I have finished eating my key lime pie and have consumed my cinnamon-scented coffee. I want to take home the Spanish accent, the slower pace, the fiesta. I make do with a stack of corn tortillas, chipotle chiles in adobo, a new cookbook and a renewed appreciation of things Latin.

Dee Hobsbawn-Smith is a chef,
author and food writer.
Her newest book, The Curious Cook at Home: Recipes & Secrets From An Adventurous Cook, is published by Whitecap.
dee@curiouscook.net

Recipes:

Tlalpeno-Style Soup

This simple soup hails from Tlalpan, a region in Mexico City. It reiterates Renette Kurz's belief in freshness as a cornerstone of Mexican cooking. Adjust the heat by altering the amount of chiles in adobo sauce that you add.

1 tbsp (15 mL) oil
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (250 mL) chopped carrots
6 cups (1.5 L) water
1 whole chicken breast (10 to 12 oz/375 g)
1 spring epazote (a cousin of oregano)
salt and pepper to taste
6 to 8 chopped tomatillos
2 chopped chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 cup (250 mL) cooked or canned chickpeas
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed
lime slices
2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped cilantro

In a large pot, heat the oil. Add and saute the onion, garlic and carrots. When they are tender, add water, chicken breast, epazote, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred or chop it when it is cool enough to handle. Add tomatillos and chipotles to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the chickpeas.  To serve, place cubes of avocado and some shredded chicken in each bowl. Fill the bowl with hot soup, garnish with a squeeze of lime juice and some chopped cilantro. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Renette's Enchiladas Verdes

On days when nothing but a wrap will do, make enchiladas. Use corn tortillas for the best flavour.

Enchiladas
1/3 cup (80 mL) vegetable oil
12 corn tortillas

Sauce and Filling
2 cups (500 mL) salsa verde, medium consistency, kept warm (recipe follows)
2 cups (500 mL) shredded and well-salted cooked chicken

Toppings 2/3 cup (160 mL) thin sour cream
1/2 cup (125 mL) crumbled queso fresco (fresh goat's cheese, or substitute feta)
2 thin slices onion, broken into rings

To make the enchiladas, heat the oil in a small skillet. Using tongs and a spatula, fry one of the tortillas lightly on both sides, turning it twice so that it heats through thoroughly, but does not become crisp around the edges (about 10 seconds on each side). Blot the excess oil onto the next tortilla to be fried.
Immerse each tortilla in the warm sauce and transfer to a plate. Place some chicken in the centre of each tortilla, roll them up loosely and arrange on a platter. Pour the remaining sauce over the top and serve immediately. Garnish with the cream, queso fresco and onion. Serves 4 to 6.

Salsa Verde

1 lb (450 g) fresh tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
2 cloves garlic
2 to 4 serrano chiles
1/4 medium onion
6 to 8 sprigs fresh cilantro
1 cup (250 mL) chicken stock or water used to cook tomatillos
salt to taste
1/2 tbsp (7.5 mL) vegetable oil or lard

Place whole tomatillos in a saucepan and cover with water. Add the garlic, chiles and onion, then bring to a boil. After 3 minutes, reduce the heat. Simmer until soft but not falling apart, then remove from the heat and cool for about 10 minutes. Use a blender or immersion wand to puree the tomatillos, garlic, onion and chiles. Add the cilantro and process briefly, so the cilantro is not ground too finely. Add chicken stock or reserved cooking water and add salt to taste. Heat the oil in a medium-large skillet on medium-high heat. Pour the puree into the pan and stir constantly for about 3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes, until darker in colour and thicker in texture. If the sauce is too thick, add water or stock. Adjust salt to taste. Keep warm.
Makes 2 cups (500 mL).

 
Things Latin have permeated Kurz's life beyond the kitchen. Her oldest child, now four, is enrolled at a Spanish immersion school for the autumn. Her ex-spouse is Antonio Vergara, chef-owner of Cucina Mexicana de los Tios, a few blocks away. Kurz has taken Spanish lessons at the University of Calgary and Mount Royal College and travels to Mexico annually, taking her young children with her. On one wall of the shop hangs a collection of ornate masks, a personal collection, she says, that celebrate November first, the day of the dead.

The fresh and authentic Mexican cuisine that Kurz and her crew cook up at Boca Loca has a become a saving grace to many of the city's Texan-American oilpatch families, she says. But Kurz also counts busy Canadian families with kids among her stalwart clientele.
"We have outgrown this place alone, we are too crowded and too busy here," she says, rolling her brown eyes at the brightly decorated walls of her store.

It doesn't look as crowded as an open air Mexican market, but there are garish strands of papel picado, or cut paper, on a string draped between the pinatas and cookbooks. "Wait until we open our second location," she says. "I have stuff I don't dare unpack until then."

The new store, currently being painted and primped, is located on the north side of the city. Kurz has begun to import her own goods, and the new store will operate as a Mexican grocery retail shop and wholesale supplier.

The current spot will continue to operate primarily as a Mexican deli and dining spot for the benefit of the Beltline crowds who need regular fixes of enchiladas, tamales and Kurz's inimitable guacamole and fresh salsas."I want the new spot to be a one-stop shop," she says. "It won't be a warehouse environment, it won't have a seating area for dining, but you can pick up takeout fiesta fare."
She describes the paint, the colour scheme, the high ceilings, the Mexican light-toned tiles, then breaks into Spanish to address a cook at the stove. Above its burners, a ceramic hanging tile proclaims, "Bienvenidos. Mi casa es su casa." "Welcome. My house is your house."

As Kurz is pouring more coffee, a regular strolls in."Today's soup is ranchera," says the cook without missing a beat. "He's a regular; comes in for soup all the time," whispers Kurz. The day's soup, a light broth with chunks of chicken and a dusting of pasilla chiles, is worth waiting for. "I thought that things moved more slowly in Mexico," Kurz resumes, "but what I love is that it is social and respectful and appreciative of family. "At lunch, people stop everything and enjoy each other's company while they eat. They don't rush to the bank and do their chores." Her face clouds. "But the Mexican banks are starting to change, are starting to stay open at lunch. It is changing."

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