Look at all that fresh produce! It sure looks better in the shopping cart than a bunch of neon packaged whats-it that claims to be food. I'll skip the self-righteous editorializing and recommend that you read Michael Pollan's In Defence of Food. It's pretty much required reading for anyone who eats.
This week's recipe is another out of Fiesta at Rick's, "Almost Oaxacan" Grilled Tostadas with Chorizo, Tangy Guacamole, and Fresh Cheese. In addition we also made Chunky Fresh Tomato Salsa (p. 144), Smoky Chipotle Salsa with Pan-Roasted Tomatillos (p. 149) and Pineapple (or Other Fruit) Skillet Upside-Down Cake (p. 301) from Mexican Everyday.
Tomatillos. Scourge of the adventurous Canadian chef. Previous to this week's recipe we had found them canned at the local 'food library'. When we went looking for them this week, it felt like we were asking about aliens at Roswell. Nobody had ever heard of the things, even canned, at our three local big-name grocery stores. Was this to be another five grocery store search? Yes! After checking a small middle eastern grocery store, we finally found them at Sarker Foods.
It's a South Asian grocery store, so I was generally surprised to find them there, after having been disappointed at our regular haunts. They had items in there that I had never seen before and because of a lack of labels, had no possible way to identify. Perhaps we'll start looking in these types of places before being disappointed in the big box grocers.
So there is the first step in the Tomatillo salsa, the pan roasting. Rick suggests using foil if you don't have a non-stick pan, something which I think we'll be doing next time. Our Green Pan is great, but its non-stick properties are a little suspect.
Our food processor got an extensive workout during this week's prep. The first picture is the beginning of the 'Tangy Guacamole' that goes with the main dish. The second picture is the start of the Chunky Fresh Tomato Salsa'
We like to put out a nice spread before dinner so that our guests can watch us run around like crazy people and not get too hungry while waiting. So, in a clockwise fashion:
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| Smoky Chipotle Salsa with Pan-Roasted Tomatillos |
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| Our standard guacamole |
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| We revisited last week's Red Chile Salsa because it really brings the heat |
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| Chunky Fresh Tomato Salsa |
As a thank you from our good friends for last week's invitation to FNM, they gave us a bottle of El Jimador Resposado. They've got a great website that has specific drink recipes for each of their particular brands of tequilla. So here you've got the Jimador Spicy Pina: Resposado, Pineapple juice, Sprite, and a few drops of hot sauce. It can only be described as 'oddly refreshing'.
Welcome to the browning of the chorizo sausage. What is hard to convey in a linear blog post like this is the overlap of cooking duties that are taking place in the kitchen all at once. Before anything was done, a pot of black beans went on the back burner and by this time was simmering away. About half way through the prep, the ingredients for red rice went into the rice cooker. While my better half was handling various salsas, I was pressing and cooking corn tortillas.
At this point it was time to start on dessert. We usually buy mangoes by the box because we're suckers for them and so decided to use them instead of pineapple in the skillet upside-down cake. This is the first time (since we've had it) that the cast iron frying pan has been used for such a task. I was really excited to see how it would perform; I've spent boat loads of time and energy trying to season that pan and I think it's finally starting to pay off. So into some melted butter goes the fruit. The rest of the batter was added on top.
Back to the improvisation game. In order to get your corn tortillas to the right consistency, Rick recommends toasting them over a gas or charcoal grill. I tried doing them right on the burner but that was going to end in insurance claims. So on went the broiler and the tortillas went onto a baking sheet underneath it. They came up nice and toasty and I was able to paint on that last layer of lard with ease. The stack of toasted tortillas got to hang out on the bottom of the oven, waiting.
Finally, here is the spread!
I'm not sure if they're still 'Tlayudas' if they haven't been grilled, but they certainly are toasted tortillas.
The Chorizo sausage, as well as a bowl of cilantro, goat cheese, and the tangy guacamole. When I was at the Good Price Grocery Store, I did see Queso Fresco in the fridge so I do know where to find it. That doesn't stop me from being continually disappointed by not finding it at our local grocers. From the huge selection at our local big name grocer, to the eclectic selection at the neighbourhood artisan cheese shop, nobody has this stuff. I'm fairly certain that before too long we'll be making our own, if for nothing else than the experience.
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| Plated dinner with black beans and red rice |
What you've been waiting to see, the finished tostada.
It behaved like a champion. There were one or two pieces of mango that had been glued to the side of the pan with the butter and brown sugar, but other than that, everything came out of the pan like magic.
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| Mango Skillet Upside-Down Cake! |
Herb Garden Update
The only thing we haven't seen anything from at all has been the strawberries. Everything else has at least broken the surface in some way. Very shortly we crack the tops for good and they get to hang out in the blazing sun all day.
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