Botanas y Antojitos~ Favorite Mexican Snacks

 I remember on our many trips to Mexico how I loved visiting my Tia Minerva’s home. She would prepare these great dinners for us. But before the dinner, there was always a table full of botanas and antojitos. There were churritos, durritos, spicy peanuts, pepitas, spicy pumpkin seeds, pork cueritos in escabeche, Mexican cheese, tostadas and a variety of salsas . It was always very festive. I learned to make churritos as a kid, when my dad was testing out batches of homemade corn masa. For many years, he designed and repaired commercial size corn tortillas machinery. This required him to grind and test the masa and he would save out a small portion and prepare churritos for us. He would take an empty tin can and drill holes in the bottom, pipe the masa in and push the churritos out into the hot oil. My dad was fun that way, he was so creative and could figure things out like “Macgyver”  , LOL!  This blog post will be all about some of my favorite antojitos I enjoyed growing up and how you can prepare a homemade version.  

 

 

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups warm water or chicken broth
1 teaspoon chile ancho powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups masa harina
2 1/2 to 3 cups canola oil for frying
Chile Limon seasoning, homemade or store bought, Tajin brand

*If you like to add a little spice, mix in 1/3-1/2 tsp. of chile de arbol powder or cayenne pepper.

 

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix the water or broth, ancho powder and salt. Gradually add in the masa harina and mix until dough forms. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.

2. Fill a diposable pastry bag with masa and cut off the tip. In a heavy pan, preheat your oil to 350 to 365 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set near pan of oil. Now you can pipe in one continous piece of masa or you can pipe in a 2 inch section and quickly cut with knife. I tried both methods and the 2 inch section worked best for me.

3. Fry about 12 to 15 churritos at one time for 4 minutes or until crispy and medium/dark golden brown in color. Drain onto lined baking sheets and season with chile limon powder while they are still warm. Toss to combine. Continue frying until they are all done. Cool completely before storing in an airtight storage bag. They will keep for 3 to 5 days at room temperature. Yields about 3 cups.

 

 

 

Durritos

 

 

4. The Durritos come premade in a variety of shapes. Only drop a few at a time into hot oil. They fry quickly! Remove from oil and season while they are warm. 

 

 

Buñuelo Strips with Mexican Chocolate Sauce…a sweet antojito.

Ingredients 

For Chocolate Sauce
3.5 ounce disc of Mexican chocolate
1/2 cup hot fudge sauce(smuckers), Lol! No lie!
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon instant Nescafe dissolved in a little hot water
1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt

You will also need
10 small flour tortillas, sliced into long strips
Oil for frying
1 cup sugar
Cinnamon, to taste. I like alot of cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon ground anise

 

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients for the chocolate sauce in a small saucepan. Heat to medium. As soon as the chocolate begins to melt, reduce the heat. Stir until smooth and the sauce comes together. Cover and remove from heat.

2. Preheat 2 cups of oil to medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes. Slice the tortillas. In a shallow dish, like a pie pan, mix the sugar, cinnamon and anise, set aside.

3. Set up a baking sheet pan with a metal rack near the pan with oil. When oil is hot, add 6 to 8 tortilla strips. Fry for about 2 minutes or until golden and crisp. Turn as needed. Transfer buñuelos strips to pan with rack and let sit just for 20 seconds. Dredge the still warm buñuelos through the cinnamon and sugar and place them back onto the metal rack. Repeat until all done frying strips. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Serve with Mexican chocolate sauce.

 

Elote Asado~Grilled Mexican Corn

Ingredients

4 to 6 ears of corn
Mayonnaise
Mexican crema or sour cream
Cotija cheese, crumbled
Chile limon powder (Tajin)
Fresh key lime

 

Directions

 

1. Moisten the corn with husk on by running it under water. Shake off. Place onpreheated outdoor grill that is at medium heat. Cook the corn, turning as needed for 20 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and let rest and cool for a few minutes. Mix equal amounts of mayonnaise and crema. Carefully peel back the husk on corn and remove silks. Slather on some of the mayo/crema to coat the surface evenly. Sprinkle a generous amount of crumbled cotija cheese onto corn. Sprinkle with chile limon and squeeze on some fresh lime juice.

 

Pepitas de Calabaza~ Spicy Pumpkin Seeds (In the shell) Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups cleaned  and rinsed pumpkin seeds (fresh from your pumpkin)
juice of 2 small lemons or limes
2 tablespoons tamarindo concentrate
1/2 teaspoon chile de arbol powder or cayenne pepper
1/3 teaspoon smoked serrano powder or chipotle pepper
3 teaspoons Tajin chile limon powder
Salt to taste

Directions

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Stir well and taste for salt. Spread out onto a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little more chile limon powder. Bake  in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring and spreading back out evenly every 5 to 6 minutes. Make sure you really watch them those last few minutes or they will burn. They will crisp up as they cool. Cool completely and store in a loose covered container. *Too much moisture may cause them to mold because they are so fresh.

 

Recipe for Homemade Chile Limon Seasoning

 

Ingredients

2 cups chile de arbol (dried)
2 chipotle peppers (dried)
1 1/2 teaspoons sour salt (citric acid)
Kosher salt to taste (I added about 3 1/2 teaspoons)

 

Directions

1. Remove any stems from dried chiles if they have any. Leave seeds in. Add the dried chiles to a skillet. Heat to medium/low heat and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, turning often. You just want the peppers to become slightly aromatic and dry out a little more.

2. In batches, grind the peppers to a coarse grind using a spice grinder or coffee bean grinder. I only use my coffee grinder for spices only.

3. Combine the ground up chiles with sour salt and kosher salt to taste. Keep store in an airtight container. Makes about 1 cup. My favorite way to enjoy the chile limon seasoning is on fresh fruit.

Tips~ I only use my coffee grinder for spices. They are fairly inexpensive, so I would suggest using it only for spices. 

 

 

Fresh mango, pineapple and shaved coconut with lime, chile limon and a little crushed chile piquin!

Fresh fruits can be combine with cucumbers to create a beautiful Mexican Antojitos fruit tray for your next party! And if you have fruit leftover, add them to the blender with cold water, sugar and lime juice to blend up a quick agua fresca drink!

 

Fresh fruits, pineapple, watermelon, mango with cucumbers and jicama, lime juice, chile limon powder and hot sauce!