Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Authentic Mexican Ingredients

Since first crossing the border, Americans have loved Mexican food.  

Today tortillas, chipotle flavored sauces and salsas are no longer considered specialty grocery items  – they’re mainstream. Recentlyjoining the ranks of these Mexican food staples at the Fenton are authentic Mexican style cheeses, meats and creams.

According to Cacique and Food Network Chef Aaron Sanchez, preparing Mexican recipes with authentic Mexican style cheeses and products were almost impossible, especially for the home cook. They simply weren't easily found on the Fenton area grocery shelves. At least that was the case until consumers began demanding real Mexican-style ingredients. Today Wal-Mart is a major distributor of these once hard-to-find Mexican ingredients and cheeses, including Queso Fresco, Cotija, Chorizo and Crème Mexicana.

When cooking for this year’s Cinco de Mayo celebration consider including genuine Mexican-style cheeses and sour creams to your homemade nachos, enchiladas or tacos. It’s an easy way to add full flavor to traditional dishes.  Or consider adding one of the following recipes to your fiesta menu, which features Cacique's real Mexican cheeses, provided to Patch readers courtesy of Chef Sanchez.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tomatoes, washed
• 4 tomatillos, peeled and washed
• 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
• 1 chile guajillo, seeded and toasted
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chile canned in adobo, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2  teaspoon oregano
• 1/2  teaspoon. cumin
• 6 oz. corn tortilla chips
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 avocado, diced medium
• Cilantro sprigs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 ounces Cacique® Queso Fresco, crumbled
• 2 ounces Cacique® Crema Mexicana

In a large soup pot, place olive oil over medium heat.  Add tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, both chiles, garlic, oregano and cumin.  Sauté for 15 minutes until all is very soft and mushy. 

Add 5 ounces of the tortilla chips to the pot along with the chicken stock or water and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, turn down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Place the soup in a blender and blend until very smooth.  Add the soup back to the soup pot and bring back to a simmer and check seasonings.

For assembly: Pour about 6 ounces of soup in a bowl and garnish with the reserved tortilla chips, a drizzle of Crema Mexicana, crumbles of Queso Fresco, avocado and a sprig of cilantro. Makes 8 servings.

Chile Sauce Chorizo Filling:

• 1 package (10 oz.) Cacique® Queso Fresco, crumbled
• 8 oounces boneless and skinless chicken breast
• 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
• 6 oz. Cacique® beef or pork chorizo, removed from casing
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

Ancho Chile Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 Ancho Chiles, seeded and stemmed
• 2 Chile California (Anaheim), seeded and stemmed
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf, dry or fresh
• 1 cup chicken/chorizo cooking liquid (see instructions for chicken/chorizo filling)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Enchilada Assembly:

• 16 corn tortillas
• 2 cups canola oil
• 4 ounces fresh chives cut in 1-inch pieces
• 1 bunch baby arugula
• 6 red radishes, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup Cacique® Crema Mexicana

For chicken and chorizo filling:

In a small sauce pot, cook the chorizo and onion over medium heat for 5 minutes while crumbling the chorizo with a spoon.  Add chicken and chicken stock, bring to a boil, turn down to a slow simmer and cook covered for about 25 minutes.  Pour the broth rendered from the cooking into a cup and set aside. Remove and shred the chicken into small pieces, then add back to the chorizo.  Season the chicken and chorizo mix, mix well and keep warm.

For Ancho Chile sauce:

In a small saucepot over medium heat, add the oil and all of the chiles, and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the garlic, bay leaf, cinnamon and cook for 1 minute.  Add the reserved chicken/chorizo cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Pour the sauce into a blender and carefully blend until very smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

For assembly: 

Preheat oven to 350F. Heat the oil to 350F (or until lightly smoking) in a shallow sauté pan.  One by one, dip a tortilla in oil and fry for 20 seconds. Remove and let excess oil drip onto paper towels.  Dip tortilla in Ancho Chile Sauce. Repeat the process with the other tortillas.  The tortillas will  not be crispy, just toasty in flavor.  Lay out the tortillas on a clean tabletop.  Sprinkle a generous amount of  Queso Fresco down the middle of each one, followed by the chicken and chorizo mix.  Roll up the enchiladas and place on the serving platter.  Spoon more Ancho Chile Sauce over the enchiladas followed by a generous sprinkle of Queso Fresco and drizzle of Crema Mexicana. Place the enchiladas in the oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Toss the chives, arugula and radishes together and top the enchiladas. Makes 4 servings.

Shrimp Marinade:

• 1 lb. (small to medium sized) shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed and butterflied
• 1 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon sea salt

Shrimp Aguachile:

• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup cucumber, peeled and diced
• 1/2cup honeydew melon, small dice
• 1/2 cup red onion, small dice
• 1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Tostaditas:

• 1 dz. small corn tortillas, 4" or 6"
• 2 cups canola oil                     

Assembly and garnish:

• 1 avocado, sliced thin
• 4 oz. Cacique® Queso Fresco, crumbled
• 4 oz. Cacique® Crema Mexicana

For shrimp marinade: Place cleaned shrimp in a shallow dish and cover with 1 cup of fresh lime juice and sea salt. Let it marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or until the shrimp is light orange in color.

For shrimp aguachile: Remove the shrimp from the marinade and discard marinade.  Place the shrimp in a clean bowl and add the NEW fresh lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, cucumber, melon, red onion, cilantro, mint, jalapeno, salt and pepper.  Mix well and check seasonings.

For tostaditas:  

Place the oil in a small to medium saucepot and heat to 350F.  Place one tortilla in the oil and cook for about 60 seconds or until golden brown and crunchy. Remove from the oil onto a paper towel.  Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.

For assembly:

Spread Crema Mexican on the tostada.  Place a spoonful of shrimp Aguachile on a tostada, add a couple slices of avocado, drizzle with Crema Mexicana and add crumbled Queso Fresco on top.  Serve immediately.

Editor's note: Dried chiles are found in the produce department.