Tomatillo Temptations Part 2

by Brian on March 9th, 2010 in Cookbook Reviews No Comments

Recently I blogged about tomatillo salsa, that vibrant, green salsa that you may have sampled with chips or had adorned on top of a main course. Tomatillo salsa offers that great versatility. You can find my earlier blog at: http://www.cookingbythebook.com/blog/recipes/tomatillo-temptations-part-1

Tomatillo salsa can be made with raw tomatillos, cooked ones and canned. Last week, Part 1 offered a raw salsa from Rick Bayless. Today, in Part 2, there is a cooked tomatillo salsa again from Rick Bayless. This is the perfect opportunity to contrast two recipes: same author, nearly the same ingredients, and just one shift in the preparation technique. The modest differences in ingredients are the addition of a small amount of onion, increased garlic and decreased cilantro.

The real shift, of course, is that in this recipe the tomatillos and garlic are pan roasted before being added to the blender with the chiles and cilantro. The onion below is not blended but added only after the salsa has been created.

How about the results? What do you get for roasting the tomatillos? There are important differences in the two salsas. This cooked version has a darker color, is more viscous, and offers you a more complex flavor. I personally like the raw tomatillo salsa for its simple tangy flavor which is the perfect match for chips and margaritas. The cooked salsa has multiple flavor levels that, like a complex wine, reveal themselves over time. This cooked salsa is the one for your main courses: chicken, beef, and shrimp.

Like the raw version, this cooked salsa can be refrigerated and enjoyed for several days.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Yield: 1 ½ cups

Ingredients:

4 medium tomatillos, husked, rinsed and halved
2 large garlic cloves
⅓ cup cilantro, loosely packed, roughly chopped
½ small white onion, finely chopped
salt
water

Preparation:

Set a large (10-inch) nonstick skillet over medium-high heat (if you don’t have a nonstick skillet, lay in a piece of foil). Lay in the garlic and tomatillos, cut side down. When the tomatillos are well browned, 3 or 4 minutes, turn everything over and brown the other side. The tomatillos should be completely soft. [Brian note: using tongs you will know immediately when the raw, hard tomatillos have truly softened.]

Scrape the tomatillos and garlic into a blender or food processor and let cool to room temperature, about 3 minutes. Add the chiles, cilantro and ¼ cup of water.  Blend to a coarse puree. Pour into a salsa dish and thin with a little additional water if necessary to give the salsa an easily spoonable consistency.

Scoop the chopped onion into a strainer and rinse under cold water. Stir into the salsa. Taste and season with salt, usual about ½ teaspoon.

Source: Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless

Charro Beans with Blackened Tomatoes

by Brian on March 8th, 2010 in Cookbook Reviews, Recipes No Comments

Mark Miller is one of the most prominent Southwestern chef and cookbook authors. If you visit Santa Fe, then the Coyote Café is a festive spot for his delectable beverages, appetizers and full meals. The wide stairway lined with pink stucco leading you to the second floor makes you feel welcome from the first step.

Miller’s recipes are spicy, authentic, and appealing from the first glance. In his new book, Tacos, Miller offers many recipes you’ll enjoy, but this one is Suzen’s favorite. The word charro refers to the original New World cowboys. These Mexican and Spanish men needed serious food at the end of their day, and they had one pot to make it in.

This dish will remind you of chili, but it’s something different. The spicy aromas will fill your kitchen. As you peer into the pot, the combination of beans and spices will form a broth quite unlike what you’ve seen before: rich, thick, dark red, and obviously potent.

You can serve this with tortillas as Miller suggests, put it in bowls and garnish with sour cream, or do what Suzen and I did: heap it into a large baked potato and savor the combination of mellow potato and outrageously spiced beans.

Charro Beans with Blacked Tomatoes

Yield: 8 tacos worth

Preparation Time: 2 ½ hours

Ingredients:

1 cup dried pinto beans, rinsed 3 times and picked over for rocks
3 cloves garlic
1 small white onion, halved
6 ½ cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil (preferably Spanish)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno chiles, dry-roasted
1 pound tomatoes, blackened and cut into ¼—inch dice [directions below]
1 teaspoon tomato paste
¼ teaspoon chipotle puree
½ teaspoon smoked salt
¼ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, toasted and ground
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
8 (5 ½-inch) soft yellow corn tortillas, for service

Garnish: strips of soft beef or game jerky

Preparation:

To cook the beans, in a large pot, simmer the beans, garlic, ½ onion, and the 6 ½ cups of water over medium=low hat, partially covered, until the beans are almost falling apart, 2 to 4 hours. Add water as necessary during cooking so the mixture does not dry out. After the beans are cooked, drain the bean liquid into a saucepan and return the beans to the large pot. Over medium heat, reduce the liquid until it is thickened (not too much liquid will be left), about 10 minutes; reserve.

Meanwhile, cut the remaining ½ onion into ¼-inch dice. Ina skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat and sauté the diced onion until it begins to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 30n seconds (don’t let the garlic burn); set aside.

Into the ;pot of cooked beans, stir in the sautéed onion and garlic, chiles, tomatoes, tomato paste, chipotle puree, smoked salt, oregano, cilantro, and the thickened bean juice, and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve immediately, or keep warm in the pan until ready to serve.

To serve, the tortillas side by side, open face and overlapping on a platter. Divide the filling equally between the tortillas and top with salsa and jerky strips. Grab, fold, and eat right away. Or build your own taco: lay a tortilla, open face, in one hand Spoon on some filling, top with salsa and jerky strips, and eat right away.

To blacken the tomatoes, preheat a heavy skilled, cat-iron preferably, over high heat. Add the whole tomatoes and cook, turning occasionally until the tomato skins split and are blackened, about 5 minutes. Remove and let cool.  Peel the tomatoes, discard the stem ends and coarsely chop the tomatoes.

Source: Tacos by Mark Miller