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Health & Fitness

A Taste of Cinco de Mayo

Wherever life has taken me, I've found it easy to incorporate the influence of Mexican cuisine into my cooking. Here's a quick and easy dish to celebrate the Cinco de Mayo ("fifth of May") holiday.

Cinco de Mayo, Spanish for "fifth of May," is a day that commemorates the Mexican army's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. This battle directly influenced the future of North America. On this day we celebrate the heritage and pride of the people of Mexico. While I am not of Mexican descent, I did grow up in a town heavily influenced by Mexican culture. In Las Cruces, New Mexico, a typical meal would often include pinto beans and some roasted green chile. A family outing might find us at a nearby farm, picking bags of green chile and other vegetables. I can still remember the wonderful smell of freshly cooked flour tortillas wafting from our neighbor's kitchen. It wouldn't be long before you could find us kids around her table, happily savoring the hot tortilla, melted butter oozing from its edges. Delicioso! It is not uncommon to drive to a local burger joint in New Mexico (even one with golden arches) and find green chile on the menu.

Wherever life has taken me, I've found it easy to incorporate the influence of Mexican cuisine into my cooking. Here in St. Charles, a visit to the food of my childhood is as close as my local supermarket or neighborhood vegetable stand. The green chile I grew up with was known as "Big Jim," but locally you will find its equivalent by the name "Anaheim." Preparation for most dishes will call for first roasting the chile until the flesh is mostly brown. Once cooled, the skin and the seeds are removed. (Caution must be used, as well as gloves, when handling the chile - here's my blog post with instructions) I usually do this in my oven under the broiler, though it can be done on an outdoor grill or even on the stove top on a griddle, or comal. No other smell equals the fragrance of freshly roasting green chile; none take me back to my youth so well.

What can you do with the chile once you have roasted, peeled, and seeded it? The possibilities are endless! I love adding it to an omelet or on fried eggs. A homemade burger tastes wonderful topped with green chile. If you like recipes that are moderately challenging, chile rellenos are an excellent dish and my personal favorite. Here is my recipe. Chile rellenos found in restaurants are frequently made with a poblano pepper, which is much like a bell pepper. The green chile, or Anaheim, works equally well. Another dish that easily adapts to the addition of green chile is quiche. I simply substitute green chile for other vegetables I might use. The following recipe is for a crustless quiche, but for those who prefer, a flour crust can be placed in the pie plate first and the cheese omitted.

Crustless Green Chile Quiche

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 cups heavy cream (I prefer fresh from a local farm.)
  • 6 medium or 5 large/extra large eggs (I also prefer these from a local source.)
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups grated cheese (Monterrey Jack gives a nice flair.)
  • 1-2 roasted green chiles, peeled, seeded and chopped, or a small can of diced green chile
  • seasonings to taste

Directions:

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put cheese into a pie plate and spread all around the bottom and up the sides to cover as much of the pan as possible. The oil from the cheese helps prevents the crust from sticking. Put chile all over bottom layer of cheese. You can also add some diced up cooked meat, if you wish. Bacon or sausage go well. Whisk eggs and cream together until just mixed. Very slowly pour egg/cream mixture into pie plate. Sprinkle desired seasonings on top. I usually add a little cumin, some sea salt and black pepper. Carefully place dish in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Once slightly cooled, loosen crust all the way around on the sides and then slice into 8 pieces. (Loosening the sides will help prevent sticking once the dish has cooled completely.) Top with salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole and enjoy. One of the nice things about this dish is that it tastes great hot or cold.

Pick up some green chile today for your own celebration. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

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