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Continuing the history of Kansas ethnic recipes from the 1961 Centennial to Kansas. The next group that had an influence on our Kansas heritage were the Mexicans. Discounting the foray of Coronado into Kansas, the first Mexicans that came to Kansas were laborers on the railroads between 1865-1870. With the completion of the railroads, they worked in railroad maintenance and in western Kansas in the sugar beet industry.
They, as many of the other cultures, have festivals to celebrate their heritage. The most popular is the Fiesta. (In our area, Cinco de Mayo is the fiesta of choice.) Mexican foods abound at these festivals.
There were very few Mexican recipes in this cookbook. I didn’t find a single one that I though I could or would not try. One that I probably will never do though is make Frijoles Fritos (fried beans) as beans are really easy to buy in the can without so much work. Here is the recipe for your enjoyment. Cook 1 pound pinto beans in 1 ½ quarts of water for 2 hours or until tender. Add ½ tsp salt toward end of cooking. Drain beans and save liquid. Put ½ cup oil in heavy skillet. Add part of drained beans, mashing with potato masher, then add a little bean liquid, more beans etc, continue like this until all beans are used. Continue cooking and stirring until thick. Season with salt, cumin, chili powder and crushed garlic.
My choice for the Wow! Recipe is a Chili Verde Sauce: 10 long green hot peppers, 1 clove garlic, 2 small tomatoes, salt to taste. Grind peppers, crush garlic, and chop tomatoes. Blend all ingredients together and season with salt to taste. This is a quick simple recipe if you like really hot sauce on your Mexican food.
Since, this was so short I am giving you a 2 for 1 today. The Italians came to Kansas later than most of the others and were unable to benefit from the cheap land. They settled in the southeastern corner of the state and worked in the coal, lead and zinc mines. Most of them live in Cherokee and Crawford counties. Many of the older generation came in the first part of the 20th century.
Some Italian foods are so universally enjoyed that it is difficult to realize that the variety is far greater than spaghetti, pizza, and lasagna. The only recipe I thought I would not use was Tagliarini Con Fegatini (Noodles with Chicken Livers) (I have never been a chicken liver fan.)
¾ pounds of tailiarini (narrow noodles), ¾ pounds chicken livers, chopped, 4 T. olive oil, ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 can tomatoes, 1 cup cooked peas, 1 clove garlic, salt and pepper to taste.
Brown livers in hot oil, add garlic, salt , pepper an tomatoes. Cover and simmer 40 minutes; add peas and simmer 15 min. more. Cook noodles in rapidly boiling salted water. Drain and arrange in serving platter. Pour hot sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with cheese.
For the recipe that I thought I would like to give a try, I choseBroccoli Con Olive:
1 pound broccoli,
1 clove garlic,
salt and pepper to taste,
¼ cup chopped ripe black olives,
4 T. olive oil,
¼ cup warm water.Wash broccoli and cut into 1 inch pieces. Cook in boiling salted water 10 minutes. Brown mashed garlic in hot olive oil; add broccoli, olives and ¼ cup warm water. Simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Enjoy!