Molina’s Mexican Restaurant Relish

janmon — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:36:35 +0000

I’ve been digging through recipes today looking for a recipe to make a carrot and onion relish we used to eat in Houston. This relish was served at Molina’s Mexican restaurant . . . a few years back. If I remember correctly - the original restaurant was located on Westheimer. When you’d go in they would seat you and then bring out a dish piled high with this relish along with a basket of warm, crisp tortilla chips and it was delicious. Like all my favorite restaurant recipes – this one was clipped from the Houston Chronicle courtesy Rose Mary Molina. It keeps well in the fridge if you have any leftover.

You will need:

2 carrots sliced in the round
2 onions sliced in rings
1 jalapeno pepper sliced in rounds
2 garlic cloves – sliced
Salt, ground black pepper and 1 bay leaf
White vinegar (45-grain strength,i.e. 4.5 – 5% acidity)

Place the sliced carrots on the bottom of a saucepan; next place the sliced onions, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper and bay leaf on top. Add enough of the vinegar to just cover. Bring to a boil the reduce the heat, simmering over low heat until the vegetables are cooked (but not mushy – you want them to be a little crisp). Store in a glass container with a screw on lid. Refrigerate.

In addition to an appetizer, it is good mixed with boiled shrimp or sandwich relish.

Note – cut the jalapeno pepper with caution; do not rub your eyes until you have washed your hands thoroughly; and remember if you want the relish a little less hot – remove the seeds.

Pear tree update – they seem to be doing fine and are starting to put out little leaf buds. When the rain stops we’ll need to put up a wire fence around them to keep the deer from eating all the new growth off.

Ninfa’s Green Sauce

janmon — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:42:15 +0000

Most of my weekend – couldn’t get it out of my mind -was spent thinking about the ‘good’ green sauce Ninfa’s served many years ago. So… being a big recipe clipper when we lived in Houston – I just knew that recipe was buried somewhere amongst all my other recipes – the ones that got shuffled out to the red barn when I cleaned out the pantry a few months back. After searching a couple of boxes (big ones) and thumbing through a couple of 3-ring binders – Eureka!! I found it. In fact, I must have really loved that green sauce – I found 3 separate copies while on the hunt. All cut from The Houston Chronicle. When we lived in Houston every Thursday, Ann Criswell would print recipes – some were readers favorites, others by request but my all time favorites were those elusive restaurant recipes. You know the good stuff you love to eat but is kept a big secret. I’ve got lots of those clipped and will be posting them off and on. But for now the recipe for green sauce follows for those that want a taste of the ‘old’ Ninfa’s.

You will need: 3 medium sized green tomatoes (coarsely chopped); 4 tomatillos (with husks); 1-2 jalapenos (stemmed and coarsely chopped); 3 small garlic cloves; 3 medium sized ripe avocados; 4 springs cilantro; 1 teaspoon salt; and 1-1/2 cups sour cream.

Combine the tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos and garlic in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Peel, pit and slice avocados, set aside. Place tomato mixture, avocados, cilantro and salt in a food processor. (May need to do this in batches depending on the size of your processor.) Process until smooth. Pour mixture into a large bowl. Stir in sour cream, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Serve with chips. Keep any leftovers refrigerated. This recipe should make 4-5 cups.

Side note – handle the jalapenos carefully – they can really irritate skin and eyes. And if you want to cut down on the heat a little – discard the seeds along with the stems.

Joy of Country Living » Tex-Mex

Molina’s Mexican Restaurant Relish

Ninfa’s Green Sauce