i8tonite

Tag: Sonoran cuisine

  • Tucson Breakfast Burrito Tour + Chicken Thighs with Cream and Chiltepin

    Tucson Breakfast Burrito Tour + Chicken Thighs with Cream and Chiltepin

    We have been in Tucson for nearly six months. Nick and I have been eating out a lot , trying to get a better sense of Southern Arizona through its food. I’m grateful to have a partner who allows me this indulgence. There is no misunderstanding that eating is far more expensive than it’s ever been, for everyone. However, this is our extravagance. We aren’t big on moviegoing, concerts or theater, maybe the occasional symphony, but dining out is our big thing. It’s our entertainment. I know that when you eat at restaurants in an area and shop at its farmers’ markets, you get to understand its culture better than anything else.

    I’ve even been trying to eat my way through as many breakfast burritos in Tucson as I can. While I love burritos, I heart an egg, cheese, bean and whatever else can be stuffed into the Mexican roll-up. It’s a perfect balance of carbs, fat, and protein in one portable, easy-to-eat meal.

    Over the last several weeks, we had breakfast at four very different tables: Tumerico, Tito + Pep, El Brunch Bistro, and Buendia Breakfast & Lunch Cafe.

    At Tio & Pep, brunch is an energetic and gestural, artsy experience. The dishes look more abstract expressionist, with sauces dripping from well-conceived proteins on large plates, serving as canvases. The interior even sets a specific tone with its Midcentury modern appeal and a philodendron that vines itself around the ceiling.

    Inside Tito & Pep with the philodendron.
    Inside Tito & Pep with the philodendron.

    The very well-known Tumerico pulls you in a different direction with its commitment to vegetarianism.  I went in thinking light and left with something more substantial than expected. Chef Wendy Garcia doesn’t sell you on anything; she cooks with the intention of flavor. Even when you think you’re ordering simply, there’s more going on beneath it, and the menu changes frequently.

    Vegetarian breakfast burrito at Tumerico.
    Chef Wendy Garcia’s breakfast burrito at Tumerico in Tucson’s Sam Hughes neighborhood.

    Over at Buendia Breakfast & Lunch Cafe, husband and wife team, Julio and Jael Garcia sprinkle a bit of happiness over every meal. (We can all use that right about now.) Their rendition of a burrito is actually two with housemade refried beans as a dipping sauce. Charming place that you can – or I can go in like a crab-apple and come out as sweet as a peach. 

    Buendia burrito and bean dipping sauce
    Buendia burrito and bean dipping sauce

    And then El Brunch Bistro, a hidden carry-out spot where the burrito, a mas grande ham, cheese and egg log felt like it belonged to the burrito-eating project I’ve silently been on. It was warm, lusciously straightforward, and exactly what you want to be fed well with lots of  smack. This is the kind of robust burrito that keeps me seeking out others just like it. Look at the ceiling and it’s not tin, but old license plates painted white. Nice touch.

    Ham and cheese with potatoes in a burrito at El Bruncho.
    Ham and cheese burrito at El Bruncho.

    This is where we are eating right now: Out in the Old Pueblo, somewhere in the middle of a very unofficial burrito tour and at home.

    After a week of eating out, I ended up back in our kitchen, trying to cook something that carried a bit of comfort, depth, and enough heat to wake everything up, including my stuffed sinuses from the desert pollen. That’s where this came from: Chicken thighs with cream and chiltepin.

    It’s a simple, European-inspired dish with seared skin, a delectable richness from the cream, and a little sharp, indigenous Sonoran heat from the chiltepin, making a dish that tastes like it rightfully belongs in the desert.

    Chicken Thighs with Cream and Chiltepin

    Ingredients

    • 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
    • Salt and pepper
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • One medium chopped onion
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 cup heavy cream
    • 1/2 teaspoon crushed chiltepin (more if you want heat)
    • 1/2 cup chicken stock
    • Optional: squeeze of lime, chopped herbs.

    Instructions

    1. Pat the chicken thighs dry, then season with salt and pepper.
    2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place the chicken skin-side down and cook until the skin is golden and crisp, about 6–8 minutes. Flip and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
    3. In the same pan, add garlic and onion and cook briefly until your kitchen smells aromatic.
    4. Pour in the chicken stock, scraping up any browned bits. Let it reduce slightly.
    5. Add the cream and chiltepin, stirring to combine.
    6. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer until cooked through and the sauce thickens, about 10–15 minutes.
    7. Finish with a squeeze of lime or and freshly chopped herbs, such as Mexican oregano or epazote, if you like.

    Serve with rice, handmade tortillas, or a freshly baked bolillo, toasted, to sop up the sauce.

    Saguaro National Park
    Saguaro National Park

    The end. Go eat.

  • Sonoran Shrimp Salad with Chiltepín, Crema, and Lime

    Sonoran Shrimp Salad
    Small shrimp mixed with crema, chiltepin and a side of chips

    Shrimp from the Gulf of California is some of the best in the world. Sweet, clean, and deeply tied to the Sonoran Desert. The Gulf helps create the Sonoran Desert’s five seasons, including the brief season when monsoon rains move into the arid landscape and everything responds by getting a little greener. It’s that connection between the sea and the desert that makes Sonoran and borderlands food so distinctive.

    Thus, when Nick mentioned we were traveling to Phoenix from the Old Pueblo, for a family gathering of Midwest transplants featuring his cousins and a former childhood next-door neighbor from Wisconsin, I wanted to bring to the potluck something that felt inclusive of our new home. Knowing that the Gulf and the desert are like Lake Michigan is to the Midwest, I wanted to craft a shrimp dip with ingredients used in the borderlands that felt right and, of course, important. 

    Image of the Baja
    Image of the Baja (Stock)

    Using small frozen shrimp, chiltepín pepper, crema, lime and hints of the deep south, dill, instead of cilantro (because not everyone loves cilantro) seemed simple, spoonable onto a chip and delicious. While the main ingredient focused on the small shrimp, the Mexican crema added creaminess, the lime provided citrus notes, a dash of agave to temper the acidity, and the chiltepín added a burst of borderlands warmth. 

    What’s interesting about Sonoran food, and about the Indigenous nations who have cooked here for centuries, is how much power there is in these foods. Chiltepín isn’t just a pepper; it’s considered the mother of all peppers. But not for its heat, but because botany experts believe it’s the original wild chile.  An indigenous ingredient that still grows wild along ravines and canyons, underneath shade, shielding it from the brutal desert elements.  It shows up in cooking every day, bringing the desert, the border, and the table. It doesn’t ask to be explained. It simply shows up as a reminder of what came before and is generous to those who pay attention.

    Now that the holidays are over, I can really lean into the regions where there are fewer excessive dishes and more food that makes sense where I am.

    Saguaro
    Saguaro Cactus in the Rincon Valley

    I’m especially grateful right now to explore food and ingredients that began in North America but not as something chic, but as food history. Ingredients that are shaped by desert climates, with Indigenous knowledge and surviving milleniums. In the borderlands, ingredients move across borders, kitchens, and of course, across generations. No matter how much we try to maintain a foodways map, it does work that way. 

    So I wanted something familiar enough for guests from the Midwest, but shaped by the desert and the borderlands.

    Shrimp Salad with Chiltepín, Crema, and Lime
    Serves 4–6 as a small plate or appetizer

    Ingredients

    •  1 pound small shrimp, peeled and deveined (frozen is fine), cooked and chilled
    •  2–3 tablespoons thick Mexican crema (or crema espesa)
    • 1–2 teaspoons fresh lime juice, plus lime zest if desired
    • 1-2 teaspoons, chopped dill or cilantro. Nick doesn’t like the latter, so you improvise. 
    • One stalk of celery, cut in half lengthways, and then diced. Add two if you want more crunch. 
    •  ½–1 teaspoon crushed chiltepín pepper, to taste
    • Salt to taste

    Optional: 1–2 teaspoons olive oil

    ½ teaspoon ground coriander

    1. Preparation
      If using frozen shrimp, thaw completely according to directions. Drain well. Spread the shrimp in a single layer on paper towels and pat dry thoroughly. For best texture, refrigerate uncovered for 20–30 minutes to remove any excess moisture.
    2. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl and season lightly with salt and the crushed chiltepín. Toss gently and let sit for about 5 minutes. If any moisture releases, blot again with another paper towel. 
    3. In another small bowl, whisk the crema until emuslified. Add lime zest. 
    4. Add the crema to the shrimp along with the lime juice, starting with 1 teaspoon. Save the remainder of the lime for an accompanying margarita. Just sayin’. 
    5. Toss gently to coat. Add olive oil, if using, for a silkier texture. Taste and adjust seasoning with more lime, salt, or chiltepín as needed.
    6. Serve immediately, or chill briefly and toss again just before serving.

    Note: Water may still accumulate while chilling. Use a slotted spoon or don’t mind that it’s not dry.