The Flavor of Guadalajara Grill

Try This Mexican Recipe From Tlaxcala: "Calabacitas Olmecas"

 

Calabacitas Olmecas are Olmeca-style Zucchini squash stuffed with Shrimp. The Olmecas were a native people of Tlaxcala over 1,000 years ago, and were a close relative of the Mayans.  Among the first tribes to inhabit Tlaxcala, they built a large and important city at Cacaxtla, near present day Tlaxcala.  This is Mexican Food in Tucson at its most original and authentic best.

This flavorful shrimp dish will make a great impression on any occasion.

Ingredients 

• 1 cup of cooked yellow corn 12 small or 6 large zucchini squash (depending on what is available where you shop)
• 4 Tomatoes (baked or slow cooked in a frying pan to soften)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1 large onion, 1/2 finely diced
• 1 lb small shrimp
• 2 Chiles Serranos or Jalapenos
• 1 cup of Queso Fresco
• 4 Chiles Poblanos (cooked, cleaned, and cut into strips)
• Salt and Pepper
• Oil, Butter or Margarine

Directions:

• Blanche the zucchini for several minutes in hot water, just below a boil, or Microwave for 2-3 minutes, to partially cook and soften.
• Without breaking their outer shell, slice the top 1/4 lengthwise off the zucchini, and carefully scoop out the inside with a teaspoon, leaving enough thickness in the outer walls and shell to retain structure. Place in a baking dish.
• Using a blender or food processor, prepare the salsa by pureeing the garlic, 1/2 non-diced onion, cilantro, chiles serrano and cooked tomatoes. Set aside.
• In a sauce pan, heat the oil or butter and add the diced onion and shrimp, and allow to cook 5 minutes.
• Add 1/2 cup of the salsa to the shrimp, and cook another 5 minutes on medium heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Fill the zucchini squash with the shrimp and salsa mixture, sprinkle the top generously with queso fresco, then lay the strips of Chile Poblano on top of the cheese.
• Place in oven at 400 degrees 3-5 minutes or until the cheese has turned a golden brown.
• Remove from the oven, and decorate each piece by sprinkling yellow corn kernels on top.
• Serve 2 small, or 1 large stuffed zucchini per guest, accompanied by with white beans and rice or the sides of your choice.

Buen Provecho!!

Mexican Squash Blossom Soup Comes to Guadalajara Grill

Come join Guadalajara Grill Tucson's Mexican Culinary Tour.

 

This month of July, 2010 we are going to take you to Puebla, home to Popocatepetl the volcano called “Popo” by locals. Still steaming hot, Popo often spills molten red lava down the hillside.

And if you want to fill your home with the delicious tastes of Puebla, and serve up something as hot and steamy as Popo, try our Sopa de Flor de Calabaza, or Squash Blossom Soup.  

Here is our recipe: 

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. Squash Blossom, Cleaned and Chopped
• 1 Liter of Chicken Broth Oil
• 2 Roasted Poblano Chiles Cut Into Strips
• 2 Cleaned Potatoes
• 1 Diced Onion
• Manchego Cheese
• Salt, Garlic, and Pepper to Taste

Preparation:

• Fry the Onion in Oil
• Add the Potatoes, the Chicken Strips, and the Chopped Squash 
• Blossom and Leave Frying in Oil
• Add the Chicken Broth and Boil.  
• Finally, Add the Cheese, Lower the Heat and Serve

Accompany the Soup with Flour Tortillas

Just like Popo, our Squash Blossom Soup is a local attraction in Puebla.  Served steaming hot, this chicken broth based soup is chock full of fresh potatoes, chiles, manchego cheese chunks and colorful squash blossoms. Just don’t be like Popo:  keep it in your bowl!!

 

Pescado en Adobo comes to Guadalajara Grill in July 2010

If you were walking between the aisles at Puebla’s Los Sapos market, you might see women colorfully attired and laboring over a molcajete (yep, the same kind of stone dish we use for our Molcajete dishes), grinding the spices for Chile en Adobo with a mortar & pestle.

The market in Puebla is filled with everything you could possibly imagine, from fresh nopales and corn, to every kind of fresh or dried or smoked or ground chile that you can imagine.  You would even see large baskets full of dried grasshoppers that are lightly dusted, like most every snack food in Mexico, with a light red chile powder. They're aren't that bad, honestly!

And you would see other large baskets and bags filled to the brim with nuts, and dried fruits, cloves and other spices like cinnamon, not to mention all the fresh fruits and vegetables that converge from all over Mexico's heartland.  

Throughout the market are food stands, where small vendors set up shop to serve local dishes made from the very foods that surround you in the market.  One dish you might see in the market is now on our menu during the month of July at Guadalajara Grill in Tucson, Pescado en Adobo.

 

The smiling Mexican marketplace cook, in her bright and colorful clothing, would start out by taking adding her fresh ground Adobo spice mix to hot oil and pan frying it to meld the flavors, before adding a fillet of fresh Pacific or Gulf whitefish and searing on both sides while cooking in the delicious, tangy, slightly spicy Adobo sauce that has an almost smoky quality. 

 

Traditionally served with rice and fresh salad, this authentic Pueblan dish is light, fresh and satisfying.  Pull up a stool and join us!  Served every day after 4pm during the month of July, and weekends all day after 11:00am.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 8 White Fish Fillets (we used Alaskan Halibut this time, which is not a fish that would be typically be used in Mexico...but we loved how it performed in Adobo sauce. Use the fish of your preference.)
• ¼ oz. Cumin
• ½ oz. Oregano
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• 5 Chiles Anchos2 Guajillo Chiles
• Cloves
• 3 Tomatoes
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 Cinammon Stick
• Oil 
• 1 Roll of White Bread
• Queso Fresco ( A Creamy, Soft, Mild Unaged  White Cheese)
• Margarine

Preparation:

• Clean Chiles / remove seeds &  soak 10 min
• Grind Cloves, Cinnamon, Pepper, Salt, Garlic,  Cumin, Oregano with Tomatoes, Chiles & Bread
• Fry all of the ground ingredients in hot oil, add  a little water but let marinade remain thick, then let stand
• Fry the Fish in Margarine for 5 Minutes on each side Until Fish is Cooked 
• Place the Fish on a Plate and Bathe with the  Marinade.
• Decorate with Queso Fresco

Accompany with White Rice and Salad. Serves 8.

Delicious Chiles en Nogada at Guadalajara Grill Tucson

 

Just a few hours southeast of Mexico city, after passing quaint farms and cactus-studded hillsides, one comes to PUEBLA. Seat of viceroys, and one of two historic centers of the Catholic church in the New World. It’s a place where Spanish and indigenous cultures and cuisines converged. Some call it the culinary capitol of Mexico. The colors are so bright you might think the whole town was painted with a box of Crayola crayons.

 

At Guadalajara Grill, we want to teach you about Mexican food and culture from all across the many great regions and states of Mexico right here at our Tucson restaurant. Our Chiles en Nogada, synonomous with Puebla, are a delicious and uniquely flavorful mix of these rich and colorful traditions.

Here's the recipe if you want to try them at home:

Chiles Rellenos en Nogada (Walnut Sauce)

Picadillo Ingredients:

• 1lb. Ground Beef
• ½  Cup of Almonds
• ½  Cup of Raisins
• 12 Roasted Poblano Chiles, with stems and seeds removed
• 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 2 chopped peaches
• 2 chopped pears
• 2 chopped apples
• 3 roasted tomatoes,chopped
• Sugar
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation of Picadillo

(Ground Beef Minced with Fruits & Vegetables):

• Place the Garlic and Onions in Hot Oil Add the Ground Beef When it Starts to Brown
• Add Tomatoes and Cook for 5-10 Minutes
• Add All Fruit, Salt, Sugar, and Pepper to Taste for Seasoning
• Let Simmer for 15 Minutes
• Fill the Chiles with the Picadillo
• Put the Chiles in Oil Until Slightly Brown and Serve

Nogada Ingredients (Walnut Sauce):

• ¼ Liter of Creme
• Queso Fresco ( A Creamy, Soft, and Mild Unaged White         Cheese) or Cream Cheese
• 2 Cups Walnuts
• 2 Pomegranates

Preparation of Nogada:

• Liquefy walnuts, cheese and crème cheese
• Season with Sugar, Salt and Pepper to taste
• Pour Mixture Over Stuffed Chiles
• Decorate by sprinkling with Pomegranate kernels