Southwestern Recipes
90 recipes found
Refried Bean, Zucchini and Corn Gratin
This is my own interpretation of a traditional Southwestern dish (that has many interpretations) called Three Sisters Casserole. Three Sisters refers to the Native American practice of growing corn, beans and squash in the same field. I’ve seen many different recipes for Three Sisters Casserole and Three Sisters Gratin, some using winter squash, more using summer squash. Sometimes the vegetables are combined and topped with a layer of polenta. In this version, each element gets its own flavorful layer. Although you can use canned beans for the dish, I urge you to use simmered beans because the refried beans will taste best if you reduce them in their flavorful broth.
Flan Almendra (Almond flan)
Rau Ram Pico de Gallo
Pico de gallo is a fresh salsa deployed all over Mexico: raw onion and tomato with cilantro, serrano peppers, lime juice and salt. The San Antonio chef Quealy Watson uses the Vietnamese cilantro known as rau ram as an additional ingredient, along with fish sauce, which gives the salsa an earthy, flavorful bounce. ‘‘No Mexican grandmother I’ve ever cooked with has ever had a recipe for pico de gallo,’’ Watson told The Times in 2015. ‘‘They just taste as they go.’’ It’s the same principle here, which yields an excellent salsa to serve with fish tacos or barbecued meats.
South Texas BBQ Duck
This is a remarkably straightforward way of cooking a duck and results in powerfully smoky and salty-sweet meat. The recipe came to The Times in 2015 via the San Antonio chef Quealy Watson, who cooked it in a smoker filled with small logs of mesquite. You could make do with a grill if you kept one side of it entirely free of coals and placed the duck away from the flames. Straight kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper can be used in place of the Lawry’s.
White Tepary Bean and Potato Purée
Tepary beans are very small beans native to the Southwest and Mexico. They are among the most drought-tolerant foods in the world – they would have to be, grown as they are during the extremely hot, dry summers in the Sonora desert and southern Arizona. A dietary staple of native American tribes in Arizona, they are very high in protein and have a low glycemic index. There are two varieties, brown and white. I’m using small white tepary beans here; regular small white navy beans can be substituted. The teparies have a particularly sweet, meaty flavor. The purée, which is in some ways like a white bean brandade, isn’t a main dish, it is more of a comforting, high-protein stand-in for mashed potatoes. But it is substantial.
Southwestern Potato and Celery Omelet
This spicy omelet is much lighter than traditional cheese-packed Southwestern omelets. You don’t need much oil to pan-fry this small amount of finely diced potato, and a little cheese goes a long way.
Turkey Tamales
Tamales are a holiday staple for Mexican-American families from the Rio Grande Valley up to North Texas, and not just at Christmas. “We have a big market for Thanksgiving tamales,” said Cyndi Hall of Tamale Place of Texas, in Leander, near Austin. Although Ms. Hall said she’s seen more families buy tamales than ever before, many still keep the tradition of coming together to make them. You can cook up a turkey breast or extra legs for tamales to have with the Thanksgiving meal, or make the tamales with leftover turkey for the long weekend. They aren’t difficult, but they do take time, so the more hands you have for your assembly line, the quicker it goes. Corn husks and masa mix for tamales can be found in markets that sell Mexican ingredients; make sure you get the masa for tamales (Maseca is the most widely available brand), not the finer, drier tortilla masa harina.
Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash
This makes a substantial vegetarian – or vegan if you leave out the cheese – Thanksgiving main dish. It is another riff on the native American tradition of the Three Sisters – corn, beans, and squash. I used acorn squash here, and it serves as a vessel for the sweet and pungent bean, corn and tomato filling. Acorn squash comes in various sizes; the larger ones, which are sometimes all I can find, take almost an hour to soften and cook through; the finished squash can be cut in half or even into thirds if too big for one serving. With everything that comes on the Thanksgiving sideboard, that will probably be the case. I always bake the squash for about 20 minutes before cutting it in half; they soften up a little bit, which makes it much easier to cut.
Enchiladas Con Carne
There are a few cool tricks to this recipe, one of which I picked up from an old issue of Bon Appétit, one I learned from Robb Walsh, the great Tex-Mex scholar and restaurateur who runs El Real Tex-Mex in Houston, and a final one I learned by happenstance. First, for the thickening agent in the chile sauce, toast raw all-purpose flour in a pan until it is nutty and golden brown, then reserve it to stir in with the browned beef later in the recipe. Second, if you like truly melty cheese in the classic Tex-Mex tradition, use a mixture of American cheese, like Velveeta, with the Cheddar you use inside and on top of the finished enchiladas. Finally, if you’re fearful that a casserole of cheese, chili and fried tortillas may be a little rich for dinner, serve it with a bowl of tomatillo pineapple salsa on the side. The acidity provides a nice balance. (Note also that as with all recipes, but particularly this one, some planning and practice can get the preparation down to 60 minutes.)
Southwest Potatoes
Here is a substantial breakfast inspired by (though far better than) airplane food that can be served on its own or alongside eggs. With all the classic flavors of a burrito — black beans, jalapeños, corn, cheese and cilantro — it would also make great filling for a corn or flour tortilla, with potatoes added in place of rice. Exercise patience when you cook the potatoes. The key to this recipe is leaving them alone once you’ve put them in the pan, neither stirring nor shaking, for at least 10 minutes, so they develop a nice crust.
Baked Beans With Sweet Potatoes and Chipotles
I used Rancho Gordo Mexican heirloom San Franciscano beans for this richly flavored dish. The beans are dark reddish purple, not too big, with an earthy, sweet taste that fits perfectly into this slightly sweet and spicy baked bean dish. From the supermarket, use red beans or pintos.
Quealy Watson’s Cabrito
Barbecued baby goat is a specialty of South Texas, where The Times traveled in 2015 to see the chef Quealy Watson cook it in mesquite smoke under a spray of dried avocado leaves, which gave the meat a faint scent of anise. You could make this dish with a single goat leg or a pork butt or even a brisket. The idea is simply to get a lot of smoke on the meat, then wrap it and allow it to steam slowly into perfection over time. Serve over brown paper on a big table with lots of tortillas and salsas: Tear away what you need for a taco, then repeat.
Black Bean Puree With Cilantro
Corn and Green Chile Soup
Creamy Corn and Poblano Soup
This is another creamy corn dish that has no cream in it – in fact, it has no dairy at all. I simmer the corn cobs to make the stock. When the corn is sweet, so is the soup, and I love the contrast of the sweet, creamy potage against the spicy roasted peppers.
Whole Fish With Lime Salsa Verde
Think of roasting a whole fish the same way you might think of roasting a whole chicken: an easy and delicious preparation that all cooks should have in their arsenal, and one that takes well to whatever ingredients you want to introduce. Here, those extra flavors are electric. The fish is stuffed with slices of lime and jalapeño, cilantro and scallion bottoms. An accompanying salsa is composed of more jalapeño, scallion tops, cilantro, lime juice and zest, as well as a dose of capers and garlic. The fish itself is simply oiled and seasoned, then roasted at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until it is opaque and flakes when pressed gently with a fork. (Each person you’re feeding should get his or her own fish, weighing about one or one and a half pounds apiece.) Spoon the salsa on top, a streak of bright, spicy flavor for the delicate, moist fish.
Sauce
Black Bean Soup
Southwestern Chicken Salad With Chipotle Chiles
Chipotles add heat and smokiness to this dish, which can be served as a salad or used to fill corn tortillas for soft tacos. The radishes give a fresh crunch and the avocado gives a cool creaminess.
Hatch Green Chili Corn Muffins
Migas Eggs A La Mike Marks
Chicken Breasts With Green Chili Cream Sauce
Southwestern Cornbread Stuffing