8/7/2019 Recipes From My Sweet Mexico by Fany Gerson
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F R U T A | F R U I T 133
When I visited the city of Monterrey, a family friend, Amado,
lovingly and
kindly drove me around, showing me the wonderful delicacies of
the sur-
rounding towns. He took me to the small town of Marin where
Martha
Chapa has a small shop famous for her cookies, where I tried an
amazing
tomato empanada that I couldnt stop thinking about. She told me
how
to make the jam, and, when she saw how excited I was, she gave
me a
large container filled with it. I kept eating spoonfuls of it on
my way home
and adapted the recipe once I was back in my kitchen. You can
keep the
jam chunky, or, if you like a smoother consistency, you can
pulse it in a
food processor after its cooked. The jam can be made well in
advance
and will keep for months if properly stored. It is very tasty on
its own and
I recommend that you make a big batch.
to make the filling, wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut the
toma-
toes in half and place them in a small, heavy pot with the sugar
and salt.
Bring the mixture to a boil and adjust the heat so that it is at
a constant
simmer. Cook, stirring often, until the jam is thickened and you
can
see the bottom of the pot, about 50 minutes. (If you want a very
smooth
jam, you can pulse it in a food processor.) Let cool before
using.
to make the dough, whisk together the flour, baking pow-
der, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Using a pastry cutter or
a food
processor, cut the butter into the dry mixture until it
resembles a coarse
meal. Add the cream and mix until just combined. Invert the
dough
onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until it is smooth
and uni-
form, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flatten to a disc, wrap in plastic
wrap, and
refrigerate for at least half an hour.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, with a lightly
floured
rolling pin, untilinch thick. Use a round cookie cutter to cut
out 4- to
5-inch diameter circles; gather the scraps, re-roll, and repeat
until all of
the dough is used up.
To form the empanadas, line up the dough circles on a lightly
flouredwork surface. Place about 1 tablespoon of the filling in the
center of
each dough circle. Fold half of the dough over the filling, then
press
the edges very lightly with your fingers to seal; you can fold
the sealed
edge toward the center to give it a decorative finish.
Alternatively, use
the back of a fork to press around the edge to seal the
empanada. Cut
2 small slits in the top of each turnover and refrigerate for 30
minutes.
Jam Filling
4 cups cherry tomatoes
1 cups sugar
Pinch of salt
Empanada Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour
teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt cup unsalted butter, cut into
small cubes
cup cremaor heavy cream,plus extra for topping
Egg yolk, for topping
Sugar, for topping
Empanadas de Jitomate|Tomato Jam Turnover
C O N T I N U E D
8/7/2019 Recipes From My Sweet Mexico by Fany Gerson
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D E L I C I A S H E L A D A S | F R O Z E N T R E A T S 181
The culinary diversity of corn is manifested in its incredible
array of prepa-
rations. Its most often associated with and used in savory
dishes, but it
has snuck into various sweet ones, and corn ice cream is
absolutely one
of the best.
Be sure to take advantage of the height of corn season, because
fresh
corns sweetness will seep into the flavor of the ice cream.
Traditionally, this
ice cream is not made with a custard base, but I believe that it
enhances
the creaminess of the corn.
Slice the kernels from the corn into a bowl. Break the cobs into
3 pieces
and put them with the kernels into a saucepan. Add the milk,
heavy
cream, and cup of the sugar and stir to combine. Bring to a boil
over
medium heat, stirring. Remove from the heat and allow to steep,
cov-
ered, for 1 hour.
Remove the cobs and discard. Remove about 1 cup of the corn
kernels and reserve. Pure the mixture in the pot with an
immersion
blender and bring to a boil over medium heat.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining cup
sugar
and the salt. Slowly whisk about half of the hot milk mixture
into the
yolk mixture and stir rapidly. Return the mixture to the pot and
cook
over low heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or
heat-
proof spatula, until it is thickened and coats the back of a
spoon, 10 to
15 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and press down with
a
wooden spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Add the
vanilla
and the reserved corn kernels and stir to combine. Pour into a
con-
tainer, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top, and chill
over an
ice bath until cool. Refrigerate, covered, until completely
cool, about
3 hours, and freeze in an ice cream maker according to the
manufac-
turers instructions.
MAKES ABOUT 5 CUPS
3 ears fresh corn, shucked
2 cups whole milk
1 cups heavy cream
cup sugar
8 egg yolks
Pinch of salt
teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Helado de Elote| Corn Ice Cream
