Category: Mexican

Grilled Vegetable Quesadillas

June 11, 2009

As I was dreaming about Chilled Avocado Soup last week, I was also dreaming up what to make to accompany it. I knew I wanted to go the Mexican route and that I wanted to keep the flavors really fresh and light to complement the soup. There is an enchilada recipe that I love in Fields of Greens that stars zucchini and corn, but enchiladas make me a little crazy. Frying corn tortillas in oil – even if it’s just to soften them – didn’t sound all that “light” to me.

So, I decided to wing it and make giant quesadillas with the flavors I thought would play well with the soup. I grilled red onions, zucchini and whole cobs of corn. I cut the corn off the cob, chopped the other vegetables, and mixed them all together with plenty of cilantro and salt and pepper. I packaged up that mixture for my clients, gave them some cheese and tortillas, and a homemade tomatillo salsa – along with the soup and a Mexican rice.

The beauty of Tuesday nights at our house is that we eat the menu I have created for my clients. I was particularly interested in tasting the quesadillas because I just kind of winged it, which is unlike me, and am happy to say they were delicious.

A few notes about this recipe. The method for cooking the quesadillas may seem a little unusual, but I love it because I can make more than one at once with no problem. As written, the recipe will make three huge quesadillas – enough for six people, you can scale it down as need be. I wanted to use cotija cheese because I love it’s crumbly texture and salty bite. Sadly, Whole Foods – where I went because I knew they would have it – was out. I bought a cheese I had never seen before and now can’t remember what it was called. It started with an “A” and it was in the same section where the cotija should have been (along with queso fresco, etc) and it came pre-sliced. It was very mild and melt-y – kind of like mozzarella. For me, it wasn’t right for these quesadillas but Randy loved it. Use any kind of cheese you like here. Finally, if you made the Mexican Pizza and have any of the chipotle purée left over, it would be delicious thinly spread over the bottom tortilla.

One Year Ago: Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies

Grilled Vegetable Quesadillas
Dana Treat Original
Serves 6

I’m not going to give a specific amount of cheese here because I think cheese tolerance is so different for each person. I love lots of vegetables and barely any cheese on my quesadillas. Some people like the opposite. I give you permission to use as much or as little as you like. If you have a large enough grill to do all the vegetables at once, by all means, do so.

2 large red onions
4 large zucchini
3 large ears corn
Olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
12 burrito size tortillas

Preheat a grill to high.

Cut the top off each onion, leave the root end intact, and peel the onion. Cut into 1/2 inch thick slices and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place on the grill for 7-10 minutes per side – or until grill marks appear and the onion seems cooked through. Remove and set aside on a plate.

Cut the ends off the zucchini and slice lengthwise into thick planks. Place on same baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Grill for about 5 minutes per side – or until grill marks appear and the zucchini seems cooked through. Remove and set aside on same plate as onions.

Husk the corn and place on same baking sheet. Place on same baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place on grill for a few minutes and then give the corn a quarter turn. Repeat until the corn is lightly browned in spots. Remove and set aside on baking sheet to cool.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Once vegetables are cool enough to touch, cut the onions into 1 inch chunks, and the zucchini into 1/2 inch chunks. Place in a large bowl. Stand one end of a corn cob in the bowl and, using a sharp knife, slice the kernels off the cob. Repeat with other cobs. Mix in the cilantro. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Place 1 tortilla on a baking sheet (more if you can fit more.) Scatter 1/6th of the vegetable mixture over the tortilla, then add as much (or as little) cheese as you like. Top with another tortilla. Repeat with remaining tortillas, vegetable mixture, and cheese.

Slide baking sheets into the oven and bake until the cheese melts and the tortillas firm up a bit, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes so all the cheese doesn’t slide out. Slice into wedges and serve with tomatillo salsa.

Tomatillo Salsa
Adapted from Fields of Greens
Makes about 2 cups

I often use store-bought tomatillo salsa and really like it. This is a totally different animal. It is very light and fresh tasting and also quite sour. It has none of the gumminess that store-bought can sometimes have. It doesn’t last more than a day in the refrigerator so feel free to use lots on your quesadillas!

1 pound tomatillos, husked
2 or 3 jalapeños, seeded
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1 tsp. lime juice
Salt
1 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Coarsely chop three-quarters of the tomatillos and purée them with the jalapeños in blender or food processor to make the base of the salsa. Transfer to a bowl. Chop the remaining tomatillos and add to the purée along with the onion, bell pepper, lime juice, and 3/4 tsp. salt. Let the salsa sit for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend. Add cilantro just before serving.

Category: Dana Treat Original,Main Course,Mexican,Quick and Easy
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Haunted by Pizza

June 2, 2009

Last weekend, while up on Lopez, my husband thought it would be nice to take a picnic to the beach. I stopped in to a little prepared food store to get some things for us to eat. It’s called Vita’s and it’s in the most adorable building I have ever seen. We have bought wine there, but never food. I got Randy a sandwich and got myself a hummus box and was appalled by the size of the offerings (tiny) and the prices (huge). Clearly, this place exists for the tourists.

Miffed, we walked back across the street to get something from Holly B’s for the boys and there it was on the bakery counter. The Mexican Pizza. I had totally forgotten that Holly makes pizza and I had also forgotten the sheer deliciousness that is Holly’s Mexican pizza. I couldn’t bring myself to shell out another $6 for lunch food (yes, the bakery is expensive too but it is worth every penny) so I went without the pizza. But I did not stop thinking about it as I ate my stale pita bread and I have not stopped thinking about it since.

I have the Holly B’s cookbook and it includes the Mexican pizza recipe. But when I went to look at it, I realized that it is kind of a gut bomb. I mean, it’s totally and completely delicious but it’s pretty rich and filling. Refried beans are slathered over pizza dough, canned tomatoes and chiles are thrown over the top, and the whole thing is drowned with a heavy dose of cheddar cheese. I decided to make one from Annie Sommerville’s Everyday Greens instead.

This is no pizza “lite” but the ingredients are fresher and a little less heavy-handed. It is still very topping heavy, but the toppings include chipotle purée spread over the dough, fresh corn and tomatillos and a scattering of black beans. I opted to use a cotija cheese rather than the cheddar and Monterey jack called for in the recipe and that lightened it up just a bit more. I also added avocado slices because it just seemed right.

A few notes about this recipe. You will need chipotle puree which is simply canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce. You should be able to find these in any grocery store on the aisle where Mexican food is. You will just need to whiz up the contents in a blender or food processor (a mini food processor is perfect for this). Whatever you don’t use can live in your refrigerator, covered, for up to a month. If you like that smoky spicy flavor, you can add a bit to soups, rice, beans, etc. Also, I streamlined a few steps here because Sommerville has a tendency to make you work harder and create more dirty dishes than is necessary in my humble opinion. I forgive her everything because all the food in her books is incredible.

One Year Ago: Deviled Eggs

Mexican Pizza with Corn, Tomatillos, and Chipotle Chiles
Adapted from Everyday Greens
Serves 4-6

By all means, make your own pizza dough if you have the time. Yesterday I didn’t have the time so I used a good store bought dough. I used a full 2 tablespoons of the chipotle purée and it was spicy. We like things with heat here so it was fine for us, but if you are sensitive to spice, just use a bit of the purée. Substitute 1 cup of cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup of Monterey jack cheese mixed together for the Cotija if you prefer. You can make this pizza with a pizza pan or even a cookie sheet instead of a stone.

One recipe Pizza Dough
1 1/2 tbsp. Chipotle Puree
1 large red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1/4 pound tomatillos, husked, and chopped into small pieces
2 ears of corn, shaved, about 2 cups of kernels
3/4 cup canned black beans, drained
Fine cornmeal for dusting
1 1/2 cups crumbled cotija cheese
1/2 a large avocado, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Place a pizza stone in your oven and preheat it to 500°F. Make sure it heats for at least 30 minutes.

Season the tomatillos with salt and pepper and set aside. Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. Drizzle in just enough olive oil to coat the bottom and add the onions. Cook until tender and starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside. Add a little more oil to the pan followed by the corn. Season the corn with salt and pepper and cook until tender, 3-5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Roll out the pizza dough and place it on a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the dough. Spoon a little (or a lot!) of purée over the dough followed by a thin layer of cheese. Next add the corn, onions, tomatillos, black beans, and the remaining cheese.

Bake the pizza in the oven until the crust is golden and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove it from the oven, lay the avocado slices on top and sprinkle with cilantro.

Category: Main Course,Mexican,Pizza
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Geographical Vegetarian

April 29, 2009

I recently heard the term “geographical vegetarian”. It was introduced to me by a man who eats meat but whose wife does not. He eats vegetarian in their home but eats meat outside of it. I was thrilled to hear this term because now I can attach a name to what my husband is. As in, Q: “Is your husband a vegetarian?” A: “My husband is a geographical vegetarian.” Aside from a little fish that he grills now and then (and mussels I make for him once in a great while), no meat eating goes on in our house. People are confused by this. How could a red-blooded carnivore be forced to eschew his meat-eating ways in his own home?

It’s simple really. I’m a good cook. He likes my food. He eats meat for lunch at work and when we go out. Food is not his be all end all as it is for me. And I make Mexican food, which is his favorite, often.

Truthfully, I could make the same Mexican meal three nights a week and he would be happy. As long as there is guacamole and some kind of beans – I would never hear a complaint. But I would complain. I need variety so I am always trying to mix it up.

I read about a salad on For the Love of Cooking that I was dying to try. The dressing featured lots of cilantro and lime juice and the salad had corn, beans, Cotija cheese, avocado, and all kinds of other yummy things in addition to romaine lettuce. I’m a sucker for a salad with lots of “stuff” in it. To go with it, I made these tostadas. They are relatively simple but with a powerful flavor punch from this sofrito. You will get more sofrito than you need for these tostadas, but you can use it to flavor rice, soup, beans, or anything else in your next Mexican meal.

Bean Tostadas with Sofrito
Adapted from Simple Vegetarian Pleasures
Serves 4

Personally, I don’t really like the taste of raw onion and using a whole onion in the sofrito was too strong for me. Next time I will use half. You could streamline this recipe by using canned re-fried beans thinned with a little water.

Sofrito
3-4 cups lightly packed cilantro, stems included
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small green pepper, cored and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt

Beans
1 (15 oz) can pinto or kidney beans, rinsed well and drained
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt

Tortillas
8 small (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
2-3 tbsp. canola oil
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

1. To make the sofrito, combine all the sofrito ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a container with a cover and set aside.

2. To prepare the beans, combine them with the chili powder, water, and salt in the container of a food processor and purée. Scrape into a bowl.

3. Preheat the broiler. Brush both sides of each tortilla with some of the oil, and place the tortillass on a baking sheet. (You may have to do this in batches.) Broil on both sides until golden and crisp. (The tortillas can be prepared up to this point 24 hours in advance.)

4. Divide the bean mixture and spread some on each tortilla. Top each with some of the grated cheese. Broil the tostadas until the cheese has melted and they are hot throughout. Serve with little spoonfuls of sofrito dotted on top of each tostada. (DT: I also topped them with guacamole.)

Category: Beans,International,Main Course,Mexican,Quick and Easy
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Mushroom Enchiladas

February 2, 2009

My husband recently took on a new job within his company. It’s a great job, one where he will really be challenged (which he likes), and one where he will be able to show how much value he adds to anything he does. For me, it has one big pro and one big con. Pro: He has moved over to an office in Seattle (rather than across a traffic clogged bridge), so he is home at 6:30 instead of 7:30. Con: He will be traveling about once a month or more.

Now, it actually isn’t all that bad because it will all be domestic travel and they will be quick trips. But it is still hard to have him gone. And even though he is not a foodie, I know he hates it when he misses a good meal. Last week, I planned to make a Mexican dinner for my clients and didn’t realize he would miss it because of a trip to Chicago. I can’t in good conscience know that I made these enchiladas and that he didn’t get to eat any of them, given his love of Mexican food. So, I made them again.

There are so many things I like about this recipe. Mushrooms, pinto beans, cottage cheese, and parsley may sound like unlikely ingredients for the filling, but they are hearty without being too heavy and the flavors really pop. In fact, if you go light on the cheese topping, this can be a very healthy and low fat meal. The enchiladas come together quickly enough for a mid-week dinner, especially if you buy pre-sliced mushrooms. You can even make the filling a day ahead, and the whole dish up to 8 hours ahead. And any leftover filling tastes great in a baked potato topped with salsa as I found out last week!

One more thing. Two years ago today I gave birth to this extraordinary person. Before that day, I was worried that I didn’t have enough love in my heart for two children. Boy, was I wrong! Happy Birthday baby.

Mushroom Enchiladas
Adapted from Main Course Vegetarian Pleasures
Serves 6

Use your favorite kind of salsa (I’ve even made it with tomatillo salsa), or you can substitute enchilada sauce if you prefer.

Olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 16 oz. can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup low-fat small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
2 cups mild or medium salsa
8 8-inch tortillas
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Do not burn it. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until the juices are released and then evaporate, about 10 minutes. The mushrooms should begin to stick to the pan.

2. Add the oregano and pinto beans and cook 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

4. Stir the cottage cheese and parsley into the bean mixture. Place the pan in front of you to begin rolling the enchiladas. Place the salsa in a bowl in front of you, along with the tortillas and a pastry brush (or you can just use a spoon.)

5. Spread a thin layer of salsa in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Lay a tortilla on a plate, then brush both sides of the tortilla with a little bit of salsa. This will moisten the tortillas and prevent them from breaking. Using a spoon, place about 3-4 tablespoons along the bottom of one tortilla and roll tightly. Place the enchilada seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling (you may get more or less than 8 depending on how much filling you use in each).

6. Spoon the remaining salsa over the enchiladas. Neatly place the Cheddar cheese along each enchilada. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil. Bake 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake 5 minutes more. The enchiladas should be piping hot, but be careful not to dry them out with overcooking.

Category: International,Main Course,Mexican,My Favorites
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Simply Delicious

January 28, 2009

If you ask my husband what he wants for dinner, without hesitation he says,”Mexican.” If you ask him where he wants to go out for dinner, he also says, “Mexican.” I honestly don’t even ask him anymore or if I do I have to ask like this, “Honey (deep breath), what-should-I-make-for-dinner-don’t-say-Mexican?” Phew.

I too love Mexican food but seeing as live far far away from Mexico, there aren’t a lot of places around here to satisfy the craving. Randy thinks bad Mexican is still good. I think bad Mexican is greasy and fattening. So I would rather make it myself.

Two things make a Mexican meal complete for me. Beans of some kind and lots of guacamole. For my clients last night I made Mushroom and Pinto Bean Enchiladas, Mexican Rice with Peppers and Tomatoes, and Salad with a Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette. I included a container of my guacamole which has gotten raves from them before and from others too. It is one of the only things I make completely without a recipe and totally to taste (hummus is another one.) I thought I would write a post about it so I paid attention to the proportions of what I added. Sometimes simple is best.

Guacamole
Serves 6 generously

I like my guacamole very limey and salty. You can always add less lime juice and salt and see how it tastes to you. If there is not too much going on in the meal, or if I am not serving salsa, I will dice up two seeded roma tomatoes and add it to the mix.

2 large ripe avocados, diced
1 1/2 large limes, cut in half
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. cilantro, or more to taste

Place the avocados in a large bowl. Juice the limes into the same bowl and add the salt and pepper. Using a potato masher, mash up the avocados and incorporate the juice. You will want to leave some texture. Add the cilantro and mix carefully with a spoon.

Category: Appetizer,Dana Treat Original,Dip,International,Mexican,Quick and Easy,Vegan
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