A good Catholic son named Matthew wrote us last month asking for St. Patrick’s Day recipes. Mathew — we haven’t forsaken you, dude, we’re still working on it. But just in case, come tomorrow, someone tries to pinch our weblog for a lack of green, we’re digging up something from the archives: We call it Chippy Pie and it is good. But first some background…
If you couldn’t tell, there’s a long-standing racial/ working-class feud between Mexicans and Irish. It might have something to do with the fact that Mexican culture’s amazing culinary tradition has also pissed out some of the shittiest beer in the world, while the Irish have given us stout beer but little to eat with it. In any case, to settle the fight once and for all, we bring you a combination of what’s beautiful from both culinary traditions.
Chippy Pie
5 shallots, peeled
5 cloves garlic, peeled
2 Tbs. canola oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 bottle Guinness Draught
20 corn tortillas
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups white cheddar, shredded
3-4 cups canola oil for frying
1 tsp. salt
2 12 oz. cans black beans
1 cup cilantro
2 tomatoes
Limejuice
1. Roughly chop the garlic and shallots. Heat a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and toast dry for 2 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Add the 2 Tbs. oil and cumin, crank the heat to high and cook for 3 minutes. Now add the entire bottle of Guinness and cook on high heat until half of the liquid is reduced.
2. While you wait for the beer to reduce, drain the black beans and puree them in a food processor or blender. Set aside. Slice your tortillas into 1-inch strips.
3. Once beer is reduced, slice the butter into squares, coat with flour. Reduce the heat on your sauce to medium and whisk in the floured butter one square at a time. Now grab one cup of shredded cheese and whisk it into the black ooze. After all the cheese has melted, fold the beans into your sauce with a spatula. Remove from heat, set your oven to 400 degrees.
4. In a wok or frying pan, heat canola oil on high. Fry the tortilla strips in shifts, drying them on a bed of paper towels. Let each batch cool, then squeeze drops of fresh limejuice over them and salt to taste. Transfer them to a casserole dish. Then layer chips with a sprinkling of cheese — assuming you haven’t snacked it to death — and tons of beer sauce.
5. Bake uncovered for 5-10 minutes. Serve with roughly chopped cilantro and finely chopped tomatoes.
Beverage: Guinness
Soundtrack: Anything by Jorge Ben.
