On December 24, Mexican families fill themselves with happiness and a bit of hysteria. There is always a battle to get baguettes, nuts for stuffing the pork loin, raisins for the apple salad, or a last-minute pilgrimage to get drinks for the Christmas dinner.

At Kiwilimon, we want to help you avoid stress so that you can enjoy the cooking process and then savor your Christmas menu with your family. We have set out to find ways to substitute the more expensive ingredients of the Christmas dinner, teach you how to prepare the juiciest turkey, and share the quickest and most economical desserts for this season.

This time, we explain how to clean romeritos easily and quickly, which will be very helpful if it’s your first time preparing this dish, a Mexican stew made with romeritos, baby potatoes, nopales, mole, and dried shrimp. Let’s get to work!

You can also read: Learn about the benefits of eating romeritos

How to clean romeritos?
Romeritos are one of the dishes that cannot be missed at a Mexican Christmas dinner, as they have a spicy touch but also highlight the flavors of romeritos, potato, and shrimp—it’s a symphony of flavors!

So don’t be afraid, dare to prepare exquisite Christmas romeritos and surprise everyone; here’s how to clean them in no time!

1. When you go to the market to buy them, make sure they are fresh.
2. Place the romeritos in a bowl or colander and remove any impurities.
3. Take a stem, pull the small branches down, and discard the stick. Remove any that are wet or rotten.
4. Rinse with plenty of water to remove the dirt.
5. Soak the romeritos to disinfect and drain.
6. Cook the romeritos in salted water until tender.
7. Drain and place in a bowl with ice water to stop the cooking process.

Now that your romeritos are clean and cooked, they are ready for action! Next, we tell you how to prepare the best and most exquisite Christmas romeritos, they will be the new chef of the family!

You can also read: Economic Christmas Menu

How to prepare romeritos with mole
Get to work and prepare the best romeritos, even better than those of your aunt or grandmother!

Ingredients
For the mole

• 3 tablespoons of lard
• 1/2 cup of almonds
• 1/4 cup of peanuts
• 1/4 cup of walnuts
• 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup of sesame seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 cloves
• 1 tablespoon of allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 onion
• 5 guajillo chiles
• 5 pasilla chiles
• 7 ancho chiles
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 cup of dried shrimp
• 4 cups of shrimp broth
• enough salt
• 1 cup of table chocolate
• 3 tablespoons of lard, to fry the mole

For the romeritos

• 2 cups of shrimp
• enough salt
• enough pepper
• enough water
• 4 cups of romeritos, cleaned
• 1 cup of baby potato, cooked and halved
• 1 cup of nopal, cooked and diced
• To taste bread, for serving

Instructions

1. Heat a large pot and melt the lard. Then, add the almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cumin, garlic, onion, chiles, tomato, and dried shrimp.
2. Pour in the shrimp broth and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Let cool and blend.
4. Heat the pot again, add the lard, and pour in the mole.
5. Add the table chocolate and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Add the cleaned and cooked romeritos to the mole.
7. Add the shrimp, potatoes, and nopales.
8. Adjust the seasoning and you’re done.

Now that you know how to prepare traditional romeritos with mole from scratch, what other recipe do you feel like including in your Christmas menu? 

You can also read: Typical Mexican food to celebrate Christmas and New Year