Chicken Molcajete Recipe 45

CHICKEN MOLCAJETE RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• Start by Roasting the Garlic. You can have this going the whole time you are chopping, trimming and doing the other prep. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Chop only the top of the garlic off, exposing all the little "cells" of garlic cloves. Line a small pan with aluminum foil and place the garlic clove in the middle. Pour the olive oil over the garlic, allowing it to go down into the cloves. Close up the aluminum foil, and bake for about 45 minutes in the oven. The garlic will become almost as creamy as butter, and the flavor will mellow out tremendously. No longer will the caramelized roasted garlic have the "bite" associated with raw garlic. After baking and cooling, you can take the whole garlic head, turn it over and squeeze out the soft roasted garlic. While the garlic is in the oven, start on chicken and veggie prep. Trim the chicken of any fat and cut into strips if using whole breasts. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, ancho chili powder and lots of cumin. Watch the ancho chili powder - it's hot. Cut the veggies into strips, the tomatoes into wedges. Start the cooking. Cook bacon pieces until brown and crisp, then remove to another plate, leaving the drippings. Add canola oil to the bacon fat and then sear the chicken. Flip to the other side when golden brown for a total time of about 7-8 minutes. Next, add the veggies to the chicken, garlic last. Give it all a good stir. Add the tomato and enchilada sauces, then the chicken stock. Simmer for about 10 minutes, adjusting the seasoning and adding a bit of oregano. You can use Mexican oregano if you can find it. Put it all together. To the hot molcajete (put it in the oven if you don't routinely have use of an open fire like in Mexico), add the lime juice. Before serving garnish with a ripe avocado that has been sliced and drizzled with lemon juice and fresh chopped cilantro, sour cream or creme fraiche, limes and cheeses. Serve with charred tortillas. Serve with tortillas.

MEXICAN STYLE MEAT AND VEGETABLE STEW - AZTECA'S MOLCAJETE

Steps:

• Fry the bacon in a large skillet until crispy; remove from pan, reserving drippings, cut into small pieces, and set aside.
• Add the oil to the bacon drippings over medium temperature, then sauté the chicken and beef strips until browned, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes.
• In another large saucepan over medium heat, stir together the boiling water and bouillon granules until dissolved.
• Add remaining ingredients (including reserved bacon) and the cooked meat strips, and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Garnish, serve, and enjoy!
• Note: to make the seafood version of Azteca's Molcajete, omit the chicken/beef and instead have 1/2 pound shelled and deveined shrimp, 1/2 pound scallops, and as much skinned and deboned whitefish fillet pieces as you'd like (about 1/4 pound or more) which you will add in during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
• Note #2: we've also added a can of black beans to the recipe, to good effect. If the soup isn't as thick as you'd like it to be, try adding a can of refried beans - it works well! We've also served it with crisp tortilla strips and a dollop of Mexican crema instead of monterey jack. It's a versatile recipe, so experiment and enjoy yourself! :) If you have made the Rich and Delicious Enchilada sauce recipe of mine, you might recognize many of the soup ingredients - to make the sauce into soup, use 2 cups of the sauce, add 1 cup hot water and 1/2 teaspoon chicken stock granules, then add the cooked chicken and garnish ingredients as usual.