexican grocery stores.  So you could just buy them all ready to go.   But if you’re little lazy, or busy, or both, buy them in a  jar.  It’s okay not to be so Betty Crocker.  Just rinse them before you chop them up for the salsa.  Malena, our mera mera nutritionist would tell you, rinsing gets rid of some of the sodium, and that’s a good thing.

We made this nopalito salsa for our end-of-study party in Albuquerque and it was a big hit!  Try them today and feed them to your kids.  They can go to school and brag about eating cactus!