The Mexican Slow Cooker: Recipes for Mole, Enchiladas, Carnitas, Chile Verde Pork, and More Favorites Read Online Free Page B

into 1-inch pieces (about 1½ cups)
    1 ear fresh corn, husked and cut into 6 (1-inch) wheels
    12 fresh epazote leaves
    TO SERVE
    Bolitas
    Hass avocado wedges
    Warm corn tortillas
    Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chiles and toast on both sides, turning occasionally and pressing down with a spatula, until they soften and blister. Remove from the pan. When the chiles are cool enough to handle, tear them into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Add the hot water and soak the chiles, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
    While the chiles are soaking, place the tomatillos in a small saucepan, cover with water, and simmer for 5 minutes, or just until tender. Drain.
    In a blender, combine the chiles and their soaking liquid, tomatillos, onion, and garlic and puree until very smooth. (For a smoother texture, you can press the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, if you like.)
    Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet. Add the puree and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a 5-quart slow cooker along with the beef, water, salt, cumin, green beans, zucchini, and corn. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
    When the soup is almost ready, make the bolitas . About 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve the soup, add the epazote and bolitas, cover, and cook until the bolitas float to the surface, about 15 minutes. Serve hot with wedges of avocado and warm tortillas.

Bolitas
    ¼ cup milk
    1 tablespoon butter, melted
    1 large egg
    1 teaspoon kosher salt
    About ⅓ cup dry masa harina (preferably Maseca brand)
    In a bowl, combine the milk and butter. Stir in the egg and salt until thoroughly combined. With a fork, stir in the masa harina to form a dough that is soft but not sticky. With damp hands, form small teaspoonfuls of the masa into balls. Flatten each ball slightly, and indent lightly on both sides with your thumb and forefinger. Drop into the simmering soup. When they float, they are done.
    VARIATION
    • Instead of making bolitas, about 30 minutes before you’re ready to serve the soup, ladle 1 cup hot soup from the slow cooker into a bowl and stir in ¼ cup dry masa harina. When the mixture is well blended, whisk into the soup and cook another 30 minutes.

Sopa de Lentejas y Longaniza
    LENTIL SOUP WITH LONGANIZA SAUSAGE Serves 4 to 6
    Mexican carnicerías (butchers) sell long, looping skeins of longaniza, a mild pork sausage flavored with garlic, red chile, cumin, and oregano (not to be confused with the Spanish or Filipino sausages of the same name, which are very different). Longaniza is widely used in Mexican cooking, though it is less well known in the United States. A quality Mexican pork chorizo may be substituted. This high-fiber soup, packed with vegetables, freezes well.
    10 ounces cured (firm) Mexican longaniza
    1 white onion, finely diced
    1 small celery stalk, diced
    2 Anaheim chiles, or 1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
    1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced
    1 small white rose potato, peeled and diced
    2 dried bay leaves
    1 tablespoon whole dried Mexican oregano
    1 tablespoon kosher salt
    2¼ cups green lentils (about 1 pound), rinsed and picked over
    1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
    2 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
    10 cups water, or more as needed
    Remove the casing from the longaniza and crumble the sausage into a 6-quart slow cooker. Layer the rest of the remaining ingredients in the slow cooker, in the order that they are listed. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours, checking occasionally and adding more water if needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving hot.
    VARIATIONS
    • Add 1 small smoked pork hock with the rest of the ingredients.
    • To make a vegan soup, substitute ⅓ cup bacon-flavored soy bits for the sausage.

Sopa de Fideos
    TOMATO SOUP WITH CAPELLINI, AVOCADO, AND CHICHARRÓN Serves 4 to 6
    For many, sopa de fideos is the comforting taste of home. It is served everywhere, every day, in