Cooking with Baja Magic Dos - Mexican Recipes by Author Ann Hazard
 These
recipe will be in featured in Ann Hazard’s newest book, Cooking With
Baja Magic Dos. It is, or will be soon, available throughout Baja and
California. The new cookbook has over 60 new recipes with corresponding
stories and all new art. Whether or not you have Ann’s original cookbook,
you will want a copy of Baja Magic Dos! For more information on Ann
and her Baja books, visit
http://www.bajamagic.com or order her book from Amazon.com on the
right.
Thank you to Author Ann Hazard from BajaMagic.com for
this contribution.
ARRACHERA POSADA LA POZA
Arrachera exploded onto the Mexican cuisine scene in
the late ‘90s. Before that, marinated flank or skirt steak was called
carne asada and either of type of meat was used. Now skirt steak (thinner)
is for carne asada and the thicker, juicier flank steak cut is used
to make arrachera. The marinade is similar as both dishes had origins
in Tampico. Nowadays every traditional Mexican restaurant in Baja has
arrachera on their menu. It’s not served chopped and in a taco like
carne asada, but is served as a steak, with sides of beans, rice, guacamole
and perhaps a light salad.
More Below...
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Just released is Ann's new Cookbook Cooking with Baja Magic
Dos. Full of tempting recipes from Baja California the book also contains
many original artwork photos by the author and her husband. Available
from Amazon.com this book will make a great gift for your friends and
family that love Baja. You better pick up an extra copy for yourself
too!
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Remove seeds and veins from toasted chiles. In medium saucepan, simmer
chiles for about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving water. Purée chiles with
garlic, onion, cumin, ginger, oregano, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, thyme,
bay leaves, salt and vinegar to form a very thick paste. If too thick,
add a little of the chile water.
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 It’s all in the marinade … so Terry (being a serious carnivore) has
spent the last year or so doing a taste test of every arrachera he could
find in Baja. His favorite comes from Posada La Poza in Todos Santos,
where we spent our honeymoon (in advance) in 2002. Juerg’s marinade
rocks, and so does his arrachera. Serves four.
1½ lbs top grade arrachera (flank
steak)
1 cup pineapple juice
½ tbsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp onion salt
2 tsp hot paprika
1 tsp celery salt
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp herbs de Provence
1 large or 2 small white onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp corn or canola oil
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey mustard
1 tbsp water
Salt and pepper to taste
At least two hours before serving,
remove fat from meat, cut into ¾ inch strips and place in 9 x 13 pan.
Put pineapple juice, salt, pepper, garlic and onion salt, paprika, celery
salt, nutmeg and herbs de Provence in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.
Pour over meat. Stir every 15 minutes.
Heat coals on barbeque grill to very
hot. In skillet, stir fry onions about five minutes in mustard, water
and salt and pepper. Then cover and simmer over low heat for ten minutes
while cooking arrachera. For medium rare, broil the strips about three
minutes on each side. Serve the arrachera on heated plates over a bed
of onions. Juerg recommends sweet potatoes to finish off this dish.
BAJA BIRRIA
Birria is offered throughout Baja at little roadside
stands. The mamacita behind the counter is stirring a big pot of bubbling
birria, while customers sit on stools in front of her scarfing down
big bowls of the spicy soup. It’s not difficult to make, but it does
take most of the day. I fully maintain that it’s worth it if you’re
cooking for a crowd on a birthday or other special day. It is served
in big bowls, garnished with cilantro, onion and fresh limón and will
keep several days in the fridge. Serves 12.
Adobo Paste
6 ancho chiles, lightly toasted
10 guajillo chiles, lightly toasted
4 cups water
15 cloves garlic
2 large white onions cut into large chunks
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground ginger
1½ tbsp oregano
½ tsp ground cloves
1½ tsp ground allspice
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground thyme
4 bay leaves
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp cider vinegar
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Lamb
1 banana leaf
1 tbsp oil
1 – 6 to 7 lb leg of lamb, cut into three-inch chunks
½ cup solid shortening or lard
2½ lbs fresh masa (see tamale recipe)
Cut banana leaf into six or eight pieces so they’re
small enough to fit into a deep roasting pan. Brush with oil, stack
and wrap in foil. Roast at 425° until they’re soft and pliable, about
15 minutes.
Rub lamb chunks all over with shortening or lard and
let stand for 20 minutes. Then spread adobo paste over all the chunks,
coating all pieces thoroughly.
Line bottom and sides of roasting pan with ¾ of the
banana leaf pieces. Place lamb chunks in pan and top with remaining
leaf pieces.
On floured cutting board, roll out masa until it’s almost
the size of the roasting pan. Gently move the masa into the roasting
pan. Cover with lid.
Fill a slightly larger, shallow pan with water and place
on lower oven rack so that it will be below the lamb. Bake lamb at 350°
for three to four hours, or until tender.
Soup
5 large tomatoes
1 tbsp corn or canola oil
6 cloves garlic
2 medium white onions, chopped
2 tsp oregano
4 quarts chicken broth
Salt to taste
Garnishes
2 white onions, finely chopped
1 cup cilantro, stems removed and finely chopped
8 limónes (Mexican limes) or key limes, cut in half
Roast tomatoes in large skillet with oil until softened
and slightly blackened, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. In food
processor or blender, purée tomatoes with garlic, onions and oregano.
In large saucepan, add tomato mixture to chicken broth and simmer for
30 minutes.
Remove roast lamb from oven, uncover and discard masa
and banana leaf pieces. Shred lamb. Drain pan juices and add to soup.
To serve, divide shredded lamb among 12 big soup bowls.
Pour soup over the lamb and garnish with onion, cilantro and lime.
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