A Mexican Fiesta: Food and Recipes Galore

Black chickpea, crab and fennel verrine recipe with apple and avocado

Check out this recipe via La Tartine Gourmande that combines chickpeas, crab and fennel in a ceviche-like mixture that is perfect for lunch outdoors. 

You need:

• 200 g (1 heaped cup) cooked black chickpeas
• 200 g fresh crab meat, diced
• 1 large avocado, pitted and finely diced
• 1 medium fennel bulb, finely sliced
• 1 medium red apple, cored and finely diced
• Black sesame seeds, to taste
• 6 pink radishes, finely sliced

Dressing:

• Sea salt
• 2 limes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or fresh)
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander
• 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Red peppercorn, ground, to taste

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the lime juice with the sea salt, garlic, and ginger.
• Add the oils and whisk to emulsify.
• Season with ground red peppercorn to taste, and stir in the coriander. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, crab meat, avocado and apple. Toss gently with the fennel and radishes.
• Add the dressing and toss gently. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds, and serve.

Sweet Corn Guacamole

The tastiest guacamole always includes a bit of fresh sweet corn. Here’s an awesome recipe that is sure to inspire your get togethers and dinners this coming Spring. 

Sweet Corn Guacamole

• 2 avocados
• 1/2 can black beans, drained
• 1 earful of corn (approximately 1 cup)
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• juice of 1 lime
• salt, to taste

Directions:  In a medium-sized bowl, combine black beans, corn, red onion, jalapeno pepper, red bell pepper, garlic, cilantro, and salt. This corn mixture can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge up to a week. For the guacamole, slice and cube two avocados. In a large bowl, mash the avocados with a fork or the back of a spoon to desired consistency. Add lime juice and corn mixture and combine. Taste and adjust salt and lime amount as necessary. Serve with your favorite kind of tortilla chips.

(Source: morefruitplease.wordpress.com)

Dulce de Leche Blueberry Cheesecake

Check out this fabulous dulce de leche cheesecake with a blueberry twist.  The first recipe is made with a homemade crust that incorporates GOYA® Maria Cookies and a luscious caramel-flavored filling, that is then topped off with blueberries (see this recipe for how to incorporate the blueberries into the mix). 

As GOYA says, it’s as if ‘America’s favorite dessert just got better’.For a portion of 10 pieces of cake, you’ll need 15 min. of prep time and about 1:30 for baking and cooling time. 

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (7 oz.) GOYA® Maria Cookies1/2 cup butter, melted4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened1 can (14 oz.) GOYA® Sweetened and Condensed Milk4 eggs, room temperature1 1/2 tsp. GOYA® Vanilla Extract1 bottle (14 oz.) GOYA® Dulce de Leche, divided.

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 325ºF. Place cookies in bowl of food processor. Pulse 30 seconds, or until finely ground. (Or, place cookies in zip-top bag and using the bottom of a heavy skillet, pound cookies until finely crushed); transfer cookie crumbs to bowl (there should be about 2 cups). Add butter, stirring until combined. Transfer cookie mixture to 9” spring form pan. Using your fingers, press cookie crumbs evenly onto bottom and sides of pan. Bake until firm and fragrant, 7 – 10 minutes; cool.

2.  In bowl of electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add condensed milk; beat until smooth, 1 minute. Beat in eggs, vanilla and 3 tbsp. dulce de leche until combined, 3 minutes. Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake until golden brown and set, but still wiggly in the middle, 45 – 55 minutes. Turn off oven; partially open oven door. Let cake sit in oven until room temperature, about 1 hour. Transfer cake to refrigerator; cool completely at least 4 hours.

3.  Remove cheesecake from pan. Place remaining dulce de leche in zip-top bag. Using scissors, snip small hole in corner of bag. Applying even pressure on “pastry bag,” make swirly designs on top of cake; slice and serve.

Tropical Fruit Ice

Did you know that Elvis Presley is said to have loved ice cream? His favorites were chocolate milkshakes and peach ice cream. 

For a healthier version of ice cream and a typical Mexican recipe, try a Tropical Fruit Ice recipe.

This Tropical Fruit Ice, for instance, is a dessert that you don’t have to give up when you’re watching calories. Made with Goya Fruit Pulps, it’s a dessert that’s low in calories and packed with delicious fruit flavors, like coconut, tamarind, papaya, mango, and as used here - guanábana (sour sop) and guayaba (guava).

Vegan Mexican Sopes

This is a delicious option for a special dinner with friends and family or as a starter for your next Mexican fiesta menu. These Mexican sopes are a filling, nutritious way to enjoy vegan Mexican food. With a slightly thicker falafel-like base and a cute round shape, sopes are another cool option for making typical Mexican food dinner that isn’t tacos or burritos. You can also add meat if you want to spice it up even more. 

Ingredients:

3 cups of GOYA® Masarica

3 cups of hot water

GOYA® Corn Oil

1 can (16 oz.) GOYA® Traditional Refried Beans

4 oz. white cheese, shredded

1 bottle (17 oz.) Salsa GOYA® (Verde, Taquera or Pico de Gallo)

2 cups of chopped lettuce

2 avocados, cut in slices

2 tomatoes, cut in slices

Directions:

1.Place 3 cups of masarica in a large bowl. Gradually add water, kneading until smooth. Divide the dough into 6 equal parts and form dough into small balls, about 5 or 6 inches in diameter. Place the dough on a paper towel and cover.2.Pat each ball into a 3 inch sope with raised edges. In a saucepan, heat a small amount of oil over medium-high heat. Cook the sopes on each side until golden brown, adding oil as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. Remove the sopes and allow them to cool.3.

Top with heated refried beans, shredded white cheese, lettuce, the salsa of your choice and avocado.

Recipe via Goya.com

Mexico City Seafood Stew

Starting out with some super fresh ingredients like the shrimp featured above, this Mexico City Seafood stew looks (and I’m sure smells!) absolutely delicious. If you’re looking for a healthy, fresh stew, this is an awesome Mexican recipe that everyone is sure to fall in love with. 

Mexican Salad by Foodlets

This is a picture that was shared with me via twitter…Looks delicious and like a very nice restaurant. Can you guess what ingredients are used in the salad?

(Source: foodlets.in)

Ladybug Sandwich Summer Recipe

Here is a great sandwich that will be fun for kids to make and will be the perfect opportunity for the little ones to explore cooking with you. The recipe, based on a more traditional American sandwich, can be modified to fit Mexican cuisine by substituting the bread for a tortilla, the two slices of swiss cheese for tomato (the wings of the lady bug) and you can lay a bed of lettuce down beneath the red and yellow peppers (that happen to fit in perfectly). For more fun, feel free to let the kids decorate the lady bug with more black olive slices. 

(Source: kiboomu.com)