Tag: mexican

El Camion in Ballard

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I have never been shy about my love for the local taco truck, El Camion, which has locations in Ballard, SoDo and North Seattle. I do go there frequently and I do tend to order the non-gringo items on the menu (tripas, cabeza, lengua and chorizo) and I love them. Actually, I am not sure I could tell you what their other stuff actually tastes like, but I am sure it is good. When you go to the truck and there is a Mexican in line ahead of you, I can almost guarantee that they will order one of the four above meats. Heck, I have had Mexicans in line behind me ask if I knew what I was ordering because they are surprised that a white guy would actually order them. But I digress.

Mrs. Iron Chef has been reluctant to go to El Camion because she has a thing against eating food from a truck. Well, she has that excuse no longer – El Camion is opening a non-mobile location in Ballard (in the space formerly occupied by Zesto’s and Ro-Ro BBQ) AND they are keeping their truck in Ballard! Hopefully they will find success there and have a few more items on their menu beyond what you can get on the truck. Let’s celebrate – dos tacos tripas for everyone!

Enchilada Sauce – Another Use for Green Tomatoes

By Iron Chef Leftovers

If you have green tomatoes, one of the best things to use them for is enchiladas. You can easily use the tomatoes to replace tomatillos in the sauce and get something that tastes about 100 times better than anything that will come out of a can.

The Software
3 lbs. green tomatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces, woody parts removed
¼ cup minced onion
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, diced, seeds removed
2 cups stock or water
Salt

The Recipe
In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, until they begin to become translucent. Add garlic and cook for additional 30 seconds until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the tomatoes, pepper and liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes are tender. In several batches, take the contents of the pot and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once the sauce begins to boil, continue to cook until it thickens (5-10 minutes), stirring about every minute. Once the sauce has reached the desired consistency, add salt to taste and it is ready to use.

Notes
You can pretty much put this over anything – pasta, chicken, pork, veggies or enchiladas. If you like it hotter, add more peppers, or better yet, add some serrano peppers. If you like it less spicy, remove the pepper or reduce the amount. If you want a super kicked up version of this sauce, when you add the garlic, add 1 ½ teaspoons of the following: cumin, dried oregano, smoked paprika, adobo, garlic powder and black pepper. Follow the recipe as is otherwise.