Mango Mole (Sauce)

September 14, 2009 / Ren

Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appétit magazine (via Edible Therapy), this complex sauce is fantastic with pickled red onions and grilled pork chops..

Making Mango Mole

2 tablespoons leaf lard or other fat
1 large plantain, sliced
1 cup fresh diced mango
2 large dried Guajillo or Ancho chilies, stems and seeds removed
1/2 cup chopped white onion
12 whole raw almonds
1 tablespoon homemade chili base
2 tablespoons shelled peanuts
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 small bay leaf
1 small bunch fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground pepper
1 teaspoon true cinnamon shards
2 cups homemade chicken stock, more or less
1 small piece Mexican chocolate

Heat the fat in a large skillet over medium heat. Add plantains, chili base and everything else except stock and chocolate. Sauté until plantain is soft, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 cups chicken stock. Reduce heat and simmer until chilies are tender, about 15 minutes.

Puree sauce in blender then return to skillet.

Add chocolate and stir until incorporated. Thin with reserved stock if necessary, then season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.

: Making Mango Mole

Creole Beans and Rice

September 13, 2009 / Ren

A densely nutritious dish with tender kidney beans, Andouille sausage, okra, kale and aged Basmati rice..

Creole Beans and Rice

Soak dried red beans overnight. Rinse, cover with fresh filtered water and bring to a boil. Add a bay leaf, reduce heat and simmer until just tender, about 2 hours.

Sauté bias-cut Andouille sausage with a little pancetta or fatty bacon until browned. Add diced yellow onions, celery and bell peppers and cook until vegetables soften.

Add okra, seeded jalapeño, garlic, and chiffonade of kale and sauté 2-3 minutes.

Add cooked beans, black pepper, caraway, dill, oregano, cumin, thyme and paprika and simmer 20 minutes, adding bean-cooking water as needed to keep moist.

To serve, mound Basmati rice in the center of a bowl or dinner plate and ladle bean mixture around the perimeter. Offer Louisiana hot sauce on the side.

: Creole Beans and Rice

Pan-Seared Salmon, Fresh Peas and Mustard Beurre Blanc

September 2, 2009November 14, 2016 / Ren

Wild Alaskan sockeye with smoked pepper, fresh peas with pastured bacon and thyme and coarse mustard beurre blanc..

Pan-Seared Salmon, Fresh Peas and Mustard Beurre Blanc

For the mustard beurre blanc

1/4 cup white vermouth
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon minced shallots
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 oz fresh cream
1 tablespoon homemade coarse-grain mustard
4 tablespoons pastured butter, cut into small pieces
sea salt to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

Boil vermouth, vinegar, shallots and garlic until liquid is reduced by 1/2, about 5 minutes.

Whisk in fresh cream and homemade mustard, reduce heat and simmer another 5 minutes.

Strain mixture into a clean pan over low heat and whisk in butter 1 piece at a time. Season with sea salt and cayenne and keep warm until ready to use.

Rinse fresh, wild Alaskan salmon fillets, pat dry and season with sea salt and smoked black pepper. Set aside.

Blanch fresh peas in salted boiling water until not quite done. Drain and rinse under cold filtered water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.

Fry pieces of fresh pork belly or uncured bacon until crisp. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat then add blanched peas and fresh thyme. Cook until peas are fork-tender, perhaps 5 minutes. Keep warm.

Meanwhile, sear salmon presentation-side down in a little clarified butter or unrefined coconut oil until brilliant orange and slightly crisp on the edges, about 2-3 minutes.

Turn salmon over and place pan in a 400 degree oven until the fish is medium-rare, about 3 minutes depending on thickness.

Spoon peas in a circle around perimeter of plate and spoon beurre blanc into the center of the plate. Place salmon on top of sauce and dress with a squeeze of fresh lemon.

This post is part of the Real Food Wednesdays Blog Carnival

Sunday Chicken

July 26, 2009November 14, 2016 / Ren

You might also like this recipe for Zuni Roast Chicken with Bread Salad

Roast chicken and vegetables is a densely nutritional, healing meal. Here’s a really tasty all-in-one-pan recipe using olive oil, lemon and fresh herbs..

Herb Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables

Partially peel and par-boil a few potatoes in salted water. Drain, bash and set aside.

Wash a fresh, pastured chicken inside and out with plenty of kosher salt and cold, filtered water. Pat dry.

Stuff the cavity of the bird with fresh rosemary, sage and thyme and set in a large heavy skillet.

Surround the bird with potatoes and coarsely chopped garlic, leeks, purple carrots, beets or whatever root vegetables you have on hand.

Cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice over the contents of the pan. Add fresh herbs and drizzle everything with olive oil and season with sea salt and cracked pepper.

Roast at 400 degrees until juices run clear, about 1 hour. Allow to rest 10 minutes before carving and serving with pan juices.

Save the bones for soup stock.

Rabbit Fricassée

June 15, 2009November 14, 2016 / Ren

Local, pastured rabbit in a sauce of game stock, shallots, mushrooms, thyme and fresh cream..

Rabbit Fricassée

Break down a fresh rabbit by removing and splitting the leg quarters and removing the saddle, backbone and ribs and splitting the loin into 2 boneless halves. Be sure to examine the liver- it should look and smell perfectly fresh and clean. Clean kidneys and reserve with liver for another use (if you like liver, try frying rabbit liver & kidneys in butter and seasoning with plenty of salt and pepper- the taste is absolutely revelatory).

Lay the loins out on a cutting board. Use a piece of wax paper and the flat side of a meat mallet to pound the loin into an even thickness. Spread the loins with raw honey (heather, Tupelo or Guajillo work nicely) and season with fresh thyme, a little salt and black pepper.

Roll the loin up in lean, uncured bacon and secure with toothpicks about 1 1/2 inches apart. Cut between the toothpicks to form little loin fillets. Refrigerate.

Make a stock of the bones and trimmings, cold filtered water, celery, onions, carrots and garlic. Bring to a boil, skim the scum, reduce heat and simmer 3-4 hours.

Poach the leg quarters in the stock until tender, about 1 hour. Remove from stock and set aside.

Sauté the loin pieces in a little olive oil with minced shallots, mushrooms and garlic until browned, about 6 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Deglaze the pan with white vermouth and reduce.

Add stock and reduce.

Add fresh cream, thyme and homemade coarse mustard. Add reserved loin and leg pieces and gently simmer until sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning with sea salt and black pepper and serve.