We’ve collected a plethora of wonderful recipes from chefs over the past 8.5 years and we want to share what we have. Check back here twice a week for new content from your favorite Philly and out of town chefs to add some spice to your home cooking repertoire.
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You never really need an excuse to enjoy a Mexican fiesta, but with today being May 5th, aka Cinco de Mayo, today is as good as any. While many would customarily enjoy mucho margaritas and tacos today, we’re offering recipes so you can shake things up a bit. COOK instructor Monica Mannion was raised in Mexico City. After attending the Cambridge Cookery School in the UK, she found herself living in Shanghai, where she became the private chef for a Mexican diplomat. Monica’s connection to Mexican cuisine is deeply personal, and it’s her mission to expose her audience to the wide diversity of her homeland’s cooking, beyond the ubiquitous Tex Mex and Texicali fare that we all know. Enjoy Monica’s recipes for salpicon (a shredded beef salad), mango colada pudding, and because everything is better with a cocktail, tepache, a sweet, light and refreshing fermented pineapple brew with or without mezcal. Note: the tepache involves a four-day fermentation process, so while it can’t technically be enjoyed tonight, the rewards will be worth it later this week!
Tepache
Tepache is a fermented beverage made from pineapples, and is sweetened either with piloncillo or brown sugar, sometimes cinnamon, and served cold. Though tepache is fermented for several days, the resulting drink does not contain much alcohol.
1 pineapple
1 cup brown sugar
2 cloves
3 black peppercorns
1-2 sticks cinnamon
8 cups water
Fresh berries
Mezcal, optional
Cut the head off of the pineapple and discard it. Wash pineapple thoroughly ensuring that any dirt particles are removed. Cut the pineapple in chunks keeping the skin on.
In a large glass jar, combine the water and sugar. Mix the sugar until it fully dissolves. Add pineapple, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon and cover the mouth of the glass jar with the cheesecloth or tea towel and secure it with a rubber band. Keep the jar in a cool place away from direct sunlight for four days.
After 2 days you will notice white foam starting to form on the surface of water. Scoop out the white foam with a spoon and stir well. Let it rest for 2 more days.
To serve: Make a coulis with the berries in a food processor. First, add 1 tablespoon of the berries coulis to a small glass, then add ice cubes, followed by the tepache and mezcal if desired. You can also salt the rim of each glass for presentation.
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Salpicon
1 1/2 lbs skirt steak or eye round roast
1/2 medium white onion
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Dressing:
3 tbsp extra-virgen olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp oregano, preferably Mexican
Salt and pepper to taste
Salad:
3 cups iceberg lettuce, finely sliced
1/4 white onion sliced very finely
4 radishes, finely sliced
1-2 large tomato, seeded and diced
To Serve:
Corn tostadas (or simply fry corn tortillas in oil until crisp)
Pickled carrots and jalapeños or salsa
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
Place meat, onion, garlic, and bay leaf in a crock pot for about 6-7 hours on low heat. (I do this overnight for 8 hrs and it’s perfect). Another option is to add these ingredients to a stockpot; cover with water and cook over a medium-high heat. When it starts boiling, reduce heat and simmer until meat is tender and can be easily shredded with a fork (about 2 1/2 hours).
Transfer meat to a bowl to cool. Once cooled down enough to handle, shred the beef using 2 forks.
Just before serving, drizzle oil, add vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Gently toss in the lettuce, onion, radishes and tomatoes. Mix well. Taste and season as needed.
Top each tostadas with a generous amount of salpicon, garnish with the avocado slices and salsa or chiles as desired.
***
Mango Colada Pudding
200 g fresh mango
3 tbsp agave syrup, divided
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or essence
100 g coconut cream
200 ml almond milk
1/2 tsp agar powder
2 passion fruits, optional
Garnishes:
Coconut yogurt
Mango
Berries
In a blender or food processor, blend the mango together with 2 tbsp agave and the vanilla. Place the mixture into a medium size bowl and reserve about 2 tbsp of the mango purée for garnishing.
In a medium saucepan, add the coconut cream, almond milk and 1 Tbsp agave and dissolve agar. Heat over medium heat whisking continuously until it starts to boil. Add the coconut mixture to the mango purée and whisk to combine. Transfer to jars or glasses.
In a small bowl, combine the mango purée with 2 passion fruits (if using). Pour this mixture over the pudding. Place the jars into the refrigerator to set for 2 hours.
Right before serving, top it with coconut yogurt, mango chunks, and fresh berries.
And for those days when you simply don’t feel like cooking, The Philadelphia Inquirer has a comprehensive list of area restaurants who are offering takeout and delivery!
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