Sweet Corn Pico de Gallo

Ingredients

3 ears of Sweet White Corn

2 bunches of Green onions

1 bunch Cilantro

1 spring fresh Oregano

6 large Tomatoes

3 Chili's of choice, diced

1 lime, zest and juice

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground Adobe Chili

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 additional teaspoon of ground Adobe Chili

salt, pepper and Agave to taste

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Husk corn, place on a cookie sheet and roast until they start to brown, remove and let cool.

While corn is cooling, in large bowl place diced chili's, lime zest and juice, cumin and teaspoon of ground Adobe Chili and toss.  Next dice just the light green to whites of the onions.

and add them to the chili's mixture.

In a small bowl blend the vinegar and tomato paste.

And add it to the chili mixture.

Next remove the corn from the cob, place and in bowl and break up the kernels that are still grouped together. Sprinkle the paprika and 1/4 teaspoon of ground adobe chili over corn and toss. Set aside and let sit for about 15 minutes.

Dice up tomatoes, you will need about 4 cups.  Usually i use large beef stake type tomatoes but this morning i had a lot of of the cherry tomatoes that were thrown off the vines last night due to the storm so i am using them instead.

Add tomatoes to chili mixture and toss. At this time also add the chopped herbs, salt, pepper and Agave to taste. Let set for about 15 minutes, toss a few times during this time.

Now add the tomato mixture to the corn, toss, chill for about an hour before serving. 

You can also can this Pico, use more firm tomatoes if canning; but only boil to seal no more then 5 minutes.  I usually do 3 minutes if the jars and lids are hot at the time i add the Pico.

Note: All chili's vary on their degree of "Hot" you like, so taste through out the process and add more diced chili's to get it to the desired taste.

Marinara

I was looking at the tomato gathering i had to do this morning and i have enough San Marino Tomatoes to make a batch Marinara.  When done i will have about six quarts of sauce/gravy when done.  And yes i do not peal or seed the tomatoes when i make my sauce.  A lot of the flavor is in the skins and there has been many posts on other food blogs about not pealing the tomatoes when making sauce.  The peal adds flavor and helps thicken the sauce.

I have been asked many times to post my recipe; this is one of those labor of love recipes; i took me awhile to get it perfect and i am not ready to part with it yet.  But below are some of the other things i do put into my sauce.  The ingredient below was a suggestion of a famous Italian Chef and why is Gravy was rich and robust. 

Fresh Herbs - during the simmering stage i throw in bunches of basil and parsley, stalks and all.  But when i am about to can the sauce i add fresh chopped herbs.  Another hint, i roast the garlic, onions and peppers prior to adding them to the sauce. during the simmering stage.  There are four stages to my marinara and 12 different ingredients.

A Day of Salsa

I have a host of Veggies from the garden I need to deal with today.  We had a storm roll through last night and it knocked a bunch of Tomatillo, Peppers and Tomatoes off their vines. So its a day of making Salsa and Pico de Gallo.  All of the recipes are posted, just use the labels listing on the side to find them.  I am also making a sweet corn pico today, which is not on the blog yet.  So that will be my step by step post later today.

Chicken, Seafood and Chorizo Paella

I make this about once a month, the meats/seafood changes depending on the time of year.  Also i do not like Paella as dry as a bone which most recipes call for.  I get it pretty dry before i add the shell fish in and when the liquids are released it gives the Paella the moister it was lacking.

Ingredients 

6 to 8 chicken thighs, bone in of course - I have used bone in pork or lamb chops

6 links of Chorizo

18 to 24 medium size shrimp, pealed and de-veined

1 cup Squid rings, sprinkle a bit of the paprika on them and toss in a bowl and let sit before its their time to hit the pan 

12 to 18 Mussels, cleaned

12 to 18 little neck clams

8 to 10 medium size tomatoes, diced

1 medium onion diced

1 red bell pepper diced

6 gloves garlic, minced

5 teaspoons Pimenton Dulce, smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon Saffron threads

2 teaspoons Merlot salt

2 teaspoon ground black pepper

handful of chopped Italian Parsley

Now for the rice, usually its allot of rice but i like about half SO

The way I like it;

2  1/2 cups Valenciano rice

5 cups homemade Chicken stock

2 cups dry white wine

The traditional way

4 cups Valenciano Rice

9 cup homemade chicken stock

2 cups dry white wine 

Directions

In a very large skillet or Paella pot over medium to high heat saute the Chorizo until skin is crispy and they have rendered off their wonderful oils. Remove and set aside to cool, then slice into 1/2 inch pieces.

Next sear the chicken thighs, about 5 minutes on each side.  You will know when to flip them when they release from the pan.  Do 4 at a time as to not over crowd the pan. Remove and set aside. Note: if there is not enough oil left in the pan add a few tablespoons of olive oil. 

Next add the onion and red peppers, saute until soft. Once onions and peppers are soft add tomatoes and cook until a soft paste, most of the water would have been released.  Note do not burn the tomatoes.  Once to a paste add the dry spice with the exception of the Saffron. Stir to warm spices.

Now add the rice, chicken stock, and wine to the pan and bring to a boil.  Add Garlic and Saffron, stir.  Reduce heat and place the all the chicken back in pan, along with the Chorizo. COVER, do not stir at any time during this process; cook until rice is soft, there might be still some liquid left but it will cook off in the next step.  Below is before the chicken is added, its a wonderful deep red.

Now remove lid and cook at the same low heat until most of the liquid has evaporated. The rice should be sticking to the bottom of the pan.  I check at the edge by pulling back the contents to.  Once this is achieved and the shell fish and cover.  Once you see the shell fish staring open add the shrimp and recover.  Once the mussels and clams have opened.  Remove from heat and Squid and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. 

Remove lid, add parsley and serve. 

Little Neck Clams and Chorizo

Little Neck Clams & Chorizo

A favorite dish of ours and very easy to make.

Ingredients

24 to 36 Little Neck Clams, scrubbed

3 links of Chorizo

1 small Onion, sliced

1/2 cup dry white wine

4 table spoons of home made chili sauce ( see last weeks post)

few sprigs of fresh Parsley, chopped 

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Place a large skill over medium high heat and sear off the Chorizo.  Once the links are nicely brown remove from skill, reduce heat and add the onions. 

While onions are cooking, dice Chorizo into small pieces and return to skill once onions are soft.

Next add the chili sauce, followed by the wine, increase heat.  

Once the sauce is beginning to boil add clams and cover.  Shake skill every minute or so.  Once clams have opened, usually about 3 to 4 minutes, remove skill from heat, transfer contents to serving platter, sprinkle on Parsley and serve with a toasted bread.

Enjoy Cooking 

Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillo Salsa

Now usually this is called Salsa Verde but since I have an issue using green bell peppers, or Chili's for that matter; and when you add in the red peppers and chili's it does change the color of the Salsa from green to a muted red, thus i call this Tomatillo Salsa.  

Ingredients

6 med to large Tomatillos

4 Pablano Peppers

2 Chili's of choice, seeded, I use either Jalapeno or Serrano 

1 large onion, quartered

1 Red pepper

4 cloves of Garlic

2 Limes zested and juices

4 sprigs of Fresh Oregano

Large bunch of Cilantro, chopped and stems removed

1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground Ancho Chile pepper

Agave - to taste: I add a squirt or two to cut the acidity of the salsa

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 425

I usually do a triple batch of this recipe so that i can bottle this taste of "Summer".  We grew most everything I am using in this recipe and the balance are from local farms. Note: the Limes are not local, I am in North-East PA.

So I place all the Tomatillo on a foil lined cookie sheet and the onions, red bell pepper and the Pablano peppers on another foil lined cookie sheet.

Place in the oven for about 5 to 7 minutes for the Tomatillos and the balance remove once the peppers start to get a char.

In the Cuisinart place the Garlic, Chili's, ground Cumin and Ancho chili pepper, Oregano, Lime juice and zest and pulse, see below.

Next add the Cilantro, and pulse. 

Once the Tomatillo's have cooled, take up the foil from cookie sheet with Tomatillos and their juices and dump into the Cuisinart.  Pulse a few times to combine.

Once the Pablano's and the Bell peppers have cooled, remove the charred skins, and place in the Cuisinart along with the onions and blend until smooth.

Add Salt, Pepper and Agave to taste.

Chill for at least an hour before serving.  You can also can the Salsa, as shown in the above picture, which is why i usually multiple the recipe.

Enjoy Cooking 

Purple Basil Tomatillo Pesto

Ingredients

Large bunch of Purple Basil

1 Medium size Tomatillo

1/4 cup pine nuts

4 cloves roasted garlic

3 to 4 cups of cooked pasta

1/2 cup of the hot pasta water 

8 Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half 

1 cup Grated Cheese of Choice

Olive Oil

Salt & pepper to Taste

Directions

Pulse pine nuts and garlic together

Add Basil leaves and quartered Tomatillo, ( hold some of the smaller green leaves aside to garnish the dish) turn on CusisinArt and stream in olive oil until the desired texture is achieved, see below

Now its not the prettiest looking pesto but it looks better when the dish is finished.

Add pesto, salt and pepper, 1/2 of the cheese and a splash of pasta water to a large bowl and blend together.  Next add hot pasta and toss.  Add cherry tomatoes, reserved basil leaves and the balance of the cheese, toss one last time and serve.

See it looks much better when completed,

Enjoy Cooking