Monthly Archives: December 2011

Holiday Ham Sauce: Chile Ancho Adobo

Here’s a unique, Texas Mexican twist for your New Year Holiday ham (also splendid for a barbecue) using dried Poblano chiles.  Traditional adobos use chiles, seasonings and an acid as a base.  I’ve added brown sugar and other spices to this Texas Mexican version so it matches beautifully with US traditional holiday hams or a smoked pork loin like this one or barbecue spare ribs.  Serve it  as you would a mustard or other sauce.   In this picture the adobo is behind the ham in the earthenware bowl.

Chile Ancho Adobo Recipe (makes 3 cups)

Ingredients:
For the Chile Puree:
4 large Chile Ancho
1 Pasilla Chile
2 cloves garlic
4 cups water for boiling the chiles
1 cup water
1 Tbsp Canola oil

For the Adobo
2 tomatoes
1Tbsp Canola oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 rib celery diced
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
6 Tbsp Chile Puree
1 1/2 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp salt

Method:
The first part is to make the chile puree that will be the base of the adobo.
1.  Wipe clean and remove the seeds and veins from the chiles.
2.  Place in a saucepan, add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Let stand for 10-15 minutes until the chiles are soft.  Drain.

3.  In a blender, place the chiles, garlic and water and blend on high until the puree is completely smooth.  If small particles remain you can strain the puree through a fine mesh sieve.

4.  In a sauté pan heat the Canola oil and then add the chile puree and cook for about 15-20 minutes until the puree thickens and the color changes. (Careful with the splatter)  You’ll know it is properly cooked when, as in the picture, the spoon leaves a clean trail in the sauté pan.

The second part

5. In a sauté pan heat 1 Tbsp Canola oil and saute the diced onions and the celery until they are soft.

6.  In a blender, place the sauteed onions, celery and 6 Tbsp of the Chile Puree.

7.  Add all of the remaining ingredients and blend on high until completely smooth.  Serve immediately or keep refrigerated for up to 6 days.

You’ll find the taste to be sweet, pungent and aromatic of the ancho chiles.  Really nice for a festive night or an afternoon barbecue.

Send me a comment and let me know how it turns out.

 

Posted on December 30, 2011
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Pheasant in Winter, Belgian Endive Wrapped in Ham and Cheese

I was greeted by two long-time, beloved friends, Kees and Pauline.
A beautifully cold and drizzly Dutch evening, we walked along the narrow cobbled street to Het Melkmeisje, “The Milkmaid.”

We first dined there in 1992 and have loved it ever since. It’s French country cooking that found Dutch roots.  Entrees are always seasonal so we all ordered the roasted pheasant.

I mention it because seeing it atop a bed of saurkraut was new to me. (The saurkraut is finished in a bit of duck fat).  Along the sides of the saurkraut mound were disks of country sausage and one delicious 4″ x 1/8″ thick slice of roasted bacon.  The dish is accompanied by sides of mashed potatoes, haricot vert and fresh lettuce salad.  It is country, rustic, deliciously contrasted and made me feel like becoming Dutch!

It is a dish that was conceived by Owner/Chef Jan Kraft.  Here he is basking in his beautiful dining room which seats about 30-35 persons, intimate and authentic in deep red walls with dark wood.  He and The Milkmaid have been here since 1992.  Hi, Jan!  Thanks for a delicious evening!

But the recipe that I’m sharing today is one that is cooked in Dutch homes as a standard delight, Belgian Endive, “Lof,” wrapped in ham and sausage.  Right now is the peak of the season for Endive.   My two dinner buddies were describing it to me over dinner and Jan said that he also makes it at home!

Although it is Belgian in origin, it has taken on Dutch roots and, as you know, each region adapts a dish to its own taste.  The Belgian version uses a bechamel cheese sauce while here the creaminess comes from the melted Dutch cheese.

“Lof met Ham en Kaas” Recipe:  (serves 4)

Ingredients

  • 8 heads Belgian Endive (if the heads are small, you may need 12 or more)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 8 slices of good flavored ham (of course, add more, but smaller slices if above you have more than 8 endive)
  • freshly grated nutmeg
  • 8 slices Dutch Jong(young) cheese or other mild nutty cheese. (Here again you may need more but smaller slices depending on the number of Endives)
  • 1 -2 ounces butter

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Slice the Endive heads in half and remove the very bitter core.  Pauline told me that she prefers to leave it in
  3. Cook the endive in salted water and the lemon juice for 20 to 30 minutes or until soft and cooked.  Drain.
  4. When cool enough to handle, wrap each endive, along with any loose leaves, first with a slice of ham and then over that a slice of cheese.  Place in a greased oven proof dish, seam side down.
  5. Sprinkle some grated nutmeg and dot with butter.
  6. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve piping hot with mashed potatoes.  I’d pair it with an Austrian Veltliner, a dry white with strong fruit notes.

Enjoy.  This is worth a trip to Amsterdam!

 

note:  Endive in Colander photo courtesy Miran Rijavec

Posted on December 18, 2011
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Guacamole: from Avocado, from Aguacate, from Aguacatlán

In Texas gaucamole is omnipresent.  There are as many recipes are there are bragging-prone machos. avocadosdark.jpg

I myself not being one to brag,, Ahem.., my recipe is based on 3 simple rules.
1.    Purchase them Green and Hard. 
Rodolfo Fernandez is the top Avocado expert in our region.  For many years he provided the best-tasting avocados to Mexican restaurants throughout San Antonio.  I follow his advice.  At the produce section, purchase Haas aguacates while they are still green and very firm. Store them in a plastic or paper bag and wait two days, maybe three, at which time they’ll begin to ripen and soften.  It is then that they are at their peak of flavor. There is no substitute for this direct, natural taste.  You’ll say, wow.
2.  No Masks.
The fresh, full flavor of the avocado takes nicely to complementary seasonings and accompaniments but be judicious. At all costs do not mask the texture or flavor of the aguacate.
3.  Use a Molcajete.
In the recipe below I explain how the foundational flavor is developed in a molcajete.

Avocado is aguacate in Spanish and aguacate is derived from the original Nahuatl name, “Ahucacahuitl.”
The name appears in early writings, MesoAmerican hieroglyphs, documenting that the Avocado is native to Puebla, Mexico.

Here is an original glyph of anglyphaguactown.jpg avocado tree linked to the place where the tree originates, the town of “Ahuacatlán.” (1)  The earliest remains of avocado consumption, 8,000-7,000 BCE, have been found in a cave in what is currently Coxcatlán in the state of Puebla, Mexico.

From there the little lush fruit travelled and developed.

 

There are three botanicalmapmexavocado.jpg types of avocados, Mexican, Guatemalan and Antillean. This map (2) lists where the origins of each of the types may have developed. Notice that the Mexican avocado is within the current TexMex area.
So enjoy this recipe knowing, again, that for millenia our land has nurtured us with delicious fruits and wonderful cooks.  Hmmmmm!

Recipe: serves 6 — thanks to Chef Roberto Santibañez whom I met in San Antonio and on whose book this is based.

Ingredients:
2 Haas avocados
1/2 Tbsp Green Serrano chile, sliced
1/2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tspn white onion, small dice
1 tspn salt
1/4 cup tomato, small dice
2 Tbsp white onion, small dice
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Method:
1.  Using a molcajete, make a fine paste of the onion, chile, cilantro and salt.  Here is where molchileverdesml.jpgmolchilehandsml.jpg

I mentioned that you can develop the flavor direction that your guacamole will take.  You may add other seasonings to the molcajete, but keep in mind that you are following many years of tradition.  Make sure your variations are culturally relevant, enticing to the palette, and not just vacuously trendy.

2.  Dice the avocado and add to the molcajete, scraping and folding to make sure the avocado is covered with the seasonings.
3.  Add the remaining tomato, cilantro and onion.
4.  Serve immediately with crispy corn tortilla chips.

Guacamole con Frutas (3)  Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 Haas avocados
3/4 cup fresh mango, small cubes
10 red seedles grapes, halved
10 green seedless grapes, halved
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 Tbsp Green Serrano chile, sliced.  Note:  I like to add more chile than this because I love the sweet fruit taste with the serrano flavor.  But start with this amount and then see if you want to increase the serrano flavor.
1/4 cup tomato, small dice
1 tspn salt

Method:
1.  Make the molcajete paste as above, of course there is no cilantro.
2. After combining the avocados with the molcajete paste, fold in the fruits.
3.  Adjust the salt. Garnish with additional pomegranate and serve with crispy corn tortilla chips.

Buen provecho, TexMex!

NOTES:
(1) HISTORIA DEL AGUACATE EN MÉXICO, Salvador Sánchez Colín, Pedro Mijares Oviedo, Luis López-López, Alejandro F. Barrientos-Priego.

(2) HISTORIA DEL AGUACATE EN MÉXICO, Salvador Sánchez Colín, Pedro Mijares Oviedo, Luis López-López, Alejandro F. Barrientos-Priego.

(3) Printed in Classic Cuisines of Mexico by Chef Iliana De La Vega, Culinary Institute of America, adapted from Roberto Santibañez and he from Diana Kennedy and María Dolores Torres-Izabal.
Posted on December 8, 2011
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