Using Chocolate in Savory Mexican Recipes

Chocolate is not something that many people associate with savory recipes but actually, it can combine incredibly with various savory dishes, lending a rich and smooth texture, as well as a gourmet flavor. Not all chocolate is sweet, of course, and if you have tried bitter chocolate or cocoa powder, you will know this.

Chocolate has been used for more than two thousand years in Central American during the Mayan age, to make a bitter drink. The cacao pods were split and the beans were dried, fermented, and roasted. They were then ground to a paste and mixed with spices and water to make this old chocolate drink. It is believed that chocolate was also used to make a corn mash, which would have had the consistency of porridge.

When chocolate was imported to Europe in the sixteenth century, it was combined with sugar. European chefs however still used it in savory dishes, combining it with venison, hare, duck and adding it to braised dishes. In Italy and Spain, chocolate is sometimes added to coq au vin recipes.

Modern Recipes with Chocolate

If you look at modern Mexican food recipes, mole is the most famous Mexican recipe, which features chocolate. This sauce includes garlic, onion, spices, and chilies. It is often served with chicken or turkey. If you want to try, making some famous Mexican recipes with chocolate, mole is a great sauce to begin with because it has such a mouthwatering taste and such a fresh and complex flavor. Serve it with meat, chicken, or fish.

There are more sweet Mexican recipes with chocolate than savory recipes but using it to add color and complexity to a dish is a trend that lives on. Chocolate powder or grated chocolate can be added to a chili or stew to intensify the flavor and to go nicely with the other ingredients.

The flavor of a dish with added chocolate is not sweet like you might think and a lot of people might not immediately recognize the chocolate flavor; rather they would just enjoy the luxurious texture of the food and the overall taste.

An Easy Recipe for Chicken in Chocolate Sauce

You will need:

1 chopped whole chicken
1 onion
1 bell pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 oz baking chocolate squares
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lb can tomato sauce
2 minced cloves garlic

How to make it:

Remove the skin from the chicken and saute it in the oil. Remove the chicken from the pan. Chop the onion and bell pepper and cook them in the oil with the garlic until tender. Add the salt and tomato sauce, then the chocolate and other seasonings, stirring until the chocolate melts.

Return the chicken to the pan and simmer the mixture until the chicken is tender. Take it out of the pan and remove the bones. Adjust the seasonings and serve with noodles or rice.

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How to Make Perfect Mexican Rice

The secret to making perfect Mexican rice begins with the rice. Mexican rice does not contain tomato sauce. To make the rice you will need; long grain rice, oil, garlic, tomatoes, onion, green bell pepper and chicken broth.

You will want to prepare your chicken broth in advance. You can use chicken base, Knorr chicken base cubes, or canned chicken broth.

Roast one or two medium size tomatoes to remove the skin and chop into small pieces. Depending upon your taste, finely chop 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, ½ of a medium size onion and a small green bell pepper.

Place about ¼ Cup of oil in a mid-size saucepan. When the oil is hot, add 1 ½ Cups of long grain rice. Fry the rice until it becomes light brown in color. Add about 2 ½ Cups of chicken broth.

Salt to taste. Beware if you are using chicken base or cubes. They often contain a lot of salt. You can always add salt before serving.

Slowly add the rest of the ingredients and stir to just enough to mix everything together. Turn burner down to low and place a lid on the pan. Let simmer until the rice is tender. Turn burner to off and let sit for five minutes. You never want to stir the rice. Take a fork and gently fluff the rice, before serving.

If you want to cut the cooking time in half, you can use precooked rice. Follow the same instructions. Do not use instant rice!

Now you are ready to serve.

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Ideas For Mexican Lunch Recipes

Lunch is a big deal in Mexico and it is the main meal of the day, unlike in many other countries where lunch is a quick snack and dinner is the main meal. It is common for Mexican lunches to have several courses and go on for an hour or two. Dinner might be a stew, soup or light snack.

If you want to make a traditional and authentic Mexican food recipe for lunch, there are plenty of options. Flour tortillas are as popular in Mexico as bread is to us, and you can do a lot with them.

For a cold lunch, you could arrange chopped avocado, chicken, black olives and tomatoes over a flour tortilla, add some sour cream and a squeeze of lemon or lime juice and roll it up. This would take a few minutes to prepare.

Tasty Tortilla Fillings

You can fill tortillas with anything you like. Typical Mexican food fillings would include tomatoes, onion, corn, chicken, beef, cheese, shrimp, chilies, bell pepper, sour cream and more. You can mix and match your favorite fillings.

If you would prefer a hot Mexican lunch recipe you can fill the tortillas, sprinkle grated cheese over the top and broil or bake them until the cheese melts. This also gives the tortillas a nice crunchy texture.

Salads and More

You might like to make a Mexican salad recipe for your lunch. Layered salads are popular in Mexico and you can layer guacamole, onion, corn, lettuce, tomatoes, olives and anything else you like for a healthy and flavorful snack.

Another option of course is to make a Mexican dinner the night before and simply reheat the leftovers the following day. Reheated food can sometimes taste better than the original dish because the flavors will have intensified in the refrigerator overnight.

Recipe for Mexican Pizza Wedges with Chicken

This is a delicious lunchtime idea. This "pizza" recipe uses corn tortillas as the crust and the toppings are typical Mexican ingredients. Feel free to alter the ingredients any way you like. This warming and satisfying snack makes a delicious lunch.

What you will need:

1 lb can refried beans
4 oz can diced green chilies
1 chicken breast
8 tablespoons sour cream
2 chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 chopped green onions
2 tablespoons mild salsa
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 tablespoon sliced green olives
3 tablespoons guacamole
10 oz shredded Mexican blend cheese
4 corn tortillas

How to make them:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Chop the chicken breast into small pieces and saute them in half the oil until cooked through, then stir in the taco seasoning mix and salsa. Fry the corn tortillas in the remaining oil in another skillet, one by one, for half a minute or until they are crisp.

Drain them on paper towels then arrange them on a baking sheet. Spread the beans over the corn tortillas, then the chicken, chilies, green onions, 8 oz of the cheese, olives and tomatoes. Bake for twenty minutes, and then cut the tortillas into wedges. Spread the sour cream and guacamole on top, sprinkle over the rest of the cheese and serve the pizza wedges warm.

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Authentic Mexican Recipes - Oaxacan Mexican Tacos

Here's an awesome tacos recipe from Oaxacan, Mexico. Remember to wear gloves when you are working with fresh jalapeno peppers.

2 pounds top sirloin steak, cut into thin strips

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup vegetable oil

18 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1 medium onion, diced

4 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

4 limes, cut into wedges

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Fry the steak strips; stirring constantly until browned on the outside and cooked through, but not too firm (about 5 minutes). Season with salt and pepper. Remove to a plate and keep warm.

Heat the oil in the skillet and quickly fry each tortilla on both sides, until lightly browned and flexible. Set aside and keep warm.

Place the tortillas on a plate and top with the steak strips, onion, jalapeno and cilantro to taste. Squeeze lime juice over. Wrap and serve.

Authentic Mexican Breakfast Tacos

Chorizo is a Mexican sausage that is very delicious in breakfast tacos and burritos.

6 ounces chorizo sausage

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

6 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 dash hot pepper sauce or to taste

1/2 cup salsa

Directions

Crumble the sausage into a skillet over medium high heat. Cook and stir until evenly brown. Set aside.

Heat one skillet over medium heat, and heat another skillet over high heat. This skillet is for warming the tortillas.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Spray the medium heat skillet with some cooking spray. Pour in the eggs. Cook and stir until almost firm. Add the sausage and continue cooking and stirring until firm.

Meanwhile, warm tortillas for about 45 seconds per side in the other skillet, so they are hot and crispy on the edges, but still pliable.

Sprinkle a little shredded cheese onto each tortilla while it is still hot. Top with some of the scrambled egg and sausage. Add hot pepper sauce and salsa to your liking.

Best Wet Burritos

Wet burritos are prepared with a tomato sauce, thus their name.

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 (4.5 oz) can diced green chili peppers

1 (16 oz.) can refried beans

1 (15 oz.) can chili without beans

1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed tomato soup

1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce

6 (12-inch) flour tortillas, warmed

2 cups lettuce, shredded

1 cup tomatoes, chopped

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

Directions

Crumble ground beef into a skillet over medium high heat. Cook and stir until evenly browned. Add in the onion and cook until tender. Drain the grease from pan and season with garlic, cumin, salt and pepper.

Stir in the green chilies and refried beans until well blended. Turn off the heat and keep warm.

In a saucepan, combine the chili without beans, tomato soup and enchilada sauce. Mix well and cook over medium heat until heated through. Turn off heat and keep warm.

Place a warmed tortilla on a plate and spoon a generous 1/2 cup of the ground beef mixture onto the center.

Top with lettuce and tomato. Roll up tortilla over the filling. Spoon a generous amount of the sauce over the top, and sprinkle with cheese and green onions. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds or until cheese is melted.

Repeat with remaining tortillas.

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