Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

1 x Dictionary of MEXICAN Cookin
1 x (This is part 4 of 6)

GROUND RED PEPPER: From ground dried cayenne chilies, this is often
called "cayenne pepper". See Chili, Cayenne.
GUAVA: These yellow-green fruits with pale faintly pink flesh are
about the size of a plum. They are intensely fragrant when ripe.
Guava paste is only one of the fruit pastes beloved of Hispanics,
often served with cream cheese as dessert. The fruit is cooked with
sugar until thick, then canned or shaped into blocks.
HOMINY: These corn kernels have been soaked and lightly cooked so
that the outer coating can be removed.
INSTANT CORN FLOUR TORTILLA MIX (MASA): This commercial product is
the shortcut in making fresh corn tortillas. It is fresh corn MASA
that has been dried and ground.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE (Sunchoke) This knobbed root keeps well in the
refrigerator or other cold place. Jerusalem artichokes discolor after
peeling. Dip them in acidulated water as the flesh is exposed.
Enjoy Jerusalem artichokes ray in salads, or broiled, sauteed,
mashed or in a gratin.
JICAMA: The flesh of the jicama root is often compared to that of
the water chestnut, both for flavor and crunch. Jicama is related to
the sharp-tasting turnip but is so mild in flavor that, when eaten
raw, it is usually sprinkled with lemon or lime juice and chili
powder. After the brown fibrous skin has been pared away, jicama
flesh does not discolor. Look for smallish jicama, which will be
sweet and moist.
JUNIPER BERRIES: The fruit of an ever green, juniper berries give
gin its distinctive flavor. They are sometimes used to flavor game
dishes. These blue-green berries are purchased dried. Add them
(sparingly) whole to saucy foods for subtle flavor or slightly
crushed for more impact.
LARD: This has been perhaps the most frequently used cooking fat
south of the boarder since it was introduced by the Spaniards. For
tender, flaky pastries, lard can't be beat. It is little known that
lard, for all its reputation, has approximately half the cholesterol
of butter.
MANGO: The skin of this oval fruit is washed in gold, pink, red, and
parrot green. The flesh is deep yellow, juicy and richly perfumed.
Mangoes have flat, oval pits. To slice the fruit, free it from the
pit in large pieces.
MASA: Literally "dough" in Spanish. MASA is cornmeal dough made
from dried corn kernels that have been softened in a lime (calcium
hydroxide) solution, then ground. Fresh MASA is commercially
available in Mexico, but it is tricky to work with and dries out
quickly. MASA comes finely ground, for tortillas, and coarsely ground
for tamales. It is easier to use instant corn flour tortilla mix when
making tortillas.
NOPALES: These leaves of the prickly pear (nopal) cactus are firm
crunch pads. Let size be your guide in buying them; the smaller the
pad, the more likely it is to be tender. Use tweezers to remove
spines, a sharp paring knife or vegetable peeler to remove their
bases. With a flavor similar to green beans, NOPALES are eaten both
raw and cooked.
NUTS: In southwest cooking, nuts are sometimes ground and stirred
into sauces as a thickening agent. In addition to giving the sauce
more body, raw nuts add, of course, their own particular flavor.
Toasted nuts are more often used as a garnish or in baking.
TOASTING NUTS: Toasting enhances the flavor of the nut. To
toast nuts, spread them in a single layer in an ungreased pan;
bake at 350 degrees F, stirring and checking for doneness
frequently. Nuts are toasted when they are lightly browned. Let
almonds, pecans and walnuts bake for 7 to 12 minutes. Pine nuts
toast more rapidly, in 5 to 7 minutes.
TO GRIND NUTS: To grind nuts, place 1/3 to 1/2 cup at a time in
the workbowl of a food processor or blender. Process them in
short pulses just until ground (longer and you will have nut
butter).
PAPAYA: A nearly oval fruit with creamy golden yellow skin, orange
yellow flesh and scores of shiny black seeds conveniently packed in
its center. When slightly underripe, the flesh is firm (perfect for
making into relishes); When ripe, it is so juicy as to be almost
melting.
PECAN: This oil-rich nut is an American native. See Nuts for
toasting and grinding.
PEPITA: See Pumpkin Seed PEPPER: There is PIPER NIGRUM, Peppercorn,
and the CAPSICUM FRUTECENS and CASPSICUM ANNUUM, the family of
vegetables know variously as peppers and chilies. Peppercorns came to
the Western world originally from Madagascar. The success of medieval
spice traders made black pepper more widely available and only a
little less precious than it had previously been.
Representing the FRUTESCENS contingent, bell peppers are related to
chilies but lack the capsaicin (the compound that makes them hot),
Bell peppers are therefore known as "sweet". Until recently, bell
peppers of any color than green were an oddity at many markets;
today, there is a profusion of yellow, red and purple ones. Red and
yellow are acknowledged to be the sweetest. Roast bell peppers as for
chilies.

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