As we continue the march this summer to chase down the perfect fish taco, we’d be remiss if we passed over what has become one of She Who Must Be Obeyed’s favorite condiments – a genuine Tex-Mex style crema.
Have you ever noticed how the sour cream on your enchiladas or adorning your fish tacos at your favorite Tex-Mex joint tastes infinitely better than the sour cream you glop out of the plastic tub at home?
The reason is your Tex-Mex chef is using crema, a tartly flavor cream (or sometimes commercial sour cream) with a subtle sprinkle of other flavors on board.
The quick and easy cheat to make crema in a crunch is to zest a lime and add the zest and juice to a cup of sour cream along with a pinch of salt and a tbsp. or two of minced cilantro.
The recipe below, The Only Crema Recipe You’ll Ever Need, is based on Alton Brown’s recipe where you actually sour a cup of heavy cream on the counter for a day and kick it up with some pureed chipotles, a dash of salt, and we’ve taken to adding just a bit of cumin and granulated garlic too.
For you cilantro fans (count us in that group obviously) 1-2 tbsp. minced is then stirred in right at the end.
We started keeping this around since starting the fish taco march in late spring; now SWMBO puts it on basically everything besides fish tacos – grilled chicken or fish, kicked-up beans, salads, in spicy soups, even occasionally on scrambled eggs in the morning.
Your fish tacos will never be the same again with a drizzle of this crema on board.
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. buttermilk
1-2 chipotle chiles in adobo
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. cumin (optional)
1/4 tsp. granulated garlic (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
Cilantro leaves to taste (2 tbsp. minced is about right)
Heat and mix. Pour the heavy cream into a microwave safe glass container and heat until the cream is close to 100 degrees F (20 seconds, then in 10 second bursts); stir in the buttermilk.
Wait. Cap the container and leave it on the counter for 24 hours.
Finish it off. Using an immersion blender, mix in the chipotles, lime juice and salt, adding the garlic and cumin if you’re feeling adventurous.
Finally stir in the minced cilantro by hand.
Now refrigerate until you’re ready to pour / squirt (get a couple of food service squirt bottles – they work great for storage and delivery and you’ll look like a pro) over just about anything for lunch or dinner.
Enjoy.
