Look close, there is a cod fillet under those lemon slices! After going to two stores, I could only find 5 oz frozen portions of cod. I would have preferred a larger filet and fussed at the meat manager about it.
The flavors of roast cod, creamy cannellini beans, lemon, chile and Castlevetrano olives are stand alone favorites in this house. Finding a recipe that brings them all together is worth celebrating!
Castlevetrano olives are green and totally different in flavor than the green Spanish olives we slip into martinis. They are worth the search and you will want to buy plenty because you will sample so many you might not have enough for your recipe.
Roast Fish with Cannellini Beans and Green Olives Ingredients 4 sprigs oregano (or a scant tsp dried oregano)
1 15.5 oz cans cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed
1/2 cup castelvetrano olives, pitted and torn
Kosher salt
1-1/2 lbs whole skinless whitefish fillet (such as cod, haddock, or halibut)
2 small shallots, thinly sliced into rings (may substitute thin sliced and coarse chopped red onion)
1 Fresno Chile, very thinly sliced into rings*
2 lemons, divide
5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Method
Preheat oven to 300º. Combine oregano, beans, olives and 1/2 cup water in a shallow 3-quart baking dish; season lightly with salt. Place fish on top and nestle into beans; season fish generously with salt. Scatter shallots and chile over fish. Slice lemon very thinly and wriggle out seeds. Arrange slices, slightly overlapping, over surface of fish. Drizzle everything with oil and roast until fish is opaque throughout and flesh in the center flakes when gently pressed – 25-35 minutes, depending on the type and thickness of the fish. Let rest about 10 minutes. Press the beans down occasionally so they don’t dry out.
Cut remaining lemon into wedges and serve alongside fish and beans for squeeing over.
*Shopping in El Paso can sometimes be frustrating, but it does foster creativity. I couldn’t find Fresno chiles, so I substituted slices of red shishito peppers and about a half-inch piece of finely minced serrano pepper for heat.
Bacon wrapped shrimp adds a little something extra to an already satisfying loaded cauliflower soup. When the cauliflower florets were done, I picked out a few to save for garnish when serving. It’s all about plating!
Cauliflower subs for potatoes in this fall comfort supper soup. Loaded Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
6 bacon slices, chopped
1 cup chopped leek
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups chopped cauliflower florets and steams from 1 (2-1/2 lb) head)
3 cups unsalted chicken stock
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup half-and-half
2 pz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup)
3 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring often, until crisp – 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Reserve 1 Tbsp bacon drippings in pan, discard excess drippings.
Increase heat to medium-high. Add leek, celery and garlic to pan; cook, stirring often, until crisp-tender (about 5 minutes). Add cauliflower, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduced heat to medium. Simmer until cauliflower is very tender – about 15 minutes.
Remove 1 cup vegetables with a slotted spoon; finally chop.
Pour remaining mixture into a blender; add half-and-half. Remove center piece of blender lid to allow steam to escape. Place lid on blender and cover opening with a clean towel. Process, starting slowly and increasing speed until contents are very smooth. (I use the puree setting on my 1970’s vintage Osterizer for about a minute). Return to pan with chopped vegetables and cook until warmed through – 2 or three minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with bacon, cheese and chives.
NOTE: This is a rich and satisfying soup. I felted it needed a little something extra so I wrapped peeled and deveined large shrimp with bacon and broiled them three minutes on a side (Turing once) for a tasty garnish. I allow three shrimp per serving. Without the shrimp and bacon it would still be a pretty good vegetarian soup.
Sometimes finding a vegetarian or vegan recipe calls for making it just because it sounds good. Such was the case with “lentil chili” in the recipe name. Had to give it a try and found it very good! Of course, it needed a little more chili powder than called for to satisfy the Gringo Gourmet taste buds. It seemed a bit sweet when tasted during cooking. A couple of teaspoons of rice vinegar balanced the sweetness nicely.
Stuffed potatoes with Lentil Chili – Vegetarian version.
Stuffed Potatoes with Lentil Chili Ingredients
4 russet potatoes (about 8 oz. each)
1 small red onion
1 poblano chile pepper
1 carrot
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 15-oz can lentils, drained and rinsed (or cook 1 cup dry lentils in 4 cups water 20-25 minutes until tender, but don’t overcook to mushy)
2 tsp chili power (or more to taste)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 14.5 oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1. cup shredded cheddar cheese – about 4 ounces (Substitute vegan cheddar to keep this dish vegan)
<strongMethod
Preheat oven to 425º.Prick potatoes with a fork and microwave until tender -15 – 20 minutes. Transfer to oven rack and bake until soft – about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, finely chop the red onion. Put 2 Tbsp chopped onion in a small bowl, cover with water and let soak for 10 minutes; drain, pat dry and set aside for topping.
Chop the poblano. Peel and grate the carrot.
Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the remaining red onion, the chopped poblano and carrot, season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring occasionally,until tender – about 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin and cook about 1 minute until toasted. Stir in lentils and add the tomato paste and cook stirring, until vegetables are coated. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, 1-1/2 cups water and a large pinch of salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened – about 10 minutes.
Split the potatoes open. Drizzle with the remaining Tbsp olive oil, season with salt and pepper and fluff with a fork. Top with half the cheese, then top with the lentil chili. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and reserved red onion.
NOTE: This is a very good stuffed potato! Omnivore/carnivores can use smaller potatoes and use this as a side dish with a nice grilled steak if desired.
Have it both ways – as a meal with a big potato, or as a side with a smaller potato.
As a devoted omnivore with carnivore proclivities the occasional experiment with vegetarian and vegan recipes can be an adventure. It is interesting to see how many “V” recipes are base on a combination of sweet potatoes and black beans. And is is great that this combination works so well in so many different ways. This Sweet Potato Tostadas recipe is about as far removed from a Mexican tostada as one can get, but it is delicious and will probably show up on the Gringo Gourmet menu again!
Sweet Potato Tostadas with a side of sliced prickly pear tunas. See note below about the sweet potato topping and prepping the tunas.
SWEET POTATO TOSTADAS Ingredients
3 sweet potatoes (about 1-1/4 lbs) peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 small head red cabbage, shredded )about 1-1/2 cups)
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
1 canned chipotle chile pepper in adobo plus 1 – 2 tsp adobo sauce from the can
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 15 oz can refried black beans (vegetarian if desired)
8 tostada shells
1/4 cup Mexican cream or sour cream
Method
Put sweet potatoes in a large skillet using enough water to cover, season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender – 20 – 25 minutes. Drain, return to skillet and set aside.
Meanwhile, mix the cabbage, 1 Tbsp lime juice and a pinch of salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Pineapple Salsa: Toss 1 cup pineapple with the cilantro and 1 Tbsp lime juice in a small bowl and set aside.
Pineapple Sauce: Puree the remaining cup of pineapple with 1 Tbsp lime juice, the garlic, chipotle and adobo sauce, cumin and water in a a blender until smooth. Stir this pineapple sauce into the sweet potatoes and cook over medium heat until warmed through – 3 – 4 minutes.
Put the black beans into a small sauce pan, add 3 Tbsp water and warm over medium high heat.
Spread black beans on tostadas; top with sweet potatoes, pineapple salsa and cabbage. Drizzle with the crema.
NOTE: These tostadas boast wonderful flavors and textures, but are very rich. Spread the beans and sweet potato mix thinly. If you spread the sweet potato mix to thick, it can be a bit much! The photo includes a few slices of prickly pear fruit (tunas). Sometimes the fresh tunas from the grocery store are not glochid-free. Carefully check and removes the glochids from the “spots” on the tunas, or peel them. You might like to wear rubber gloves so you don’t get glochids in your fingers.
Moles maybe be an acquired taste, but once it is acquired, it is something you’ll crave. I’m enjoying trying Mexican dishes made vegan by chef Jason Wyrick in his new cookbook Vegan Mexico. My own feeling is that vegan never will taste like foods that are not totally plant based. They are good on their own and should be appreciated for that, not compared to non-vegan or non-vegetarian recipes with similar names. Accept and enjoy the differences. In this case, sweet potato and black beans will never taste like mole on chicken or pork enchiladas, but you’ll be surprised at how good they are together in many vegan dishes. I’ll be playing with more recipes from this cookbook and sharing recipes with my vegetarian- can’t give up her dairy and eggs for a vegan lifestyle- daughter and our v-word friends!
Vegan Mole Poblano and a couple of vegan tamales from the freezer section at the grocery. I love the mole; I like the tamales, and next time I’ll put more red sauce on the tamales!
After all the typing this post took, you owe it to me to give this mole a try, even if you use just the short cuts, as I do!
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Mole Enchiladas
From Vegan Mexico by Jason Wyrick
Jim’s notes are in italics. Ingredients Filling:
1 medium white sweet potato (if white is not available, an orange sweet potato can be substituted)
¾ cup[ Oaxacan-style black beans (recipe and my simplified version follow) Sauce:
1 cup mole poblano (homemade recipe follows, but you may substitute Doña Maria Concentrated Mole Poblano and follow the recipe on the jar. If you are cooking for one or two, look for the Doña Maria Mole ready to serve 9.5 oz box. It is a new discovery for me and will encourage me to make more mole at home.)
¾ cup water
1/4 tsp salt
Rich depth mole flavor and quick and easy ready-to serve for small batch cooling! Best discovery of my week!
Tortillas
12 6-inch corn tortillas
Corn oil for frying Toppings
3 tbsp chopped fresh sage
¼ cut chopped salted roasted peanuts Method
Preheat oven to 450°F. Wrap the sweet potato in foil and bake for 40 minutes. Let cool, remove foil, peel sweet potato and chop into 1-inch chunks. Toss sweet potato chunks with Oaxacan-style black beans and set aside. Or, wash and dry the sweet potato, pierce skin all over with a fork, place on a paper towel in your microwave and zap it for 12-15 minutes. Test with a fork. When tender and cool enough to handle, split potato in half. Score flesh vertically and horizontally at one-inch intervals , but don’t cut through the skin into the palm of your hand! Use a table spoon to scoop potato cubes out of skin. How easy, cooler in your kitchen and faster is that?
Combine mole poblano, water and salt in a medium skillet. Warm to medium heat.
Add ¼ inch of oil to a deep skillet and heat to just above medium. Fry tortillas in oil for about 3 seconds each, then dip on mole poblano sauce for bout 10 seconds. Transfer each tortilla to a “work” plate and add about 2 Tbsp filling. Roll tortilla and transfer to a serving plate or platter. Repeat with all the tortillas and pour remaining sauce over them.
Drop the sage into the hot oil and fry for about 45 seconds, remove from oil and sprinkle the sage and on the enchiladas. I like to fry individual sage leaves as a garning for several different dishes. They are delicate to handle, but I find it more attractive and easier to managed that sprinkling fried sage bits. I find Wyric’s Oaxacan-style black beans to be a fascinating recipe. Because I usually cook for one or two, I reduce recipes regularly so I don’t have too many leftovers stacking up in the fridge. I would like to make his recipe one day and compare it with my shortened version. Both are here for your reference.
Oaxacan-Style Black Beans Ingredients
1 lb dried black beans, picked over, rinsed and drained
6 cups water
1 large yellow onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice
4 cloves garlic, halved lengthwise
2 whole ancho, mulato or pasilla chiles
1 dried chipotle meco chile or 1 chipotle in adobo
1 Tbsp cumin seeds or 2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 (1-inch) cinnamon stick or ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 avocado leaves or ¼ tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp salt. Method
Preheat oven to 275°F. Combine beans, water, onion, chiles, cumin, pepper, cinnamon stick or ground cinnamon, avocado leaves or fennel seeds in a 10-X10-inch baking dish. Mix well, cover tightly with foil and bake for 8 – 10 hours until beans are tender. Serve as is or mash the beans before serving.
Oaxacan-ish-style Black Beans I guestimated that Wyrick’s recipe would yield about six cups of beans. I used one can of rinsed black beans, figuring that to be about 1/3 of the volume of the original recipe. I tried to use 1/3 of the rest of the ingredients in the recipe. I substituted a heaping teaspoon of ancho powder and about 1/3 chile in adobo for the chiles. I approximated the measure of the other ingredients using a tsp as a tool for eyeballing the amounts. I did use the whole 1/t tsp fennel seed because I love fennel. I crushed the seen in a mortar before adding them to the recipe. I heated the bean mixture through while I did the rest of the prep then followed the enchilada cooking and assembly instructions. I was pleased with the flavor of the abbreviated Oaxacah-ish beans enough to think about making the scratch recipe someday. I said I’d include the homemade Mole Poblano recipe. I think typing it is about as much work as making it from scratch! Mole Poblano Ingredients
2 tsp chile seeds (ancho, guajillo or mulato)
¼ tsp coriander seeds
4 cloves or 1/8 tsp ground cloves
3 black pepper corns or 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp anise seed or a pinch of ground anise
1 (½-inch) Mexican cinnamon stick or 1/3 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
½ cup corn oil, divided
½ cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup raw pepitas
1/3 cup golden raisins
1 5-inch corn tortilla
2 (1/2) inch thick French baguette slices
1 small ripe plantain, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 ancho chiles, stemmed
4 pasilla or additional ancho chiles, stemmed
4 mulato chiles, stemmed
Boling water, as needed
2 Roma tomatoes, pan-roasted
3 cloves garlic, pan-roasted
1 (1-ounce) wedge Mexican chocolate
1 (1-ounce) piece piloncillo or 1 Tbsp turbinado sugar
Salt to taste Method
In an iron or other heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat, toast the following individually, stirring slowly, then remove from the heat, grind into a powder and add to a blender:
the chili seed until blackened, about 2 minutes;
the coriander seeds for 1 minute;
the cloves for 1 minute;
the peppercorns for 30 seconds;
the anise seeds for 30 seconds;
the Mexican cinnamon stick for 1 minute’
the sesame seeds for 1 minute
Add ¼ cup of the corn oil to the skillet. Working one at a time, fry the following individually. Transfer each to the blender as it is finished.
the almonds until they are browned, about 2 minutes
the pepitas until they are browned, about 2-1/2 minutes
the raisins until they are plump, about 2 minutes
the tortilla until it is golden, about 1 minute
the French baguette slices until they are golden, about 2 minutes
the plantain until it is browned, about 3 minutes
and the onion until it is browned, about 5 minute
Add the remaining oil to the skillet and bring back to medium heat. Working in batches, fry the anchoes, pasillas or additional anchos and mulatos for 30 seconds, taking care not to burn them. Transfer the chiles to a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Leave the oil in the skillet, but turn the heat off. Wait 20 – 30 minutes for the chile’s to rehydrate, then transfer the to the blender along with the tomatoes and garlic. Reserve the chile water.
Puree the spice mixture, slivered almond mixture and chile mixture adding enough of the reserved chile water as you blend to create a smooth sauce. Press through a fine-mesh strainer for the smoothest sauce. Bring the oil in the skillet to medium low heat. Add the sauce, Mexican chocolate, piloncillo or turbinado sugar and salt to the skillet. Slowly simmer for at least 40 minutes until oil pools on top of the mole. As the mole thickens, add just enough water to keep it from sticking to the skillet. If you have time, let the mole simmer for 1 to 2 hours. The longer the better.
According to Myrick, you can save time by using ground spices and not toasting them. You scan skip frying the almonds and pepitas by buying the pre-roasted and salted. You can add the chiles, onion, raisins and plantain to the blender without frying them, but the result won’t be as rich-tasting. The greatest time saver is buying a jarred mole poblano sauce such as Doña Maria because it is vegan and commonly available in Mexica or larger supermarkets. Wyrick recommends adding ½ cup caramelized onion to the jarred sauce and puree it.
A few days ago, I posted a pic and comment on cooing a pot roast on FaceBook. I received some complements and a few comments about pot roast nostalgia. There also was a request from my friend Sarah Chesters for ideas on what to do with left over pot roast because she, too cooks for one.
It all began with discovering a recipe a Peppery Beef Stew in the new issue of Cooking Light magazine. I wanted to try it because it had turnips and celery root and no potatoes among the vegetables. It was different from my usual pot roast or stew and it is a keeper recipe!
The recipe called it a stew. Starting with a 2+ chuck roast, I call it a pot roast!
Peppery Beef Stew with Root Vegetables Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 lb trimmed chuck roast (about 2-1/2 lb untrimmed)
2 tsp black pepper, divided
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups unsalted beef stock* 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp unsalted tomato paste** to recipe.
4 thyme springs
2 bay leaves
1 lb small turnips, peeled and cut into wedges (about 3 cups)
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
1-1/4 lb celery root, peeled and cut into cubes
2 cubs fresh pearl onions, peeled, or thawed frozen pearl onions (about 8 oz)***
1 cup water
2 Tbsp chopped flat leave parsley Method
Preheat oven to 350ºF
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high. Sprinkle roast with ½ tsp pepper and ½ tsp salt. Add roast to pan and cook until browned – about 5 minutes per side.
Remove roast from pan and set aside. Add garlic to pan; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add wine to pan; cook until reduced by half, about 2 minutes, scraping bottom of pan to loosen browned bits.
Whisk flour and stock together in a small bowl. Stir stock mixture into wine mixture; cook stirring often until thickened. Stir in tomato paste, thyme, bay leave and remaining 1-1/2 tsp pepper and remaining tsp salt, remember to taste for salt if using salted stock and tomato paste. Nestle roast into stock mixture. Cover and bake at 350ºF on hour and 30 minutes.
Remove pan from oven. Add turnips, carrots, celery root, onions and 1 cup water; toss carefully with gravy in pan. Cover and bake at 350ºF until vegetables are tender and sauce is thick and glazy, about 1 hour. Coarsely shred beef; discard thyme and bay leaves
*If you cannot find unsalted beef stock, use low sodium stock and don’t add salt to liquids until later in the cooking process, then taste and adjust salt.
**Treat salted tomato paste as recommended above for salted stock
***If you agree with me that peeling fresh pearl onions is a hassle, use about 8 oz Mexican green onions – white bulb only, halved or cut in wedges instead. They are attractive and easy to manage. You can also use wedges of a small white onion.
Left overs 1
Still enchanted with the root vegetables, I deduced to thicken the sauce of the roast/stew and serve it with Amish-style thick noodles and even more black pepper. The vegetables were even better after a couple of days in the fridge! Below is a technique I use for making a basic white sauce in the microwave to thicken something. If I am going to make a white sauce to serve as a major part of a recipe, I do the traditional roux-building process.
Amish-style noodles, a handful of English pease and cubing the beef make the left over pot roast new again!
Jim’s Quick-Zapped Thickener White Sauce Ingredients
Equal measures of fat and white flour (butter, pan drippings or neutral cooking oil in a pinch)
Cream, half and half, milk or cooking liquid as noted below. Method
Blend fat and flour in a two-cup microwave safe measure or bowl. Zap for thirty seconds, stir and taste. Continue to zap at thirty seconds until mixture thickens and does not taste like raw flour. The amount of fat and flour you star with will determine how many zap cycles you will need.
Add your liquid of choice in small amounts, stir and zap. It will thicken rapidly. Add more liquid, stir until smooth and zap again. Repeat until you get a smooth texture of white sauce in your measure or bowl. Do not over thin in your measure, you want the white sauce to thicken what is in your pan or pot! Add mixture in small amounts to liquid in your pan or pot. Stir to keep it smooth as it thickens to desired texture.
This is not a roux or gravy base. It is a simple white sauce thickener that I find easier to work with than dealing with a roux for some recipes. Getting the flour cooked is the critical factor for flavor.
Left overs 2
Fish the left over hunk of pot roast out of the storage container. Cut a few thin slices across the grain and blot them with paper towels to remove cold sauce. Return the bit hunk back to the container and refrigerator. Schmear a couple of slices of your favorite bead side to side with mayonaise, then add a generous schemer of whole grain dijon mustard on one slice. Top with a slice or two of a good shop cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato onion and /or sliced kosher dill pickle and enjoy. If you are feeling fancy, toast the bread first. And remember, a cold roast beef sandwich tastes best when eaten over the kitchen sink. And don’t for get a side of milk and chips right from the bag, if you have them.No incriminating photos of enjoying a sandwich over the sink were taken.
Left overs 3 and some left
This idea includes leftover and some ingredients left on hand from other dishes.
Part of the left over roast was cut across the grain into a couple of thick slices. I had a few baby potatoes left from previous recipes, and part of a head of red cabbage left from another. Microwave the potatoes for 4 minutes, then cut them into wedges. Light spritz the wedges with cooking spray and finish to crisp and brown a bit in a hot skillet. Call them instant sort of Frenchish Fries. Remove from pan and set aside. Cut a few shreds of red cabbage and toss with a mix of equal parts mayonnaise and cider vinegar, a good spoonful of dijon mustard, salt and pepper and a couple of generous shakes of garlic powder to make a colorful cole slaw. Heat roast slices in the skillet and add a few spoonsful of a good barbecue sauce. It will tend to splatter, so be careful!
I have an interesting olive, raisin and almond mix from Whole Foods that I love. I served this “barbecue plate” with a he olive mix to temper the spicy elements.
Barbecue plate from leftover pot roast and a few ingredients left from other recipes. I should have added a few onion slices – maybe next time. The pot roast barbeque was a little on the tender side, but the flavor was very good.
Mid-September and our daytime temps are still in the high 90’s! Food magazines from more temperate climes are featuring tempting recipes and photos for soups, stews, braises and tempting riffs on harvest vegetables that have me doing fall cooking despite the heat!
I found a brilliant photo of Charred Red Cabbage with a Butternut-Miso Mash that I just had to make. I wanted to try it so much that I waited two days for white miso to arrive at the grocery store. It was worth it!
The butternut-miso mash is a puree of butternut squash, butter, white miso and crushed red pepper. Red cabbage is pan charred on the stove top and it is all brought together with a drizzling sauce of toasted sesame oil, lime juice, lower-sodium soy sauce, honey and fresh ginger. Garnished with fresh cilantro and cashews, it all came together with a slightly Asian feel.
I made is as the recipe instructed, but when I make it again, I’ll add more crushed red pepper. As a border guy, I crave more heat than northerners would. Also, when it came time to do the dishes, I found the flavors in the mash had come together and were more satisfying than when they came right out of the food processor.
I think this recipe was created as a side dish. My meal needed protein, so I grilled an inch-thick pork chop with Williams-Sonoma’s Habanero Citrus Rub. It was a good compliment for the Asian-feeling mash and cabbage and, surprisingly, was not overly spicy from the habanero chile. I wonder why I haven’t been using it more often! I think white beans – navy, great northern or cannellini – with a hint of garlic or onion might be a good way for vegetarian or vegan folk to add protein.
Charred Red Cabbage with a Butternut-Miso Mash Ingredients
1 16 oz peeled, seeded and cubed fresh butternut squash
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
I Tbsp white miso
1 garlic clove, grated
1/4 crushed red pepper (needs more!)
1 small head red cabbage
I Tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp kosher dalt
2 Tbsp toasted sesame il
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tsp lower-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1’2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup unsalted roasted cashews, roughly chopped
Method</str
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Adds Squash and reduce heat to medium; simmer until tender – about 10 minutes. Drain. Combine squash, butter, miso, garlic and red pepper in a food processor. Process until smooth.
Cut cabbage in half lengthwise. Cut each half into four equal wedges. Heat canola oil in a large heavy skillet over high. Add cabbage, cut sides down; cook until charred, about five minutes. Flip cabbage and cook until charred on second side. Remove from pan and sprinkle with salt.
Stir together sesame oil, lime juice, soy sauce gibes and ginger in a small bowl.
Place 2/3 cup squash mistuned in each of 4 bowls. Top evenly with cabbage wedges and drizzle with sesame oil mixture. Garnish with cilantro and cashews.
NOTE: Because I was serving this as a side dish, I plated it with the pork shop instead of using a bowl. When I make this again, I’ll make the butternut-miso ahead of time and let the flavors blend more. I liked the drizzling sauce so much, I’m going to make more and try it on grilled chicken.
A short time ago, there was some Facebook discussion of SOS (chipped beef or hamburger in a white sauce served on toast. (In polite circles, I would call it “Served on a Shingle”, not what we called it in the military). It brought back memories of bootcamp breakfasts back in 1970-71. SOS stuck somewhere on the edge of short term memory in the back of my mind. It resurfaced with a craving this morning. I first thought a about biscuits and gravy after reading a note my Australian friend sent about educating his co-workers about the difference between biscuits and gravy in the southern US vs Australian biscuits that are what we would call cookies.
Now that I am a septuagenarian, my thoughts sometimes work in mysterious ways. Biscuits and gravy became transformed to thoughts of SOS. I knew I didn’t have any hamburger or chipped beef or even sausage on hand, but I did have three strips of bacon left over from some I purchased to season a pot of beans last week. I was on my way to playing with breakfast without a recipe!
I diced the bacon, placed it in a bowl, covered it with plastic wrapped and microwaved it three times at 45 seconds, stirring between zapps. The result was some nicely cooked diced bacon and just over two Tbsp of bacon fat. I strained the fat into a glass measure and stirred in two Tbsp flour. I zapped and stirred the flour and fat for 30 seconds four or five times, stirring it smooth between zapps. The objective was to cook the flour until it no longer tased raw. I then added small amounts of milk, did short zaps and lots of stirring as it thickened. After the the milk, zaps and stirs, I had a nice bacon gravy. I mixed the diced bacon back in and adjusted the seasoning with salt and pepper.
For years, I have used this microwave technique on equal parts butter and flour followed by addidtions of cream to make a passable and quick béchamel sauce that can be modified into a rich white sauce or even a cheese sauce for different recipes. Pan-made béchamel is preferred for more upscale dishes, but the microwave version is fast and works for simple things and lower quantities the sauce.
I made toast and plated it topped with the bacon sauce/gravy and christened it Bacon a Board because it was neither S nor on a shingle.
This breakfast was a triple threat – I bought Menonite butter from the Menonite cheese guy at the Farmer’s market. It is salted, so I don’t use it for baking. It is great for spreading on toast. I had a piece of toast with Menonite butter and Stonewall, Texas, peach jam I had picked up while in Stonewall in June!
Toast, bacon, gravy, butter and jam made me think I should just rub breakfast on my belly and butt because that’s where it will wind up. I then coined the word bigify, meaning to make big or lead to bigness. In the six-plus years since I was exposed to grammar rules, I no longer remember how to quote them, I just use them on autopilot. I think bigfify is probably a verb, and I’ll wait for the grammarians to let me know for sure. That, in case you are bugged by the word bigify, is an intro to its etymology. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist that pun.)
BOB – Bacon on a Board: the foundation for a Bigified Breakfast inspired by SOS.
Playing with hasselback chicken...
Hasselback potatoes and sweet potatoes are a special treat for the eye and the palate. Stumbling across a recipe for hasselback cajun chicken was a new and intriguing idea. Sometimes one doesn’t have everything on hand for a new recipe and that means it is time to play with it and make your own version. No green bell pepper. No andouille sausage and no cajun seasoning nixed the original recipe. Yellow and zucchini squash, red onion, a poblano chile pepper and an assortment of chile powders seemed like good way to try hasselbacking a chicken breast, but with a southwestern flair.
Roughly 50+ miles east of El Paso off I-10 is Fort Hancock, TX. It is a community of about 1,750 people in a green farming band along the Rio Grande in contrast to the sand, creosote and mesquite desert on the eastern side of the interstate. It is home to a modest trading post that has been in the same family for more than 100 years and to Chipotle Texas, a chile company that produces some wonderful chile powers and blends that make it worth a stop for several different kinds. My newest flavor blend is a Zesty Tomatillo Blend that is a bit on the mild side but has a wonderful complex flavor. Experimenting with it us an ongoing adventure. Visiting the store is a treat or you can also check out their website, www.chipotletexas.com and shop online. The company now takes credit cards. Not too long ago, they would take your check for mail orders but wouldn’t ship your order until the check cleared. It is great that they have grown enough to be able to accept credit cards. If you are a chile fiend, do yourself a favor and check it out.
Hasselback is a term for making narrow slices almost through a base vegetable or meat, rubbing it with oil and seasoning it or inserting something into the cuts and then roasting it. The easy way to make the cuts is to put a chopstick or pencil on either side of what you are slicing to prevent your blade from cutting all the way through. Putting things into the cuts with out breaking the vegetable can be delicate work.
Below is the southwestern version of hasselback chicken stuffed with slices of poblano chile, red onion and squash. The Tomatillo Zesty Blend coated the chicken and was sprinkled in the cuts. It was mild and very tasty, but not quite spicy enough for my taste. Next time a little hotter chile powder will be added to ramp it up a bit. The chicken breast was cooked about 20 minutes at 450º on a foil lined baking sheet.
A few chile powders and blends in the spice pantry.
Southwestern Hasselback Chicken stuffed with squash, red onion and poblano chile and season with a tomatillo/chile blend. Served with baked potato and a kale salad.
Poblano chiles and lots of eggs, cheese and cream in a tortilla crust accented with red Chile sauce is worth trying.
Overlook the old baking sheet and concentrate on the quiche. It is very rich, yet light in texture with tantalizing flavors. Next time out, egg beaters with just an egg or two and half and half instead of heavy cream should work and make it somewhat healthier. The tortilla crust is something worth trying with other fillings. We’ll work on that in the Gringo Gourmet Academy Test Kitchens and report on the trials soon.
POBLANO ENCHILADA QUICHE Ingredients
4 large eggs
¾ cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small to medium poblano chile pepper, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
½ cup shredded Mexican blend cheese (or cheddar, or pepper jack or plain jack cheese)
1 10 oz can red enchilada sauce
4 six-inch corn tortillas, three cut in half
Method
Preheat oven to 400°. Whisk the eggs, heavy cream ½ tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper in a large bowl. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the sliced poblano pepper, season with salt and pepper and cook until tender and charred in spots: 5-8 minutes. Add to egg mixture along with scallions and all but two Tbsp cheese, stir to combine and set aside.
Pour the enchilada sauce into the skillet and heat until bubbling; remove from heat. Using tongs, dip the whole tortilla in the sauce until coated. Place in a 9-inch pie plate. Dip the tortilla halves in the sauce and arrange around the sides of the pie plate with the curved sides up, they will overlap a little. Reserve the remaining sauce.
Pour the egg mixture into the tortilla “crust”, smooth out the poblanos in and sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Drizzle with about three Tbsp of the remaining enchilada sauce. Bake until golden, slightly puffed and set – about 25 minutes.
Reheat leftover enchilada sauce, cut the quiche into six wedges and plate. Drizzle with heated enchilada sauce. Serve with a simple tossed salad or the jicama recipe below.
Optional Jicama Side Dish Ingredients
1 pound to pound and a half jicama
Juice of 1 lime
½ cup chopped cilantro Method
Peel the jicama and slice into matchsticks. Toss with lime juice, cilantro, 2 Tbsp olive oil and ¼ cup water. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the quiche.
