SOUTH OF THE BORDER FLAVORS

 

South of the Border Flavors

 This year the old saying, ‘April showers bring May flowers’ appears to be merely wishful thinking, but a few rainy days may improve our outlook for those flowers.  The crabapple outside our kitchen window is valiantly trying to put out green buds, but spring, Maine style, is taking it’s time.

          One of the various ethnic holidays we have adapted in the US, especially with food, is Cinco de Mayo, on May 5^th. This is a holiday commemorating the Mexican victory over French at that date, followed by the re-establishment of the Mexican government with the help from US.

Today, with our interest in ethnic food it is easy to find Mexican restaurants, tortillas in every grocery store and salsa and guacamole have become staples in many households.  However, I can still recall a time in early 1970’s when, having returned from a Southwestern vacation, I found it almost impossible to replicate tacos in Philadelphia. Here are some old and new recipes to celebrate not only Cinco de Mayo, but to tease our tastebuds with flavors from south of the border.

Chunky Guacamole

          In a small bowl mix: 2 tblsp. fine chopped red onion, 2 chopped medium tomatoes, 1-2 avocados, peeled and chopped, ½ tsp. salt, 2 tblsp. white vinegar and 2 shakes Tabasco sauce (optional). Mix and smash everything with a fork to blend, but keep it relatively chunky. (Real Mexican protocol is mashing the last step with your hand.) Serve with corn chips.

                                      Sopa de Albóndigas

    

      

This Mexican meatball soup is an adaptation from Elena Zelayeta’s “Elena’s Secrets of Mexican Cooking”.

1)    Prepare the meatballs by thoroughly mixing by hand: ½ lb. lean ground beef, ½ lb. ground pork, ¼ cup raw rice, 1 tblsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, 1 slightly beaten egg and 1 tblsp. chopped mint leaves.

2)    Shape the meat mixture in 1 inch balls by rolling the mix with your hands.

3)    In in 4 quart pot sauté 1 chopped onion for 5 minutes in 2 tblsp. oil, stir in 1 minced garlic clove and sauté for an additional minute. Add 2 ½ quarts beef stock, 4 oz. tomato sauce and bring to boil.

4)    Drop the meatballs in boiling broth, turn down heat to simmer, cover pot and cook for 30 minutes.

5)    Remove lid, stir in 1 cup frozen peas and 1 cup frozen corn kernels. Cook for 5 additional minutes and serve. This soup freezes well.

Tortillas can take on many forms in a ‘South of the Border’ menu from tacos to ‘sopas’ to tortas filled with a variety of fillings. Quesadillas like tacos are the easiest to serve for a hearty and filing meal and can contain ingredients only limited by your imagination. Here is a recipe inspired by a mushroom/Reuben/Quesadilla seen in “Food and Wine”, taking advantage of the meaty quality of shitake mushrooms and thus allowing the recipe to be severely simplified for quick preparations. This may sound as unusual as a lobster Reuben, but it is amazingly tasty.

                                  Shitake Cuban Quesadillas

 1)    In a large pan sauté 3 oz sliced shitake with 1 thinly sliced shallot in 1 tblsp. olive oil and 2 tblsp. butter. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. kosher salt, 1 tsp. cumin, ½ tsp. garlic powder, ¼ tsp. lemon pepper. Allow the mushrooms to brown on a side before turning, 3-4 minutes to a side. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. grated orange zest.

2)    Spread each of  4 (9-10 inch) flour tortilla with whole-grain Dijon mustard, top with 2 large slices of Swiss cheese set crosswise, layer ¼ of the mushroom mix in a strip along the center, top the mushrooms with 1 tblsp. chopped kosher dill pickle. Fold each tortilla in half.

3)    Fry the quesadillas 2 at a time in a large pan in 2 tblsp. vegetable oil 1-2 minutes to a side. Cut in wedges and serve topped with sour cream and a sprinkling of chives (optional).

It may be a little difficult to find a live Mariachi band to serenade you with songs like “La Bamba”, “Guantanamera” or “Besame Mucho”, but you can always listen to a recording as you dine on flavors ‘South of the Border”.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

MIDWEEK SUPPER

 Midweek Supper

           Emerging into spring invariably comes with more activity outdoors. It seems especially true this year as we emerge not only from winter’s cold, but also a year spent more or less in isolation. The air suddenly seems gentle and we are energized to garden activities or a long walk along the shore or in the woods.

          Kitchen activities suddenly take second place, while all that fresh air is likely to build up an appetite. It is time to look at some of those simple recipes that take less time and effort, but still yield an appetizing meal with ingredients on hand. A French dip sandwich with a salad comes to mind with leftovers from a roast or London broil. And starting with a satisfying soup always lifts any meal. Egg-drop soup is known as a quick to prepare light soup and comes in many variations.  This one is given a bit more substance and flavor with tomato juice and addition of chickpeas (garbanzos).

                                         Tomato-Garbanzo Egg-drop Soup

1)    In a medium pot combine: 2 cups chicken broth, 2 cups tomato juice, ¼ tsp. garlic powder, ½ tsp. cumin, ½ tsp. turmeric, ½ inch piece grated fresh ginger, 1 can (14 oz.) rinsed garbanzos and ¼ tsp. chili paste (optional). Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

2)    In a large measuring cup with a lip fork beat 2 eggs with 2 tblsp. water and 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil.

3)    While stirring the simmering soup, slowly pour in the beaten egg mixture in a stream and continue to cook for an additional minute.

4)    Serve sprinkled with parsley or chopped scallions or chives.

Corn fritters make a quick, interesting and tasty alternative to pasta or rice as a side dish. It pairs well with many meat dishes. The following recipe makes 4 corn fritters, but can easily be doubled. The corn fritters also could serve as a light lunch with a salad. 

                             Savory Corn Fritters

1)    In a small bowl beat 2 eggs with ¼ cup water and ½ cup flour.

2)    Stir in: ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, 1 tbslp. finely chopped onion or 1 large scallion, 1 tsp. minced jalapeno pepper (optional) and 1-2 tblsp. finely chopped parsley. 

3)    Stir in 1 cup thawed frozen corn kernels.

4)    Fry in 1 tblsp. olive oil plus 1 tbsp. butter on medium heat about 2 minutes on the side.

5)    Serve plain or with a dab of sour cream. 

Recently at our house we had the corn fritters as a side to some ham served with a slightly tart mustard-raisin sauce. The sauce was simple, yet so flavorful that it is worth  sharing and keeping.

                                        Tart Mustard-Raisin Sauce for Ham

1)    In a small pan on low heat melt 2 tblsp. butter, stir in 1 tblsp. plus 1tsp. flour to make a thick paste (roux) and gradually add ½ cup water with constant stirring to avoid any lumps until thickened.

2)    Stir in: ½ tsp. dry mustard, 1 tblsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tblsp. soy sauce, 1-2 tblsp. cider vinegar, ½ cup raisins, ½ tsp. thyme, ¼ tsp. pepper. Heat on low heat for 5 minutes. If sauce becomes too thick, dilute with a bit of water.

3)    Ham can be gently warmed in the sauce or serve the sauce over ham.

It won’t be long now before salad season is upon us, but in the meantime simple midweek suppers can be made interesting and tasty with everyday kitchen ingredients and a bit of imagination.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

EASTER BAKING

 

Easter Baking

 All holidays come with their own traditions and Easter at our house inevitably involves baking. Spring is a yeasty time.  The sap is rising in the maple trees, spring bulbs are pushing up their green shoots and the farmers till soil in the fields for planting of crops. In the kitchen, there is nothing more pleasant than the smell of yeasty bread rising or being baked into delicious bread or rolls.

Piragi, traditional Latvian yeast rolls filled with bacon, onion and carraway seed are indispensable at our house, but this year my sister in law Jo, is inspiring me to try other dough-based fare. She is a great baker for all occasions and came up with a treasure trove of recipes.  Hot cross buns are plentiful in supermarkets during the time before Easter, but her version caught my eye, since they are a cross (pun intended) between plain hot-cross buns and currant buns. Her recipe was originally adapted from “Fannie Farmer Cookbook” and as you may note in the picture, applying the icing smoothly still needs work in my hands.

                                                  Currant Hot-Cross Buns

This recipe uses both a hand mixer and manual kneeding for the dough, but the process can be accomplished equally well with a standing mixer adapted with a dough hook.

1)    Dissolve 6 tblsp. powdered milk, 1 tblsp. sugar and ¼ tsp. salt in 1 cup water. Heat mixture to lukewarm, stir in 1 package of yeast and allow to proof until foamy.

2)    Stir in 5 tblsp. sugar and 6 tblsp. cooled melted butter. Add 2 cups all-purpose flour and mix on LOW speed 1 minute

3)    Add on low speed 1 at a time 3 eggs. Beat on HIGH speed 2 minutes. Cover and let rise about 40 minutes.

4)    Meanwhile in a small bowl mix: ¼ cup flour, 1 ¼ tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. dry orange rind (optional), ½ cup dried currants and set aside.

5)    After 40 minutes add to the dough mixture 2 cups flour in ½ cup portions until well mixed. The dough will be just barely firm to handle. Knead 5 minutes (if using a mixer and a dough hook knead 5 minutes at setting 2). Rest dough for 10 minutes and knead in currant-cinnamon mixture.

6)    Set dough on a lightly floured surface, divide and roll into 24 buns. Place buns in a greased pan, cover and let rise covered for about 1 hour.

7)    Cut crosses with a sharp knife on top of buns and BAKE in a well pre-heated oven at 400 degrees until lightly browned for 18-20 minutes.

8)    Take out and brush with melted butter. Mark crosses with white butter icing

9)    Icing: 3-4 tblsp. softened butter beaten with 1 cup confectioners sugar and 1 tblsp. fresh lemon juice.

Another recipe that caught my eye from this treasure trove dates back to Italian Easter traditions. In this case it is a pie, made either with pastry or yeast dough, somewhat like pizza dough. The filling flavor depends on good quality, smoked full flavored ham (not water infused) and additional Italian meats and cheeses.

                                   Italian Easter Pie

1)    Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Unroll 1 refrigerated pie crust in a 9 inch DEEP cake pan or a deep dish pie pan.

2)    In a large bowl whisk 3 eggs, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, ½ tsp. garlic powder, ¼ tsp. pepper.

3)    Stir in 1 (15 oz.) container ricotta and ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Mix well. Then stir in ½ cup chopped ham, ½ cup chopped Genoa salami and ½ cup chopped pepperoni slices.

4)    Pour into the lined pan. Cover with the second crust and pinch edges together to seal. Flute edge with your fingers and cut four 1 inch slits on top.

5)    In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk with 1 tblsp, water to make an egg wash and brush the crust with it. Bake 55-60 minutes at 325 degrees until top is golden and a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

6)    Let sit 15 minutes before serving for lunch or dinner.

According to my sister in law, the Italian Easter pies are like English fruit cakes, every family has it’s own recipe. Tradition for this pie is to be served either Saturday, Sunday or Monday of the Easter weekend. It just might be a wonderful venue for that leftover smoked ham from Easter Sunday. Enjoy!

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)