3 posts tagged “garlic”
Now that tomatoes are in season, at least in warmer areas of the world, fresh salsa is now in season. Meghan and I had a few tomatoes that needed to be used so salsa they became. I purposely chose a Rick Bayless recipe as I (and the James Beard Foundation) respect his cooking, but I was disappointed when his jarred salsa was a big letdown. This fresh salsa recipe is excellent in flavor and would go well with other smoky flavors.
This is roasted tomato jalapeno salsa, meaning the tomatoes, jalapeno and garlic are all roasted; the tomatoes under the broiler and the jalapeno and garlic in a dry skillet.
Below are the ingredients list as well as a video and photos.
1 lb tomatoes
1 large or 2 medium jalapeno chiles
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 t salt, to taste
1/2 small onion
1/3 C fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 t cider vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lime - I added
Below is a quick movie I put together of the process, but for better quality go to my flickr page to view it.
Turn the oven to broil and preheat a cast iron skillet on the stove. Put the tomatoes under the broiler and the jalapeno and garlic into the dry skillet.
Destem the jalapeno and peel the tomatoes.
Flavors are best if it is left at room temperature for a few hours to let everything mingle.
After having som tam last weekend at Karen and Chai's I was inspired to recreate it the next day. Traditionally som tam is made with papaya, but Chai made it with green beans yesterday. Below is the recipe I adapted, which is vegan/vegetarian if you leave out the oyster sauce. I didn't have any fish sauce on hand, but traditionally som tam would have 1 T fish sauce in lieu of the soy sauce and oyster sauce, in addition to a few dried shrimp. Here is a video taken at the Amphawan floating market that demonstrates the process.
My version:
3-4 C green beans
1 tomato
4 cloves garlic
6 chilis
1 T soy sauce
juice of 1 lime
4 t brown sugar
1 T peanuts
1 T cashews
(2 t oyster sauce)
First slice the green beans and dice the garlic. I didn't have a mortar and pestle that size, so I got creative with what we had on hand - a can and a Pyrex bowl.
Pound and mix the beans and garlic for a minute and throw in the remaining ingredients except for the tomatoes. Continue to mix and pound for a minute, add the tomato followed by another round of pounding and mixing.
I captured a few seconds of Chai on video this past weekend utilizing a technique I had never seen to juice a lime. I adapted this technique when making my version as well.
Finally plate and serve.
This is a quick, simple, and cheap appetizer or snack. Meghan and I both really enjoyed it and will be making this again soon. I'm also going to pick up some fish sauce, as I really enjoyed that flavor when Chai made it.
No, I have not been fasting, however I obviously have taken a break from blogging food. Classes two nights a week, studying for the LSAT with greater fervor, and a rough cold have been recent additions to my routine as of late that have pushed blogging to the bottom of the priority list. I am beginning to feel human again from my cold shifting from stuffed head and chest to coughing out the rest. Below are a few pictures and words.
A hot bowl of spicy noodles is one trick I've found to flush out a head cold, or to at minimum release acute pressure. It doesn't leave you with the medicine head feeling, and although I have enjoyed hanging out with Katie's new friend, it does not involve chugging vinegar. The noodle above are a slurry of what we had on hand, consisting of (with measurements approximated)
a pinch (spray) olive oil
1/2-1 sweet onion
2-4 cloves of garlic
1 green pepper
Saute the above ingredients for a few minutes until the onions are clarified...go easy on the garlic at this point if you're not a big garlic fan because more is to come. Next add
1 quart (4 C) water
2-4 T soy sauce
2 T oyster sauce
3 C kidney beans (pre-cooked)
1 T chili sauce
2 T chili garlic sauce
1-2 T grated ginger
Allow this to come to a boil and add a handful or two of thin rice noodles and some lime juice. I also threw in a handful of bean sprouts for good measure. Cover, if not already, take off the heat and allow to sit until it is cool enough to eat. The noodles take about 5 minutes to cook from the ambient temperature of the water, but it takes another 5-10 minutes past that until it is cool enough to eat. Then test for seasoning - I added more chili sauce and a little more soy, plus some sriracha sauce as I ate. Finally get some Kleenex and get ready to be able to b r e a t h e.
Left overs are usually reheated for the same dramatic clearing and warming effect - not to mention delicious flavor. The recipe varies depending upon what we have on hand or what I feel like, but a few things I can think of adding in the past are spinach, peanuts, peanut butter, tofu, green beans, corn. This also can be enjoyed anytime, not just to clear your head as it warms you up while you eat and clears your colon the next day.
