Volume 12, Issue 033 - February 14, 2007

Greetings Chef,

About the Chef:

Miguel Ravago
Executive Chef, Fonda San Miguel

"After thirty years, cooking is still great fun for me!"

Miguel Ravago, executive chef and co-founder of Fonda San Miguel restaurant in Austin, Texas, began his cooking career at an early age. Growing up in Phoenix surrounded by a large family, Miguel watched as his grandmother cooked three meals a day for as many as twenty people. "I was always curious about cooking, so my grandmother started showing me how to do things like fill tamales. By the time I was six or seven, I was helping in the kitchen quite a bit. Gradually, I started cooking meals for the family several times a week. So even when I was pretty young, I think I knew I wanted to be a chef," says Miguel.

Bragard Uniforms - Look and feel your very best with our full line of chef jackets, pants and accessories for every budget starting at under $10.00

Sopa de Tortilla
Tortilla Soup

The historic restaurant Fonda El Pato in Mexico City was famous for this version of tortilla soup. Customers at Fonda San Miguel are partial to it as well.

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 small corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 medium tomatoes, broiled
1/4 cup chopped white onion
1 garlic clove
6 cups Basic Chicken Broth (recipe follows)
sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 sprigs fresh epazote, chopped, or 2 tablespoons dried epazote (see note)
6 tablespoons shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 dried pasilla chiles, fried crisp for 10 to 15 seconds, seeded, and crumbled

Preparation:

Heat oil in a large, heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Fry tortilla strips until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels, and set aside. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the oil in the pan and set aside. In a blender, combine tomatoes, onion, and garlic; puree to a smooth sauce. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat and fry the pureed sauce until it has thickened and is reduced by about one-quarter. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Check seasonings, adding salt and pepper if needed. Reduce heat to simmer. Add half of the tortilla strips and the epazote. Cook an additional 5 minutes. To serve, divide the remaining tortilla strips among 6 bowls and put 1 tablespoon of the shredded cheese into each one. Ladle hot soup into the bowls and garnish with crumbled chiles.

Variation:

To make Sopa Azteca, add 2 cups shredded chicken, 1 cup Arroz Mexicano (recipe follows), and 1 cup avocado cubes. Garnish with sour cream.

Note: Epazote - In Mexican folk wisdom this pungent herb is prescribed for gastric distress and flatulence, which is probably whit it is added to beans while they are cooking. It is never eaten raw. It grows wild in Mexico and the southwestern United States and is easy to grow in herb gardens.

Recipe inspired by Diana Kennedy

Arroz Mexicano
Mexican Rice

This is Diana Kennedy's version of the well-known Mexican side dish. The process is time-consuming but yields delicious rice.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup long-grain white rice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 12-ounce can whole tomatoes in their juice
half of a medium white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups Basic Chicken Broth (recipe follows)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup frozen green peas

Preparation:

Put rice in a large bowl, add hot water to cover, and allow to stand for about 25 minutes. Drain rice in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Shake well to remove excess water and set aside to allow the rice to dry. In a deep, heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, fry dried rice 8 to 10 minutes, or until the rice is a pale golden color. Drain off any excess oil and set pan aside. Combine tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a blender and purée until smooth. Return pan to heat and add the tomato purée; cook over high heat, stirring often, until almost dry, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the broth, salt, corn, and peas. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered, without stirring, until most of the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 30 minutes. (At this stage holes will appear in the surface.) Remove from heat, cover with foil, and set aside to soften, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Basic Chicken Broth

This is Miguel's all-purpose chicken stock recipe. It is a rich, flavorful foundation on which many other recipes are built. Although it is time-consuming to make, it will add depth of flavor to any recipe that calls for chicken broth or stock. The smart thing to do is make it in very large batches and freeze it in quart portions for future use.

Makes 2 quarts

Ingredients:

1 whole frying chicken, cut up
1 medium white onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
3 garlic cloves, mashed
8 whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon sea salt

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in an 8-quart stock pot, add cold water to cover, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook 35 to 45 minutes, or until chicken is tender. With a slotted spoon, remove chicken pieces and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and refrigerate meat for another use. Return the bones to the broth and cook an additional 1 hour. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate the stock until fat solidifies on the surface, about 6 to 8 hours. Using a slotted spoon or skimmer, skim off fat from the surface of the stock. Strain before using.

The rest of the Chef's bio:

By 1968, Miguel was ready to expand his culinary horizons, prompting him to move to Austin. There, he met Tom Gilliland, and the two became fast friends. Pooling their ideas, energy and talents, they opened the San Angel Inn restaurant in Houston in 1972.

That same year, Miguel was invited to attend advanced cooking classes with the legendary Diana Kennedy, author of the seminal cookbook, The Cuisines of Mexico. Under Kennedy's tutelage in New York City, Miguel began to perfect the cooking skills he had learned as a boy. In subsequent years, Miguel trained by Kennedy's side at her home in Mexico and toured Mexico with her. He also participated in special culinary tours of Mexico with cookbook author Marilyn Tausend, studying the cuisines of Oaxaca, Veracruz, Puebla, and the Yucatan.

In 1975, Miguel co-founded Fonda San Miguel in Austin with Tom Gilliland. Since then, Miguel has trained kitchen staff ranging from prep cooks to line cooks to servers. Three of his assistants in the kitchen, Oscar Alvarez, Eusebio Alvarez, and Zenon Renteria have worked by his side for many years, and share his passion for cooking.

Under Miguel's culinary guidance, Fonda San Miguel has set the definitive standard in Texas for authentic regional cuisine from Mexico's interior. In addition to his stewardship of the restaurant, Miguel co-authored Cocina de la Familia with Marilyn Tausend in 1997, which won a Julia Child cookbook award in 1998 and has also been published in Spanish. He is a longtime member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

Tamales con Rajas y Cebollas
Tamales with Strips of Roasted Poblano Chiles and Onions

The masa for these tamales is rich in flavor but light in texture and is perfect for a variety of fillings. Miguel uses the tamales stuffed with poblano rajas and grilled onions as a side dish with different meats, but they can just as easily be served as a meatless entrée. Good vegetarian filling alternatives would be Frijoles Refritos and panela cheese or sautéed mushrooms in adobo sauce.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1 tablespoon sea salt
6 cups masa harina, reconstituted according to directions on the package
2 tablespoons baking powder
5 teaspoons chili powder
30 corn husks
1 recipe Rajas y Cebollas (recipe follows)

Preparation:

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter 4 to 5 minutes, or until fluffy. Add sour cream, salt, masa, baking powder, and chili powder; beat until well blended. Cover dough and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

While dough is resting, cover the corn husks with boiling water and allow to soak for 15 to 20 minutes, or until pliable. Drain and pat dry.

Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of dough down the middle of a corn husk, spread dough to form a 3-inch square. Put 1 to 2 tablespoons Rajas y Cebollas in the center of the square. Fold one half of the corn husk over the filling and fold the other half to cover. Fold up the bottom (tapered) flap to seal one end. Repeat with the remaining corn husks.

In a tamale steamer or stock pot with a metal rack, pour in enough water to reach the rack. Stand the tamales close together on the rack, open ends facing up. Cover with a damp cloth and foil or the pot lid. Bring the water to a simmer over medium heat and steam tamales for 30 to 45 minutes, checking often to make sure the steamer does not boil dry.

Rajas y Cebollas
Strips of Roasted Poblano Chiles and Onions

These strips of roasted poblano chiles and onions are a very functional side dish or condiment for grilled meats and many other dishes. They are also an important component of Carne Asada a la Tampiqueña, a great garnish for all kinds of tacos, and a simple and delicious filling for tamales.

Makes 6 to 8 servings as a condiment

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips (see note)
1 medium white onion, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Preparation:

In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chiles and onions and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until onions are wilted and transparent. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot or at room temperature.

Note:

Fresh Chiles - Jalapeños are probably the most recognizable Mexican chile and the easiest to find in the United States. The jalapeño is a fat, bullet-shaped, deep green chile, two to three inches long. In sauces, jalapeños can be substituted for serranos. The poblano is dark green, five to six inches long, and triangular in shape, with a wide stem end. Strips of roasted poblanos are made in rajas and are the basis for many chile relleno dishes. Serranos are thin, bullet-shaped chiles, dark green in color and two to three inches in length. Raw or roasted serranos add heat and flavor to many sauces.

Fresh chiles can be roasted until charred and blistered on a dry comal, under a broiler, or over an open flame, using tongs. For rajas and rellenos, put charred poblano chiles in a plastic bag and allow them to sweat for 10 to 15 minutes. Using rubber gloves, peel off the charred outer skin. (Do not peel chiles under running water or much of the roasted flavor will be lost.) For rellenos, cut a slit down one side from shoulder to the tip and scrape out the seeds and membranes, being careful to keep the chile as intact as possible. For rajas, cut off the stem end and slice the peppers lengthwise into thin, 1/4-inch strips. (Don't rub your eyes, nose, mouth, or other tender body areas while handling chiles. Capsaicin, the volatile substance that gives chiles their pungency, is stored in the seeds and membranes and will burn the skin.)