Posole

My latest food magazines have all had sections on Mexican cooking and the latest ‘Food and Wine’ was called the Mexican Issue. I am getting more and more into Mexican cooking and we are going to San Miguel de Allende in September. I am sure you will hear about that later!

My friends in Wilmington have never eaten posole, so for our recent visit I thought I would entertain then with the version of posole in the latest issue of ‘Food and Wine.’

I have discussed posole before and it is basically a Mexican stew. Depending on the region, the stew could be green from jalapeños or red with ancho chilies. The toppings are the thing that sets it off---finely chopped onions, sliced avocado, lime, radishes, lettuce, queso freso. You can go big or keep it simple, but remember no two bowls ever look alike.

This recipe is long but not hard to do, but it is time consuming. I spent an afternoon cooking but it does make many meals and I did freeze several servings. I got some really good Boston butt and pork spareribs from Whole Foods. The meat makes it so you want good pork. I had dried hominy from Tucson (Native Seeds---a store with a lot more than seeds) and soaked it in water overnight so I did not use the canned version. It does made it somewhat tastier. For a party dish this is great. Serves a lot and people can have fun with their own toppings.

From ‘Food and Wine’,” The Mexican Issue”, August, 2018.

Posole Rojo

1 (3-lb.) boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

1 (3-lb.) rack pork spareribs, cut in half crosswise

6 qt. water, plus more

2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. kosher salt, divided

1 large white onion, quartered

3 large garlic cloves

1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled

3 bay leaves

1 Tbsp. dried oregano, plus more for serving

3 (25-oz.) cans white hominy, drained and rinsed (about 8 cups)

5 large dried ancho chilies

5 large guajillo chilies (these are not in season so use more ancho chilies)

2 Tbsp. grapeseed oil

10 (5-inch) corn tostada shells

4 cups thinly sliced iceberg lettuce (from ½ head lettuce)

1 cup crumbled Cotiija cheese (optional) You can find this cheese at most grocery stores.

8 red radishes, thinly sliced

2 ripe medium-size avocados, thinly sliced

3 limes, halved

Combine pork shoulder, spareribs, 6 quarts water, and 1 tablespoon salt in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil over high, skimming off and discarding foam from surface during first 10 minutes of cooking. Place onion, garlic, ginger, bay leaves, and oregano in center of a large piece of cheesecloth, gather edges of cheesecloth together, and secure with twine. Add to pot; reduce heat to medium-low and gently simmer, uncovered, 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Remove cheesecloth bundle from pot. Remove onion, garlic, and ginger, set aside. Discard bay leaves and oregano. Add hominy to pot; simmer over medium-low, uncovered, until rib bones can be easily removed from spareribs, about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

While pork mixture simmers. Split ancho chilies; remove and discard stems and seeds. Place half of the chilies in a large, deep skillet over medium. Cook, turning occasionally, until toasted evenly on both sides, about 1 minute. Remove to a plate; repeat procedure with remaining chilies. Return all toasted chilies to skillet; add water just to cover chilies. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium; cook until chilies are soft and rehydrated, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly, about 15 minutes. Drain chilies, reserving cooking liquid. Taste cooking liquid. If it tastes bitter, discard. If it tastes faintly of raisins, reserve ½ cup.

Transfer dehydrated chilies and either the reserved ½ cup chili cooking liquid or ½ cup water to a blender. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and 1 tablespoon salt. Process until smooth, adding splashes of stock from pork mixture in stockpot as needed to achieve consistency of applesauce, about 1 minute. Pour through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a bowl; discard solids.

Heat oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high. Carefully pour strained chili mixture into skillet. (Mixture will splatter.) Cook, stirring often, until reduced by half and darkened in color, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.

When pork mixture has finished simmering, remove spareribs from stockpot, and set aside until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard rib bones and tendons from spareribs. Chop meat into bite-size pieces, and return to stockpot. Stir in reserved chili sauce. Bring to a simmer over medium-low; cook until flavors meld, about 1 hour. Skimming fat from surface, if desired. Stir in remaining 2 teaspoons salt.

To serve, place tostada shells; lettuce; Cotija, radishes; avocados; and limes in separate bowls. Ladle soup evenly among 10 large bowls. For each serving, place a pinch of oregano between palms; rub over and into soup to release its aroma.

This was a great hit! Our friends loved it.

Cooking from Shaya: Roasted Cauliflower and Chicken Milanese

I have tried two great recipes form the cookbook, Shaya, by Alon Shaya and you need to try these. Since Alon has a background in Italian cooking this Chicken Milanese recipe is homage to that. The term “Milanese” is used to describe the breaded veal chop that is a signature dish of Milan, a close cousin to schnitzels from Austria. I do this dish almost once a week (using chicken) but I never have added the sesame seeds. I tried it last evening and it added another layer of crunch and taste.

Chicken Milanese with Watercress and Lemon

4 servings

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 to 1 ½ pounds)

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup milk

2 eggs

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (I use panko)

¼ cup white sesame seeds, toasted

1 teaspoon Morton salt

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup fresh watercress or arugula

1 lemon, quartered

Place a chicken breast on a long sheet of plastic wrap, and splash it with a dab of water to keep it slick, then pull the plastic over it to cover. With a meat mallet or heavy rolling pin, pound it outward until it’s an even ½ inch in thickness. Repeat with the others.

Place the flour in a wide, shallow bowl. Beat the milk and eggs together in a second bowl; in a third, season the breadcrumbs with the sesame seeds, salt and mix well. Separately, line a large plate with paper towels.

Set the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drop a small piece of bread into the oil to test the heat---it’s ready when it toasts golden right away; if it turns dark too fast or if the oil splatters wildly, turn the heat down a bit before adding the chicken.

Dredge a piece of chicken in the flour, coating all sides and shaking off any excess. Do the same thing in the milk and eggs, then dip in the seasoned breadcrumbs. You want a light but even coating, so resist the urge to cake it on.

Drop the chicken into the oil, and leave it for 2 or 3 minutes, until the bottom is deeply golden and crisp. (You can cook multiple pieces of chicken at a time, as long as the pan isn’t crowded.) Flip the chicken and cook, undisturbed, for another 2 minutes or so. Moderate the heat as needed: you want it to be hot enough to create a crust but low enough so that you are in control.

Moved the chicken to the lined plate, and repeat until all the pieces are cooked. Pile ¼ cup watercress or arugula on each piece, and serve with a lemon wedge, which people can squeeze themselves. Eat while it’s hot.

The next dish was the turning point in Alon’s attempt to sneak Israeli food on an Italian menu in the American South. It was inspired by the popular Israeli snack of fried cauliflower with labneh, basically a thick yogurt. He served this roasted cauliflower with feta at Domenica and it turned out to be wildly popular. They serve nearly seven hundred heads a week! and nearly every table orders it. It is delicious and easy to do! It is impressive and can be shared by all at the table.

Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Whipped Feta

4 to 6 servings

2 quarts water

2 ½ cups white wine

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for serving

1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon Morton kosher salt, divided

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon red-pepper flakes

1 tablespoon sugar

1 dried bay leaf

1 large head cauliflower

½ cup goat cheese

4 ounces cream cheese

½ cup crumbled sheep’s-milk feta, preferably Bulgarian

1/3 cup heavy cream

Maldon or other flaky sea salt to finish

½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper

Heat the oven to 475°F. Fill a large pot with the water, wine, 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon salt, lemon juice, butter, red-pepper flakes, sugar, and bay leaf. Bring this broth to a boil over high heat.

Trim the cauliflower’s stem, and add the head to the pot. Turn the heat down to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottom is approaching tenderness. Gently flip it in the pot, and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes, until the center is easily pierced with a knife.

Gently pull the cauliflower from the pot. Move the cauliflower to a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan, and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan after 30 minutes, until the top is burnished deeply browned and it’s still got nooks of white and not slouching in the pan.

While that is in the oven, pulse the goat cheese, cream cheese, and feta with heavy cream, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and last ½ teaspoon salt in a food processor until mixture is smooth. Transfer to a bowl for serving.

Move the cauliflower to your serving platter, drizzle more olive oil over it, as well as the whipped feta. Serve with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and Aleppo pepper. Give people some steak knives so they can serve themselves, dragging each bite through a big puddle of the cheese.

Saba and Alan Shaya

We spent a wonderful 4 days in New Orleans at the New Orleans Collection Antiques Forum which we tend to do the first weekend in August every year. This year the subject was objects of utility. I have very little to say about all that----I go for the food!!

We got to try Saba (means grandfather in Hebrew) the new restaurant of Alon Shaya. It is hard to get in but I made the reservation a month in advance. It was worth the wait. I have talked about Alon Shaya before when he opened his first Israeli restaurant, Shaya. He is a two-times James Beard award winning chef and his restaurants have been celebrated as the country’s most innovative and best by Bon Appétit, Food and Wine, Saveur, Eater, GQ and Esquire. He was the founder of Domenica, a regional Italian restaurant in the New Orleans historic Roosevelt Hotel in 2009. Five years later he opened Pizza Domenica. After several visits to Israel, he was inspired to go back to his roots of cooking, and in 2015 opened Shaya, in New Orleans. Saba opened earlier this year and is already a big hit.

I had ordered Alon Shaya’s new cookbook called, “Shaya, An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel” before I left for New Orleans and upon my return it was here. Such a great cookbook. His journey with food began in Israel and winds its way from the U.S.A.(Philadelphia) to Italy (Parma and Bergamo), back to Israel (Tel Aviv), and that all comes together in the American South, in the heart of New Orleans. It is a book that tells how food saved the author’s life, and how through a circuitous path of cooking he embraced his cultural heritage and combined his genius as a student of Italian cooking to create a whole new Southern-Israeli-Italian cuisine.

Shaya’s story is of a lost teenager uprooted from Israel at a young age, living in tough circumstances, first in northeast Philadelphia and then in a Philadelphia suburb with his Bulgarian-Israeli mother and his Romanian-Israeli father struggling to find odd jobs, not speaking the language, with Alon caught between two cultures, bullied in school, and wanting to belong to his American present and renounce his Israeli past. Alon was very alone and then rebuilt his life through food and creating a cuisine that today is celebrated and acknowledged as perfection.

His cookbook is user friendly. He gives information at the beginning about his spices, oils and vinegars, what salt he uses, best cheese and butter, how to buy meal and fish, and techniques. He tells how to make the best biscuits. We all need to know this! Grate your cold butter and freeze it for 30 minutes before putting it in the flour. How to have flaky crusts? Add vodka with the water. I was told just recently by a friend to use wine and water for a flaky crust so I guess the alcohol helps make it flaky. 

I think Shaya and Saba have the best pita bread I have ever eaten. They have the correct oven for cooking this bread to make it rise and blistered before bringing it hot to the table. The bread alone is worth the reservation. Also, the hummus is the best I have every eaten. I have a short-cut recipe below from the cookbook. The toppings on the hummus can make it even more delicious. We had a blue crab hummus at Saba! YUM! But you can add roasted cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, lamb, or anything you wish. 

This recipe is when you need to make hummus in a pinch. Making hummus with dried chickpeas is preferred but does take more time. This makes a lot of hummus but great for a party.

Shortcut Hummus

Makes 1 quart

Ingredients:

Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas

1 ½ quarts plus 6 tablespoons water, divided, plus more as needed

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 clove garlic, crushed

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

¼ cup canola oil

2 tablespoons raw tahini

1 ½ teaspoons Morton kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

Drain the chickpeas, and rinse them well, gently, since they’re already soft; massage them in your hands to loosen the skins so that they slip off in cooking.

Add the chickpeas, skins and all to a pot with 1 ½ quarts water. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium. With a slotted spoon or small sieve, periodically skim away any of the skins that have floated to the top over the course of 10 to 15 minutes. If you would like to track your progress, reserve the skins in a measuring cup, aiming to have about 3/4 cup of skins by the time your purée the beans. The more time you take here, the smoother the results will be.

Meanwhile, combine the lemon juice and garlic, and let them steep for at least 30 minutes. Fish out the garlic before proceeding.

Drain the chickpeas, and combine them in a food processor with the garlic-infused lemon juice, 6 tablespoons water, olive oil, canola oil, tahini, salt, and cumin. Process for at least 5 minutes, until the hummus is very smooth and light. If you find that it is still thick and grainy, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, with the processor running, until it smooths itself into the consistency of buttercream frosting.

Serve at room temperature, drizzled with more olive oil if you like.

New week: more recipes from this great cookbook. I have tried several that you need to try.

Gujarati Corn on the Cob Curry

We all love corn on the cob in the summer. It is great grilled with spicy butter or whatever spices you wish to add.

I saw a recipe on the Splendid Table website for corn on the cob curry and since I like all things Indian I just had to do it.

This recipe is from a new cookbook called Fresh India by Meera Sodha, and she tells that her 83 year old grandma moved quickly to the table when this curry was on the menu. It is a favorite of a lot of Gujaratis. It is different in that is uses no garlic or onions but peanuts, chickpea flour and yogurt. It is a complete meal using rice or Indian bread to sop up the curry.

It will probably not be served with your outdoor cookout of hamburgers and normal corn on the cob but it is good and certainly worth the effort.

From the Splendid Table

Gujarati Corn on the Cob Curry

You will need a food processor or spice grinder for the peanuts.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted peanuts, preferably red-skinned (plus extra to serve)

6 ears of corn

5 tablespoons canola oil

¾ cup chickpea flour (in most groceries and also called besan or gram flour)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt

1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

1 ½ teaspoons ground red chili

1 teaspoon sugar

Directions

First grind the nuts to a fine consistency in a spice grinder or food processor and set aside.

Next, husk the corn and pull off any silky strands. Make a deep horizontal cut halfway down each ear and break in half. Bring a pan of water to boil, add the corn,, and boil for 6 to 8 minutes, until tender, then drain.

Put the oil into a large lidded frying pan over low to medium heat and once hot, add the chickpea flour, stirring continuously to smooth out any lumps. After around 4 minutes it will start to turn a pinkish brown. When it does, add the ground peanuts, turn the heat right down, and cook for 5 minutes. Stirring frequently.

Add the yogurt, salt, turmeric, ground red chili, and sugar to the pan. Stir to mix, then increase the heat to medium. Slowly ladle in 2 ½ cups of water, stirring until you have a smooth consistency.

Put the ears of corn into the pan, cover with the lid, and leave to heat through for around 5 minutes, until the sauce is the consistency of heavy cream. Transfer to a serving dish or individual bowls and scatter over some crushed peanuts. Serve with rice or chapatis and encourage people to use their hands.

Tucson '18

Continuing on our trip out West we made an overnight stop in San Antonio. Of course we ate at our favorite place, “La Gloria.” I know we should try a new place there, but we just love sitting out in the heat on the patio with the mister blowing, and having our beer and tacos! The food is fairly cheap and good, so it is a must for us. My husband is now into guayaberas for summertime dressy casual and Garden and Gun recently had an article on a local producer in San Antonio, Dos Carolinas, so we also paid a visit. It is about a block from La Gloria. And we bought two.

We did our next stop in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and stayed at the Lundeen Bed and Breakfast. This place was filled with southwestern art and the hostess was a charming lady who had lived there for 50 years, running a B&B for 30 of them. Her husband was an architect who had worked with Frank Lloyd Wright and she was full of stories about her husband (he died last year) and the famous people who had stayed at the bed and breakfast. A charming visit and a very nice breakfast. Her husband had designed the Double Eagle Saloon and Restaurant in the historic area of Las Cruces, Mesilla, so we felt obligated to have a drink there. The bar had wonderful chandeliers and was rather glamorous in a late Victorian style, and the drinks were terrific. They had 50 different kinds of margaritas! But we ate at our perennial favorite, Andele which is also in Mesilla where we had posole; where we first discovered posole actually.

On to our destination of Tucson. We stayed at our favorite place, The Arizona Inn. Very good rates in the summer and such a nice place to relax. Our daughter was married there last year so it will always be a special place. 

We did something new on this visit and drove up Mt. Lemmon where it was a cool 59 degrees and 9,000 feet up. Quite a difference to the 100 plus in Tucson. Great views, and in winter one can ski—the most southern ski area in the US. The city of Tucson is sprawling but you have the mountains surrounding it so a great city for good views.

Our favorite place to visit in Tucson is the Desert Museum. It is a no-miss if you are in the area. We have been several times in the past. Our daughter is a member and we got free tickets. We spent about 4 hours roaming the area which is full of exhibits: animals, birds, and even fish, and of course reptiles. We visited a presentation on two different venomous ones: the rattlesnake and one we did not realize as venomous, the gila monster. His bite won’t kill a healthy adult but he will hold on tenaciously and painfully. You might wind up in the ER with him still attached. My husband loves all the flora of the desert. It is amazing how varied and colorful it is. And I always spend some time in the shop and usually buy.

Tucson is not really a foodie city but we know a few places. The Arizona Inn has a great bar and the bar tender even remembered our drinks from the past visits! We do like breakfast there on the patio. Get our coffee, read the paper in the library and go for breakfast. An omelet one morning and tacos another. We usually have tamales at Tucson Tamale at least once. We tried 2 new restaurants this year. One was a winner, Downtown Kitchen, a new restaurant by a James Beard Award winner, Janos Wilder.

From the cookbook, Savvy Southwest Cooking by Janet E. Taylor

Tortilla Soup

Serves 4-6

Soup:

2 cups quartered tomatoes, or use canned tomatoes

½ sweet yellow onion, coarsely cut

4 garlic cloves. Cut into pieces

½ cup roughly cut cilantro leaves and stems

½-1 serrano chili, cut into tiny pieces

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon oregano, crushed to release flavor

4-6 cups chicken broth

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Garnish:

3 corn tortillas

Olive oil to rub on tortillas

½ ripe Haas avocado, sliced, peeled, and chopped

4-5 pinches of feta cheese, for each serving

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (for the tortilla strips, which you will prepare while the soup is cooking).

For the soup: Using a food processor, place the tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, and serrano by pressing the pulse button a couple of times to assure even chopping; then hold down the button and release a couple times until the tomatoes and onions are finely chopped or almost minced. If using canned tomatoes, don’t process them with the other ingredients.

In a 4-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Carefully scrape the tomato mixture into the hot oil; sauté it for a few minutes, add the oregano and stir to combine. Continue sautéing, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, start preparing the tortilla strips (still keeping an eye on the mixture on the stove). Either spray the tortillas with olive oil or put some oil in the palm of one hand, rub your palms together, and then rub the tortillas. Cut the tortillas into thin strips and space the strips, without touching each other, on a cookie sheet; bake until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, and reserve for garnish.

Back to the soup: stir in the chicken broth and bring the soup mixture to a boil; taste, adding salt and pepper as needed. Turn heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Ladle into individual bowls and top with tortilla strips, avocado pieces, and tiny pinches of feta cheese.

Trip West---Houston

We have just returned from our yearly trip to Tucson and it was cooler there than in Mississippi. The monsoon season is in July and with the rain and overcast skies it was a pleasant stay. We were going to take a trip down the Grand Canyon by mule this year but learned that that must be booked a year in advance---we have made our reservations for July 2019!

We usually begin our journey with a stop in Houston where there are so many good places to eat. We ate at Xochi and Hugo’s, both restaurants the creation of Hugo Ortego, a James Beard Award winning chef.

At Xochi pronounced (so-chee) I had my first grilled octopus and it was delicious but a little chewy. But I guess that is to be expected. It was wood-roasted with a masa pancake, toasted pumpkin seeds, and pepper adobo. Our appetizer was a flash-seared tuna, cucumber, jicama, mangosteen, and mole vinaigrette. Best of all was a crispy pork belly, cactus salad, rice, beans, pickled onions, and tortillas. The dessert was the cocoa shell with ice cream and chocolate which I have talked about before. But it is the most decadent dessert I have ever eaten. Even the two of us couldn’t finish it.

 

Hugo’s again had their summer squash blossoms menu. We chose everything from the squash blossom menu and everything was delicious. We ordered three items: one was a salad of spring mixed lettuces, balls of goat cheese, avocado, purslane, squash ribbons, squash blossoms, herbs, and olive oil. We then ordered a ceviche consisting of shrimp, snapper, crab meat, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, squash blosoms, and lime. Our last item was three empanadas of corn, squash, quesillo, and mole amarillo. I was so taken with the menu I got an order of squash blossom soup to go, so dinner was prepared for five hours later.

 

You may ask why use squash blossoms? They are rather tasteless in themselves, but they do add beauty and interest to dishes. They can be found in farmer’s markets and your gardens. Being extremely perishable, they need to be prepared straight from the garden or upon returning from the farmer’s market. They are a good source of calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C. Choose the slender-stemmed male blossoms instead of the females, which have a small bulb at their base. If you plan to stuff them, it is best to cut them early in the morning while they are still open and more easily stuffed.

Our trip to Houston included a visit to Peckerwood Gardens in nearby Hempstead. They are not open daily and visits have to be scheduled in advance. The garden was originally created by the late John G. Fairey and the Peckerwood Garden Conservation Foundation was created to preserve the existing collection and support continued plant exploration and trials. They are also now propagating plants for sale. The climate is not so different from here. We spent two hours with a very knowledgeable guide, fortunately mostly in the shade. If you are a plant person, this is a great garden. They have many plants collected from northern Mexico as well as natives and many from the Orient.

 

Breakfast in Houston was of course a koloche. I love these balls of dough stuffed with goodies. I had one with peppers and cheese, very hot but good.

 

Here is a recipe for ceviche, perhaps almost like Hugo’s!

Ceviche should of course be served well-chilled. It is a delicious summer treat, and very low in calories.

Shrimp Ceviche with Avocado

Serves 12

2 lbs. large shrimp, cooked and cut into 1-inch bite size pieces

1 cup lump crabmeat picked over, optional

1 fresh lemon, juice of

Salt, to taste

3 medium cucumbers, peeled and roughly diced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 bunch green onion, chopped

4 medium firm tomatoes, diced

3 fresh limes, juice of

1 fresh lemon, juice of

Garlic powder, to taste

Lemon pepper, to taste

3-4 medium firm avocados, diced

Chili or seafood cocktail sauce, optional to serve

Tostadas chips or scoops, to serve

In a medium bowl, mix together the chunks of shrimp and crab if using and the juice of one lemon; season to taste with salt and black pepper. Set aside and chill (in the refrigerator or on ice) for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the ceviche by combining all the ingredients (add the avocados last, just before serving) in a large bowl with ice water, stirring well to combine. Drain well, fold in the shrimp and season to taste with garlic powder and lemon pepper.

Keep well chilled until serving time.

Serve with tortilla chips and optional chili sauce.

Ceviche is best served on the day it is made.