Enchilada Pork-stuffed Peppers

Enchilada Pork-stuffed peppers

"Farce" is the French word for stuffing.  As you can probably tell from my blog, improvising a farce and stuffing seasonal vegetables is one of my favorite ways to turn humble ingredients into delightful and satisfying main dishes.  There are a few tricks to getting stuffed veggies to work.  The key is to cook or par-cook everything first, assemble them, and then cook it off when you are ready.  I like dishes like these because in the hot days of summer I can prep it all in the morning before the house heats up.  Then, come suppertime all I have to do is top it with a little cheese and warm it up.

These beautiful bell-peppers were split in half, cleaned, and then par-roasted with a little salt and pepper for about 10 min.  Then I cooled them completely in the refrigerator.  The farce is one of ground pork sausage (browned), enchilada sauce, sweet yellow onion, garlic, rice, and a whiff of cinnamon and clove.  Again, I cool the stuffing off completely before putting them all together.

I like them served with a side of crunchy chips and a dollop of cool guacamole.  The contrast in textures, spices, and hot/cool make it fun to eat.

Pico de Gallo

Pico de Gallo. (not my photo)

Do a search for Pico de Gallo and it's likely you'll run across a lot of different recipes for this traditional Mexican condiment.  Many of them claim to be "authentic".  I don't care for the term "authentic" as it relates to food.  In my experience it often means the author has had a dish someone prepared in a way that didn't match up to their expectation.  I fully acknowledge the heritage of this condiment has Mexican roots... but what part of Mexico?  It's a diverse place and a cuisine with a HUGE range of preparations and ingredients.

A few weeks ago I was involved in the assembly of a casual backyard party and thought Pico de Gallo would be an easy side to serve with chips.  Like many people I felt I didn't have the time to pull something together from scratch.  Hoo boy was that a mistake!  I bought a tub from the deli section of my supermarket.  It had absolutely no flavor.  There is no reason on earth to rely on anything but your own taste buds and some fresh ingredients to made this easy condiment.  I like it on chips, grilled fish, and especially shrimp tacos!

Once consistent complaint I have on commercially available versions of this is they use WAY too much tomato and not enough onion and other goodies.  This is a simple dish using simple ingredients and takes about 10 minutes start to finish.  Below are a few tips, observations, and suggestions to get the most flavor possible.

Ingredients:

2 medium whole tomatoes (seeded and chopped fine)
1 medium red onion (chopped fine)
1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and minced, or 2 serrano)
2 cloves garlic (smashed to a paste)
1 tsp olive oil 
1 lime (zest AND juice)
6 sprigs cilantro (leaves and stems minced)
to taste:
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper

Method:

1.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl and let sit refrigerated for at least an hour or overnight.

Tips:

Use the best tomatoes you can afford.  I'm writing this in peak tomato season and my local farmers market is fantastic.  Many of the vendors have samples of their tomatoes cut up for tasting.  Today I opted for medium sized round beefsteaks on the vine.  The heirloom varieties were sweeter, but also much more expensive.  Off season, I would likely choose Romas.  Take the time to seed them.  The seeds and membranes can be bitter.

My first choice of onion is red.  They have a great bite and the added bonus of their purple color.  White would be my 2nd choice.  Yellow onions are fantastic too, but I prefer the bite of a red or white onion.  I like a ratio of about 1.5:2 tomato to onion by volume.

Peppers: In my research I found some recipes use jalapeno while some used serrano peppers. I have a high heat tolerance so if I were making this just for me I'd go with serranos.  If you are making for a mixed crowd consider opting for the milder jalapeno.

Garlic: I can't stand bottled minced garlic and always choose fresh for this.  It takes very little time to mince a clove of garlic and the flavor difference is huge.  Drizzle a little olive oil on the minced garlic and then using the side of a chefs knife scrape and flatten it into a paste.  I lean toward a variety that has a solid "stem" inside with a slight purple cast. 

Limes: Limes we get in North America often don't have intense flavor in the juice.  This is why I ALWAYS use the zest too.  The rind of the lime contains flavorful oils that adds a bold lime flavor to the mixture.

Salt: I know many people try to limit their salt, but it performs another function besides seasoning.  It helps draw the liquids out of all the other ingredients.  It's important!  Don't skip it.  You don't need much.  Start with a pinch and then adjust the seasoning right before service.

Cilantro:  Many in the culinary world may wince at using the stems.  In this dish I don't mind them.  If the stems are cut finely it adds an earthy tone to the floral finish of this herb.  Many people despise cilantro but without it Pico de Gallo seems flat.

Tacos Al Pastor - Gringo style

Portland is renown for it's food trucks.  I've sampled many of their offerings...some good...some not so good.  Ever since I've moved to the Northwest I've been disappointed with the offerings of "Mexican" establishments be it food truck or sit-down restaurant.  I can't really blame the vendors.  Portland is a LONG way from the sunny climate of Mexican origin.  Access to sun-ripened fresh ingredients is challenging at any time of year - especially now in the middle of winter.  Taco offerings in Portland are in desperate need of improvement.  I have yet to be impressed with any of the street food offerings of this Mexican classic.

One of my favorite preparations when it comes tacos is the Al Pastor style.  My Northwest climate simply is NOT conducive to producing the robust flavored chiles used in this dish.  Instead, I have to rely on re-hydrating dried chiles, canned products, and "fresh" pineapples from far far away.  Alas, this is one dish I can't source close to home.  One of my main gripes with what I've eaten from vendors is the texture of the pork.  Al Pastor should never be tough - it should be silky soft.  Lately, my geographic location has been experiencing a stretch of sunny weather.  I am itchy for the spicy flavors of Mexico.  I want to taste the sun.  Meanwhile, everything around me is dormant.  This rendition of Tacos al Pastor is as good as this poor gringo can do under the circumstances.

Tacos Al Pastor

 Ingredients:
    ~Marinade/Salsa:
1ea dried guajillo pepper
1ea bay leaf
1ea fresh jalapeno pepper
0.25ea fresh pineapple (chopped)
1ea canned chipotle pepper
1T adobo sauce
0.5 ea yellow onion (diced)
4ea cloves garlic (minced)
1.5t ground cinnamon
0.5t dried marjoram
0.5t paprika
0.5t coriander seeds (toasted and crushed)
0.5t black peppercorns (toasted and crushed)
1T kosher salt
1T red wine vinegar
   ~Preparation:
1# Pork tenderloin

Method:

1. In small saucepan place dried pepper and bay leaf in enough water to cover.  Bring to boil and cook until soft and fragrant.  Drain water, remove seeds and stems from pepper.  Transfer to food processor
2. Process re-hydrated pepper and bay leaf with remaining marinade ingredients.  Process until smooth.  This makes quite a bit more than 1# of pork needs to marinade.  Try it!  it also makes a pretty great tomatoless salsa.
3. Cut 3/4" wide strips into the tenderloin, but don't cut all the way through.  Stuff these cuts full of marinade and coat the outside of the loin completely.  To even out cooking, tie the roast back together with butcher-twine.  Let this roast marinade no more than 45 min. in the refrigerator.  Pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain which breaks down collagen fibers in meat.  In a soft cut like the tenderloin - it doesn't take much time for it to turn to mush.  Coarser cuts of pork can marinate a bit longer.
4. Roast at 375F until internal temp registers 137F.  Remove from oven, cover with foil and rest.  Internal temperature will continue to rise to somewhere around 145F.
5. Cut into bite-size pieces and finish in a saute pan with a little oil if more caramelization is desired.
6. Serve in warm corn tortillas with fresh chopped white onion, cilantro, sour cream, and lime wedges.

Red Chicken and Bean Enchiladas

served with Spanish Rice

I've tried many kinds of enchiladas in my life but my favorites are usually done in what I call the "Red" style.  Hot red chili sauce bathing filled corn tortillas and topped off with gooey cheese, shredded cabbage, sour cream, and a homemade guacamole.  Trader Joe's brand Enchilada sauce has quickly become a pantry staple. Making my own enchilada sauce is going to be a project for another day.

This is easy to make ahead and can please a crowd for dinner or keep you in lunches for a good part of the week. Since it is rather labor intensive, if you have extra casserole dishes, I'd recommend making up a double batch and freezing half.  While the texture suffers a bit on reheat it makes a good lunch.

Ingredients:
~Marinade: ~~~~~~~~~~
1 large chicken breast (pounded flat, cut into 1/4"-1/2" cubes)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon round black pepper
~~Fillings:~~~~~~~~~~
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow sweet onion (peeled, concasse)
2 cloves garlic (peeled, hacher)
1 orange bell pepper (seeded, des)
1 large jalapeno pepper (seeded, brunoisette)
1 cup tomato juice
1 (15oz) can kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
4 ounces cheddar cheese (shredded, divided)
~~~Assemble:~~~~~~~~~~~
8-10 6-inch corn tortillas (thawed)
cooking oil
~~~~Garnish:~~~~~~~~~~~
cabbage (shredded)
sour cream (creamed)
guacamole (fresh is best)
finely chopped tomato (brunoisette)
green onions (sifflet)
black olives (rouelle)
~~~~~Yield Info:~~~~~~~~~~
Makes 8-10 enchiladas
Serving size 2 enchiladas

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Marinade: Dry off chicken chunks with paper towel and add to clean mixing bowl.  Combine salt, chili powder, cumin, coriander, paprika, and black pepper.  Sprinkle salt mixture evenly over chicken.  Stir to combine well and evenly coat chicken with spice mixture.  Marinate refrigerated in zip-loc minimum 1 hour (best 4 to overnight)
3. Fillings: Heat a large skillet to med high.  Add 1/2 oil and heat to shimmy.  Add chicken and marinade juices, sear all sides, and cook to med rare.  Remove cooked chicken from pan, set aside and keep warm.  Add remaining olive oil to pan, heat to shimmy.  When hot add onions, saute in oil to coat, suer til golden, saute garlic, reduce til liquid is nearly gone.  Saute in bell peppers and jalapeno.  Add tomato juice and seared chicken to pan and deglaze suc and stirring to evenly cook chicken.  Reduce til liquids are nearly gone. Remove from heat.  Stir in beans and cool mixture before adding 2.5 ounces of shredded cheese.  Stir to mix evenly,
4. Prepare corn tortillas.  Heat small amount of cooking oil in a skillet to shimmy.  Add corn tortillas one at a time and cook briefly (count to 15 or 20 each side) to make them pliable.  Drain them on paper towels and keep warm.
5. Assemble enchiladas.  In the center of each tortilla smear in a circle one ounce of the enchilada sauce.  Add a small portion of the mixture (use a portion scoop to make them consistent).  Even out the mixture to a consistent height and roll up jelly-roll fashion.  Place in a casserole dish seam side down.  Repeat step 4 for each tortilla.  Pour remaining enchilada sauce evenly over rolls to cover all tortilla surfaces lightly with sauce.  Cover with foil.
6. Bake in oven at 350F for about 30min. or until things are bubbly.  Remove foil, add remaining cheese on top and return to oven for 10 more min. or until cheese is melted
7. Plate hot over a bed of shredded cabbage and garnish as desired.

Tips:

• Don't add frozen tortillas to hot oil - it can ignite!
• The filling makes a good topping for salads.