Mango & Tomato

5/18/11

Recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup with Black Beans

Last week I shared with you a recipe for Split Pea soup from Aviva. Today I want to tell you about a Chicken Tortilla Soup with Black Beans that is based on the recipe Paige emailed me. Of course I had to change a few things: otherwise it would not be a Mango Tomato recipe.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 jalapeno, seeds removed, chopped
2 chicken breasts (you'll notice three in one of the photos below: I cooked 3, but used 2 for the soup)
salt & pepper
15 ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes
32 ounces chicken broth
kernels from one corn
2 cups cooked black beans (of course you can also use canned)

toppings: cilantro, avocado, sliced & fried tortillas, lime wedges, Greek yogurt or sour cream

Directions
1. Heat a heavy pot. Add oil. Add onions, garlic and jalapeno and saute for about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat a cast iron skillet. Add a bit of oil and chicken breasts seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook uncovered for about 6 minutes on each side. Cover and cook for about 5 more minutes. How gorgeous are these?

3. Back to the onions, garlic and jalapenos: add fire roasted tomatoes and chicken broth. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Using a stick blender puree the mixture. {Note: you can make it perfectly pureed, or leave some chunks of vegetables in the soup.}

4. Add corn, beans and chopped chicken breasts. Simmer for 15 more minutes.

5. Get all of your toppings ready.

6. Ladle the soup and top with tortilla strips, chunks of avocado, cilantro leaves and a spoon-full of Greek yogurt. Squirt with a lemon wedge. Eat immediately!

This was such a great bowl of soup! I must admit I went for the seconds. I really think cooking the chicken in a cast iron skillet instead of poaching it brought a lot of flavor to the dish. Also, I liked the slightly crunchy texture of fresh corn and the creaminess of avocado.

Enjoy! If you don't see me here for the next few days, I'll be busy at Eat Write Retreat this weekend.

5/16/11

How to cook black beans at home: Heavenly Frijoles de Olla

I'm not a very patient person, so when it comes to cooking, although I like making quite a few things from scratch, I also enjoy the convenience of certain things. Canned beans are some of those convenient ingredients I like to have on hand. Open a can and you can add chickpeas to cucumber/tomato salad, black beans to a rice salad or white beans to a tuna salad. What's not to love?

Earlier this year, however, when I took a Mexican cooking class taught by Patricia Jinich, as part of my "thank you" gift, I received a bag of Goya black beans. Great, I thought, now I'll have to cook them.

You see, I've cooked beans from scratch once before, and found the result rather disappointing, not to mention it took forever. So this time, I decided to ask Patricia how to cook the beans and she tweeted me back with the instructions.

Heavenly Frijoles de Olla {Pot of Beans}

1) rinse 16 ounces of black beans
2) add them to a large heavy bottomed pot (I used my 5.5 quart Le Creuset)
3) add 3 liters of water (about 12 cups)
4) add peeled and quartered white onion
5) bring to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 2-3 hours
6) add 2 teaspoons of salt at the end

Easy enough, I thought.

And that's exactly what I did last week. The only change I made was that I added a chunk of Parmesan cheese while cooking the beans.

A little side note, when I was little, my dad called me Olla because my name in Russian is Olya, who knew that in Spanish it means a little pot? :)

The beans took me almost 3 hours to cook and my entire studio smelled like them, but I did not mind. The flavor is definitely so much better than what you can get from a can. I'm not saying I'll give up the convenience of canned beans, but maybe I'll make the ones from scratch a bit more often now.

I've had the beans with rice and tomatoes, added them to salads and also used them in a Chicken Tortilla Soup. Recipe later this week, but here's a preview:

What's your opinion on cooking beans? What's your favorite variety? How do you use them?

5/13/11

What to do with morel mushrooms? Mushroom, potato & pea potstickers

I'm reposting this because the voting is now open. If you like this recipe, please VOTE FOR IT!!!!

I love mushrooms. Growing up in Russia, my family used to go mushroom picking quite often, and my parents would marinate them, dry them, make soups with mushrooms, or just saute them with onions and add them to boiled potatoes drizzled with sunflower oil. Delicious.

When I saw that Marx Foods was doing a recipe contest using morel mushrooms, I wanted in! This was not the first time I've collaborated with this company, and I was eager to continue our relationship ;) A few weeks ago I received about 2 cups of dry morel mushrooms and instructions to make "an original hors d'oeuvre recipe." I went through different ideas in my head, but finally decided to make Mushroom, Potato & Pea Potstickers.

Ingredients
2 cups dried morel mushrooms, covered in boiling water for 20 minutes, drained, chopped {do not discard the liquid: you can use it as a base for soups or risotto}

2 cups Dutch yellow baby potatoes, boiled, mashed {try to remove some of the bigger chunks of potato skin}
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
salt & pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
olive oil
wonton wrappers {I used Nasoya brand}
water
serve with cucumber & dill yogurt dip

Directions
1. In a bowl combine chopped mushrooms, mashed potatoes, peas, parsley and spices.

2. Put about a teaspoon of the mixture on top of each wonton wrapper. Brush the edges with water, seal, and pleat.

3. Heat a cast iron skillet. Add olive oil. Place the potstickers and cook for 3-5 minutes until the bottoms are brown.
4. SUPER carefully add water to the pan (enough to cover about 1/3"), cover, and cook for about 10 minutes.
5. Serve with the yogurt dip.

I can't tell you exactly how many potstickers this recipe makes because I only made 6. I did not have enough time to use up the entire mixture. You can eat it as a side dish, or make potato patties from it by adding an egg and pan frying them similar to these.

How would you have used the dried morel mushrooms? Please share ;)

Lobster Truck in DC

I'm sure I've told you all before that I think about food pretty much 90% of the time. It's a nearly constant process: what to have for breakfast, what to have for lunch, what about dinner? What should I cook over a weekend for my blog? Where should I go out for brunch? Will there be snacks involved?

I might need another hobby....it's just that food brings so much pleasure and is such a creative outlet: I just can't give it up.

One of the joys of where my job is located is that I have access to many restaurants (all I need is to hop on the Metro or take a 15 minute walk). I also have a choice of quite a few food trucks. Yes, food trucks!

If you haven't heard of the latest food obsession, I'm not sure where you've been. Food sold from a truck on a daily basis. There are Indian ones, Korean, Empanadas, Grilled Cheese, etc. I've tried some of them and have liked some more than others.

The one truck that has been long on my list is the Lobster Truck. Seriously? Lobster from a truck? What's next? Sushi? Why not!?!?

I love lobster. I've had it in Maine and in Massachussets, in a road side shack and in quite fancy restaurants. When it's good, it's good.

And so finally last Tuesday I decided to give Red Hook Lobster Truck a try. But it wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be.

Perhaps I was in denial: after all, I've seen a zillion tweets about how long it usually takes to be able to buy a single lobster roll.

There was a line. A very long line. Luckily, I had a book with me, because it took me fifty minutes to get to the window of the truck and order my food.

There aren't that many choices on the menu, which is completely fine with me! After waiting in line for almost an hour, I knew what I was going to get: Main-styled Lobster Roll {meaning there will be mayonnaise, not butter}.

This is what $15 gets you:

And you know what? That was a really good way to spend 50 minutes and $15! There were these sweet large chunks of lobster coated lightly in lemony mayonnaise on a fresh bun and a spear of a pickle on the side. I've also purchased a Diet Pepsi and a bag of chips from a nearby hot dog stand and then spent a bit of time sitting on a bench, enjoying the sunshine and the food.

Have you tried food from a food truck? What do you think? Which one is your favorite? And if YOU were to open a food truck, what type of food would YOU serve?

5/11/11

Dining Al Fresco at Blue Duck

The weather in DC area has been surprisingly pleasant lately {I'm knocking on wood: don't want to jinx it!}. Last week was the perfect time to check out the newly renovated Blue Duck Tavern's patio. Special thank you to Heather Freeman PR for inviting me!

The first thing I saw after walking onto the patio and accepting a flute of Prosecco was a gorgeous wood table topped with dishes full of asparagus, golden beets and lobster. I could not wait to see how all these ingredients would interact on a plate. I also wanted that table! In my condo! Although I would have to cut it in half in order for it to fit into my dining room. But back to the food...

Next to the asparagus, beets and lobster was a rustic wooden bowl filled with brown eggs. Perhaps we'll be dining on an omelet?

While waiting for the main course, we were served a few appetizers:

Pickled beets with goat cheese {I love beets and goat cheese: this was a simple and yet delicious combination: literally a bite! Perfect for your next party.}

Oxtail and ramp arrancine {These were my favorite: crunchy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside: a perfect combination of meat, carbs and cheese! They were served with pickled ramps: divine.}

Pea soup with Morels {First, what a pretty presentation! I'm not yet tired of seeing soup in shot glasses. The mushroom was incredibly meaty and flavorful. However, I was surprised that the soup was hot. I would have preferred a chilled soup for an outside meal. Speaking of mushrooms, please vote for my recipe in morel mushroom contest! Thank you! And if you are wondering, that is my hand and I'm sporting one of my favorite nail polishes: Black Cherry Chutney by OPI.}

And then it was time for the main course:

Executive Chef Brian McBride prepared a chilled asparagus salad with poached hen egg, chervil vinaigrette and Maine lobster

What's not to like!? Fresh produce prepared in a minimalistic way topped with a perfectly poached egg! That's the type of dish you could have for breakfast, lunch of dinner!

To go with the food, we sipped on Rose wine by Boxwood Winery.

And right before we left, I sampled a Spritz Milano: 3 ounces Maschio Prosecco + 1 ounce Aperol + soda water + 1 orange slice.

This was such a perfect evening! But there was just one thing missing: dessert! Luckily, we received a to go bag with three decadent Bourbon maple syrup scones!

If you are in town, definitely pay Blue Duck a visit! And don't forget that they serve a scrumptious brunch!

5/9/11

Aviva's Split Pea Soup: As good as my mom's

Last week there was a discussion about split pea soup on Twitter. That's when Aviva (aka @thescramble) offered me her recipe for split pea soup and was kind enough to let me share it with all of you!

Let me just tell you this: I LOVE split pea soup. My mom's split pea soup is amazing and something I miss since my family is in Seattle and I'm in DC area. I've tried replicating her recipe once, but did not do it justice. So I was eager to try Aviva's recipe because the ingredients and the procedure were very similar to my mom's.

Aviva's Split Pea Soup with a Touch of Curry

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves) {I just sliced mine}

4 large carrots, peeled and sliced

4 stalks celery, sliced {I peeled mine first}

3 new potatoes, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces {I used 3 red potatoes, which I peeled first}

29-32 ounces reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

36 ounces water {I used some of the mushroom liquid I had left over from this recipe}

3/4 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 pound dried split green peas, thoroughly rinsed

1 cup smoked ham, chopped (optional)

3/4 cup low fat sour cream for serving (optional) {I used full fat sour cream....shocking! :) }

Directions
1. Heat a large soup pot (I used my Le Creuset). Add oil, heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes. Add carrots and celery and saute for another 5 minutes. Add potatoes and saute 5 more minutes.

2. Add the liquid, salt & pepper, curry powder and split peas. Bring everything to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add cubed ham. Continue simmering uncovered for 30 more minutes.

3. Serve with sour cream. {I also added fresh chopped parsley.}

I'm so happy I made a full recipe! This soup is incredibly good and completely reminds me of my mom's (other than the addition of curry and sour cream). I had a big bowl of it for lunch yesterday and another for lunch today and can't wait to eat it a few more times.

My favorite part about this soup is that all the vegetables are intact at the end of the cooking process. It's not just a big giant mess: you can taste everything separately, and yet everything comes together so well.

Thanks again to Aviva for sharing this recipe!!

5/6/11

Roasted potatoes with cauliflower, capers & red onions

Last weekend I was going to a housewarming party and needed to figure out something to bring. Once people know you like to cook AND have a cooking blog, it's rather difficult to just bring a bottle of wine. I had a head of cauliflower in my refrigerator and was contemplating roasting it with capers and maybe olives.

But that did not sound fun enough. So I decided to look through A16 Food + Wine cookbook Anna's friend Amy gave me years ago. That's when I found a recipe for Roasted Potatoes and Cauliflower with Red Onion, Capers, and Chiles. I had almost every single ingredient on hand, so quickly went to the store to pick up a few things I was missing and got to cooking.

You can see the ingredients above. The only thing I changed, was I added fresh parsley to the list. And I also decided to peel the potatoes.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450. Combine potatoes with a bit of olive oil and salt. Spread on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet in a single layer and roast for about 40 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cut the cauliflower into individual florettes. Drizzle with oil. Season with a bit of salt. Brown the florettes in a pan for about 7 minutes, then roast for about 20 minutes. {I found this step in the recipe strange: I think you could simply roast potatoes and cauliflower together. Magically, however, by the time I cut the cauliflower and browned it in the pan, there were 20 minutes left on the timer for the potatoes, so I added the cauliflower to the same cookie sheet and let everything roast together.}

3. To make the "dressing" for this dish, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a small pan, add capers and let them cook for 3 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and cook 3 more minutes. {The book said to also add red onions, but I decided to leave mine fresh.} Carefully add red wine vinegar, mix and take the pan off the heat.

4. Combine slightly cooled potatoes and cauliflower with red onion, parsley and the "dressing."

You can enjoy this dish warm, at room temperature or even cold. I think it'd be a great contribution to a picnic.

I'm happy to report the dish was a success at the housewarming! The sweetness of the potatoes was balanced by the saltiness of the capers and the heat from red pepper flakes. And it also looks pretty! And vegetarian to boot :)