El Gallito Veracruzano Vanilla Recipes

VERACRUZANO "PUDDING" TAMALES WITH CHICKEN, CHIPOTLE, AND HERBS

Steps:

• Place the chicken breast in a medium saucepan; cover with salted water. Bring liquid to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the chicken becomes opaque throughout, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken.
• Using kitchen scissors, cut off the brown, hard edges from the banana leaves. Cut each leaf into eight 10-inch squares. From the trimmings, make 16 1/4-inch-wide strips cut along the grain. Tie 2 strips together, forming 8 long strips; set aside.
• Set a small, heavy skillet over medium heat. When skillet is hot, add the dried chiles. Cook, stirring, until chiles are very fragrant and toasted in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer chiles to a bowl, and cover with 1 1/2 cups hot water. Set a small plate on top of the chiles, keeping them submerged.
• Add the garlic cloves to the hot skillet, and cook, turning, until soft and darkened in spots, about 20 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. When the garlic becomes cool enough to handle, peel; set aside.
• Drain the chiles, reserving 1 1/4 cup soaking liquid. In the jar of a blender or the bowl of a food processor, combine the chiles, liquid, and the garlic. Process until a puree forms. Transfer puree to a small saucepan, and simmer over medium heat until the mixture reaches the consistency of canned tomato sauce, 25 to 30 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and the sugar; set the chipotle salsa aside.
• Working in two batches, blend the masa with the stock, and strain the mixture through a medium sieve into a large saucepan. Set over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil, about 20 minutes.
• Whisk in lard until combined and thick enough to hold its shape when placed in a spoon, about 5 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon salt; transfer to a bowl. Let cool completely.
• Lay 1 banana leaf, shiny-side down, on a clean work surface, and lightly pat dry. Place 2/3 cup batter into the center. Spread the batter toward the right side, forming a rough 3-by-6-inch rectangle. Place 1 tablespoon chipotle salsa, 2 tablespoons shredded chicken, and one-fourth of a hoja santa leaf or 3 sprigs cilantro onto the left side of the batter. Fold the right third of the leaf over, covering the middle third and encasing the filling between the batter. Fold the uncovered section of the leaf over the top, then fold both of the open ends under. Tie loosely with a strip around the middle. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
• Line the steamer basket with small pieces of banana leaves. Transfer prepared tamales to steamer, no more than 2 deep. Cover the tamales with remaining banana leaves.
• Steam the tamales 1 1/2 hours. Serve the tamales with the remaining chipotle salsa.

SHRIMP VERACRUZ-STYLE (CAMARONES A LA VERACRUZANA)

Steps:

• Cut bell pepper into 1-1/2"x1/2" strips. Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and green pepper strips. Cook until onion is tender but not browned. Add tomatoes, whole olives, capers, bay leaf, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat.
• Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Taste sauce and add more salt if needed. Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in another large skillet. Add shrimp.
• Cook over medium heat until shrimp turns pink, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle a few drops of lime juice over shrimp. Add sauce. Cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

GELATO DI CREMA - VANILLA CREAM BASE FOR GELATO

Steps:

• In a large bowl whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until pale yellow and thickens up.
• Combine the whole milk, heavy cream and 1 vanilla bean, sliced in half lengthwise in a saucepan. Heat the mixture just until it starts to bubble along the edges. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Remove from the heat.
• Remove the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds with the tip if a small knife and add the seeds back into the milk mixture. Discard the vanilla bean shell.
• While whisking the egg mixture add in about a cup of the warm milk mixture and combine together. Then add in the rest of the egg mixture to the milk. Heat the mixture slowly to 175 to 180 degrees F. The custard should be thickened and coat the back of a wooden spoon. Do not allow the custard to simmer.
• Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve, cover and refrigerate until well chilled.
• You can transfer this custard into the ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions. This will make vanilla gelato, or you can make the following variations.
• Espresso: add 1/2 cup of chilled espresso coffee into the custard.
• Chocolate: add 3 ounces melted bittersweet chocolate into the warm custard before chilling.
• Pistachio or hazelnuts: In a blender add 6 ounces shelled pistachios with the heavy cream and puree before adding into the saucepan.
• Amaretto: Stir in 1/2 cup of crushed amaretto cookies into the milk before heating and add 1-ounce amaretto liqueur into the finished chilled custard before freezing.

VANILLA GELATO

Steps:

• Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until thick and pale lemony yellow but still gritty, about 2 minutes; set aside.
• Heat the milk and cream in a medium saucepan until small bubbles pop up along the pan's inner rim; adjust the heat to keep the mixture very hot but do not boil.
• Whisk about 1/4 of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture until smooth, then whisk this combined mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk mixture.
• Immediately decrease heat to very low (if you are using an electric stove, move the pan to a second burner just now set on low).
• Cook slowly, stirring constantly, while the mixture thickens to the consistency of smooth, very wet cake batter and can coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 minutes.
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove any extraneous bits of cooked egg; stir in the vanilla and salt.
• Refrigerate until cold, for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Just before you make the gelato, place the vanilla custard in the freezer, just to assure it is very cold, for no more than 10 minutes.
• Freeze the custard in your ice cream machine according to manufacturer's directions.
• Serve at once (will be soft) or transfer to a large freezer container and store in the freezer, tightly sealed, for up to 1 month; soften at room temperature for up to 10 minutes before serving.