How to Make Great Guacamole

Guacamole is a food I am often very picky about.  Some are too smooth, some near blended, others too bland. Some just aren’t chip friendly.  Texture ends up being the trait that makes it or breaks it as a great dip for me.  If the flavor is lacking, I can squeeze over some lemon or lime and add some salt.  But, if the texture doesn’t have any assertiveness to back it up, if the guacamole is just a dead thing on the palate– I can’t eat it.  The best guacamole I ever had was at a New Year’s Eve party several years ago.  The woman who made it had a secret weapon ingredient: garlic salt.  Who knew?  It certainly worked, though.  Hers was also the first I’d seen with visible onion and tomatoes added.  This combined to make a fantastic guacamole, and I’ve been chasing after recreating that for quite a while.  I also use lemon juice instead of the traditional lime.  I like the sharper flavor it imparts to the dish.

Achieving what I find to be great guacamole texture isn’t difficult, but it is tricky.  Great guac is a little chunky, but the dip still holds itself together.  I achieve this by cubing the first avocado and mashing it up with a fork.

Next, I mix in the other ingredients.

Then, I cube the final avocado and toss that throughout.

This leaves the dip tasting well-blended, but it still has toothsome chunks to enjoy.  Guacamole is a delicious late spring appetizer or snack option, as avocados are in season and you can get all of the ingredients while they are fresh and at their most flavorful.  Serve it with your favorite chips or  toasted pita points.

Guacamole

• 2 avocados, cubed, one set aside
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 serrano pepper, minced
• small handful of cilantro, chopped
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• pinch of cumin
• pinch of ground ancho chili (optional)

In a medium bowl, or serving bowl, mash one half of the avocado cubes with a fork.  Squeeze half the lemon juice over this.  Add in the onion, tomato, serrano, cilantro, and garlic.  Mix all of this well with the mashed avocado.  Add in the remaining avocado cubes.  Squeeze the remaining lemon juice over this. Season with the salt, garlic salt, black pepper, cumin, and ground ancho chili.  Toss all of this together very well, in effect dressing the larger cubes of vegetable with the mashed avocado.  Chill well and serve.

Serves 6-8.

Easy, Classic Spaghetti Sauce

 

Easy, Classic Spaghetti Sauce

 

 

I feel a little ashamed posting two spaghetti recipes back-to-back.  But, I’ve got neither the time to blog nor the time to cook lately to provide me with an alternative.  Today marks the third morning I’ve woken up in our new house.  After packing my kitchen up  completely over a week ago, I have been jonesing to get back in a kitchen and make something.  Anything, really.  So, on Monday I set to unpacking our living room and kitchen first off.  I may still be pulling my clothes out of boxes, but I am going to have my pots and pans!  The challenge after unpacking then became groceries.  I had donated all my non-perishable food to the Athens Area Emergency Food Bank before I moved, and I brought only my spice collection with me.  Upon arrival, I discovered that we have one grocery store in town, a small Food Lion, so I will be traveling 20-30 miles every week to get my shopping done.  Meanwhile, The Hubz was requesting spaghetti for dinner.  This was a meal I felt confident our little grocery could deliver.  

Now, spaghetti can be sauced with a million things, but I like classic, tomatoey red sauce when I crave “spaghetti.”  And, to this end, I prefer canned tomatoes.  If you choose the right ones, you’ll end up with a sauce that’s perfectly thick and “smooth-enough” for the standards outlined in Mark Bittman’s article.   I like to use crushed tomatoes– they require zero effort, and they make a perfect sauce.  As usual, this sauce comes together very simply, and it doesn’t require a lot of work.  It’s tomatoey, garlicky, and has just a touch of zing.  It will keep in the refrigerator, should you have leftovers, for three days.  It will freeze, as well.  The recipe makes enough sauce to dress one pound of pasta.  

Easy, Classic Spaghetti Sauce

• 1 lbs spaghetti, cooked according to package directions (use gluten free pasta to make recipe gluten free)
• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 C chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• fat pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• pinch of sugar
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 T fresh basil, chiffonade
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

While waiting for your pasta water to boil, heat a a big splash (a couple of tablespoons) of olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the onion, and lower the heat.  Sprinkle salt over the onions to keep them from sticking to the pan.  Sweat the onion for 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic and the red pepper flakes and saute for a minute.  Be careful not to burn the garlic.  Pour in the tomato sauce, and add the oregano and the sugar.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper.  Stir to combine well.  Lower the heat to simmer the sauce while your spaghetti cooks.  Simmer, stirring occasionally.  Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings to your favor.  When pasta is cooked al dente, drain it and place it in a serving dish.  Pour the sauce over the spaghetti and garnish with the fresh basil.

Serves 4.

 

 

Blood Orange and Fennel Salad

If you’re following me on Twitter, you might have seen my ecstatic post about finding blood oranges.  Here in Athens, finding common delicacies like Meyer lemons and blood oranges are rare occasions indeed.  I’ve seen Meyer lemons once, a year ago, and I’ve stumbled upon blood oranges two or three times.  This, all in course of ten years of residency. I actually think the Meyer lemons were an accident.  But, oh, Kroger!  They had scads and scads of Moro blood oranges, blushing and beckoning to me from no less than three different displays.  I saw them almost immediately, and I filled a sack with them.  This was supposed to be a routine trip; I needed only some butter, eggs, and confectioner’s sugar to round out my cake-making supplies.  But, the blood oranges demanded to be bought, and I picked up some fennel to go along with them.  I figured that my pantry could work something out to leverage the deliciousness of these ingredients pretty easily.

I was right.

After gorging ourselves on cake all Sunday afternoon, we really didn’t want much of a dinner.  So, I went to the remaining blood oranges – a couple having been eaten out of hand – and put together this salad.  The fruit was delicious.  The simple dressing and the bit of salt draws the juice from them, maximizing every bit of flavor this fruit has to offer.  The oranges were delightful, aromatic, and gorgeously berry-ish.  This salad is a great way to feature the fruit and enjoy a tasty seasonal fruit.

Blood Orange and Fennel Salad

• 2 bulbs fennel
• 6 blood oranges
• 1 T basil
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1 T pine nuts, toasted
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Trim the fennel of fronds.  Cut off the root end and core the bulbs.  Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, shave the fennel into thin strips.  Place the fennel in a bed on a serving plate.  Next, slice all the peel and bitter pith away from the oranges.  Cut the peeled oranges into slices about 1/4″ thicks.  Layer the oranges in slightly overlapping rows over the fennel.  Tear the basil into small pieces and strew across the top.  Drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over the entire salad and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Let this rest while you toast the pine nuts.  Just before serving, scatter the pine nuts over the salad.

Serves 4-6.

Cilantro-Mint Chutney

It’s been a while since I posted puff pastry samosas, but I served this chutney with them as a dipping sauce.  The chutney is fresh with an astringent flavor.  Not only was it great with samsoas, but it’s wonderful served with chicken and other assorted delights.  Roll up some naan and dunk it in this stuff, even.  I made mine in my food processer, but a blender is a better choice.  Puree well, and feel free to add some more oil and lemon or lime juice to help you achieve the flavors and texture you want.

Cilantro’s tasty stuff, isn’t it?  I know many people out there think it tastes like soap.  You can educate yourself about your soap-tasting tastebuds over here at NPR: Getting to the Root of the Great Cilantro Divide.

If you’re in the cilantro-hating camp, hopefully you’ve gone and discovered the ugly truth about how your olfactory senses are conspiring to make you hate cilantro.  If you’re a cilantro-lover, you’re in good luck.  Cilantro – sometimes called coriander — is plant that is entirely edible.  The seeds are ground into coriander, the leaves are usually called cilantro (but sometimes coriander), and the roots can be cleaned and used to flavor soups and stocks.  Cilantro is easy to mistake for flat-leaf parsley, and for a good reason: they are related.  If you’d like to read about the innumerous health-benefits of cilantro, mosey on over to http://www.whfoods.org/.  You can read about cilantro here.  World’s Healthiest Foods is a great website, packed with information about the nutritional and health benefits of many foods.  I often get lost poking around on there.  The moral of this story? Make this chutney.  It’s delicious, and it’s good for you, too.

I am submitting this recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging # 168, hosted by Marija over at Palachinka.

Cilantro-Mint Chutney

• 1 C cilantro, packed
• 1 C mint packed
• 1 small onion 
• 1 – 2 jalapeno or serrano peppers (adjustable heat)
• salt 
• 1 T lemon juice
• pinch of sugar
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1-2 T oil

Add all ingredients to the blender, except the oil, pulsing occasionally to combine.  Stream in the oil while blending.  Continue to puree until chutney reaches desired consistency: thick, but definitely liquid.  Add more oil and lemon or lime juice as desired to balance flavors and achieve texture.  Taste, and balance with salt, sugar, or a pinch of cayenne.

Makes 1 cup

Garam Masala

I’ve held out long enough.  I always avoid grinding my own spices, because I haven’t wanted to re-purpose my coffee bean grinder.  I’m not sure why.  I no longer own a coffeemaker (I was really over-caffeinated for a couple years there), so the scenario of me grinding my own coffee beans doesn’t really exist anymore.  So, I finally broke down and decided to whip up my own, personal, tasty little garam masala recipe.  The lack of this spice has stood between me and too many excellent Indian dishes for too long.  Not so this week, as I prepared to have Samosafest ’09.  I’m also looking forward to what this might deliver when I make chicken curry next.

“Garam masala” means “hot spice.”  Not hot in the sense of spicy, but hot as in cooked.  Garam masala is often cooked or added to a paste of aromatics in the pan, intensifying the aromas and infusing the dish with perfumed flavors.  It’s pungent, and it smells divine.  Traditionally, all cooks have their own recipe; it’s the secret weapon in great home cooking.  I’ve made a nice sized batch, and I am keeping it in an airtight container in my spice cabinet.  My intent is to use it all within the next month or two so that it retains as much of its flavor as possible.  I’ve already spiked some puff pastry samosas with it.  

I’m submitting this recipe for garam masala to Weekend Herb Blogging # 167 hosted by Chris over at Mele Cotte .

Garam Masala

• 1 T green cardamom pods
• 1 3″ long cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
• 2 T cumin seeds
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 1 T black Tellicherry peppercorns
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 T coriander seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 dried red chili

Grind all spices together in a coffee bean grinder until they are finely ground.  If desired, pour spices through a sieve to remove any remaining large pieces.  Store in an airtight container in a dark place.  Use within 2-3 months for freshest flavor.  

Makes 1/3 cup.

Holiday 2008: Sage and Clementine Roast Chicken

I’ve been trying to decide whether or not to post this recipe. On the one hand, it was delicious.  On the other, I think it could be improved upon, and I’d rather make it using a whole chicken.  It would take better pictures, and I think it would taste better, too.  I tossed this together tonight, playing with the flavors.  Sage and clementines are two of my favorite flavors during the holidays.  Sage is wonderful in stuffing and meats, but I thought its perfumed flavor might be the perfect foil to the sweet citrus flavor of clementines.  I always look forward to the crates of clementines appearing in the market each year, and I impulsively bought one last week.  I’ve had clementines for breakfast, clementines for snacks, clementines at lunch – why not make them part of dinner? 

Clementines are in season late fall through winter, and they are often imported from Spain or North Africa.  While clementines are related to mandarin oranges, they are separate species of the fruit.  They are very sweet.  Clementines provide an excellent source for antioxidants, vitamin C, fiber, and potassium.  At only 50 calories each, they make a healthy snack.  With a fuller, sweeter flavor than traditional oranges, they make a delicious one, too.

Armed with my clementines, I set out to tweak a favorite roast chicken recipe.  I usually place it in the fridge to marinate overnight in a freezer bag.  Since I made this chicken on a whim, it didn’t receive its compulsory time in the marinade.  I’d recommend marinating it overnight and starting it out on a higher temperature in the oven so it achieves a beautiful, bronzed skin.  Another consideration: sprinkle a whole chicken inside and out with salt and pepper, and slide slices of clementines and whole sage leaves under the skin. Fill the cavity with a quartered onion, garlic cloves, more sage, and a quartered clementine.  Rub the whole bird down with butter or olive oil and roast away.

Regardless of how you arrive at the finished product, rest assured that the flavors of the sage and clementine meld with the chicken perfectly.  This would be wonderful to serve to guests at a holiday dinner party or get-together.

I’m submitting this clementine recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging # 192, hosted this week by Chriesi — author of Almond Corner.  

Sage and Clementine Roast Chicken

• 1 whole chicken, cut into serving pieces
• 3 clementines, one quartered, and two sliced paper-thin
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 25-30 sage leaves, 1 T finely chopped
• 1/3 C olive oil (not extra virgin)
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Place the chicken in a freezer bag.  Squeeze the clementine quarters and toss them into the bag.  Add in the minced garlic and the tablespoon of chopped sage.  Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Pour over the olive oil, and mash the bag around a bit to distribute the flavors.  Let this marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours at least; overnight is better. When ready to roast, tumble the pieces out into a roasting pan skin-side up.  Lay a slice of clementine and a sage leaf or two on every piece.  Roast at 425º for 15-20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350º and continue roasting for another 30-45 minutes.  

Serves 6-8.

Spring this recipe!

Salsa Criolla

One of my favorite things when I go to some of the local Latin American restaurants is the salsa criolla they serve with tostones, yuca frita, and grilled or roasted meats.  It’s a very simple little concoction of razor-thin slices of red onion mellowed in red wine vinegar and lime juice.  This is then tossed with a bit of chopped tomato and cilantro.  The flavors are simple, the texture crunchy, and it’s a wonderful accompaniment to the meal.  Tonight I roasted a pork tenderloin, but I didn’t feel like supreming an orange to make the red onion salad I served with it last time.  Instead, I decided to try my hand at making my own salsa criolla.  It turned out wonderfully, and was perfect with the tenderloin.  I would have loved to serve it with tostones, but my plantains have ripened since Sunday – the folly of advance meal planning.  Be sure if you make this to slice the onion very thinly, or use a mandoline.

Salsa Criolla

 

• 1 red onion, very thinly sliced
• 6-7 cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced or chopped
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• juice of 1 lime
• extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 T cilantro finely chopped

Place the sliced onions in a bowl, and add the cherry tomatoes.  Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Toss with the red wine vinegar and the lime juice.  Drizzle all of this with extra virgin olive oil, and toss again.  Just before serving, mix in the cilantro.

Makes 1 1/2 – 2 cups.

Spicy Roast Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes

I realize that many of my posts refer to serving items with roast chicken, but I’ve never posted a recipe for it. I roast chicken weekly. It’s so easy to put together a marinade the night before, the morning of, or even on my lunch hour if I can run home.  I have several recipes for it- several that I’ve picked up along the way, and some that are mine.  This is a recipe that I’ve come up with, tweaking it over time to get all the flavors right.  The tomatoes in this are divine – they literally burst with flavor.  Serve this chicken with a green salad and bright rice pilaf.  If I have leftover whole breasts, I like to use them in mayo-free chicken salads.  If it’s mostly carcasses – that’s the base for chicken soup.  Either way, you can easily get two meals out of this preparation.  

Spicy Roast Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes

 

• 2-3 split chicken breast, skin on
• 1 red onion, cut into bite size chunks (eighths or so)
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• juice of one lemon
• 1 T thyme leaves, stripped from the stems
• 1/3 C olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes

Begin your marinade as few as two hours before you want to prepare your chicken or up to a day ahead.  Place the chicken breasts in a large freezer bag.  Chop your onion into eighths, and add.  Chop your lemon into quarters, juice it into the bag, then chuck in the rinds.  Add the garlic, red pepper, vinegar, and thyme.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper and pour in the olive oil.  Pop this into the refrigerator and let the flavors develop.  When the chicken is ready, preheat your oven to 425º.  Add the cherry tomatoes to the freezer bag and squish the bag around to coat the tomatoes in the marinade.  Pour all of this into a roasting pan.  Roast in the oven for 45 minutes, or until the chicken is done.  Serve, pouring over some of the pan juices and with the vegetables on the side.  (It’s wonderful to spread the soft, roasted garlic over the skin of the chicken).

Serves 2-3.

Roasted Potatoes

Roasted potatoes are such a simple dish that it hardly seems worth writing the recipe down.  Tonight I threw a couple pounds of fresh Yukon Golds in a pyrex dish underneath some chicken breasts that were happily roasting away.  I felt lazy.  But, they were so satisfying that I decided I should share the recipe with you.

Roasted Potatoes

 

• 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
• 4 T extra virgin olive oil
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 T thyme, finely chopped
• 2 heaping T grated Parmesan
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat your oven to 425º.  Cut the potatoes in quarters, or eighths if they are large.  Small to medium-small pieces get wonderfully crisp when they roast.  Place the potato pieces in a large mixing bowl.  Drizzle the olive oil over them, then add the garlic, thyme, and Parmesan.  Season with the salt and pepper.  Toss the potato mixture well so that the potatoes are well coated in the oil and such.  Pour the potatoes into a baking dish and roast for 45 minutes to an hour, until the potatoes are fork-tender and have lovely crispy spots on them.  Serve warm.

Serves 4.

Fresh Salsa

Hoagie Night strikes again, as it usually does on Sundays – and I wanted a side other than pasta salad.  I decided to whip up a batch of salsa (this week’s impulse-buy was tortilla chips).  This salsa is very fresh, and I recommend whizzing up it to a pretty fine consistency.  I like to get all of the ingredients well-blended as many of the flavors are very powerful.  This salsa can be made in less than five minutes, and makes about 2 1/2 cups.  I love to make it to top homemade burritos in addition to using it as a dip.  Don’t shy away from the mint!  It adds a particular layer of freshness and sweetness – even a cleanness – to the flavor.  

Fresh Salsa

 

• 4 plum tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 serrano pepper, seeded and deveined
• leaves of 3-4 sprigs of mint
• handful of cilantro leaves
• 1 medium clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. dark chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• pinch cayenne pepper

Cut stem sides off tomatoes, and cut into 3-4 large chunks each.  In food processor, chop tomatoes and onions with lemon juice until veggies are roughly chopped.  Add the serrano, mint, cilantro, garlic, and spices.  Pulse until salsa is finely chopped and blended.  Serve immediately or chill first.

Makes 2 – 2 1/2 cups salsa