The colonial silver mining town of Alamos, Sonora was designed by the king of Spain’s personnal architect and remains every bit as impressive today as it was three hundred years ago. While staying at Alamos’ beautiful Hacienda de los Santos, I taught a cooking course which included this version of filet mignon in chipotle sauce. The superb beef of the area, coupled with Mexican cooking techniques, make this a memorable party dish.
Ingredients:
- Corn oil as necessary
- 1 chile ancho
- 1 white onion, quartered
- 4 cloves garlic
- 25 husked tomatillos
- 3-6 chipotles en adobo
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- salt to taste
- butter and olive oil as necessary
- 8 beef filets
- salt and pepper
- 8 small slices manchego cheese
- 8 corn tortillas
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry the ancho chile, remove, drain and seed if desired. Add the onion and garlic to the saucepan, sauté until the onion begins to soften, add the tomatillos, chipotle, ancho and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and cook 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add the cilantro and puree in a blender. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan, add the sauce and cook another 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.
Grill filets or brown them in a hot skillet in butter and olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper after they have browned on both sides. Cook to just under desired doneness. Place a slice of cheese on each filet and place under broiler until cheese melts.
Soft-fry the corn tortillas and drain them. To serve, spoon some of the salsa onto each plate, top with tortilla, then filet. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Serves 8.
