I’m still sifting through the recipes in the “Mexico” Issue of Saveur magazine. This is one of my all time favorite Saveur publications. Equally excellent is the Everything You Need To Know About Filet Mignon issue (that is another story altogether).
Diana Kennedy, originally from the UK moved to Mexico in 1957 with her husband Paul Kennedy. Often referred to as the Julia Child of Mexico, Diana is considered the leading researcher, teacher, and writer on the regional foods of Mexico, and for good reason. Here I adapted her simple, delicious, salsa recipe that anyone can make at home with ingredients that are easy to find at your market.
Tomatillo Salsa with Avocado ~ Salsa de Albañil
Adapted from Saveur Magazine – The Mexico Issue
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 oz. tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed
1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 cup minced, white onion
2 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher salt to taste
2 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (or queso fresco)
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and cut into slices
tortilla chips or warm tortillas for serving
Preparation
Bring tomatillos and 4 cups water to a boil in a 4-quart saucepan; cook until tomatillos are just soft, 4 – 5 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
Place tomatillos, 1/3 cup cilantro, 2 tablespoons onion, chiles, garlic and salt in a blender or food processor, pulse until slightly chunky. Pour salsa into a serving dish and layer avocado slices over salsa. Sprinkle on feta and remaining cilantro and onion. Serve with tortilla chips, warm tortillas, quesadillas or burritos.
One of my favorite dishes is beans slowly cooked in tomato sauce and spices served with a scoop of brown rice and tender lettuces dressed in lemon juice and olive oil. This particular recipe is adapted from Turmeric & Saffrons Khoresh-e-Loobia Sabz – Persian Green Bean Stew with Chicken. It’s very satisfying and leftovers are perfect for a work lunch.
My interest in Persian cuisine first developed when I came across a recipe for Jeweled Rice, a beautiful dish that includes ingredients such as cinnamon, cumin and turmeric, spices I love to cook with. I also found another fantastic Persian rice recipe from Shanna at Curls and Carrots. I’ve made Tah Dig many times now and it’s one of my favorite ways to prepare basmati rice.
With a very short list of ingredients, this green bean stew is delicious with or without chicken. I found that using the tender meat from a good, supermarket roasted chicken works so well I now use it instead of cooking my own chicken.
Green Bean Stew with Roasted Chicken
Adapted from Turmeric & Saffron blog
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 pound green beans, washed, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
3 small garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup chopped tomato, peeled and seeded
1 1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 cups rotisserie chicken breast, torn into large pieces
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Preparation
Trim the green beans, rinse in a colander and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and golden, about 6 minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté for another minute.
Add the turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and pepper flakes. Coat the onion mixture with the spices. Add the green beans, chopped tomato, tomato sauce, and enough water to just cover the beans. Add the salt and a few grinds of pepper. Stir to combine all of the ingredients. Cover the pan and simmer the beans for about 40 minutes, or until the beans are very tender. Add the chicken to the pan and stir gently to combine. Once the chicken is warm, taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Stir in lime juice and serve.
Our two avocado trees, a Green Gold and Sharwil bear fruit in the winter and spring. The trees are currently loaded with fruit so we are enjoying avocados in numerous ways: avocado on toast, avocado salad, and plenty of guacamole. And, of course, the guacamole is a natural with all manner of Mexican dishes such as quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas, tostadas and burritos. We love all of these dishes!
Guacamole is such an easy side dish to throw together. If you have good, creamy avocados as we do, you can simply mash them with salt and lime juice and slather it on a quesadilla. Given a bit more time to chop up a few ingredients, this recipe from Alton Brown is excellent. All the ingredients meld together beautifully and the end result is a fantastic guacamole.
Sharwil avocado is rich and creamy, my favorite avocado.
Guacamole ~ Alton Brown Style
Adapted from Alton Brown’s recipe
2 generous servings
Ingredients
2 Sharwil or Haas avocados
1 lime, juiced
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 heaping teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons finely diced onion
3 rings of pickled jalapeño, minced (or more depending on how hot they are)
1/4 cup finely diced tomato
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1 small garlic clove, minced
Preparation
In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Use a potato masher, add salt, cumin and cayenne and mash. Fold in the onions, jalapeño, tomatoes, cilantro and garlic. Season to taste with extra lime juice. Serve right away.
Lotus root, or hasu as we call it in Hawaii, is a unique delicacy. Once you peel and slice this rather homely root (or rhizome) you’ll see how beautiful it is. Only available in Hawaii for a few months each year, I buy it as often as I can. With its snowflake like appearance when sliced and its crunchy and delicate flavor, it is wonderful sautéed and served with brown or white rice. This is my favorite way to prepare it.
Peeled and sliced lotus root. It’s crunchy with a mild flavor some say reminds them of jicama.
A simple combination of a few ingredients will add just the right depth of flavor to sautéed lotus root. Besides sautéing, lotus root can be used in soups, fried (crispy tempura), pickled or steamed. Its crispy texture holds up very well regardless of how it is prepared.
Pour vinegar and water in to a large glass bowl. Peel the lotus root, rinse and slice thinly. Place in vinegar water.
Combine sake, soy sauce, sugar and mirin in a small bowl. Set aside.
Drain lotus root, place on paper towels and pat dry.
Heat sesame and canola oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté lotus root for about 5 minutes, Do not over cook. Add soy sauce mixture and simmer until most of the liquid evaporates about 2 minutes.
Remove lotus root to a shallow bowl. Sprinkle with Ichimi Togarashi (or cayenne pepper) and toasted sesame seeds. Serve at room temperature.
Maui Gold pineapples are extra sweet with low acidity. It’s hard to resist perfectly chilled juicy wedges of this gorgeous fruit. Grown right here on the Valley Isle, they are simply delicious.
My step daughters, Katie from Seattle and Jessica from Portland, came to visit recently. We had a birthday “wing ding” for Katie while she was here and Jessica made a scrumptious pineapple upside-down cake for dessert. Jessica is a wonderful cook and we always have such a good time planning out our next meal together.Fresh, sweet slices of pineapple are the star attraction of this cake. This recipe comes from Gourmet magazine. We didn’t have any cardamom at the time so we used cinnamon instead and it was very good however next time I will definitely use cardamom. My friend Shanna over at Curls & Carrots is a big cardamom fan and she recently sent me a bag of this intoxicating, warm, and exotic spice. Mahalo Shanna!
Butter is melted in a 10″ cast iron skillet before adding the brown sugar.
Allow the butter and brown sugar mixture to bubble just a bit before you remove it from the heat.Layer pineapple slices over the melted butter and sugar and pour batter over the pineapple. Smooth the batter with a spatula.
Invert a serving plate over the skillet and invert cake onto the plate.Jessica with her gorgeous Maui Gold Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.
Maui Gold Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
Serves 8 – 10
Ingredients
For Topping:
1/2 medium Maui Gold or other sweet pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored
3/4 stick unsalted butter (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, lactose free and vegan)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
For Batter:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1 tablespoon dark rum for sprinkling over cake
Make Topping:
Cut pineapple crosswise into 3/8 inch thick pieces.
Melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over medium heat, stirring, 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly.
Make Batter:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt.
Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in pineapple juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.)
Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly.
Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
Let cake stand in skillet 5 minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Sprinkle rum over cake and cool on rack. Serve cake just warm or at room temperature.
***Cake is best served the day it is made though it may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.
This is one of my favorite salads. It’s full of fresh herbs, peppery arugula, tangy feta, and briny capers and olives. Thanks to the San Francisco Chronicle for posting their recipe “Cypriot Village Salad.”
I’ve made this three times in the last month and haven’t tired of it yet. After chopping up the herbs and tomatoes, it’s really just a matter of tossing everything together then enjoying it with a slice of crusty sourdough, whole grain bread or a hearty sandwich.
Arugula Herb Salad with Feta & Olives
Adapted from the San Francisco Chronicle
2 generous servings
Ingredients
2 mini or 1/2 medium cucumber, cut in half lengthwise then cut into 1/3 inch thick slices
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
2 small tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped dill
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped mint
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
juice of 1/2 small lemon
3 ounces feta cheese, cut into small chunks
1/4 cup assorted pitted olives
1 bunch arugula, about 2 ounces
salt and pepper
Preparation
Toss together the cucumber, garlic, tomatoes, green onions, dill, cilantro, mint and capers in a large bowl. Dress with the olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice. Just before serving, add the feta, olives and arugula. Toss and season with salt and pepper.
I’m still sifting through the recipes in the “Mexico” Issue of Saveur magazine. This is one of my all time favorite Saveur publications. Equally excellent is the Everything You Need To Know About Filet Mignon issue (that is another story altogether).
Diana Kennedy, originally from the UK moved to Mexico in 1957 with her husband Paul Kennedy. Often referred to as the Julia Child of Mexico, Diana is considered the leading researcher, teacher, and writer on the regional foods of Mexico, and for good reason. Here I adapted her simple, delicious, salsa recipe that anyone can make at home with ingredients that are easy to find at your market.
