Easy

Chorizo is usually made from pork, but you can find wonderful beef or chicken chorizo as well as an excellent vegetarian chorizo made from tofu. I’ve had a delicious green chorizo in Puebla that was a regional specialty composed of fresh green herbs and chiles blended with pork. The green marinade for the chicken plays wonderfully against the red chile of the chorizo. These hearty tacos are also great served with queso fresco or grated Cheddar or gouda cheese. Quail eggs fried sunny-side up makes a tasty garnish, if you like.

This quick, convenient recipe is a Southwestern take on a popular Southern classic—sweet summer corn and barbecued chicken. Sautéing the chicken to brown the surface deepens both color and flavor and approximates the Mexican technique of cooking on a comal or griddle. To cut down on the preparation time for this recipe, use a good, all-natural rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.

Here in New Mexico, we have a number of really good goat-cheese producers who sell their products at farmer’s markets. Spanish settlers originally introduced goats to the region along with the craft of making goat cheese. For Mexican recipes, I prefer the flavor of goat cheese to American cheeses made with cow’s milk. Mexican cooking is rich and needs the counterpoint of a sharp cheese for balance and lively taste. Cow’s milk cheeses are usually too creamy and flat in flavor, absorb too much of the flavor accents from a dish, and lack a certain acidity and sharpness common to Mexican cheeses. New Mexico also has great apples, as good as those I grew up with in New England. At an elevation of 7,000 feet, Santa Fe experiences very cold nights in the fall that “crisp” the apples and set the juices. The sweet juiciness of apples is a perfect match to the mild creaminess, tang, and richness of goat cheese. You can use the goat cheese as a garnish, if you prefer, rather than mixing it into the filling.

The Spanish word tinga means “unruly” or “messy.” But there is nothing messy about the wonderful flavors of this dish with its layers of smoky and sweet. The browned chicken has accents of balsamic vinegar, roasted sweet peppers, and chiles—a sort of Mexican chicken cacciatore. I consider it one of Mexican cuisine’s top ten classic dishes. Tinga tacos are a perennial favorite in northern New Mexico and can have other fillings beside chicken. In addition to tacos or burritos, this filling—really a homey soul-satisfying stew—can be served in a bowl over rice. It also makes a great bocadillo, a Mexican sandwich served on a square crispy roll. To reduce the heat level of this dish, decrease or leave out the chipotle puree.

The word charro refers to the original cowboys of the New World, the Mexican and Spanish men who handled the cattle on the large ranches of Mexico and California, and then Texas and the Southwest. The entire cow culture—the hats, saddles, ropes, boots—was brought here by Spanish explorers and settlers. These men lived a nomadic life that revolved around the search for the best seasonal pastures for their herds. Meals were always prepared over open campfires, giving food a smokiness that is forever associated with cowboy cooking. Beans were a common side dish, and the smoked salt in this recipe helps to replicate those robust and smoky flavors. The beans will hold for one week in the refrigerator, and their versatility makes them handy to have around.

The combination of sweet, lightly smoked corn and rich, earthy mushrooms is one of the great flavor marriages of Mexican food. In this filling, inspired by one of my favorite salsa recipes in The Great Salsa Book, the fresh corn kernels are dry-roasted to capture the sweet corn flavor and infuse them with an appetizing, smoky perfume. Dry roasting is one of the great culinary techniques that give Mexican cuisine its distinctiveness and meaning, and one easily mastered at home. Very simply and effectively, it intensifies and concentrates flavors and imparts the smoky, primordial quality that is characteristic of so many Mexican dishes. Beyond corn, the technique is also used for garlic, tomatoes, and onions, for fresh and dried chiles, and for seeds and nuts.

The earthy meatiness of portobello mushrooms pairs wonderfully with the smoky flavors of chipotle chiles. The mushrooms are sautéed in butter, which imparts a delicious nuttiness and helps the mushrooms brown. Toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds are a traditional and tasty garnish that increases the nuttiness of the dish. Small, fresh portobellos have tightly closed gills that are easy to slice through. The spongy gills of large portobellos must be scraped off with a spoon before the mushroom caps are sliced—but don’t discard them. The gills can be tossed in the pan and cooked with the rest of the mushroom, adding color and depth of flavor.

During the summer monsoons in Santa Fe, we forage for wild mushrooms—mostly porcini-like varieties—in the high-altitude forests of the nearby Sangre de Cristo Mountains. We’re always looking for new ways to use our earthy, robust bounty, and this woodsy taco is one of our favorites. Buy wild mushrooms in at least three colors or textures. They’ll add interest to the filling and give you the option of mixing less costly types with the more pricey ones. Avoid shiitakes and enokis, which don’t pair well with wild mushrooms (the enoki are too acrid, and the shiitake too powerful) or lobster mushrooms as they don’t cook at the same rate and remain hard. Aim for a mix that is woodsy, rich, delicate, and very flavorful. Good substitutions for fresh wild mushrooms are a mix of dried wild mushrooms and fresh criminis, or dried porcini and thinly sliced portobellos.

These tacos are a great way to enjoy the harvest from your late summer garden. The delicate orange-and-yellow flowers of squash plants are a prized treat through out Mexico and the southwestern United States. Squash blossoms are an ideal partner to the green chiles grown in Hatch, New Mexico, widely available in the Southwest during late summer and early fall (see Sources, page 167). If you can’t find New Mexico green chiles, you can use Anaheims, their slightly less robust California counterpart, found in produce markets throughout the country. I like to serve these tacos with a cold, citrusy beverage—margaritas for the adults and limeade for the kids. The tartness of the limes beautifully complements the warm, buttery cheese that oozes out of the taco with each bite.

This garlicky paste, made with dark-brown sugar and spicy chile powder, imparts much flavor as well as color to grilled meat, including the ribs on page 176.

When making Pan-Fried Chicken Cutlets (page 269), increase the coriander seeds to 2 tablespoons and the fennel seeds to 2 teaspoons.

This Asian-inspired marinade pairs perfectly with pork—turning into a sticky, spicy, sweet glaze when cooked—but can also be used with chicken or beef.

This goes remarkably well with steak.

This marinade is especially good with chicken and lamb, imparting bright flavor and helping to keep the meat moist.

The addition of buttermilk to a basic vinaigrette imparts creaminess and reduces the amount of oil needed for thickening. This dressing has a lighter body than the others, perfect for tender lettuces.

Buttermilk and low-fat yogurt replace some of the mayonnaise and the usual sour cream for a lighter, more refreshing dressing. This is a favorite for spooning over chilled wedges of iceberg lettuce, and it also goes well with hearty Belgian endive spears. The dressing can be made with any crumbly blue cheese, ranging from mild Danish blue to the more pungent Roquefort, Stilton, or Gorgonzola.

The addition of cucumber to the traditional recipe results in a dressing with a decidedly lighter, fresher flavor.

This dressing is flavored with the fresh taste of herbs. It would be lovely as a sauce for poached fish and chicken or boiled shrimp.

If you like salad with nearly every meal, get in the habit of keeping your own salad mix, washed and dried, in the refrigerator. (You should also have the ingredients and recipe for homemade vinaigrette on hand for quick and effortless salads.) There are no exact proportions for the best salad blend, but a few general guidelines can help you create your own. Start by recognizing that salads are not just made from lettuces; supplementing them with other greens introduces contrasting flavor and texture components. Fresh herbs add bright notes, and shaved vegetables lend pleasant crunch. Consider all the different lettuces available, some tender (Boston), some crisp (romaine or Bibb), still others in between (red and green leaf). For contrasting taste (and texture, since some are sturdier than others), include a few greens, some with a peppery bite, such as arugula, watercress, or radish sprouts, and some that are pleasantly bitter, including dandelion, frisée, and chicory. When choosing herbs, steer clear of the sturdy, woody variety (rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf); choose tender, less robust herbs like basil, parsley, chervil, and tarragon, or frilly ones like dill or even fennel fronds. Watch out, too, for any strong-flavored herbs, like cilantro or marjoram, which can upset the balance. Consider adding fennel, radish (any kind), beets, and carrots to your basic mix. All of these vegetables lend themselves to being shaved paper-thin on a mandoline or grated. Because they will lose some of their crispness over time, wait to add these until just before serving [you can preserve their taste and texture for a few hours by keeping them in a bowl of ice water (acidulated, for fennel); rinse and drain well before using]. If you wish, toss them instead in a little of the dressing that will go into the salad; this will cause them to soften slightly, so dress them sparingly to retain their crunch. Once you’ve customized your blend, handle each selected ingredient with care. Except for sturdy lettuces like iceberg and romaine, gently tear lettuces and any large-leaf greens and herbs into bite-size pieces with your fingers instead of cutting (which can easily bruise them). Herbs should be gently blotted dry with paper towels (or a clean kitchen cloth). Once they’ve all been washed and dried thoroughly, allow them to crisp in the refrigerator before serving. Plan on 1 1/2 to 2 cups of salad mix per serving, and start with 1 to 2 teaspoons of vinaigrette for every cup of salad. Remember, you can always add more dressing as necessary, but it’s impossible to take any away. Here’s but one suggested combination; use the guidelines above to create your own, and any of the dressings on the following pages to finish.