Quelites Mexicanos
Wild greens Mexican-style, stewed with onion, tomato, jalapeno, and spices make some of the greatest tacos you'll have.
Servings: 4 People
Calories: 116kcal
Cost: 5
Equipment
- 1 large pot for blanching the greens
- 1 large skillet for finishing the dish
- 1 griddle, comal, gas burner, or grill for toasting the tortillas
Ingredients
Quelites
- 8 oz mixed quelites especially purslane, lambsquarters and amaranth
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil or pork lard
- 1 large clove garlic thinly sliced
- 1 small 3 oz yellow onion or shallot
- 1 jalapeno seeded and cut into 1 inch julienne strips
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground cumin or to taste
- 1 12 oz can whole peeled tomatoes or 1 large fresh tomato
Serving
- Grated queso quesadilla cheese or your favorite melting cheese
- Corn tortillas as needed
Instructions
Blanch the greens
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the greens until nearly tender, about 30-60 seconds. Remove the greens and refresh in cold water, squeeze dry and reserve.
- Squeeze the seeds from the tomatoes and discard. Dice or chop ½ cup of the tomatoes. Reserve the rest of the tomatoes and their juice for another purpose.
- If using fresh tomatoes, core them, score the bottom with an X and blanch in boiling water until the skins peel. Remove the tomatoes to cool, discard the skins, squeeze the seeds out, and dice into medium cubes (½ inch).
Cook the greens
- In a 10 inch saute pan or large skillet, heat the oil and sliced garlic until aromatic and starting to turn golden. Add the sliced onion and jalapeno and cook until wilted. Add the chopped peeled tomatoes and cook for a minute more.
- Add the cooked greens and mix/toss the pan to thoroughly combine. Season with salt, pepper and cumin to taste. Continue cooking the greens mixture until the pan is nearly dry and the greens are tender and taste good to you.
Serving
- Meanwhile, heat the tortillas on a comal, over a fire, or on a griddle as described in the video. Serve the greens with the tortillas on the side and allow guests to build their own tacos, or build the tacos and serve however you like, as with the queso tacos I describe below.
Queso Tacos
- One of my favorite things to do is make queso tacos. To make them warm the tortillas on a griddle with cheese, then flip the melted cheese side onto the griddle and cook until the cheese is golden and crisp.
Video
Notes
- Other additions like hot sauce, salsa, sliced avocado or sour cream are all great. Feel free to use your favorite garnishes.
- There's many ways you can cook the greens. Sometimes I add a julienned bell pepper, or I may add the juice from a can of tomatoes and cook it until nearly dry before adding the greens.
- A good spoonful of mild chili powder can help thicken the mixture and add good flavor, especially if it's freshly ground.
Nutrition
Serving: 4oz | Calories: 116kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 30mg | Potassium: 526mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 7383IU | Vitamin C: 64mg | Calcium: 193mg | Iron: 1mg