I thought it would be fun to create a post highlighting my favorite recipes from the collection of recipes of Cocina De Nuevo Leon, Josefina Velazquez De Leon edition. The content will consist mostly of the videos I shared originally. Even with the thousands and thousands of modern ways to find recipes, I find most of my inspiration from family and traditional cookbooks, especially vintage ones. Come along with me on my journey to Cocina De Nuevo Leon! I will be adding more recipes in the coming months!
Sometimes treasures come in the form of a cookbook!
I confess that I have always had this obsession with the 40’s and 50’s era. The styles, the music, the clothing and maybe because life seemed so simple. As I browse through the pages, I can almost see the cocina, hear the sounds, smell the aromas of each recipe. How proud these ladies must have felt knowing that their cherished recipes were published for all the world to enjoy.
The first recipe I want to share with you is for tortillas de harina norteñas. Flour tortillas from northern Mexico.
I followed this recipe exactly as it is written in the book. My first thoughts were that it was a lot of lard for only 2 cups of flour, but I went ahead and prepared it as written. The tortillas rolled out so easily and so thin. They were beautiful and delicious! You will find all the printable recipes at the end of this post. I narrated the video in Spanish reading the instructions from the book.
The Second Recipe is Frijoles Fronterizos. Boarder Beans.
Popular in Baja, California, hence the name fronterizos, boarder beans. The main thing one should understand about Mexican dishes is that no one recipe is going to be the same throughout Mexico. My family has their own version of this style of soupy beans. Mom frijoles a la charra did not include chorizo, queso panela, poblanos or tomato. They did include bacon, onion, serrano peppers, cilantro and a little Mexican beer. No podian faltar para la carne asada(they could not be carne asada without frijoles a la charra)! There are other variations that include hot dogs, pickled jalapeños and chicharron! I enjoy them all!
The third recipe is Caldillo Estilo Norteño
The liquid on the plate is referred to as caldillo. It could be the broth from the meat, broth from blended tomato salsa or a cross between the two. In this case it’s a fresh tomato salsa that is blended with water and simmered with the dried beef to yield a tasty caldillo. Carne seca, dried beef, is very popular in la cocina de Nuevo Leon and through-out northern Mexico. Mom always had a bag in the cupboard. I often wondered if she knew that my brothers and I used to sneak bits of it and eat it, lol! It’s kind of like a Mexican beef jerky.
Tortillas de Harina Norteñas. Nuevo Leon style flour tortillas popular in the northern parts of Mexico
Ingredients
- 2 c ap flour, sifted
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 c lard or shortening
- 1 c hot water
Instructions
- Sift the flour into a large bowl. Mix in the salt. Cut in the pork lard until you have small crumbles. Gradually mix in the hot water starting with 1/3 of a cup and kneading well. Only mix in enough until the dough comes together and feels sticky.
- Transfer the sticky dough to a flat surface and knead aggressively for 6-7 minutes or until the dough feels mostly smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, form 12 equal dough balls. If you want a larger tortilla, for 8 equal balls. Rubs some shortening on your fingers and apply a light coat of shortening over the tops of the masa Again, cover with plastic and let them rest for another 15 minutes while you preheat the griddle or skillet at medium heat.
- One at a time, you will take the dough ball/disc and dredge in the flour. Place on the flat surface and gently begin to roll up, then down. Rotate the tortilla slightly and again roll up, then down. You will rotate and roll out several times until you achieve a thin 7–8-inch tortilla. Place on preheated griddle/skillet. You should see bubbles forming within a few seconds. Cook for 20-30 seconds per side.
- If the spots on the tortillas are too dark, you may need to adjust the heat, so they don't burn. To help them inflate, you could take a flat edge wooden spatula and gently press one side of the tortilla to push the steam towards the middle. Stack cooked tortillas and keep them covered. The steam created will yield a soft tortilla. Before storing, lay out tortillas in an even layer on the counter for 10 minutes. Stack once again and store in a plastic storage bag refrigerated for up to 10 days.
Frijoles Fronterizos
Equipment
- deep skillet
Ingredients
- 6 strips of bacon
- 1/3 medium white onion
- 2 serrano peppers
- 9 oz pork chorizo
- 2 large Roma tomatoes, diced
- 2 large poblano peppers, previously roasted, peeled, cleaned and diced
- 4 1/2 c pinto beans, previously cooked
- 3 c bean broth
- Salt, to taste
Garnishes
- 10 oz queso panela
- chopped bacon, previously cooked
- Cilantro, finely chopped
- Avocado, sliced or cubed
- Mexican hot sauce
Instructions
- Start by frying the bacon strips at medium heat in a deep skillet at medium heat until mostly crispy. Remove from the skillet and reserve.
- In that same skillet with the bacon fat, sauté the onions and serrano peppers for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the chorizo. Using a wooden spoon, break down the chorizo as it cooks for 8-9 minutes.
- Mix in the poblanos, tomatoes, beans and bean broth. Stir well to combine. When it comes up to a simmer, taste for salt. Cook at a steady simmer for 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with queso panela, bacon, cilantro, avocado and hot sauce.
Caldillo Estilo Norteño
Ingredients
- 8 oz carne seca, Mexican dried beef
- 3-4 tbsps Avocado oil
- 1 small white onion, sliced into thin strips
- 1 serrano, diced fine or sliced thin
- 3 medium roma tomatoes, quartered
- 2 jalapeños, stems removed and roughly chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 c water
- 1 tbsps ap flour
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add the beef to a large wire mesh strainer. Quickly rinse under cool water. Drain excess water. Moistening the dried beef will prevent it from absorbing the oil all at once when you fry it.
- To the blender, add the tomatoes, 2 jalapeños, 2 cloves of garlic and 1 1/2 cups of reserved water. Hold off on adding salt until the end because dried beef is salty. Blend on high until smooth. Set it aside.
- Preheat 1/4 cup of avocado oil for 2-3 minutes at medium heat. When ready add the beef and fry for 4 minutes, stirring often.
- When ready sprinkle in the flour to the skillet. Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the salsa from the blender along with another 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring up to a boil, reduce the heat and continue cooking for 15 minutes or until it thickens slightly. Serve with pinto beans and warm flour tortillas.
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