Uchepos con Minguiche

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Tamalera or large pot with steamer insert
• •Molino, metate, or food processor for grinding fresh corn
• •Comal de barro or heavy cast iron comal
• •Clay cazuela from Capula or Patamban for the minguiche
• •Volcanic stone molcajete
• •Thin strips of fresh corn leaf or cotton string for tying

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the leaves

   Pull the hojas de maíz frescas de la planta from the ears carefully so you keep wide pieces intact. Wipe them clean with a damp cloth and trim only the tough edges. If a leaf feels stiff, pass it through hot water for 20 seconds and dry it. Do not use dried corn husks here. The fresh leaf gives the uchepo its green corn aroma and tight wrapper.

2. 2

   Grind the corn

   Cut the kernels from the cobs and scrape the cobs with the back of the knife to catch the corn milk. Grind the kernels and milk in a molino, on a metate, or in a food processor until you have a thick, coarse paste. Do not blend it into soup. You should still see tiny pieces of corn. If the paste runs like batter, let it drain in a fine sieve for 5 minutes.

   If the market corn is old, dry, or starchy, don't force uchepos. Make corundas with masa nixtamalizada instead and wait for maíz nuevo. The calendar tells the cook what to make.
3. 3

   Mix the masa

   Put the ground corn in a bowl. Add the fresh masa nixtamalizada, melted manteca de cerdo, salt, and sugar only if the corn needs help. Beat by hand for 3 minutes. The masa should mound softly on a spoon and hold its shape for a few seconds before settling. La manteca es el sabor, and the nixtamalized masa keeps the tender corn from collapsing.

4. 4

   Wrap the uchepos

   Lay one fresh corn leaf shiny side up. Spoon 3 tablespoons of masa near the wide end. Fold one side over the masa, then the other side, then fold the narrow end up to close the packet. Tie with a thin strip of fresh corn leaf if it wants to open. Do not fold this like a corunda. A corunda has its own architecture. This is an uchepo.

5. 5

   Cook the uchepos

   Line a tamalera with extra fresh corn leaves. Arrange the uchepos seam side down, cover with more leaves, and cook over gently simmering water for 50 to 55 minutes. Keep the water below the rack. They are ready when the masa feels set, the leaf pulls away cleanly, and the kitchen smells like sweet corn and clean leaf. Let them rest 10 minutes before opening.

6. 6

   Roast the chiles

   While the uchepos cook, heat a comal de barro or heavy comal over medium-high. Roast the poblanos until the skins blister and darken in patches. Wrap them in a cloth for 10 minutes, then peel, stem, seed, and slice into rajas. On the same comal, roast the chile perón, tomatillos, and unpeeled garlic until spotted and softened. The chile perón has black seeds. That is how you know you bought the right chile.

   Do not rinse roasted poblanos under the faucet. You wash away the flavor you just worked to build. Peel them with your fingers and a towel.
7. 7

   Make the salsa

   Peel the roasted garlic and grind it in a molcajete with the sea salt. Add the roasted tomatillos and crush them until juicy. Stem the chile perón, remove some black seeds if you need less heat, and grind the chile into the tomatillo. Stir in the chopped white onion and lime juice. This salsa is fruity, sharp, and serious. A blender works, but the molcajete gives you the texture.

8. 8

   Cook the minguiche

   Set a clay cazuela over medium heat and melt the manteca de cerdo. Add the sliced onion and cook until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and jitomate and cook until the tomato gives up its juice and thickens. Stir in the poblano rajas, crema, and milk. Lower the heat. Add the queso de rancho and stir gently until the cheese softens into the cream but still leaves tender pieces in the sauce. Taste for salt.

   Do not boil the minguiche after the cheese goes in. Boiled crema breaks and the cheese tightens. Low heat, patience, and a clay cazuela if you have one.
9. 9

   Fry the charales

   If serving charales, heat 1 tablespoon manteca de cerdo in a small skillet. Add the rinsed and dried charales and fry for 1 to 2 minutes, just until crisp at the edges. Drain on paper and serve with lime halves. Charal from Pátzcuaro is not decoration. It is the lake on the table.

10. 10

    Serve the uchepos

    Open the warm uchepos on a green-glazed Michoacán barro plate. Spoon minguiche over the center so the rajas and softened cheese sit on top of the corn. Add a little salsa martajada de chile perón and a pinch of queso Cotija añejo if using. Put the charales and lime halves beside the plate. Serve immediately. Recetas probadas y garantizadas. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •The wrapper matters. Hoja de maíz fresca de la planta is green, flexible, and aromatic. Dried totomoxtle belongs to other tamales. Use the wrong leaf and the uchepo loses its Michoacán character.
• •Chile perón is sold as chile manzano in many markets. Look for the black seeds. The flavor is fruity and the heat is clean, nothing like jalapeño. If the vendor cannot explain the difference, pregúntale a las señoras del mercado.
• •Use queso de rancho if you can find it, or a young queso Cotija that still softens. A hard aged Cotija is good for finishing, not for melting into minguiche.
• •Manteca de cerdo is not negotiable if you want the flavor of the Meseta kitchen. If you do not eat pork, use a neutral oil and understand what you are giving up. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Charal means the small lake fish of Pátzcuaro and related waters, Chirostoma jordani and its cousins. Buy from a trusted Michoacán vendor. Bad dried charales smell stale before they hit the pan.

Advance Preparation

• •The poblanos can be roasted, peeled, and cut into rajas one day ahead. Refrigerate them covered.
• •The salsa de chile perón is best the day it is made. It holds for 24 hours, but the fruitiness dulls.
• •Do not make the fresh-corn masa far ahead. Ground maíz nuevo ferments quickly. Grind, mix, wrap, and cook the same day.
• •Cooked uchepos can be refrigerated for 2 days. Reheat them in the tamalera or on a low comal still wrapped in their leaves.
• •Minguiche can be made a few hours ahead and rewarmed gently. Do not boil it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 280g)