Red Sombrero Recipes

Steps:

• Sift the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add the shortening and water, work them in with your hands to make a soft, pliable dough. Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if the dough feels too dry. Gather the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Put the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour so it will firm up a bit and be easier to roll and cut. (Dough can be prepared 1 day ahead, refrigerated.)
• Unwrap the ball of dough and put on a lightly floured surface, cut in half. With a floured rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a circle, about 1/4-inch thickness. Using a paring knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into triangles as you would a pizza. You should end up with 6 or 8 triangles per circle.
• Heat 2-inches of oil to 375 degrees F in a heavy skillet or deep pot over medium-high heat.
• Fry a few of the sopapillas at a time, keeping an eye on maintaining the oil temperature. As the sopapillas puff up and rise to the surface, flip them over with a slotted spoon, skimmer, or chopsticks; about 2 minutes on each side. Carefully remove the sopapillas from the oil and drain on several layers of paper towels or a brown paper bag. Cool slightly. Serve hot with honey or cinnamon sugar.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the chulpe corn, cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium. Once you hear the kernels pop (like popcorn), shake the pot vigorously to prevent the kernels on the bottom from burning. Once the popping slows, after about 6 to 8 minutes, drain the canchita on a platter lined with paper towels to remove excess oil. Season with salt while the corn is still warm and serve with ceviche.

Steps:

• Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the grapefruit juice, tequila, agave liqueur and simple syrup. Stir just to blend, then strain into two rocks glasses filled with ice. Serve garnished with strips of grapefruit zest.
• Combine the sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn off the heat and add the basil. Allow the syrup to cool completely before removing the basil. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Leftover syrup will keep for up to a month.

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the chopped chiles and 1/2 of the garlic and cook until the peppers start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatillos and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the tomatillos begin to break down and release some liquid, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Transfer the tomatillo sauce to your blender, puree, and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, season them with some salt and pepper and the remaining chopped garlic. Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomatillo sauce and simmer until the shrimp are curled and opaque, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve sprinkled with the cilantro.

Steps:

• Add ice to a rocks glass. Pour over the tequila, lemon lime soda and pomegranate juice. Stir. Garnish with a citrus wedge.

Steps:

• Place minced onion in a bowl and cover with cold water. Add vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes or longer. Drain and rinse with cold water.
• In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients and stir in onions. (If your tomatoes are full of flavor, you won't need lime juice.) Ideally, let stand at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes before eating so that flavors will blend and ripen.

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler and cover a baking sheet with foil. Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet, and place under the broiler at the highest setting. Broil for two to four minutes, until charred on one side. Turn over and broil on the other side for two to four minutes until charred. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. Peel and core.
• Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop in the garlic cloves. When the garlic is chopped and adheres to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the sides. Add the toasted almonds (or almonds and hazelnuts), bread and chile powder or flakes to the bowl and process to a paste.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the pepper, tomatoes, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper. Process until smooth, and with the machine running, add the vinegar and olive oil in a slow stream, beginning with the smaller amount of olive oil and thinning out as desired. Process until well amalgamated, then scrape into a bowl.
• Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt or chile as desired. If possible, allow the sauce to stand for an hour at room temperature before using. Serve with fish and/or grilled vegetables, or on crostini.