de MEXICO à BRUSSELAS

Last Friday I made lots of traditional (though lesser-known) Mexican Tacos Guisados (that is, stewed tacos - as opposed to tacos made from grilled meat).

Here are the Recipes:

* TACOS DE TORTA DE COLIFLOR *

for the tortitas:
1 small cauliflower
4 eggs
3 tablespoons of flour

for the salsa:
3 medium tomatoes
1 clove garlic
chipotle chile (optional)
chicken stock
salt
((note - i used part of the same sauce when i made the Tinga, and this worked well, though this sauce for the tortitas should be a bit less spicy.))

Directions:
- cut cauliflower into smallish pieces and steam or boil until soft.
- mix up the eggs and flour until it forms a slightly thick batter.
- take a small handful of cauliflower pieces, cover with batter, and fry in (peanut) oil.
- drain excess oil / rest on paper towels.
- mix up the sauce in a blender.
- heat up the sauce on the stove.
- add tortitas to this sauce to reheat them, and let them absorb the sauce's taste.
- serve on tortillas as tacos, or with rice. delicious alone, but you can also add queso fresco and/or guacamole.

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* TACOS DE TINGA DE POLLO *

1 whole skinless chicken breast
1 clove of garlic
2 large onions
4 tomatoes
3 Chiles Chipotle Adobados o Enlatados (canned Chipotle peppers)
Cooking oil
Salt

Directions:
(1) Cut the onion in long, fine pieces. In a large pot cook the chicken with the onion, and some salt. Cook until soft.
(2) Drain the chicken stock from the onion and save it. Put the drained onions in a pan and fry until golden. Tear the chicken into long, thin pieces.
(3) Use a blender to mix the tomatoes with some of the chicken stock, the garlic, and chipotle chiles.
(4) Now add the salsa to the golden onions (you can add a 1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar), and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add this sauce to the chicken and salt to taste.

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* TACOS DE PAPAS CON CHORIZO *

1 kilo fingerling potatoes
2 links of spicy (cooking) chorizo (NOTE: this is NOT the same as chorizo that you eat in slices! and it's much cheaper)
1 yellow or white onion
tortillas

- wash and cut the potatoes into small pieces. boil until soft. drain.
- meanwhile finely chop the onion and sautée it until it becomes soft, then add the chorizo (note - depending on the chorizo you may need to remove its casing and cut it into pieces before adding it to the sautée pan.)
- add the chorizo/onion to the potatoes. salt only if necessary.
- serve on tortillas.
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* TACOS DE CALABACITAS *

onion
zucchini / summer squash
fresh or canned corn
jalapeño (or other chile pepper)
oregano
cilantro

- sautée the onion first, then add the other vegetables.
- season with cilantro and oregano, and salt to taste.
- serve on tortillas as tacos, with queso fresco and/or guacamole.

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* CEVICHE TROPICAL *

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless halibut, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup tequila
1 habañero pepper, seeded and minced
1 mango - peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 bunch chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions:
- Combine cubed halibut, lime juice, tequila, minced habañero, and diced mango in a non-metallic bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours.
- After the ceviche has sat for 1 1/2 hours, add the remaining vegetables. Mix well, then recover and refrigerate another 30 minutes.
- Fold in the remaining cilantro, and season to taste with salt before serving.

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* SALSA HABAñERO *
1-2 medium tomatoes
3 habañero chiles
2 cloves of garlic
salt to taste

put everything in the licuadora (blender), and mix it up. vary proportions to control spiciness (habañeros can knock your socks off!)

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* PICO DE GALLO *

tomatoes
onion (red or white)
chile peppers (traditionally jalapeño, though others work fine)
lime juice
salt 
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* GUACAMOLE *

2 avocadoes
2 cloves of garlic
1 chile pepper
2 cherry tomatoes
cilantro
lime juice
salt

- fry in olive oil the garlic and diced chile pepper
- mix into the avocado
- add juice from 1 lime, diced cilantro and tomatoes, and salt to taste.

Brian L. Frye writes: The cocktail I made for Penny was just a classic sour: 1.5 oz. beet gin, 0.75 oz. Cointreau, 0.75 oz. lemon juice. It was the color & consistency of blood! The beet gin has an interesting, earthy sweetness. I also made a Negroni variation, with 1 oz. beet gin, 1 oz. sweet vermouth & 1 oz. Campari. Nice.

STOEMP ! ! ! ! ! ! !

whoah this is good! traditional belgian stoemp.



* 5 leeks (poirot)
* 5-6 medium sized potatoes
* carrots (we used yellow and red heirlooms)
* fresh sausage (saucisse de campagne)
* butter
* cream

clean and peel the potatoes, quarter and boil for about 20 minutes.

meanwhile cook the leeks and carrots in a big pot, covered, with butter. (you can use lots of different vegetables - brussel sprouts, turnips, etc. - but the important thing is to have the same quantity of potatoes to the other vegetables. perhaps you could even have a couple sweet potatoes with the regular ones!)

cut the sausage into small pieces and fry (no additional oil). you can instead use bacon, etc.

drain the potatoes, add to the cooked vegetables, and mash them all together. then add the sausage & its oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

Neepa's Dahl

okay, so use the cumin seeds, then fry onions, let them fry a long time

then really simply add some fresh ginger and curcuma (turmeric).

you can add dhaniya powder (a smidge, if you wish, corriander poweder I think)

add tomatoes and fresh cilantro

add the lentils, fry a bit

add water and salt to taste

Compote de pommes

Compote de pommes (Applesauce): 1 kg de pommes
2 cuillères à soupe de sucre en poudre
2 cuillères à soupe d'eau
1 petite cuillère de Sucre vanillé
demi citron



(1) Épluchez 1 kg de pommes, coupez les en quatre et retirez le coeur de chaque quartier, ensuite coupez chaque quartier en petits morceaux que vous mettrez dans une casserole.

1er point important : Il faut que les morceaux de pomme soient petits, et de taille régulière, comme ça ils cuisent vite, et en même temps.

(2) Versez sur les pommes coupées 2 cuillères à soupe de sucre en poudre, et 1 petite cuillère de Sucre vanillé, versez ensuite 2 cuillères à soupe d'eau et le jus de ½ citron.

2ème point important : ne pas mettre trop d'eau, il en faut le minimum pour bien avoir une compote et pas une soupe.

(3) Couvrez et mettez sur feu moyen, jusqu'à ce que les pommes soient à peine tendres (5 minutes environ).

3ème point important : couvrir, car le peu d'eau qu'il y a reste dans la casserole, et empêche les pommes de brûler.

(4) Retirez du feu et découvrez.

4ème point important : ce n'est pas la peine de cuire longtemps, plus vous cuisez, plus les fruits perdent leurs vitamines.

(5) Donnez un coup de mixer pour obtenir la consistance voulue : avec des petits morceaux (peu mixé) Ou bien lisse (beaucoup mixé).

(6) refroidir.

Bulgur and Kale Casserole with Yogurt Topping — Recipes for Health - NYTimes.com

Bulgur and Kale Casserole with Yogurt Topping — Recipes for Health - NYTimes.com



This comforting kale and bulgur casserole is modeled on the casserole I made a few weeks ago for Recipes for Health, with eggplant and bulgur.

For the tomato sauce:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 small or 1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste)

2 pounds fresh tomatoes, quartered if you have a food mill, peeled, seeded and chopped if you don’t, or 1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, with juice, or crushed tomatoes in purée

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

For the gratin:

1 pound kale, stemmed and washed, or a 10-ounce bag of stemmed, washed kale

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup coarse bulgur (No. 3), cooked

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill

2 ounces (approximately 1/2 cup) freshly grated Parmesan

3 eggs

1 cup thick plain low-fat yogurt

Salt, pepper and paprika to taste

1. Make the tomato sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes, and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about a minute, and add the tomatoes, salt to taste, pepper, sugar, cinnamon, paprika and allspice. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook until the tomatoes are bubbling. Stir together, turn the heat back to medium-low, partly cover and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and the sauce is thick and fragrant, 25 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from the heat. If your sauce is chunky, put through a food mill or pulse in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, blanch the kale in salted boiling water for 4 minutes or steam for 5 to 8 minutes, until tender. Rinse with cold water and squeeze dry. Chop fine (you can do this by pulsing in a food processor fitted with the steel blade.)

3. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the garlic. When it begins to smell fragrant, in about 30 seconds, stir in the chopped kale. Toss together and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir in the bulgur and dill, combine well and remove from the heat.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil a 3-quart baking or gratin dish. Spoon a small amount of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish, and spoon in the bulgur and kale. Spread in an even layer. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan on top and cover with the remaining tomato sauce, spread in an even layer.

5. Beat together the eggs, yogurt and 2 tablespoons of the remaining Parmesan. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Spoon over the tomato sauce and spread in an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan on top. Place in the oven and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until golden. Remove from the heat and let sit for 10 minutes or longer before serving.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

Advance preparation: All of the elements of this casserole will keep for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator, as will the assembled casserole, without the egg-yogurt topping. Make the topping right before baking. The casserole can be baked ahead and reheated.

To cook the bulgur, bring 2 cups water with salt to taste to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the bulgur, and when the water comes back to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until all of the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, place a clean dish towel over the pan and cover with the lid. Let sit 10 minutes.

turkish hummus

This is much like the familiar Middle Eastern chickpea purée, but instead of tahini, the chickpeas are blended with yogurt. It’s lighter than the version made with tahini, and it’s nice either warm or at room temperature. Skinning the chickpeas makes a more delicate, smoother purée, and it doesn’t take as long as you’d think, but I leave the step as an optional one.

6 ounces (1 cup) dried chickpeas, rinsed, picked over and soaked for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight

Salt to taste

2 garlic cloves, green shoots removed

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, to taste

1/4 cup thick Greek-style or drained yogurt

For garnish (optional):

Fresh pomegranate seeds

Ground cumin

Black olives

1. Drain the soaked chickpeas and place in a pot with 1 quart of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 1 hour. Add salt to taste and continue to simmer for another hour, or until chickpeas are thoroughly tender. Remove from the heat. Drain but retain about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. You should have 2 cups cooked chickpeas.

Optional step: Run some cold water over the chickpeas, then take them up by the handful and pick off the loose skins. Discard the skins.

2. Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop in the garlic. When the garlic is chopped and adhering to the sides of the bowl, stop the food processor and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the chickpeas, salt and cumin, and turn on the machine for about 30 seconds. Stop the machine, scrape down the sides, and start the machine again. With the machine running, add the lemon juice, olive oil and yogurt, and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust salt. Thin out as desired with cooking broth from the chickpeas, or with more yogurt. Transfer to a wide bowl, and garnish if desired. Serve with warm pita bread.

Note: If you choose to use canned chickpeas, drain and rinse before proceeding with Step 2. You will need 2 cups.

Yield: 2 cups, serving 8 to 12

Advance preparation: Cooked chickpeas will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator. The hummus will keep for a couple of days but will become more pungent.

Nutritional information per serving (8 servings): 124 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 milligram cholesterol; 13 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 7 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 4 grams protein

Nutritional information per serving (12 servings): 83 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 milligram cholesterol; 9 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 5 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 3 grams protein