Tu Casa Mi Casa cookbook: Recipes from lentil salad to fish milanese torta

Enrique Olvera shares signature recipes from his latest book that is a salute to classic home cooking from his native Mexico

Central American flavours combine with lentils for a fresh supper

Lentil salad – Ensalada de lentejas

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes

This is a great, filling, fresh dish that was inspired by ceviche. Instead of fish, it has lentils. It is important to very slightly undercook the lentils so they do not get mushy. Top the tostadas with lentil salad in the kitchen and serve right away, or serve the salad with the tostadas on the side and assemble at the table as you go.

Serves 2-4

145g dried lentils, rinsed and picked over 
½ small white onion
3 small garlic cloves, peeled 
Salt
2 pasilla mixe chiles, seeded (substitute with dry chipotle chillies)
145g salted roasted peanuts
150ml extra virgin olive oil 
20g finely chopped red onion 
5 small tomatillos, husked, rinsed and chopped into small cubes
20g finely chopped fresh coriander stems (reserve the leaves for serving) 

To serve

Key lime juice
1 small avocado, cubed 
Tostadas

In a pot, combine the lentils, white onion, garlic and 1tsp salt. Add enough water to cover the lentils by at least 2 inches. Cook over medium heat until the lentils are tender but not mushy, about 25 minutes. Remove the onion and garlic and discard. Adjust the salt to taste. Drain the lentils and set aside to cool to room temperature.

On a comal or frying pan over a high heat, toast the pasilla mixe chiles on all sides until fragrant, 1-2 minutes, careful not to burn them. In a food processor, pulse half of the peanuts with the oil and the pasilla chiles until a thick paste is formed. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine the red onion, tomatillos, coriander stems, cooked lentils (at room temperature) and the remaining whole peanuts. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Slowly add the peanut/pasilla dressing. Season with Key lime juice and salt to taste. Add the avocado cubes and gently stir them in. Top with coriander leaves and serve with small tostadas on the side.

Pistachio green mole – Mole verde de pistache

Mole comes from the Nahuatl word mol-li, which means salsa or sauce. Many think of mole poblano (or “the chocolate sauce”) as the only kind of mole, but there are hundreds of moles that vary widely in style, for example, our very own recipe in Romeritos with Mole (page 164). Saying mole is like saying curry, it depends where you are, the local ingredients of that place, and the specific time of year. What all moles have in common is their celebratory connotation. There are moles made for the weekly family lunch, while others are for special events. For example, when someone gets married, the entire family comes together to make the mole days prior to the wedding. To illustrate how mole can be something other than a dark and mysterious sauce, we have included a fresh green version that is easy to make with seasonal produce.

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes

Serves 4-6

For the squash

6-8 courgettes or any variety of summer squashes, cut into wedges 
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling 
Salt and black pepper 

For the mole

4tbsp grapeseed oil 
1 small garlic clove, sliced 
¼ small white onion, roughly chopped
1 poblano chilli, sliced 
1 fresh güero chilli (or other yellow chilli, such as banana pepper or New Mexico yellow), sliced
150g finely diced tomatillos 
150ml water
125g roasted pistachios
15g fresh coriander leaves
2 hoja santa leaves
½ cup baby spinach leaves 
Salt 

For serving

20g assorted greens, such as coriander leaves, coriander blossoms, amaranth leaves or purslane
320g white rice
Fresh tortillas

Preheat the oven to 180C. Arrange the squashes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the grapeseed oil in a medium pot over a medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chillies and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatillos and cook until soft, 5-8 minutes. Add the water and the pistachios and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender along with the coriander, hoja santa and spinach. Blend until smooth, about 3 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Refrigerate leftover mole in an airtight container for up to 1 week. To reheat, add a bit of water and warm in a pot over a medium heat.

Serve the mole warm with the roasted squashes and topped with the fresh greens. Serve with rice and tortillas.

Fish milanese torta – Torta de milanesa de pescado

Tortas, the Mexican sandwiches, are a very common street food. But they are also the default food for picnics, road trips, sports games and more. In Mexico, teleras and bolillos are the default torta breads. However, bolillos have a French crust and are, therefore, only good for one day. Teleras are much easier to bake and are more generous with time, lasting a couple of days. Tortas de milanesa tend to be with breaded chicken or beef, but I have always loved the texture of a fish milanesa, crispy and soft. For heat, we tend to add jalapeños in escabeche (page 60) to our tortas, but that is up to you. You can also prepare and serve the milanesa on its own or with some rice and avocado slices.

Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes

Serves 2-4

For the fish

4 small (about 150g) skinless white fish fillets, such as sea bass or halibut 
Salt and black pepper
65g plain flour 
2 eggs 
115g breadcrumbs 
240ml vegetable oil 

For the tortas

4 teleras (recipe follows)
115g butter, at room temperature
110g mayonnaise 
1 canned chipotle chillies in adobo sauce
4 large red leaf lettuce leaves 
1 small red onion, thinly sliced 
4 plum tomatoes, sliced 
2 avocados, sliced
1 avocado, mashed
Salt 

Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow bowl, beat the eggs in a separate shallow bowl and the place the breadcrumbs in a third shallow bowl. Working with one at a time, dredge each fish fillet in the flour, then dip in the eggs, turning to coat and letting excess drip away. Dip in the breadcrumbs, turning to evenly coat.

In a frying pan, heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the fish and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Slice each telera open horizontally. Rub the butter on all the cut sides. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and toast the bread until lightly browned on both sides, about 30 seconds per side.

In a blender or small food processor, blend the mayonnaise with the chipotle. Spread the chipotle mayonnaise on all cut sides of the bread. On the bottom half, place a lettuce leaf, some sliced onion, a breaded fish fillet, tomato slices and avocado slices. Sprinkle with some salt. Place the top bread on.

Slice in half and serve with escabeche on the side.

Telera bread

Although great for tortas, we also like to serve teleras as a side to soupy dishes such as Huevos Rancheros (page 74), since it’s such a good bread for soaking up any leftover plate juices. It is also great just split in half and toasted and spread with some butter and jam.

Prep: 25 minutes, plus 1 hour rising time
Cook: 20 minutes

Makes 12 teleras

1tbsp (12g) instant yeast 
315ml warm water
530g strong white flour
1tsp salt
78g fresh yeast 

Dissolve the instant yeast in 75ml of the warm water to activate. Set aside. Combine the flour and salt on a work surface and make a well in the centre. Slowly mix in the 240ml water, the fresh yeast and the hydrated yeast. Work the dough for 10 minutes until the mix is even and homogenous, adding a bit more water or flour if necessary. The dough should be tacky but not sticky. Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 12 portions (about 80g each) and shape into balls. Using your hands, shape each ball into a ½-inch thick oval about 4 inches (10cm) long. Place the rolls on a baking sheet. Use a dough scraper or a paring knife to score 2 parallel lines on the top of each roll, lengthwise. Cover with a damp tea towel. Alternatively, cover with cling film and refrigerate for up to one day or freeze for up to one month. Once they have doubled in size, about 30 minutes, they are ready to bake.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Spray the dough balls with water and place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until the tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes.

“Tu Casa Mi Casa” by Enrique Olvera is published by Phaidon