Menu R&D in the Yucatan Peninsula & A Recipe

The primary business here at Crocodile Catering is office catering. And in recent years, the office clientele has become more ethnically diverse so we need menus to appeal to all nationalites. On a daily basis we can be cooking Mediterranean, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Caribbean. regional American and, of course Mexican!

It is important that we travel worldwide to get authentic ideas to put in our corporate catering menus and our cooking classes. Mexican catering is one of our top sellers, so we recently took a trip to the Yucatan peninsula- specifically Playa Del Carmen.

The best dish we sampled was at the Viceroy hotel. It was a simple soup that was highlighted by a super flavorful chicken stock garnished with tortilla strips, avocado and fresh lime juice. They called it Sopa De Limon. Once we got back to the states, I set out to make my own version to sell in our cafe- and to offer it to my corporate catering clients. Here is my description for our menus…

Yucatan Lime Chicken Soup (aka Sopa De Limón… NEW & Delicious!!) a creamy chicken bisque studded with shreds of all-natural chicken and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Garnished with crispy tortilla strips and our salsa fresca. Here is the recipe we developed from what we experienced in Mexico…

Make a sofrito. Into a large pot, melt 1/2 LB BUTTER then add…

  • 1 ONION, diced (1/8”)
  • 2 GREEN BELL PEPPER, diced (1/8”)
  • ½ bunch CILANTRO, minced (make sure you rinse it thoroughly!!)
  • 1 T SUGARSautee on LOW HEAT for 10 minutes until very soft.
  1. 3. Now add…
  • 8 quarts HOT WATER
  • .5 lbs MINORS CHICKEN BASE
  • 2 T S&P (abbreviation for our salt and pepper blend, 4 parts salt to 1 part black pepper)
  • 1 T OREGANO, 1 BAY LEAF (crumbled)
  • ½ tsp CHIPOTLE POWDER (CAREFUL…DO NOT MAKE IT SPICY!!!!)
  1. 4. Bring water to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer
  2. 5. In a mixing bowl, whisk together a slurry of 2 cups MASA mixed with 2 cups HALF & HALF and juice of 4 LIMES (heat them to 140 degrees so get lots of juice!)
  3. Slowly whisk your slurry or “whitewash” through a chinois into your hot soup.
  4. Simmer 3 additional minutes.
  5. Into two 5 quart containers put 1# shredded, cooked CHICKEN

POINT OF SERVICE- Garnish with 2 T SALSA FRESCA & TORTILLA STRIPS

 

Rachel suggested that we add 1 # Pozole cooked until very tender. I think that is a great idea and we will try it next time!!

In Playa Del Carmen there is seafood everywhere! One of our favorites was the shrimp cocktail. Jalapeno takes the place of the traditional horseradish and lime takes the place of the lemon juice. I am going to add this to our tapas catering menu. I will serve individual shrimp in 3 ounce souffle cups with a dollop of the cocktail sauce and garnish with a cilantro leaf and vegetable strips. We will call it Shrimp Cocktail Shooters.

Shrimp Cocktail