Countdown to Cinco de Mayo!

Next Tuesday Angelenos will celebrate the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo. Translated from the Spanish as the “fifth of May”, this holiday originally commemorated the Mexican army’s surprise 1862 victory over the French army. Nowadays, we enjoy Cinco de Mayo in Los Angeles as a time to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage. There are happenings all over, but nowhere feels as festive as Olvera Street, the birthplace of the city of Los Angeles. Stroll and shop along the plaza and don’t forget to get a freshly made churro from the little cart facing the main plaza. Even if you can’t get down to Olvera street, Cinco de Mayo still provides a great excuse to explore our Mexican-inflected city, listen to a little mariachi and eat wonderful food.

Let’s face it. L.A. would not be L.A. without Mexican cuisine, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. Imagine our city with no pan dulce, no crusty bollilos, no tamales, no moles, no chiles, no salsas, no frijoles refritos, no guacamole, no burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas or tacos. Imagine no warm corn tortillas. A eeeh!!! It’s frightening to think about.

Calm down and instead, let’s imagine a fiesta! Our students already make a mean guacamole and parents should let them show off their finest recipe for the whole family. You don’t have to spend all day in the kitchen either. Match some homemade guacamole with fresh tortilla chips, add a roasted Anaheim pepper and shredded cheese quesadilla and a spoonful of black or pinto beans and you have a meal that everyone, Mexican-american or not, will devour with gusto. For the more adventurous cooks out there, below are two interesting recipes – one very Cal-Mex and another very “Baja”-- which appeared recently in our local papers. Salud!

Eggplant, Zucchini, Pepper Enchiladas

Note: Dried ancho chiles are available at Latino markets and in the Latino food sections of grocery stores.

Ancho sauce
4 dried ancho chiles
3 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles and place the peppers in a glass bowl. Pour boiling water over to cover by 3 inches and let them soak until very soft, about 30 minutes. Drain the peppers and place them in a blender with the garlic and oregano. Strain the soaking water and add 1 1/2 cups to the blender. Puree until smooth. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a clean, shallow pie plate; season with salt and set aside.

Enchiladas and assembly
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium red pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2 -inch dice
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, divided
1 medium white eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2 -inch dice
2 long, slender zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/2 -inch dice
2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Corn oil – enough to reach 1” depth in a 9” nonstick skillet
3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Chopped lettuce and radishes
Crema or sour cream (optional)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Coat the bottom with about 2 tablespoons sauce. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and pepper. Stir in about one-half teaspoon coarse sea salt. Cook, stirring often, until soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the eggplant and zucchini and the remaining one-half-teaspoon salt. Cook until soft, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Stir in the oregano and cumin and remove from the heat.Heat about 1” oil in a 9-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low. With tongs, sweep 1 tortilla through the hot oil just long enough to coat and soften (about 10 seconds). Lift it out with tongs and drain off excess oil. Dredge it through the chile sauce to coat, then lay it into the prepared pan so that half the tortilla extends up the side.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons vegetable mixture down the center, then top with about 2 tablespoons cheese. Roll up to enclose the filling and turn the seam side down. Repeat this process with the remaining tortillas and filling. Spoon any remaining sauce evenly over the assembled enchiladas. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Bake until the tortillas are soft and the cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes; do not over-bake. Serve hot, garnished with chopped lettuce and radishes and a drizzle of crema, if desired.


Tuna Tostadas with Chipolte Mayonnaise

Chipotle mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 large egg
1/4 rounded teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light olive oil
1 chipotle chile

Put lemon juice, egg and salt in a blender. Slowly start blending the ingredients, adding oil little by little, until the mayonnaise is thick and you have added all the oil. Add the chipotle chile and blend in. Makes three-fourths cup. You will have some left after making the tostadas.

Tostadas

1 1/2 cups oil (for deep frying)
8 (3-inch-diameter) corn tortillas
2 leeks (about 1 cup sliced)
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt
10 ounces sashimi-quality tuna, sliced one-fourth inch thick then cut in half, if necessary
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Hass avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into eighths
1/4 cup chipotle mayonnaise

Heat the oil in a deep skillet to 350 degrees. Fry each tortilla until crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain between paper towels. Set aside.

Slice the leeks (white part only) into one-fourth-inch-wide julienne. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over very low heat. Add the leeks, sprinkle with a little salt and cook until soft but not browned, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Marinate the tuna slices in the soy sauce and lemon juice for 2 minutes. Drain.

Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle mayonnaise on each tostada. Divide the tuna among the tostadas. Top the tuna with the leeks and add a slice of avocado to each tostada.