Archive | Latin American RSS feed for this section

Huevos Diablos

8 Oct

Translated as “devil eggs” this breakfast dish is not to be missed.  It’s our go-to breakfast dish whether just for ourselves or for guests. Easy, not too many ingredients, incredibly flavourful. Also, an excellent hangover brekkie. 🙂

Eggs poached in salsa (you can choose your level of heat), served on a crispy tortilla with avocado, topped with cheese, cilantro and green onion. Satisfying, simple & scrumptious!!

Serves 2.

Ingredients

4 eggs
2 cups salsa
4 tostadas
1 avocado, sliced
1 1/2 c cheese (cheddar, marble, cotilla, feta will all work), shredded
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Pour the salsa into a sauce pan and bring to a simmer at medium-low heat.
2. Carefully crack the eggs into the salsa & poach the eggs until the whites are cooked, approximately 3-5 minutes.
3. In the meantime, heat the tostadas in the oven/microwave oven. They burn quickly, so keep an eye on them. 20 seconds in the toaster oven usually does it.
4. Place two tostadas on each plate. Cover with the avocado slices.
5. Gently remove the eggs from the salsa and place over the avocado slices. (A slotted spoon will work, as will a wide spatula.) Pour the salsa over the eggs.
6. Sprinkle with the cheese, then cilantro & green onion.


Tags: , , , , ,

Tilapia Tacos

17 Aug

OK, so “fish taco” might not be the most appealing phrase on the planet, but these tilapia tacos are downright yummy. And simple. I promise. Tilapia is one of those great white-meat fish that doesn’t have a ton of flavor, so this dish is great if you’re feeding folks who don’t like things that, “taste too fishy.” I *was* one of those people, so I know of what I speak!

You’ll see very small measurements in this recipe. I don’t really measure the spices – a shake or two will do. If you like lots of cumin, add more! I wouldn’t recommend adding too much more cinnamon, though: it’s really potent and can dominate the rest of the flavours.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

2 tb olive oil
1 ts cumin
1/2 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts salt
1/2 ts pepper
4 garlic, minced
1 small handful of cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
2 tilapia filets
1/2 red onion, diced
1 ear of corn/1c corn kernels
1/2 bell pepper, diced
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced
1 c sour cream

Directions

1. Mix the chipotle peppers and sour cream in a bowl and set aside.
1a – if you’re using an ear of corn, boil a large pot of water and cook the corn for 3 minutes. Toss into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Using a good, sharp knife, remove all the kernels and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat and add everything from cumin to the cilantro in the above list. Saute for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the tilapia fillets, onion & pepper. The fish will take anywhere from 3 minutes/side to 5/side, depending on how thick the fillet is. Regular, supermarket fillets will be closer to 3 minutes.

Tags: , ,

Kick-A** Mexican Pulled Pork

17 Aug

It was a happy day in our house when we busted out the slow cooker for its maiden voyage into the Land of Yummy. I’d made this recipe in a large saucepan in the oven a couple of times before and while it was good, it paled in comparison to the slow cooker method. When you can cook meat that long at that low a temperature, it’s bound to be good. (Note: this recipe is easy but you will need to start it early in the day. It’s an nine-hour process when all is said and done.)

Ingredients

3.5lb pork butt (it’s the shoulder. Please don’t go into the store and ask for pork ass. Actually…do that.)
1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper
2tb vegetable oil
2 diced onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 diced jalapeno (keep the seeds if you want more heat)
3tb chili powder
2ts ground coriander
2 bay leaves
2tb cumin
1/3c tomato paste
1 can (14oz) tomatoes
1/2c cilantro
1 minced green onion

Directions

1. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper.

2. In a Dutch oven or large sauce pan, heat the oil to medium-high and sear pork on all sides.

3. Remove pork from pan and set aside on a plate. Reduce the heat to medium and add onions, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder and cumin. Stir occasionally and look for onions to soften and darken slightly, roughly 4 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir. After 2 minutes, add the tomatoes and break them up with a spoon. The tomatoes should loosen up the tasty bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Make sure they’re incorporated in this delicious concoction.

3a. Make sure you taste your sauce. If you think it needs a little salt or pepper, add it. Remember, though, that the flavours will intensify over the cooking process so aim for balance.

4. Transfer both the pork and sauce to the slow cooker. Set it to low for four hours. At four hours, turn the pork over and stir the sauce. Reset the timer for another four hours.

5. At the eight hour mark, remove the pork from the slow cooker, set aside in a large bowl and cover.  Let stand for 10 minutes and then shred with two forks. Meanwhile, return the sauce to the pan/Dutch oven and skim off the fat. Bring to a boil and let it boil for 20 minutes in order to thicken. Return the now-shredded pork to the sauce. Sprinkle final product with cilantro and green onion.

6. EAT IT, ALREADY. You’ve been waiting for eight hours and there are probably people with forks who are closing in on you with a hungry look in their eyes.

Tags: ,

Newer Entries →