Flour-less Peanut Butter Cookies

Thick, soft and chewy cookies made with organic peanut butter, pastured eggs, sea salt, freshly-ground sweet cinnamon, and much less sugar..

Flour-less Peanut Butter Cookies (makes about 2 dozen cookies, recipe adapted from Saveur Magazine)

2 cups organic peanut butter without added oil or sugar, creamy or chunky
1 cup granulated piloncillo or rapadura sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 large, pastured eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon organic, pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground Sweet Cinnamon (True Cinnamon, Ceylon Cinnamon)

Cream together peanut butter and 1 cup of the sugar in a large glass bowl.  Using a hand mixer at low speed, beat in eggs, vanilla, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until just combined.  Mixture should be slightly grainy.

Using a small cookie scoop (or your hands), form mixture into 2-inch balls and place 4 inches apart on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Use the tines of a fork to flatten slightly, pressing a cross-hatch pattern into each cookie.  Sprinkle with the remaining sugar.

Place the tray into an oven preheated to 350 degrees and baked until puffed and lightly browned on the edges.  Allow to to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before removing from tray.

Kept at room temperature, the cookies will remain soft for a day or two, assuming they last that long.

Southwestern Pork and Pozole

Similar to the traditional Pozole Rojo, this thick stew features leftover roast pork shoulder that has been cubed and simmered in stock with heirloom pozole, toasted cumin, cracked coriander, canella and Mexican oregano, with roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic and fresh chilies.  Topped with crispy fried corn tortilla strips..

1 pound (more or less) leftover roast pork (including some fat), cut into 3/4-inch cubes
4 cups homemade smoked pork/chicken stock
1-1/2 cups fresh yellow pozole (hominy)
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds, toasted and cracked
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed, toasted and cracked
1 2-inch piece canella
1 large Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
2 large fresh tomatoes, cored and wedged
3-4 large, fresh Anaheim peppers
1/2 head of garlic, unpeeled
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon finely-minced lemon peel
1/4 cup New Mexico chile powder
2 teaspoons granulated piloncillo
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Heat stock to a low boil, then add cubed pork, cumin, canella and coriander and simmer 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, roast tomatoes, onions, peppers and garlic in a 500 degree oven soft and charred. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then squeeze out the garlic, chop the vegetables and add to the simmering pork along with the cooked pozole, dry spices (except s&p) and tomato paste.

Partially cover and simmer until the pork is very tender and the pozole has just begun to break apart, about 30 minutes.

Add cilantro, stir and simmer another 5 minutes.  Season to taste with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, then ladle into clay bowls and serve hot with fried tortilla strips.

Chipotle-Roasted Chicken with Mexican Mint Marigold, Tomato Bomba

Bomba is an ancient strain of slowly-maturing rice grown in fresh mountain water around the town of Calasparra in Murcia, using aqueducts first built by the Romans.

Bomba absorbs three to four times its volume in stock (rather than the normal two), yet the grains remain firm and delicious.

Plump, locally pastured chicken (Dewberry Hills) joints are brined for half a day in cold, filtered water with coarse sea salt, cracked cumin and coriander.  Blotted dry, then roasted at 500 degrees until the skin is good and crisp, then transferred to a hot skillet and finished in sauce of reduced chicken stock, chipotles en adobo and a touch of apple cider vinegar.  Served over stock-cooked rice with browned onions, garlic and fresh tomatoes.  Garnished with freshly chopped Mexican mint marigold..

Chipotle-Roasted Chicken with Tomato Bomba

For the Brine (5%)

2 litres filtered water
100 grams coarse sea salt
1-1/2 tablesponns cumin seed, cracked
2-1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds, cracked

Bring the water to a rapid boil, then remove from heat.  Add cumin, coriander and salt and stir to combine.  Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.  Place chicken pieces in a glass bowl and submerge in brine.  Cover bowl and refrigerate 6-8 hours.

For the Chipotle Sauce

2 cups rich, homemade chicken stock
2 tablespoons raw cider vinegar
2-3 chipotles en adobo, minced
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon piloncillo (substitute high-molasses raw can sugar)
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Combine chicken stock and vinegar in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and bring to a rapid boil.  Reduce heat to medium, add chipotles, tomato paste, oregano and piloncillo and simmer until reduced and thickened, about 1 hour.  Adjust seasoning with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper.

For the Rice

2 tablespoons cultured butter
1/2 cup bomba
2 cups homemade chicken stock
1/2 yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2-3 green onions, slivered, divided
1 tablespoon minced elephant garlic
1 cup fresh tomato, diced

Heat the butter in a heavy skillet and add yellow onion, garlic and  1/2 of the green onions and saute until fragrant, about 5 minutes.  Add bomba and stir to coat each grain with butter.  Add stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat simmer, stirring frequently until tender, about 30 minutes.

For the Chicken

Assorted chicken pieces, brined and air-dried
Smoked paprika

Arrange chicken pieces skin-side up, without crowding in a large skillet.  Lightly dust with smoked paprika and place into a pre-heated 500 degree oven, cooking until skin is nicely browned and crisp, about 25 minutes.  Chicken should be slightly underdone at this point.

Remove pan from oven and set on burner over medium heat.  Baste liberally with chipotle sauce and continue to cook, turning occasionally until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.

To assemble

Spoon rice onto dinner plates and place chicken pieces over the top.  Dress with additional chipotle sauce and garnish with Mexican mint marigold.  Serve piping hot.

Pan-Seared Berkshire Rib-eye with Habanero Bomba, Roasted Tomatillo Sauce

Thick chops of heritage black Berkshire pigs are briefly brined in a mixture of cold, filtered water, salt, cracked pepper, Mexican oregano and a few scrapings of piloncillo before being seared in cumin oil over high heat.  Finished in the oven and served with habanero bomba (rice, chicken stock, habanero chiles, Asadero cheese) and roasted tomatillo sauce (tomatillos, garlic, fresh green chiles, white onion and cilantro)..

Pan-Seared Berkshire Rib-eye with Habanero Bomba, Roasted Tomatillo Sauce

Berkshire pigs are said to be “Britain’s oldest pig breed”, originally bred in the Faringdon and Wantage regions of the English county of Berkshire (now Oxfordshire).  They apparently became popular after being ‘discovered’ by Cromwell’s troops while they were stationed at Reading during the English Civil War.  Today’s animals descend from the herd maintained by the House of Windsor 300 years ago

Berkshire pork, prized for juiciness, flavor and tenderness, is pink-hued and heavily marbled.  Its high fat content makes it suitable for high-temperature cooking. -Wikipedia

Smoked Duck Gorditas with Fresh Mango Salsa

Smoked duck breast is shredded and slowly simmered in stock with crushed chipotle en adobo, toasted coriander and Mexican oregano, then tucked inside flaky homemade gorditas (thick corn tortillas) and dressed with fresh mango salsa and crispy fried duck skin..

Smoked Duck Gorditas with Fresh Mango Salsa

For the Salsa

1 fresh mango, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 ripe tomato, cored and diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 green jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon sparkling water
1 teaspoon piloncillo or palm sugar
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and refrigerate 1 hour.

For the Duck

1 large smoked duck breast
1 1/2 cups rich chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons crushed chipotle en adobo
1 tablespoon raw cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon toasted coriander, ground
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Remove the skin and fat and reserve.  Working parallel to the grain, tear the duck into thin strips, then place into a heavy pot.  Cover with stock and bring to a slow simmer.  Add chipotle, vinegar, oregano and coriander and slowly simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1/2 hour.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm.

For the Crispy Duck Skin and Rendered Fat

Pull the skin and fat from a duck breast and lay it flat on the comal over medium heat, weighing it flat with a bacon press or another smaller skillet.  Cook until all the fat has rendered and the skin is crispy on both sides.  Transfer to skin to a cutting board and chop into something resembling crumbled bacon, reserving the fat for frying the gorditas.

For the Gorditas

3/4 cup organic masa harina (fine corn flour)
2 tablespoons organic, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup warm, filtered water
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
3 tablespoons rendered duck fat

Heat a comal or iron skillet over medium heat for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, combine the masa and water into a soft dough.  Knead in the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper, adding a few drops of water if needed to maintain consistency.  Divide dough into 4 balls and cover with a damp kitchen towel.

Use a tortilla press or rolling pin to shape dough into 4-inch rounds about 1/4 inch thick.  Slide a thin-bladed spatula under each gordita, carefully flipping one-at-a-time onto your open palm before laying onto the hot comal.  Cook for a minute or so on each side (they will be slightly crisp but underdone), then transfer to a plate.

To prepare

Just before service, melt the duck fat in the comal, then fry each gordita until golden brown and puffy (ideally, the gorditas will be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside).  Transfer gorditas to a cutting board, then use a thin knife to cut a sideways slit about 1/2 way across.

Fill each gordita with shredded duck, dress with salsa and crumbled duck skin and serve hot.

This post is part of The Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday!

This post is part of  The Healthy Home Economist’s Monday Mania!