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Cervantes Recipes

CERVANTES GREEN CHILE STEW


There is nothing like a hearty bowl of green chile stew to warm your family or guests’ hearts and souls.
 
You'll Need:
1 1/2 lbs. pork loin or roast, cubed
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 cups water
1 jar Cervantes Green Chile
4 small potatoes, diced

Cut pork into small cubes*. Sauté meat in oil until brown. Add chopped onions and diced potatoes. Continue cooking until onions are clear and potatoes begin to soften. Add water and jar of Cervantes Green Chile. Cover tightly. Simmer or slow-cook until potatoes are soft and meat is tender. Approximately 40 to 50 minutes. Serve in soup bowls with warm tortillas.
 
Serves 4.
 
* Beef or chicken can be substituted for pork.
 
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Fiesta Shrimp Fajitas

Ingredients

1 pound medium sized shrimp (about 35 total), shelled and deveined with tails removed
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 each large green, red, and yellow bell peppers stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced into ½ rings
½ cup shredded Mexican Blend or Cheddar Cheese
1 jar Cervantes Jalapeño Salsa (mild, medium, or hot)
6 Home-style Flour Tortillas
6 oz Sour Cream (optional)

Directions

In a medium size bowl, stir together shrimp, garlic, and lime juice.  Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, wrap tortillas in foil and place in a 350 degree oven until hot (about 15 minutes).  Heat canola oil in a wide nonstick frying pan over medium high heat.  Add bell peppers and onion.  Cook veggies, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender (about 10 minutes).  Remove veggies and keep warm.  Add shrimp mixture and 1 Cup Cervantes Jalapeno Salsa to pan, increase heat to high, and cook.  Stir often until shrimp are opaque in the center.  Add veggies to shrimp mixture in pan.  Spoon shrimp & veggie mixture into tortillas, top with sour cream (optional) and roll up.  Serve with remaining Cervantes Jalapeño Salsa.

Serves: 4-6 people

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CITRUS FRUIT SALSA

Quick and easy to make salsa which can be served as a 'dip' or as a sauce for chicken or seafood.
 
1 16 oz. jar Cervantes salsa
1 small Roma tomato, seeded and minced
1 Tbsp freshly minced Cilantro
1 large Mandarin orange peeled and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts.
 
Pour the Cervantes Salsa of choice into a large mixing bowl.
Add the orange slices (You can also make this with a number of fruits: Mango, Papaya, Pear, etc:)
Add the other ingredients and stir well. Serve.
 
So many people seem surprised when we tell them there are many ways to use Salsa. Most think of it as only a dip. Well, trust me, you can take this recipe and add it to a saute pan in which you have just cooked a fresh chicken breast, warm the salsa and pour over the breast and love it. The same is true if you add it to a fresh fillet of your favorite fish. Try it!
 
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TAPAS: ROASTED BELL PEPPERS WITH CERVANTES SALSA

You can do this recipe with either Hot, Medium or Mild Cervantes Salsa - depends on your taste. Your guests will thoroughly enjoy this dish, hot or cold, doesn't matter.
 
Serves 4 - 6 as an hors d'ouevres
 
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1/2 red onion/ sliced very, very thinly
3 cloves fresh garlic, sliced thinly (Not minced, sliced)
2 tsps Spanish Paprika
pinch salt - to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup dry Sherry (never use cooking sherry)
8 oz Cervantes Salsa
 
Turn oven to broil. Meanwhile, cover bottom of cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
 
Place bell peppers on sheet, broil, turning frequently until peppers are well roasted. (They will turn very black all over if you tend them often enough. The more they are roasted the easier to peel.)
 
While peppers are roasting (20 - 30 minutes) peel and slice garlic. Peel and slice red onion.
 
Remove roasted peppers from oven, wrap in paper towels, place in paper bag or Zip lock, close tightly and set aside to allow peppers to cool. When cool enough to handle easily, remove from bag and peel away skin.
 
When peeled, remove seeds and vein by washing gently under running water. Slice peppers into long thin 'julienne'.
In a serving dish (boat if you have it)pour a small amount of olive to cover bottom lightly.
 
Spoon in a thin layer of Cervantes Salsa. Add a sprinkled layer of garlic cloves.
 
Follow by layering in strips:
red bell
yellow bell
green bell
red onion
garlic slices
few drops of olive oil
spooned in Cervantes Salsa
sprinkling of Spanish Paprika
generous amount of Sherry
 
Keep adding layers until dish is complete. Place in refrigerator for up to overnight. You may serve this cold or hot, matters not. It is delicious.
 
Enjoy as an appetizer along with Cervantes Salsa and crab stuffed Poblana Chile Peppers and Cervantes Red Chile and Chorizo stuffed mushrooms. Those recipes are also posted by yours truly.
 
Enjoy!
 
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BILL'S BOULLIBAISE WITH CERVANTES GREEN CHILE

I have developed dozens of unusual recipes using Cervantes bottled sauces and salsas. They are simply wonderful and have received nationwide acclaim via the Food Network. Here is my recipe for a real New Mexican/French/Italian wintertime treat: Bill's Boullibaise with Green Chile Sauce.
 
Makes 1 gallon
6 qt. stew pot
 
mise en place (everything you'll need)
2 Tbsps olive oil
6 cloves freshly minced garlic
1 medium yellow onion diced (substitute green onions in season)
1 large red and 1 large yellow & 1 large green bell pepper - coarsely chopped
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1 cup slice Shiitake mushrooms
1 cup sliced portabella or crimini mushrooms
2 Tbsp dried Oregano (1 Tbsp fresh)
1 1/2 Tbsp dried Basil
1 1/2 Tbsp dried Tarragon
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 4 oz. can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups dry red wine (do not use cooking wine - too salty.
4 cups water (32 oz.)
 
SEAFOOD mise en place
1 1/2 doz. littleneck clams - in the shell
1 1/2 doz. black (New Zealand) mussels in shell
1 1/2 lb. snow crab legs, chopped into 1 in. pieces.
1 1/2 doz. small fresh shrimp, peeled & de-veined
1 lb. sea scallops, halved across the grain
4 2 oz fillets of mahi-mahi or similar white fish, cut into cubes
Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 - 1 jar (8 oz to 16 oz) Cervantes New Mexican Green Chile Sauce
 
Heat Stew pot over medium heat and add olive oil
add and saute garlic for 2 - 3 minutes
add minced onion and, while stirring frequently, cook for additional 3 minutes
add next nine (9) dry ingredients and saute until all are wilted but remain crisp.
Add diced tomatoes and tomato paste
increase heat slightly and reduce stew by 1/3rd
Add 1 cup red wine
reduce quickly, evaporating alcohol from wine.
Add 2 cups water and stew over low heat together approximately 1 hour, allowing all flavors to combine as stew concentrates.
 
Stir in all the spices - Oregano - Tarragon & Basil
Add Cervantes New Mexican Green Chile Sauce
Continue to cook slowly.
 
Stew will reduce by approximately 1/3 in 1 hour.
 
Add remaining 1/2 cup red wine
and as additional 2 cups of water.
 
Add fish/seafood in order indicated above.
 
Allow Boullibaise to simmer over low heat until ready for serving. At this point you may choose to correct your seasonings, adding water to increase volume of Stew. Be careful to maintain flavors.
 
If you are new to New Mexico Green Chile it may be best to add 8 oz. of Chile, allow to concentrate with other ingredients, taste and add more to suit your taste buds. We often use two (2) jars because we love the heat.
 
Serve with slices of toasted French or Italian bread - slathered with olive oil and minced garlic.
 
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CRAB CAKES WITH A BIT OF NM

Comment : It always bothered me that traditional seafood dishes from the coast(s) had little of the intense flavor New Mexican Chile(s) can provide. A few years back I started to incorporate and experiment with adding them to virtually all my traditional seafood recipes. Here is my adaptation from an old, olde Maryland Crab Cake recipes. I make these either as 'half dollar' cakes for an appetizer or '2 inchers' for a main course. Either way they are terrific.
 
These crab cakes are best if prepared 90 minutes before cooking.
While there are a number of ingredients in this recipe the preparation time is brief: 30 minutes at most. Add an hour for the crab cakes to cool and ten to cook them: 1:40 from beginning to end. We often serve these as appetizers to guests who drop in 'unexpectedly'. They are great with the roasted bell peppers mentioned following the recipe.
 
Serves four (4) or makes 12 - 14 appetizers
 
mise en place
1 16 oz can pasteurized Maryland or Thai blue crab meat, picked over.
1/4 red bell pepper very finely minced (bournoise)
1/4 green bell pepper very finely minced
4 oz Cervantes Green Chile Sauce
2 green onions, finely sliced, white part only
1/2 tsp granulated garlic (dried)
*1 egg
1/4 - 1/3 cup mayonnaise or you may substitute plain yogurt, if you like a sharper flavor.
1/4 - 1/3 cup buttermilk.
1/2 - cup fresh bread crumbs
salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Set aside additional 1 cup breadcrumbs to coat cakes.
 
1/4 lb. butter for sauteeing
1/4 cup olive oil for saute pan

Place blue crab in large mixing bowl.
Stir in bell pepper, Cervantes Chile, green onions and granulated garlic to mix fully.
 
Break egg directly into mixture and stir until fully incorporated.
 
Using your clean hands, mix in buttermilk and breadcrumbs, feeling for consistency of mixture. Make certain all ingredients are easily held together in a large, somewhat moist ball. If crab mix doesn't hold together add buttermilk. Just don't allow crab to become so moist it falls apart.
 
Pour 1 cup breadcrumbs onto serving plate.
 
With your hands, form small round 1/2 inch thick crab cakes. Make sure they are firmly held together by binder.
Roll each cake in breadcrumbs, coating outside and edges with them.
 
Place prepared cakes on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, allowing crab cakes to set (You may keep them overnight).
 
To serve
Heat a saute pan to medium, add 2 Tbsp butter and a few drops of Olive oil to pan.
 
Cook cakes in pan without overcrowding as quickly as possible until browned (3 mins or so). Remove and set aside for serving.
 
Personally, I serve these by using the left over red/yellow/green (if I use it) bell peppers. First I place them on a cookie sheet lined with foil under the broiler in the oven. Broil the peppers until almost burned (you'll smell them). Remove them when roasted all over. Wrap in a paper towel then place in a paper bag, closed tightly. Allow the peppers to 'sweat' off their skins. When cool enough to handle, peel them, seed and cut into julienne.
 
Place julienne on a side dish, drizzle with olive oil, add a few slivers of freshly sliced garlic, toss on some sliced red onion and serve. For a real treat, add a few drops of dry Sherry to the peppers before serving. You can serve these hot or cold and your guests will love them.
 
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SUMMER SQUASH "CALABACITAS"

During the harvest months, fresh squash are plentiful and delicious! One of New Mexico's most popular vegetable dishes, Calabacitas, can be served as a side dish or main meal. Enjoy this simple recipe!
 
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons Canola oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 medium zucchini squash, diced
1 12-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
1 16-ounce jar Cervantes Green Chile
1 cup water
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
1/2 cup jack cheese
1 lb. lean pork loin, cubed (optional)
 
In large saucepan, saute chopped onion and diced zucchini squash in oil until onion becomes translucent. Mix in well-drained corn, jar of Cervantes Green Chile, and water. Add salt, garlic powder, and pepper to taste. Cover tightly and simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes or until squash is tender throughout, but not mushy. Just before serving, mix in cheese lightly.
 
Serves 4
 
Meat Option: Meat can also be added to this vegetable dish, if desired. In large sauce pan, brown cubed pork loin thoroughly. Then continue recipe as indicated.
 
*Some people continue to worry about the virus communicated via uncooked eggs. Most are today "zapped" to kill any such disease. However, if you are worried, place the egg in a measuring cup, cover it with water and cover the cup with a paper towel or plastic bag. Heat in a microwave to 140F. killing all the bacteria. (Coddling) Then mix egg into crab mixture. Don't want an egg? OKAY - It only acts as the binder and you may substitute a blend of bread crumbs & buttermilk.
 
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QUICK & EASY ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

Enchiladas are one of New Mexico's oldest and favorite dishes. Make this quick & easy casserole for the entire family and watch them smile with delight! Enchilada casseroles are also a great potluck party idea!

You’ll Need:
12 Corn Tortillas
2 Jars Cervantes Red or Green Chile Sauce
1 lb. Ground Beef*
6 oz. Canola Oil
1 lb. Mozzarella, Jack or Cheddar Cheese
4 oz. Shredded Lettuce and Diced Tomatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped onions (optional)
 
Preheat oven to 350F. In skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add ground beef, season with salt & pepper, and brown meat thoroughly. Set aside. In large saucepan, heat Cervantes Chile Sauce, set aside. Grate cheese and set aside. In deep pan on stovetop, heat remaining oil to 425F. Dip each tortilla in oil for 5 seconds. DO NO FRY TORTILLAS -- Only dip tortillas long enough in oil that they become softened! (Be sure and use long tongs to handle tortillas and beware of hot oil). Drain tortillas on paper towels to remove excess oil. In 13x9x2 dish, begin to layer and overlap 4 tortillas across bottom. Spread 1cup chile sauce over tortillas, 1/2 cup meat, and sprinkle with onions & cheese. Repeat process 2 more times. Top off last layer with remaining chile sauce & cheese. Bake at 350F until cheese melts. Remove from oven & garnish with lettuce & tomatoes. Cut in 4x3 inch squares and serve.
 
*Can substitute chicken
 
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CHULETAS DE CERDO EN CHILE ROJO, ESTILO CERVANTES

(Red Chile Pork Cutlets, Cervantes-Style)

2 pounds pork loin, trimmed and cut in 1/2-inch cutlets
1 pound sun-ripened New Mexico red chile pods (thoroughly dried)
1/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon salt
16 ounces Cervantes Red Chile Sauce (Ready-to-Serve)
 
The Marinade:
Inspect the chile pods and remove the stems, seeds and white veins.* Rinse and place the cleaned pods in a large bowl or saucepan and add enough hot water to cover. Soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour. After pods are completely reconstituted (pods should appear bright red and plump), remove them with tongs and place in blender with chile water to cover the pods. Leave about one inch space or more in the blender container. Add oregano, garlic and salt. Blend for 2 minutes (puree setting). If sauce is too thick, add more water and blend until skins disappear completely.
* Be sure to use rubber or latex gloves when handling chile pods.
 
The Pork:
In a shallow pan, place the pork cutlets in a single layer. Pour the blended marinade evenly over meat, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. For more intense chile flavor, marinate overnight.
Preheat the grill on high. Reduce the heat 375 degrees. Remove the meat from the marinade and place it on grill. Reserve marinade for basting. Cook each side 2 to 4 minutes, depending on thickness of the cutlet. Baste the meat with marinade on each side before turning. Watch the meat closely as it will cook quickly, don't overcook. You will want to keep pork moist inside.
 
Ladle two ounces of Cervantes Red Chile Sauce (finishing sauce) on each plate. Place pork in center of plate. Drizzle additional Cervantes Red Chile Sauce (approx. 2 ounces) over the meat. Garnish with sprig of cilantro. Serve with your choice of calabacitas, papitas, pinto beans, Spanish rice, or posole. The meat can also be cut in strips after preparation, wrapped in warm flour tortilla and served as a burrito. Smother burrito with Cervantes Red Chile Sauce, add grated cheddar cheese. Melt the cheese and enjoy!
 
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Heat Scale: Medium