This is going to be a rare treat for any past or even new readers here at the cooking corner. Today I’ll be doing TWO recipes in one article. Since they’re related it made sense to talk about both at one time. This month’s recipes are from a June cookbook release called Veracruz All Natural, by Reyna and Maritza Vazquez. The book is full of mouthwatering Veracruz recipes developed by these sisters in their American kitchen. They started, as so many do, at a young age helping their family in the kitchen.
They worked their way up in the city of Austin, TX and went from small trailer to food truck to becoming two of the most important restaurateurs in the city. They continue to bring the flavors of Veracruz to Austin to this day. By the way, did you know the word “restaurateur” had no N? Now you do.
As I said in the opening I did two different recipes, potato taquitos (as much fun to make as they are to say out loud), and cooked tomato salsa (salsa ranchera). I started by making the salsa, so we’ll start the same way. The nice thing about the salsa is that the recipe is simple and straight forward, both in terms of ingredients and procedure. I had just about everything I needed from my backyard garden including the Roma tomatoes and the serrano chiles. The garlic, salt, and vegetable oil are from the store.
Basically, you stem the fresh ingredients and boil them for 15 minutes. It doesn’t say to slice the garlic cloves after peeling them but I did. I trust that blender about as far as I can throw it. So, I trust it kind of far. But not completely. Blend everything, heat some oil and cook the salsa. Be SO CAREFUL pouring the salsa into the pan. It will sputter and go EVERYWHERE. Stir it well, cook it briefly and move on to your next thing.
Potato taquitos (Flautas de Papa)
These were as fun to make as they were to eat. I picked up all the fresh ingredients from my local store, I gave my kitchen gadgetry a pep talk, and I set to work.
The first step as always is the dreaded (or delicious) prep work. It really didn't take long, especially since I left my potato cuts a little too large because I was rushing my prep.
The whole "less haste, more speed" cliche' would come back to haunt me, as it took way longer than the suggested ten minutes to fry up my potatoes. But the result would be worth it.
Once you have your mash, warm your corn tortillas and stuff them with the mash. I know I didn't make the tortillas from scratch as perhaps I should have, but I DID make the salsa and that counts as effort. I enjoyed my taquitos with the salsa from part 1 and some queso fresco.
I can say without exaggeration that this is probably the best thing I have ever made for this blog. The saltiness and heat are cooled by the cheese and the tomato, and everything about the taquitos dipped in the salsa just works together perfectly. My wife had some and completely agrees, though the salsa was a little on the spicy side for her. So if you're not a big fan of spice you may want to reduce the number of peppers you use, or perhaps try a less spicy pepper. The actual recipe does produce more, but I halved it for reasons of what could be consumed by my wife and I. Aside from the Godzilla-esque cuts on my potatoes the recipe went flawlessly.
If these recipes are any indication, I would highly recommend this cookbook. This Veracruz Tex-Mex fusion hits all the right notes with me. The recipe on the cover is what initially caught my eye but I couldn't get my hands on any red snapper. They say you can sub in tilapia but I really want to try it with the snapper.
Thank you for reading, library friend. Stay hungry and take chances!