Tyler Cooks With The Co-Hosts: A G-Free Mexican Fiesta with Elisabeth

Tyler Florence has been cooking with the co-hosts all month long! This week, Tyler joined Elisabeth to whip up a gluten-free Mexican feast -- one of Elisabeth's favorites! His menu included Mexican Tortilla chicken soup, chicken fajitas, guacamole, lime crema, and the ultimate banana split. Here are the recipes:

Mexican Tortilla Chicken Soup

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium white onions, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
3 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped
1 quart gluten-free chicken stock, store bought
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil, for pan-frying
8 corn tortillas, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (from gluten-free deli-roasted chicken)
2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
1 cup crumbled cotija cheese, optional
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
1 lime, cut in wedges, for serving

Place a stockpot over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, jalapenos, and tomatoes; cook, stirring for 15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked down and pulpy. Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1-inch of canola oil in a skillet over medium-high flame. When the oil begins to smoke, add the tortilla strips in batches and fry until they are crisp on all sides. Remove to a paper towel-lined platter and sprinkle with salt while they are still hot.

Ladle the hot soup into 4 soup bowls and put a pile of shredded chicken on top of each. Top with the diced avocado and fried tortilla strips (and cheese if using). Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence; Yield: 2 quarts

Roasted Chicken Fajitas

4 cups shredded roast chicken
juice of 2 limes
extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
3 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh Mexican oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
Lime juice
Extra-virgin olive oil, optional
12 corn tortillas, warm
Guacamole, recipe follows
Lime Crema, recipe follows
Lime wedges, for garnish
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish
fresh shaved radishes, for garnish

Preheat a ridged grill pan on high heat.  Add a drizzle of olive oil then add the bell peppers and onions tossed in lime juice and season well with salt and pepper.  grill for 7-8 minutes until veggies are just barely limp.

In a large mixing bowl add lime juice, cumin, chile powder and chopped cilantro and oregano.   Stir well and toss in shredded chicken and toss well to coat and marinate.  Heat up on the grill for 2-3 minutes.

While the peppers and onions are cooking, heat up the tortillas. Turn any free burners on a medium low flame. Place a tortilla on each flame and let it char about 30 seconds to 1 minute, flip the tortilla and repeat on the second side. Once heated and charred remove the tortilla to a clean tea towel and wrap to keep warm. Repeat until you have warmed all of your tortillas.

To serve, spread some guacamole on a tortilla, top with a few spoonfuls of chicken, peppers and onions, and finish with some lime crema.   Garnish with cilantro leaves, shaved radish and serve with lime wedges.

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

The Ultimate Guacamole

5 ripe Hass avocados
3 to 4 limes, juiced
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 serrano chile, seeds removed and chopped
1 big handful fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil

Halve and pit the avocados. With a tablespoon, scoop out the flesh into a mixing bowl. Mash the avocados with a fork, leaving them still a bit chunky. Add all of the rest of the ingredients, and fold everything together.

Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole so it doesn't brown and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Lime Crema

2 cups of gluten-free sour cream
2 teaspoons lime zest
pinch of kosher salt

Make the crema by combining sour cream and zest. Serve each soup with a spoonful of lime crema, a squeeze of lime and some fresh cilantro.

The Ultimate Banana Split

Breyers All-Natural Vanilla ice cream
2 ripe bananas, peeled and split in half
Shaved Oaxacan chocolate, shaved with a vegetable peeler
Goats Milk Caramel, recipe below
Crispy Fried Tortilla Strips, recipe below

Lay the banana halves cut side up with ends touching.  Place two large round scoops of ice cream in the cavity between the banana halves.  Pour over mexican goats milk caramel and top with crispy fried tortilla strips.

Crispy Fried Tortilla Strips

4 corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch strips
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pour vegetable oil into a large pot.. Heat oil to 350 degrees F. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Fry the tortillas, in small batches until crispy, about 30-45 seconds. Quickly remove the tortilla strips from the oil with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.  Season strips with cinnamon-sugar mix.

Goats Milk Caramel

2 quarts goat milk (must be gluten free)
2 cups sugar
2 vanilla beans, split and seeds scraped
1 teaspoon baking soda

First bring the milk to a boil in a large saucepan.  Reduce to a simmer and add the sugar, split vanilla bean and scrapped seeds. Stir well to dissolve.

Remove pot from heat and add baking soda, but be careful as it will bubble up (hence why you need the large pot).  Once the bubbling subsides simmer for 1-2 hours until the color gets a nice caramel / dark-brown color.  As it reduces, it will thicken up so it is important to stir well.   Once it reaches the softball stage shut off heat and allow to cool.  Serve warm over the ice cream and banana split.

^{Photo Credit: Steve Giralt/Retna}

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