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Guacamole Salad

Photo credit: Cook's Country website

Photo credit: Cook’s Country website

I thought this might be fun on Cinco de Mayo and I promised someone a vegetarian treat today.

The original recipe comes from Cooks Country and normally I’d just link to it, but they’re behind a paywall and I never know if you can access the information. So I’m reproducing it here.

From Cook’s Country:

Guacamole Salad

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Tasters liked the consistently sweet taste of grape tomatoes compared with other varieties. Tasters also liked the flavor of minced garlic present in many guacamole salad recipes, but thought raw onions were just too harsh, so we used scallions instead. Steeping the garlic and scallions in lime juice for a few minutes before combining them with the avocados mellowed their flavor.

We wanted plenty of peppers for crunch and bulk, but a large quantity of jalapeños made the salad too hot to eat. Milder poblanos, with just a hint of heat, were a better choice.

Serves 4 to 6

If you can’t find poblano peppers, substitute an equal number of Anaheim chiles, or a large green bell pepper mixed with up to 2 tablespoons of minced jalopeño chile.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4 scallions, sliced thin
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon grated lime zest
  • 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 poblano chiles, seeded and sliced into 2-inch matchsticks
  • 2 ripe avocados, pitted, skinned, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (see related Dicing Avocado tip)
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

1. SALT TOMATOES Toss tomatoes and ½ teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Transfer to paper towel-lined baking sheet and let drain 15 minutes.

2. MAKE DRESSING Combine scallions, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in large bowl. Let sit 5 minutes, then slowly whisk in oil.

3. TOSS SALAD Add chiles, avocados, cilantro, and drained tomatoes to bowl with dressing and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

POBLANOS, THE RELLENO CHILES

Our recipe for Guacamole Salad calls for poblano chiles, a tapered, deep-green, medium-sized Mexican chile. They taste slightly bitter, similar to green bell peppers but with a spicier finish. Sold both fresh and dried (the dried are called anchos), they are used in many Mexican dishes, most famously in the United States in deep-fried, cheese-stuffed chiles rellenos. If you can’t find poblanos, substitute one medium green bell pepper and 1 to 2 tablespoons of minced jalapeño (about ½ chile) per poblano.

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Gyros

DSC_5772 [1600x1200]Still using Alton Brown’s recipes for these.  Mrs J has been on a mint eradication jihad in her front garden and has had some success, enough that I couldn’t find any to garnish the plate tonight. She also dug out an old gnarly rose bush that the mint was growing up through.  DSC_5769 [1600x1200]I did alter his method a bit, informed by my reading from the Serious Eats web site.  I kept the lamb cold for the processing, it was nearly so cold that the paste was stiff enough that my machine had all it wanted to spin.  I have no idea if the “leakage” of liquids from the loaf was affected for good or ill.  I cooked it in a 300 oven until the thermometer reached 165 which was higher than the second fellow recommended.  I did do the slicing and broiling trick to get a bit of crisp on the meat.DSC_5771 [1600x1200]And I did add some mayo to the tzatziki, again influenced a bit by the Serious Eats discussion, but it otherwise was Alton’s recipe.  I can’t say it helped any and I’ll leave it out of the next batch but YMMV, as the kids say these days.  I will note that his Food Lab blog is the place that taught me how to do French fries right.  Enjoy!DSC_5777 [1600x1200]

Sammich Pr0n – Fillet of Fish

DSC_5646 [1600x1200]Mrs J dug a bag of fillets from the big freezer.  A neighbor caught a few small bass and some panfish from the back pond last year and these are some he cleaned and bagged for us.  Fried fish require hushpuppies and Mrs J needs beans to spread on those.  I made a small salad from store bought tomatoes and cucumbers and a slaw with the white parts of a Napa cabbage and sliced sweet peppers.  The slaw has a rice vinegar dressing sweetened with Splenda and flavored with a wee drop of toasted sesame oil.

Chilies Rellenos

DSC_5547 [1600x1200]I decided to take a whack at these today.  We brought home a couple of nice fresh poblanos that weren’t really slated for anything in particular but I was thinking a salsa verde.  The roasted tomatillo salsa was so good the other day that I wanted a replay and thought these poblanos might work in that.  I hemmed and hawed a bit and then looked up a rellenos recipe, having heard them mentioned a few days ago.DSC_5540 [1600x1200]I’m sure my pepper stuffing technique can be improved upon with a little practice.  These ended up with toothpicks holding them together.  I saw, too late, a tip at another site that one should remove the seeds and membranes while they are still raw to help prevent tearing after roasting.  I think I’ll buy more than two next time so I can cook up the best ones and save the ones I tear up for tacos or enchiladas.  The whipped egg whites folded into the beaten yolks was interesting and worked better than I would have supposed.

I went with the cheese and corn stuffing this time, I’m pretty sure there will be some additions the next round.  I used a few cilantro leaves in the tomato sauce having heard from a few others that the taste can grow on you.  I managed to eat it all without any particular discomfort.  I went ahead and made more of the tomatillo salsa and added cilantro to that as well.

Slowcooker: Beef and Pasta Soup

A bit of snow today, so I thought soup sounded like a good plan. Add some garlic bread and you’re all set for dinner.

Originally published January 2003 (our very first recipe here):

Beef & Pasta Soup

  • 1 lb stew beef or beef chuck, cubed
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 tsp crushed garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2 bay leaves (remove before serving)
  • 2 tsp basil, crushed
  • 1 tsp oregano, crushed
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 14 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 8 oz sliced carrots (frozen or fresh)
  • 8 cups water
  • 12 oz bowtie or rigatoni pasta

Cookware:  slowcooker and saucepan

Combine all ingredients, except pasta, in slowcooker.  Cook according to manufacturer’s directions (usually on low for 8-10 hours).  30 minutes before serving, in saucepan cook pasta according to package directions, until it’s al dente (firm and still a bit chewy).  Drain and add to the soup, let simmer 10-15 minutes (the pasta will continue to cook and absorb flavors from the soup).

TIPS:  when using dry spices, crush them between your fingers before using, to bring out the flavors.  For added flavor, marinate beef in 1/2 cup red wine for 1 hour (or overnight in the refrigerator).

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes    Cooking time: 8 to 10 hours

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