Gubenko’s corpse. What a dreadful man! I shifted in my seat and my foot touched the gift bags. Since both girls appeared to be on the verge of tears, now might be a good time for the presents.
“I almost forgot,” I exclaimed. “I brought little gifts for you.” I pulled the two bags up from the floor, wishing now that I’d bought something more practical, decent clothes, food.
“For us?” cried Polya, so excited that she came close to dragging the gift bag through her flan.
“So pretty,” murmured Irina, after unwrapping the tissue paper and examining the two six-inch glass fish with their swirling colors and tiny bubbles.
Each of the four fish was a bit different, and they seemed to be a hit. Now was the time to ask about Vladik’s friends and enemies in El Paso.
Salpicon
Salpicon, which is a shredded-beef salad with chipotle dressing, is a favorite in El Paso and Juarez. Friends who have lived here longer than I said that the ur salpicon is from Julio’s in Juarez and that the recipe was printed in the El Paso newspaper. I got this recipe from the El Paso Chile Company’s Texas Border Cookbook. Authors W. Park Kerr and Norma Kerr give credit to Julio’s, Rubio’s in El Paso, and local caterer Kay Queveda.
The Kerrs suggest the dish for a cocktail buffet with the ingredients rolled in small tortillas. I’ve eaten it in restaurants as a communal course for the whole table or as a first course just for me. You can also serve it as a main course for dinner.
• Lay a 5-pound, top-cut brisket of beef, fat side up, in a 6-quart Dutch oven or flameproof casserole. Distribut 2 large onions, peeled and sliced, over the meat, pour in 1 quart of canned beef broth and enough cold water to cover by 3 inches.
• Set over medium heat and bring to a boil; cover, lower heat, and simmer, adding additional boiling water as needed; turn brisket at the halfway point, cooking until it is tender enough to shred easily at its thickest point (about 4 hours total cooking time).
• Remove from heat, uncover pan, let brisket stand in broth until just cool enough to handle. (Warm brisket is easier to shred.)
• Meanwhile, on the open flame of a gas burner or under a preheated broiler, roast the 4 poblano chiles or 6 long green chiles, turning until they are lightly but evenly charred. Steam the chiles in a paper bag, or in a bowl, covered with a plate, until cool. Rub away burned peel. Stem and seed chiles and cut into ¼-inch-wide strips. (In El Paso during the chile harvest, we can buy charred chiles outside the supermarkets to eliminate the early steps and even wrap and freeze the chiles for winter.)
• Pour off and strain the broth. Measure out 1 ½ cups and save the rest for other uses; it’s delicious. Trim the fat from the brisket and shred the meat using the tines of two forks, one in each hand, in a downward pulling motion. The meat must be thoroughly shredded, the end result almost fluffy. Combine the meat and the 1 ½ cups broth in a bowl and let it stand covered at room temperature. (It can be prepared to this point up to 2 hours ahead, but do not refrigerate it.)
• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 7-ounce can of chipotles adobado, pureed, -cup olive oil, ½ cup fresh lime juice, cup white wine vinegar, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and 2 cloves garlic, crushed through a press.
• Drain the shredded meat, pressing hard with a spoon to extract any broth that has not been absorbed. In a large bowl, toss together the shredded beef, 8 ounces mild white cheese, such as Monterey Jack, cut into ¼ inch cubes, and chipotle mixture. Add 1 cup coarsely diced red onion, ¾ cup minced cilantro, and chile strips. Toss again. Taste and adjust seasoning so that the salpicon is tart, smoky, and fairly spicy.
• Line a large platter with coarse outer leaves from one head of romaine. Mound salpicon on lettuce. Garnish with spiky yellow inner leaves of romaine, 3 medium tomatoes, trimmed and cut into wedges, and 2 ripe
“I almost forgot,” I exclaimed. “I brought little gifts for you.” I pulled the two bags up from the floor, wishing now that I’d bought something more practical, decent clothes, food.
“For us?” cried Polya, so excited that she came close to dragging the gift bag through her flan.
“So pretty,” murmured Irina, after unwrapping the tissue paper and examining the two six-inch glass fish with their swirling colors and tiny bubbles.
Each of the four fish was a bit different, and they seemed to be a hit. Now was the time to ask about Vladik’s friends and enemies in El Paso.
Salpicon
Salpicon, which is a shredded-beef salad with chipotle dressing, is a favorite in El Paso and Juarez. Friends who have lived here longer than I said that the ur salpicon is from Julio’s in Juarez and that the recipe was printed in the El Paso newspaper. I got this recipe from the El Paso Chile Company’s Texas Border Cookbook. Authors W. Park Kerr and Norma Kerr give credit to Julio’s, Rubio’s in El Paso, and local caterer Kay Queveda.
The Kerrs suggest the dish for a cocktail buffet with the ingredients rolled in small tortillas. I’ve eaten it in restaurants as a communal course for the whole table or as a first course just for me. You can also serve it as a main course for dinner.
• Lay a 5-pound, top-cut brisket of beef, fat side up, in a 6-quart Dutch oven or flameproof casserole. Distribut 2 large onions, peeled and sliced, over the meat, pour in 1 quart of canned beef broth and enough cold water to cover by 3 inches.
• Set over medium heat and bring to a boil; cover, lower heat, and simmer, adding additional boiling water as needed; turn brisket at the halfway point, cooking until it is tender enough to shred easily at its thickest point (about 4 hours total cooking time).
• Remove from heat, uncover pan, let brisket stand in broth until just cool enough to handle. (Warm brisket is easier to shred.)
• Meanwhile, on the open flame of a gas burner or under a preheated broiler, roast the 4 poblano chiles or 6 long green chiles, turning until they are lightly but evenly charred. Steam the chiles in a paper bag, or in a bowl, covered with a plate, until cool. Rub away burned peel. Stem and seed chiles and cut into ¼-inch-wide strips. (In El Paso during the chile harvest, we can buy charred chiles outside the supermarkets to eliminate the early steps and even wrap and freeze the chiles for winter.)
• Pour off and strain the broth. Measure out 1 ½ cups and save the rest for other uses; it’s delicious. Trim the fat from the brisket and shred the meat using the tines of two forks, one in each hand, in a downward pulling motion. The meat must be thoroughly shredded, the end result almost fluffy. Combine the meat and the 1 ½ cups broth in a bowl and let it stand covered at room temperature. (It can be prepared to this point up to 2 hours ahead, but do not refrigerate it.)
• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 7-ounce can of chipotles adobado, pureed, -cup olive oil, ½ cup fresh lime juice, cup white wine vinegar, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and 2 cloves garlic, crushed through a press.
• Drain the shredded meat, pressing hard with a spoon to extract any broth that has not been absorbed. In a large bowl, toss together the shredded beef, 8 ounces mild white cheese, such as Monterey Jack, cut into ¼ inch cubes, and chipotle mixture. Add 1 cup coarsely diced red onion, ¾ cup minced cilantro, and chile strips. Toss again. Taste and adjust seasoning so that the salpicon is tart, smoky, and fairly spicy.
• Line a large platter with coarse outer leaves from one head of romaine. Mound salpicon on lettuce. Garnish with spiky yellow inner leaves of romaine, 3 medium tomatoes, trimmed and cut into wedges, and 2 ripe
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