The Mexican Slow Cooker: Recipes for Mole, Enchiladas, Carnitas, Chile Verde Pork, and More Favorites

Schneider (Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta), executive chef/partner of SOL Cocina in California, opens new doors for home cooks with this novel approach to preparing Mexican food utilizing the slow cooker. Schneider shows that it can do everything from bake cakes to steam tamales. Her recipes offer a panoply of appealing traditional Mexican dishes, including chicken in tomato-jalapeño salsa (pollo en salsa), black mole (mole negro), and beef with chorizo and potatoes (carne con chorizo y papas). Schneider offers a host of soups such as market vegetable soup (sopa de verduras) and lentil soup with longaniza sausage (sopa de lentejas longuiniza) as well as a wide variety of tasty street food including slow-cooked pork tacos with salsa verde (tacos de carnitas) and beef and bean burritos with cheese (burrito “el güero”). Side dishes utilize standard Mexican staples such as rice with fresh tomato (arroz Mexicana), black beans (frijoles negro), and corn bread (pan de elote). While the desserts are not numerous, they’re luscious and flavorful, including coconut rice pudding (arroz con coco) and dulce de leche flan. Fans of Mexican food will rejoice at Schneider’s delicious offerings and her efficient way to indulge any day of the week. (Sept.)