2515. HATCH GREEN CHILE BACON PIE

4 thick-cut slices bacon
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup masa (corn flour)
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp salt, divided
2 pinches of dried ground chipotle powder
3/4 cup olive oil
1 cup heavy cream, divided
6 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup milk
6 Hatch green chiles, roasted, peeled and diced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
6 ounces panela cheese (or mozzarella)
2 ounces cotija cheese (or feta)

Dice the bacon and cook it over medium heat in a skillet until it starts to brown - do not cook it fully. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Make the crust: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, masa flour, cornmeal, 1/2 tsp salt, and a pinch of dried chipotle. In a measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil and 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Pour the liquid into the flour mixture and stir with a fork until the dough has just come together. Press the dough over the bottom and up the sides of a large pie plate. The top edge will look a little raggedy; that's fine.

Line the pie plate with a piece of foil, covering all the dough, and add some dried peans or pie weights. Bake the crust 15 minutes, then take it out of the oven. Remove the foil and weights.

While the crust is in the oven, stir together the remaining 3/4 cup cream, the other pinch of chipotle powder, eggs and yolk, milk, diced roasted Hatch green chiles, green onions, cheeses, and cooked bacon. Pour the mixture into the pre-baked pie crust and place the pie plate on a foil-lined baking sheet - this will keep your oven from getting dirty if the pie happens to bubble over.

Bake the pie about 50 minutes, until the center is set and the top is starting to brown. Cool at least one hour before serving.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Erika Penzer Kerekes, In Erika's Kitchen, September 11, 2010

374. BLACK BEAN SOUP with BACON and EPAZOTE

serves 4


1 lb. black beans
4 quarts water
1 sprig epazote
1/2 clove garlic, minced
2 oz. oil
1/2 medium onion, sliced
4 slices of bacon
8 oz. heavy cream
Salt, one pinch
1 cube chicken bouillon, crushed

for Garnish:
Corn tortillas
Pasilla chiles
Panella cheese

Wash black beans. Cook with the epazote and garlic in water for about 3 hours or until soft.

Remove epazote after cooking and blend beans with bean stock.

Sauté bacon and onions in oil in heavy, deep pot.

Add in beans and let simmer until desired consistency is reached, stirring frequently.

Season with salt and chicken bouillon.

Strain to remove bacon and onion.

Add in heavy cream. Stir to blend.

Serve in bowl with sliced, fried corn tortillas and with sliced pasilla chiles and panella cheese on the side.

NOTES: Epazote(Chenopodium ambrosioides) is known in English as a Mexican tea or wormseed. It is a pungent herb with pointed serrated leaves, a native to tropical America, but it grows in profusion in Central and Riverside parks and backyards in New York City, and throughout many other parts of the country as well. It is very much an acquired taste, but after a while to cook black beans without it is unthinkable. In this climate it does not have such a strong flavor as that grown in Mexico, but it seems to reach its peak in the fall (the very lush plant in damp spring weather has a most uncharacteristic flavor ) The plants here will start appearing toward the end of April an last sometimes well into December if the frosts are not too severe. It is undoubtedly best used fresh. You can easily uproot a plant, or grow one from seed, and it will flourish throughout the winter indoors if planted in a large, deep pot and kept moist. However, if this is too much trouble, you can gather a quantity of it, dry it, and store it away, out of the light.

Epazote is used a great deal in central and southern Mexico but not so much in the north and northwest. It is used to flavor black beans, soups, certain fillings for Quesadillas, Muk-bil-pollo etc. there is not substitute.

The name of the herb, like that of coriander, is disparaging. It comes from the Nahuatl words epatl and tzotl, an animal with a rank odor like a skunk and something unclean.


courtesy of: The Royal Resorts, Cancun, Mexico