Thursday, August 26, 2010

More Cilantro!


I made this stew for my friend Brigitte on her birthday. We tried to convince Stefan, who desperately hates cilantro, that there was absolutely no cilantro in it, so Stefan served himself a large portion and was almost in tears when he tasted it, but as a good German, he finished bravely what was on his plate!

The recipe comes from my absolutely favorite food writer Ruth Reichl, specifically out of her book "Tender at the Bone". It's highly recommended, the book and the stew.

I personally use only 2 cloves of garlic and pork tenderloin from Trader Joe's.

The Swallow's Pork and Tomatillo Stew
Serves 6

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 8 large cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 pounds lean pork, cut in cubes
• salt
• pepper
• 1 bottle dark beer
• 12 ounces orange juice
• 1 pound tomatillos, quartered
• 1 pound Roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 2 jalapeño peppers, chopped
• 1 14-ounce can black beans
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 cup sour cream

Heat oil in a large casserole. Add garlic cloves. Add pork, in batches so as not to crowd, and brown on all sides. Remove pork as the pieces get brown on all sides. Remove pork as the pieces get brown and add salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, put beer and orange juice in another pot. Add tomatillos and tomatoes, bring to a boil, lower heat, and cook about 20 minutes, or until tomatillos are soft. Set aside.

When all pork is browned, pour off all but about a tablespoon of the oil in the pan. Add coarsely chopped onions and cook about 8 minutes, or until soft. Stir, scraping up bits of meat. Add chopped cilantro and pepper and salt to taste.

Put pork back into pan. Add tomatillo mixture and chopped jalapeños. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover partially and cook about 2 hours.

Taste for seasoning. Add black bean and cook 10 minutes more.

Stir lime juice into sour cream.

Serve with rice and with sour cream-lime juice mixture on the side as a topping.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

A good Hummus

I love hummus, so this is how I make it. First of all, I do not like to use canned chickpeas, they've got this sweetly, tinny taste that just doesn't do it for me. So I soak dried chickpeas overnight and then cook them gently for two hours in fresh water, nothing added to it.

1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 clove garlic
2 tb tahini
3 tb fresh lemon juice
1 tb olive oil
salt
water

I swirl the garlic in a food processor until finly chopped and add the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. Then I add water until the hummus is kind of fluffy, season with salt and ta da! The flavorings to add with the garlic are endless: smoked paprika and parsley, fresh jalapenos and cilantro, scallions and fresh jalapenos, cilantro and canned chipotle, cilantro and a touch of curry, just chives ...... And remember, a little goes a long way.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Granola + Smoked Fish Spread - an unlikely pair!

Low fat Granola made with Honey

I found this recipe in the Bon Appetite Magazine and it comes from 
the beloved Molly Wizenberg, I just changed it around a little bit.


ingredients

  • 3 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped almonds or walnuts
  • 1/2 cup coconut chips, unsweetened and crumbled into small pieces
  • 3 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt
  • 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil or canola oil
  • 1 cup assorted dried fruit (I use mostly cranberries)

preparation

  • Preheat oven to 300°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Mix first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Stir honey and oil in saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture; toss. Spread on prepared sheet. Bake until golden, stirring every 10 minutes, about 40 minutes. Place sheet on rack. Stir granola; cool. Mix in fruit.


    And the following worked well for a Memorial Day brunch:
    scrambled eggs
    goat cheese ensconced in Herbes de Provence
    home-baked Nutella brownies
    baguette
    fresh berries
    champagne
    orzo pasta salad with Kalamata olives
    smoked fish spread (recipe from my friend Cathy):

    1/2 pound smoked trout (I used a combination of black cod and salmon only because our fish monger doesn't carry trout)
    1/2 cup creme fraiche
    2 tablespoons minced shallots
    2 tablespoons minced chives
    Juice of 1/2 lemon
    Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Friday, May 21, 2010

Cilantro!

My friend Tina turned me onto cooking with cilantro in a different way. I sauté a little bit of thinly sliced onion and half a bunch of chopped cilantro in olive oil. The cilantro takes on a completely different taste, more mellow, kind of intriguing. Then I add a few sliced zucchini and continue to sauté all of it until tender. Seasoned with freshly squeezed lemon juice and a bit of sea salt, it tastes quite delicious!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Spring time Asparagus time

For a small surprise birthday party, I made a wonderful little goat cheese dip inspired by "Delicious Dips by Diane Morgan". Fresh goat cheese with garlic, chopped pistachios, chives, black pepper, very simple! I served it with green asparagus bundles. I blanched asparagus and put it in a ice bath. When cooled, I tied three spears with blanched chives, cute!

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