Hey, friends! Below are a few recipes inspired by Chef’s travels to Mexico. Some of these dishes have been featured on Mabel Gray menus, some are more mainstays of Chef’s pantry arsenal. As someone who cooks at home a lot, and has recreated Chef’s written recipes in the past: he is like the prototypical Italian ‘nonna’ who does everything by feel and memory, never writing anything down. These recipes are meant to be adjusted based on your personal preferences. Use your gut and your senses, taste as you go, and most importantly - read the recipe all the way through before you grocery shop. We believe in you! ~ Paulina
Spicy Collard Green Quesadillas
You will need
2 lb collard greens, cleaned and chopped, making sure the stems are thinly sliced, like coins.
1 Spanish onion, minced
10 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can chipotle in adobo, puréed
3 tablespoons smoked paprika
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup miso (optional)
3-4 cups shredded queso blanco or queso Oaxaca (or both)
1 pack of high quality corn tortillas
Olive oil or animal fat for frying
Optional: add chorizo, N’duja, pulled chicken, beef, etc if you’d like.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Miso isn’t traditional at all. I’m aware. But if you’re making this vegan, the miso replaces a lot of the umami you get from meat. If you’re adding chorizo or braised meat, then you can omit. N’duja isn’t traditional, either. But that’s the fun of cooking. Do whatever you want.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the onions and garlic in olive oil until softened. Add the collard greens, salt & pepper, and lightly sauté until the greens have cooked down slightly. Add the smoked paprika, miso, sugar, vinegar and let simmer very gently for 30 minutes or so. Taste. Adjust. Taste again. Collards change their flavor as they sit, sometimes getting better the next day. You can cool and use these from cold the next day when building your quesadilla.
In a cast iron pan or griddle, bring surface to medium heat. Add olive oil or animal fat. Place a tortilla on the surface and add a sprinkling of the cheese across the whole tortilla. Then add a sprinkling of collards and any meat (if you so choose). Let the tortilla crisp up and then fold directly in half, pressing down to ensure the cheese binds and seals. It’s ok if a little cheese or greens pops out and crisps a bit. You’ll get the filling ratio down after a few tries. I don’t like to overfill as I plan on eating a ton of these throughout the day. Make a big batch and just leave them out for everyone to snack on. Serve with a salsa verde, the marinated onions and margaritas. Salsa verde can be made in so many ways. Roasted, grilled, boiled, raw. Sometimes I add fish sauce. Sometimes I add fresh green apples (great accompaniment to a cider braised pork shoulder). This Rick Bayless version is a great start. Tweak it to your liking!
Guacamole
You will need
12 ripe avocado, split, core removed, scored in the skin and scooped out
4 jalapeños or 3 serrano peppers, minced
1 small onion, minced. Red or white onion works. Feel free to rinse the onions after they’ve been minced to dull their bite
4 cloves garlic, microplaned
4-8 limes, split and juiced
Chopped cilantro (optional)
Salt & Tabasco to taste
Drizzle of olive oil
Mix everything until it’s frickin’ delicious. I like my guacamole very limey, salted well and spicy. All the way up! I also like to garnish my guacamole. Sunflower seeds, grapefruit segments, pickled onions, pickled chiles, queso fresco (or feta) all work great.
Marinated Onions & Chile
This recipe is extremely simple. But it’s such an important element for a table condiment when eating tacos, quesadillas, or botanas. My favorite birria taco cart has these in a bowl and I could eat a pound I swear. I like to use habanero but any chile from jalapeño to serrano to Thai bird chile will work.
You will need
1 Spanish onion, peeled and shaved thin on a mandolin.
1-2 chiles, seeded and shaved thin on a mandolin or by hand
2 ripe limes, squeezed fresh
2 Tablespoons high quality olive oil
Salt to taste
Assembly
Shave your onions and give them a cold water rinse or soak in ice water to remove some of the sulfur flavor. Add the remaining ingredients, toss together, taste and adjust if necessary. Let sit together for an hour or so. Voila!
Mabel Gray’s Basic Margarita
You will need
2 oz high quality tequila of your choice (we use Lunazul Reposado at Mabel)
1 oz fresh lime juice
.75 oz simple syrup (or agave syrup)
.5 oz Cointreau liqueur
Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass over ice. Salted rim is optional but we recommend it. Maybe mix in a little Tajin to the salt. You can wipe a lime wedge on the rim before dipping in salt in order for the salt to stick. Feel free to multiply this recipe by 12 and make a pitcher!
A note from Paulina: I prefer a margarita with a little heat. At home, I’ll make a honey syrup out of hot honey and use in place of simple syrup. Or if you like a vegetal kick, add freshly sliced jalapeño to the cocktail tin before shaking.