Favorite Southwestern Recipes
Chiles Curtidos (Pickled Chile Peppers)
Ingredients: 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water, 1 tsp. salt, mature but not quite
ripe chile pods. Select small undeveloped chile pods. Wash carefully. Place in
sterile glass jars. Cover with weak vinegar solution, made by combining
remaining ingredients. This solution make a 1 quart jar. You may make according
to how many quarts you have. Seal jars tightly and permit to ripen at
least a week (longer the better).
Navajo Fry Bread
Ingredients: 2 cups unsifted flour, 3 tsp. baking powder,1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp.
sugar (if desired), 2 tblsp. shortening, and 1 cup lukewarm water or milk.
mix and sift dry ingredients. Add melted shortening to lukewarm water. Gradually add liquid
to dry ingredients, and mix to a soft dough. Toss on floured board, pat out and roll lightly to
about 1" thickness. Divide in 12 pieces and cut into diamond shapes or rectangles. Slit or
gash though the center. Fry in deep , smoking hot fat (400 to 425 degrees) until
golden brown. Due to flower differences, the amount of liquid may vary slightly.
Serve immediately to your pale-faced friends.
Mrs. Pappan, Pawnee, and for many years the cherished cook at the Albuquerque Indian School.
Upside Down Chile Pie
Ingredients: 1 lb. ground angus beef, 1 tbls. bacon fat, 1/3 cup chopped onions,
1 cup canned kidney beans (rinsed), 1 tsp. chile powder or fresh peppers to taste,
1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. worchestershire sauce, 1 cup canned tomatoes.
In frying pan, saute chopped pepper pods and onions in hot fat until limp;
add meat and cook until lightly browned. Add beans, seasonings, and tomatoes.
Cover and simmer about 15 minutes. Pour into 9 inch pie pan. Top with
cornbread batter (below). Bake in a hot oven 425 degrees for 20 minutes.
Cornbread mix: 1/2 cup sifted flour, 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal, 2 tsp.
baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 3 slices bacon (fried crisp), 1 tbls. sugar, 1 egg,
1/2 cup milk, 2 tbls. shortening or bacon drippings.
Sift dry ingredients. Combine beaten egg and milk. add to flour mixture,
stirring until well mixed. Add shortening and crumbled bacon, mixing lightly.
Pour mixture over chili in pie pan.
Tamale Pie
Here is another recipe for that old favorite. But this
one uses cooked meat.
Can you think of a more delightful way to serve Sunday's
leftover roast? We can't!
Ingredients: 2 cups chopped leftover roast, 2 cups canned or fresh tomatoes,
1 tsp. salt, 3 cups chopped olives, 1 clove garlic (minced), 1/2 pint frozen chile or 2 tbls.
powdered chile. Heat this first mixture to the boiling point. In the meantime,
mix and sift together: 3/4 cup flour, 3 tsp. baking powder, 1 1/4 cup cornmeal,
and 1/2 tsp. salt. To this mixture add: 1 beaten egg, 3 tbls. salad oil, and 1 1/4 cups milk.
Stir until blended. Pour over first mixture in a deep casserole or dutch oven.
Bake 25 minutes at 425 degrees.
Mrs. D.A. Laumbach
Tamale Pie II
This is a hearty main meal dish, "Dinner in a dish", actually,
and a dish fit for visiting royalty.
Ingredients: 1/3 cup shortening, 2 1/2 cups canned tomatoes, 1 lb. ground beef,
1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. paprika, 1 can niblet corn, 1 onion (chopped), 1 cup cornmeal,
2 eggs, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1 tbls. chile powder, and 1 can ripe olives (chopped).
Saute onion in shortening until lightly browned. Add tomatoes. When this first
mixture is hot, add the cornmeal gradually, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.
Cook 10 minutes. Remove from fire. Add the seasonings to the meat and stir
in the canned corn, the eggs, and the olives. combine the meat mixture with the
cornmeal mixture, and pour into a deep baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Mrs. R.P. Conway
Richard Jacobs Chicago Tamale Pie...
Ever get that certain "yen" for good Mexican food, but don't want to get into
the car and drive to your favorite Mexican restaurant?
Well, when you get that certain yen, this provides a great alternative:
a recipe that will satisfy that yen, especially when accompanied
on the side with sour cream, some good guacamole, and, of course,
a very cold beer served in an iced beer stein.For this recipe to have
that "authentic" Mexican flavor, it's imperativeto use chorizo sausage.
It's easy to find at almost any grocery story today. At Giant's, for
example, smoked chorizo is found in the same refrigerator case as is kielbasa.
Genuardi's oftentimes has fresh chorizo available in the meat department.
I will stock up on it, storing the chorizo in the downstairs freezer so that
I have it on hand to provide for that certain yen for Mexican food
whenever it comes along.
What is really fun with this recipe is making the tamale crust.
It's more like a cornbread. With the eggs, jalapeño, and cheeses,
however, the "crust" is more like the cornmeal mixture the hot tamales
were rolled in that my Dad used to purchase in Humboldt Park,
the Mexican section of Chicago, on his way home from work downtown.
You simply boiled those tamales (and covered with homemade chili and
raw onions...it can't be beat for lunch!). This tamale pie is baked.
Experiment with the recipe. I included some variations that give
the tamale pie a different flavor. I sometimes will make a double recipe
of the filling in order to accomplish two purposes: I will use about half for
the tamale pie and save the other half for another tamale pie or
for burritos (just place several tablespoons of the filling in the middle
of a floured tortilla, add some Mexican cheeses, fold up [the correct way,
of course] and microwave). So, I freeze whatever I have leftover after
putting the tamale pie together for when I get another yen for Mexican.
Pie filling:
1 lb. hamburger
½ lb. chorizo sausage
1 medium onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 cup diced green (or mixed color)
pepper
1 can fine diced tomatoes
½ can tomato paste
2 cups white corn kernels
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
1 ½ Tbsp. chili powder
1 can black beans
Crust:
2 cups milk
2/3 cup cornmeal
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 ½ cup shredded cheeses
1 Tbsp. minced jalepeno peppers
Preheat oven to 350°.
For the pie: pour a little olive oil into a skillet and brown the hamburger,
chorizo, and onion. Add the green pepper, diced tomatoes,
tomato sauce, tomato paste, white corn kernels, salt, pepper,
chili powder, and black beans. Cook for approximately 20 minutes.
Spray 8” X 12” X 3” glass dish with oil. Pour pie filling into dish.
For the crust: In a sauce pot, mix the milk, cornmeal, butter and salt.
Whisk occasionally and cook until thick. Remove cornmeal from heat.
Add the eggs and cheese. Mix well (cheese will melt).
Pour and shape into a “cover” over the pie filling.
Bake at 350° until the top is browned, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Alternatives to enhance Mexican flavor:
- use taco mix for seasoning
- add oregano, cumin, extra chili powder, and crushed red pepper (cayenne)
