Mexican Sauce
1 T. vegetable oil
2 T. minced onion
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 t. cumin
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
1 qt. home-canned tomatoes or 2 (14.5 oz.) cans commercially canned tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 t. dried oregano
sugar
salt
lime juice
Heat oil in a heavy, three-quart stainless saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until softened, stirring frequently. Add cumin and cayenne and stir in the hot oil until spices are fragrant.
Add canned tomatoes and tomato sauce. Mix well. Crush with potato masker. Simmer over medium heat for approximately 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1 teaspoon dried oregano.
Simmer over medium heat for approximately 30 more minutes, stirring frequently and crushing periodically with potato masher, until thickened and smooth.
Taste and adjust seasonings. This sauce freezes well for several months and will keep refrigerated for several days.
Crepes
2 eggs
½ c. milk
¼ c. flour
Vegetable oil for greasing skillet
Blend eggs and milk in blender until frothy. Tap in flour and blend until smooth. Pour into wide mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and (if you have time) let rest at room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour. If you don’t have time, don’t worry about it. Your crepes will be a little thicker – you may get 7 crepes instead of 8 crepes – and have a few more air bubbles, but they’ll still be fine.
Place small Teflon crepe pan or small Teflon skillet over medium heat. When hot, wipe with a crumpled paper towel dipped in vegetable oil, being careful not to burn yourself.
Working over the wide mixing bowl, ladle a few tablespoons of batter onto the hot skillet, swirl pan to coat the bottom, and let excess run back into the bowl. Place back over heat.
When edges look dry, ease the crepe up with a knife at the edge and flip over. When set on the bottom, remove to a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Oil pan with crumpled paper towel between each crepe, and repeat until all batter is used. You should get 8 crepes.
Chile Rellenos Crepes
1 recipe Mexican Sauce
8 crepes
2 Anaheim chiles, or 1 (4 oz.) can green chiles, rinsed, seeded, and cut into eight strips
¼ onion, minced
4 oz Monterey Jack cheese – 2 ounces cut into long, thin rectangles and 2 ounces shredded
If using Anaheim chiles prepare by broiling until skin is black. Then place in metal bowl cover with plastic wrap to steam. Peel, rinse, remove seeds, and then cut each chile into eight strips (add any accumulated chile juice in the metal bowl to the Mexican sauce).
Make crepes using recipe above. Crepes can be prepared up to two days ahead and refrigerated, wrapped well in plastic.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 6 X 10 – inch Pyrex casserole dish with cooking spray. Ladle about 1/3 of the Mexican Sauce over the bottom of the casserole dish.
Place 1 strip of chile, 1 strip of cheese, a sprinkling of minced onions, and a few spoonfuls of sauce (try to use half the remaining sauce among the 8 crepes) along the middle of each crepe, roll up and place seam-side-down in the baking dish. Top with remaining sauce and shredded cheese, placing in a wide stripe down the middle of the crepes so the edges will crisp in the oven.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes at 325 degrees, or until cheese is melted and bubbly and dish is hot through.
Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve with any, all, or none of the optional garnishes (sour cream, cilantro, chopped green onions or shredded lettuce).
“Starting with a Quart of Tomatoes” is available at Deseret Book, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.
Rosemary Reeve – Author “Starting with a Quart of Tomatoes
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