molcajete

How to prepare a Mexican restaurant hot molcajete preparado!

Molcajete Preparado

spring onions (trimmed, sliced open)

serrano pepper

jalapeño pepper

cactus paddles(whole nopales)

oz Semi soft queso panela or shredded Chihuahua cheese

Salt and pepper

avocado oil

tomatillos

section white onion

serrano peppers (stems removed)

jalapeño peppers (stems removed)

garlic

cilantro

cooking water

Salt,

lb med shrimp

tsp garlic

tsp pepper

tsp salt

First! While your grill pan preheats at medium, prep your ingredients. They should be sliced and diced to desire size. Slicing the bottom of cactus paddle prevents it from curling up while it grills. Also adding a light sprinkle of salt onto cactus(nopales) ahead will pull out some of the baba(sticky liquid) from the cactus before grilling.

Lightly coat the vegetables with oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Place on hot grill pan and avoid touching them for 3-4 minutes or until you see some grill marks, Don&#39;t overcrowd the pan or the vegetables will just steam. Turn as needed. Place in shallow baking pan or on a plate. Loosely cover with foil. Set aside. if you have a lot of vegetables, you may have to cook them in batches.

Stove top grilled ingredients

Remember, multi tasking is the key to finish this recipe in a timely manner! Transfer peeled and washed tomatillo to a pot with the onion. Cover with water. Bring to a light boil and cook just until tomatillos turn color 3/4 of the way.

Preheat a small skillet to medium for a few minutes. When ready brush lightly with oil. Place the jalapeños and serranos in skillet. Roast for 20 minutes, turning as needed.

Drain out 3/4 of the water from the tomatillos and transfer to the blender. Also to the blender add the roasted chile peppers, garlic, cilantro and salt to taste.  Blend on high until mostly smooth. Taste for salt. Transfer to medium pot. Set aside.

Salsa Verde

Hold off cooking the shrimp until the molcajete is hot enough. After about 45 minutes or so. Season the cleaned shrimp with seasoning listed. Drizzle with enough oil to coat evenly. Set aside.

Preheat skillet to medium/high heat for a few minutes.

Add a single layer of shrimp in preheated skillet. Drizzle 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of oil over shrimp. Turn shrimp as needed. This is a quick cook. About two minutes. Very important that you don&#39;t overcook the shrimp. Transfer the shrimp to a resin tortilla warmer(if you have one) or  covered dish. Set aside.

Shrimp

Take the reserved salsa in a pot and heat on medium/high. After a few minutes, salsa will begin to lightly simmer. Reduce heat to low.

Using two thick pot holders, carefully flip the extra hot molcajete over onto a thick sturdy board. If you are adding some ingredients to the bottom(sauteed onion, roasted poblano strips, cheese), add them now.

Pour in just enough salsa to go up 1/2 of the way up the molcajete. Add the previously cooked meat or seafood in the center. If adding longanizo or chorizo, add it to one side. Fill spots with semi soft cheese(panela or queso fresco or melting cheese), cebollitas, drape nopales over the side. Top with grilled chile peppers(chiles toreados), fresh avocado or your favorite grilled ingredients. The ingredients in the center will be extremely hot! Serve with warm corn or flour tortillas and extra salsa. Serves 2 as a meal or 4 as an appetizer.

Assemble the molcajete

Making guacamole in a molcajete makes it truly special and combines all the flavors into a fantastic dip. Once you make it this way, you&#8217;ll never go back!

My Best Guacamole

shallot

cumin seeds

chili powder

lime (juice only)

jalapeno

(ripe avocadoes)

grape tomatoes (diced)

Salt

Tortilla chips (for serving)

Add minced shallots, jalapeno, half of the cilantro, half of the lime juice, and a pinch of salt to molcajete with cumin and chili powder. Mash the ingredients together well into a rough paste.

Scoop the ripe avocado into the molcajete and mash together with the other ingredients.

Finish the guacamole by folding in extra cilantro, minced tomatoes, a squeeze of extra lime, and a pinch of salt to taste.

Serve immediately with tortilla chips.

This recipe is all about the molcajete method. Don&#39;t forget, guacamole is very much a choose-your-own-adventure kind of dish. Have fun adjusting the amount of lime, salt, cilantro, and heat until you find your own platonic ideal.

Molcajete Guacamole

avocados

onion, diced

serrano

salt salt

limes

Molcajete

Begin by grinding a coarse paste of onion, chile, salt and half of the cilantro in a molcajete. The salt will act as an abrasive, assisting you as you grind with the tejolote. (If you like the texture of diced onion, reserve half of the onion to mix in at the end.)

Carefully cut the avocados in half, removing the pits and scooping the flesh into the molcajete. Mix well with the paste and add the rest of the cilantro, giving it a rough mash.

Season to taste with lime juice, extra chile and salt. Garnish with a few totopos (chips) and serve.

Salsa Roja or Salsa Molcajete

Serrano chile peppers (approximately 10)

lb red tomatoes

fresh pipitza or cilantro

Char the serrano peppers on the comal, turning until all sides are blackened. Let cool, slice open and remove seeds, depending on spice tolerance.

Char the tomatoes on the comal, turning until all sides are blackened and the tomatoes begin to slump.

Wash the pipitza (if using) and remove the stems, reserving the leaves. If using cilantro, remove any tough stems, but feel free to use the soft stems.

Grind the chiles, pipitza or cilantro leaves, garlic cloves and tomatoes (one at a time, since they won&#39;t fit if you add them all at once) in the molcajete until achieving a rustic but uniform consistency.

Season with salt to taste.

Shrimp Chimichurri

dill

basil leaves, whole

serrano peppers (more

olive oil

lemon juice

garlic cloves

salt

smoked paprika

water

basmati rice

Fresh corn tortillas

Add chopped serrano and garlic into the Molcajete. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons salt over the chiles and garlic to assist the ingredient break down. Using the tejolote (pestle), smash ingredients in a circular motion until a paste.&amp;nbsp;

Add scallion tops to Molcajete and repeat the process, smashing for approximately 3 minutes. Tip:&amp;nbsp; When breaking down herbs it is easier to use the tejolote to smash them using an up-and-down motion to start. Once the herbs are broken down, use the traditional circular motion to grind into a paste.

Add the cilantro and repeat the above process until it forms a paste (about 3 minutes). Tip: Once one herb is ground into a paste, use the tejolote to push the paste to one side of the Molcajete’s bowl, leaving an empty side to process the next whole herb onto.

Add the dill and repeat the above process until it forms a paste (about 3 minutes).

Add the basil and repeat the above process until it forms a paste (about 3 minutes).

Once all the herbs are incorporated and in paste form, add lemon juice into the Molcajete and mix it into the paste using a spoon.&amp;nbsp;

Slowly drizzle 1 cup of olive oil into the mixture, incorporating with a spoon or fork.&amp;nbsp;

Taste the finished sauce and season with more salt or lemon juice if needed.&amp;nbsp;

Use this sauce to marinate meats or to saute shrimp.&amp;nbsp;

Marinate the shrimp by tossing it with paprika and salt, evenly coating all pieces. Let sit for 10 minutes.&amp;nbsp;

Heat a large skillet over medium-low for about 5 minutes or until the surface is hot. Pour in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, allowing to heat for one minute.

Toss in shrimp, making sure each piece lays flat against the skillet’s surface. If your skillet isn’t large enough, work in batches to avoid over-crowding.

Cook shrimp on the first side for one minute, then flip and cook on the reverse side for one minute.

Pour in ½ cup of chimichurri sauce and toss shrimp, cooking another two minutes until the shrimp begins to curl and turn pink.

Add ¼ cup of water to create a pan sauce.

Serve shrimp and pan sauce over basmati rice and/or alongside corn tortillas.

Homemade Tajín for Elote and More

chiles,

Toast the chiles on a comal or skillet until they’re crispy but not burnt, about 20 seconds per side.

Next, transfer the toasted chiles to your molcajete and grind them until they form a fine powder.

Add coarse salt to the molcajete and continue grinding to evenly mix the salt with the chile powder.

Grate the zest of the limes directly into the molcajete and mix thoroughly to infuse the seasoning with the citrus flavor.

Salsa Macha Verde

poblano chile,

serrano chiles,

Cloves from 1 head of garlic, sliced

pumpkin seeds

sesame seeds

green onions, thinly sliced

½ cup cilantro, chopped

Heat avocado oil in a deep skillet or pot over low heat. Add garlic and cook until golden brown. Transfer garlic to a molcajete.

Add sliced poblano and serrano chiles to the pot. Cook until the seeds turn golden brown, then transfer to the molcajete.

Turn off the heat. Add pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds to the pot, stirring gently to avoid burning.

In the molcajete, mash garlic and chiles into a paste. Add lime juice and continue mashing.

Carefully transfer pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and oil from the pot into the molcajete. Stir well.

Add green onions, cilantro, and salt to taste. Mix well and enjoy!

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Top Tags

Molcajete Preparado

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Top 7 molcajete recipes from across the web

The most viewed molcajete recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Molcajete Preparado

My Best Guacamole

Molcajete Guacamole

Salsa Roja or Salsa Molcajete

Shrimp Chimichurri

Homemade Tajín for Elote and More

Salsa Macha Verde

The most viewed molcajete recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine