Cooking the Recipes of Chef Aarón Sánchez

Learn to cook signature dishes of Chef Aarón Sánchez and discover life lessons from his memoir Where I Come From.

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Recipes for Today's Program:

Mexican Street Corn

●     1 ear of corn

●     ⅛ can of chipotles in adobo, finely chopped

●     1 tablespoon mayonnaise

●     1 tablespoon cotija cheese or parmesan cheese (freshly grated)

●     ½ tablespoon cilantro, chopped

●     Corn skewers or wooden sticks, optional

Grilling Corn:

●     Put corn on the grill, with the husks on to retain their moisture. Heat corn for 5 minutes, then turn on other side for 5 minutes. Husks will char and have grill marks. Turn corn over again and cook about 5 more minutes.

●     Let corn cool or use gloves. Use a knife to chop off a little of the stalk end of the corn. Peel off corn husks and silk. Poke skewers or sticks in the sides, just enough to hold securely.

Baking Corn:

●     Preheat the oven to 400ºF. On a baking pan, lay down a sheet of foil and then a sheet of parchment paper.

●     Chop off a little of the stalk end of the corn. Microwave corn 3-4 minutes. Use gloves or a towel to grab corn by uncut end. Squeeze and shake it until the husks and silk slide off.

●     Put husks only back around corn, then wrap in the parchment/foil to retain moisture. Bake for 30 minutes.

Boiling Corn:

●     Fill a pot with water, add salt and a little sugar. Use the microwave method above to remove corn husks and silk. Boil corn for 15-20 minutes.

Mayonnaise-Chipotle Mixture:

●     On a plate, mix the chipotles with the mayonnaise.

Poke skewers or sticks in the sides of corn. Roll or brush the mayonnaise-chipotle mixture on and then sprinkle cheese on top. Garnish with cilantro.   
(Source: www.chefaaronsanchez.com)
 

Twice-Baked Potatoes with Chipotle and Chorizo

●     4 russet potatoes

●     1 tablespoon vegetable oil

●     9-ounce package chorizo (soy, pork or beef)

●     ¾ cup chipotle crema or make sour cream mix

●     4 tablespoons butter

●     ½ teaspoon kosher salt

●     2 egg yolks

●     1 cup shredded cheese, 4-cheese or Mexican blend

●     ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

●     ¼ cup white onion, minced

●     2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

●     2 tablespoons lime juice

Sour Cream Mix:

●     ¾ cup sour cream

●     1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced

●     ½ teaspoon paprika

●     ¼ teaspoon salt

●     Heat the oven to 400ºF. Rinse and scrub the potatoes. Drip a little vegetable oil on each potato and rub in. Poke a few holes in the potatoes with a fork. Bake them on a sheet for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until tender. Pull them out of the oven, leaving the heat on.

●     While the potatoes bake, cook the chorizo in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Use a spoon to roughly break chorizo apart, stirring often, and fry about 10 minutes or until cooked thoroughly with some crispy bits. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a bowl.

●     When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut the top third off each potato, circling around lengthwise. Scoop potato out of the center, making a shell and taking care that the potato skin doesn’t tear.

●     In a small bowl, mash the scooped-out potato with butter, salt, and chipotle crema or the sour cream mix. Fold in the egg yolks, followed by the chorizo and ½ cup of the shredded cheese.

●     Place some of this mixture in each potato shell and sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the top of each one. Return potatoes to the oven for another 15 minutes, until they are warmed throughout and the cheese is browned.

●     In a bowl, combine the cilantro and minced onion with the olive oil and lime juice. Spoon this mix over the top of each potato.                  (Source: www.chefaaronsanchez.com)

 
Zarela's Pineapple-Ginger Chicken Wings

●     ½ cup pineapple juice

●     ¼ cup orange juice

●     ¼ cup lime juice

●     ¼ cup soy sauce

●     ¼ cup vegetable oil

●     1 teaspoon kosher salt

●     1 teaspoon ground coriander

●     ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

●     4 cloves garlic

●     1 serrano pepper

●     2-inch piece fresh ginger,  peeled

●     Ground black pepper

●     Chicken wings (24), with tips cut off

●     3 green onions, thinly sliced

●     2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, toasted

●     Preheat the oven to 225°F. Put an oven-safe wire rack on top of a baking sheet, or line a baking sheet with foil.

●     In a large bowl, whisk together the juices, soy sauce, oil, salt, and coriander until thoroughly mixed. Add most of the cilantro and grate in the garlic, serrano pepper, and ginger. Season with black pepper.

●     Put the wings in a bowl or a plastic bag and pour in half of the sauce. Stir or shake and let wings marinate for 15 to 20 minutes only (any longer and the pineapple will start to “cook” them).

●     Pour the other half of the sauce in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until it is reduced by half.

●     Arrange the wings in a single layer on the baking sheet, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Take out of the oven, remove the foil and adjust the heat up to 425°F. With a brush or spoon, glaze the wings with the reduced sauce, then bake for another 20 to 25 minutes. Glaze the wings once more as soon as they’re out of the oven.

●     Sprinkle the green onions, sesame seeds, and remaining cilantro over the chicken.

(Source: Where I Come From by Aarón Sánchez)