Oaxacan Lamb In Spicy Tomatillo Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Place tomatillos and garlic in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer over medium-low heat until tomatillos are very soft and opaque, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer mixture to an electric blender along with chipotle peppers. Blend with enough cooking liquid for desired consistency. Season with salt.

Steps:

• To prepare the mole sauce: In a blender or food processor, blend tomatoes and garlic cloves, adding water if necessary. Strain and set aside. In a spice grinder pulverize the sesame seeds, peppercorns, oregano and cinnamon; set aside.
• Make a lengthwise cut on 1 side of each ancho and guajillo chile and remove seeds. Put chiles in a bowl and cover with boiling water, letting soak for 20 minutes or until soft. Place chiles and soaking water in a blender. Puree, strain and set aside. In a medium stockpot, heat 3 tablespoons of canola oil. Add the dried spices stirring continuously. Add the two purees and bring to a boil. Add the chocolate, sugar, and salt to taste; let simmer for about 20 minutes.
• To prepare the lamb shanks: Season the lamb shanks with salt and in a hot skillet sear shanks in oil on all sides. In a bowl, dip each shank in mole sauce, sprinkle with some of the vinegar, chopped onion and salt, then wrap in a banana leaf and then in aluminum foil. Place shanks in a roasting pan and bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, or until the meat is falling off the bone. Place shank on a plate and top with additional warm mole sauce.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F with rack in middle.
• Put avocado leaves in bottom of a heavy medium pot with a tight-fitting lid. Sprinkle lamb shanks all over with 2 teaspoons salt and arrange in pot (they don't have to be in 1 layer). Roast, covered, until meat is very tender, about 3 hours.
• Meanwhile, slit chiles lengthwise, then stem, seed, and devein. Tear chiles into roughly 1-inch pieces (you should have about 1 1/2 cups). Heat a comal or large heavy skillet (not nonstick) over medium heat until hot, then toast chiles, stirring constantly, until more pliable and slightly changed in color, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. (Chiles will crisp as they cool.)
• Cover tomatillos with water in a medium saucepan and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well, then purée with chiles, garlic, cilantro, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a blender (in batches if necessary) until chiles are ground to small flecks.
• Transfer shanks to a cutting board to cool. Strain lamb juices remaining in pot into a glass measuring cup. Let fat rise to top and skim off. Coarsely shred meat, discarding bones.
• Heat oil in a heavy medium pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook one fourth of tomatillo sauce (it will spatter), stirring, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add remaining sauce and lamb juices and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Add lamb. Thin sauce with water if necessary. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 4 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat broiler. In a large bowl, mix together the onion, cream, egg yolks, cinnamon, cumin, red pepper and cayenne. Put the lamb in the bowl, and season it aggressively with salt and pepper. Add the bread crumbs and parsley, and combine the mixture well. Shape the meat into balls that are a little larger than golf balls.
• Grease a baking pan with olive oil, and put the meatballs onto it, spaced evenly. Place beneath the broiler, and cook, turning once or twice, until the meatballs are well browned, approximately 5 to 7 minutes, then set meatballs aside. Turn oven to 400.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce. Pass the tomatoes through a food mill, or whizz them quickly in a food processor. Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat for a minute, then add olive oil, rosemary and red pepper and shake to combine. Cook for another minute, then add onion, thyme, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne and bay leaf and sauté until the onions are translucent, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, orange juice and peel, along with salt and pepper.
• Cook for 8 to 10 minutes over medium-low heat, until reduced by a third. Adjust seasoning.
• Pour the tomato sauce into a large baking dish that you can put on the table. Transfer the meatballs to the sauce, putting them about ½ inch from each other. Bake for 15 or 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the meatballs are cooked through.
• Top with crumbled feta and scattered mint.

Steps:

• For the meatballs, in a large bowl combine the lamb, breadcrumbs, egg, salt and garam masala and mix well-- use your hands, they work the best!
• Roll the mixture into 1" meatballs.
• You should gat about 16 or so.
• In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, heat olive oil.
• Add meatballs and fry until browned on all sides.
• While the meatballs are browning, place tomatoes in a food processor and puree until smooth.
• Remove meatballs from skillet, leaving drippings in the pan.
• Set aside.
• Reduce heat a little, and add the onion to the pan drippings and saute until softened.
• Add more oil if needed.
• Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
• Add the pureed tomatoes, curry powder, cayenne pepper and sugar.
• Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to combine.
• Add 1 cup of the chicken broth to the skillet.
• Stir well and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add half and half, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring well to blend.
• Mix remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth and flour in a small cup until smooth, and add to skillet.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, add meatballs, and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Serve over rice.

Steps:

• 1. On a comal, or in a heavy dry skillet (preferably cast iron), roast the tomatillos, over medium heat, turning frequently, until they are barely tender and the skins are covered with black and brown spots. At the same time, put the garlic in the skillet and roast the cloves until they feel slightly tender when pinched. The pan roasting will take about 15 to 20 minutes. The skillet may be covered for the last 2 to 3 minutes to steam the tomatillos if they don't feel a little tender when lightly pinched. Peel the outer paper skins from the garlic. Put the roasted tomatillos and garlic into a blender jar. Cover the jar and blend about 6 to 8 seconds to a coarse mixture. 2. In the same skillet used for roasting the tomatillos, heat the oil, and sauté the onion 3 to 4 minutes, until softened and beginning to brown. Stir in the oregano and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Scrape the onion and oregano into the blender jar. Add the chipotle chiles and adobo sauce. Blend until smooth. Add cilantro and salt. Blend briefly. (There should still be a bit of texture.) Adjust seasoning. Transfer the salsa to a bowl. Serve at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. NOTE: Sauce will thicken as it sits. Stir it well to bring it together, and add a bit of water, if needed. From "1,000 Mexican Recipes." Copyright 2001 by Marge Poore. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Steps:

• Place corn husks in a bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak for 30 to 60 minutes. Drain, place on a work surface, and cover with a clean, damp towel.
• Place chicken in a pot, season with salt, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain chicken and shred with 2 forks.
• Place tomatillo and serrano peppers in a pot while chicken is cooking, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook until tomatillos are soft and have changed color, but are not falling apart, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Combine tomatillos, serrano peppers, onion, cilantro, and garlic in a blender; blend into a smooth sauce.
• Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add tomatillo sauce. Cook until sauce has slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add shredded chicken and season filling with salt.
• Beat remaining butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add chicken broth, masa harina, baking powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and beat well until combined and the consistency of cookie dough. Test if the masa is ready by dropping a small ball of masa into a glass of cold water; if it floats, it's ready, if not, keep beating for a little longer.
• Select 1 wide corn husk or 2 small ones. Spread about 2 tablespoons masa mixture onto the the corn husk, filling it up to 2 inches from the bottom and 1/4 inch from the top. Add 1 tablespoon of filling down the center of the masa mixture. Fold sides of husk together, one over the other. Fold the bottom of the husk over the seam of the 2 folded sides. Repeat with remaining husks.
• Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add tamales with the open side up and cook until filling is heated through and separates from the husk, about 1 hour. Let tamales stand for 15 minutes before serving.