Ajiaco (Columbian Potato Soup)

In searching for a dish to serve at the Sous Chef's book club meeting (which featured a Columbian author this month), we discovered a delicious-sounding Columbian soup called Ajiaco. Normally served with chicken, we developed this vegetarian adaptation.  It's a wonderfully warming soup for winter.

Ingredients

Soup:

2 quarts homemade veggie stock (plus or minus - enough to just cover the potatoes)

1 large or 2 medium onions, medium-to-fine chop

4 bay leaves

2 pounds russet potatoes peeled and cut into rough 1-inch chunks

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, split into quarters lengthwise, then cut in half

1 pound Red potatoes, peeled, split into quarters lengthwise, then cut in half

3 Tbl. chopped parsley

1 ½ C. frozen corn (fresh is better but hard to find in winter)

 

Aji: 

3-4 green onions, finely minced (about 3/4 cup)

2 tablespoons finely minced cilantro

1 jalapeño chile, seeded and finely minced

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

   

Garnishes:

½ cup sour cream, thinned with 1 tablespoon milk

½ cup capers, rinsed, drained, and roughly chopped

1 ripe avocado, chopped

Procedures

Combine onion, bay leaves, potatoes, and parsley in a large saucepot or Dutch oven. Add enough stock to cover the solids by 1-inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are completely tender and falling apart, 20-40 minutes depending on the cut of the potatoes, adding more water as necessary. Discard onion and bay leaves. Using whisk, mash potato pieces against side of pot and stir vigorously to thicken soup. The soup should be thick, with large chunks of potatoes still remaining.

Add corn and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until corn is heated and soup is thickened to the consistency of thick heavy cream, about 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

While soup is cooking, make the aji: Combine green onions, cilantro, and jalapeño in small serving bowl and add water until just covered. Season generously with salt and stir to combine. Set aside.

Serve soup with chopped capers, sour cream, chopped avocado, and aji added at the table.

Adapted from:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/09/ajiaco-colombian-chicken-and-potato-soup-recipe.html

Chipotle Shrimp and Grilled Corn Quesadillas

This is one of our favorite go-to recipes when we need a quick and delicious meal. 

Ingredients:
4 large flour tortillas
Chipoles in adobo sauce, pureed - 2-4 Tbl, depending on how hot you like it
1/3 to 1/2 pound jack cheese, grated
1 pound seasoned* cooked shrimp, chopped into bite-sized pieces, brought to room temperature
1 bunch (about 6) green onions (mostly white part), chopped
1 ear of corn, grilled and removed from the cob

Preparation:
Thinly spread1/2 to 1 Tbl chipotle sauce on each tortilla. Sprinkle the jack cheese on each, then top with shrimp, green onions, and corn.  Fold each in half, then saute in a little butter and olive oil on a griddle or in a large flat pan over medium heat.  When golden, flip over and cook until done on the other side.

Serve with sour cream and sliced avocado.

This recipe serves 4.

Note:  A couple of time-saving tricks are: having the shrimp pre-cooked and frozen in recipe-ready quantities; having the chipotle sauce pureed and frozen flat in a ziplock bag for easy portioning as needed; and having a dozen ears of corn pre-cooked on the grill, cut off the cob, and frozen into portion-sized ziplock bags.

* We use our "kesulu" house blend of spices, which we will be selling online in the near future.  In the meantime, you may use any dried chili and pepper spices you like.

Tofu Parmesan

This is a terrific twist on the Italian classic.  Serves 4.

Super firm tofu (we love Wildwood Organic), sliced into four pieces, approximately 3" by 6" by 1/3 inch thick each
1 C. flour, placed in a shallow bowl
2 eggs plus 6 Tbl. milk, beaten, placed in a shallow bowl
1 C. Panko bread crumbs, placed in a shallow bowl
1/3 C. extra virgin olive oil
4 Tbl unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
2 C. fresh or slow roasted marinara sauce
2 C. shredded mozzerella cheese
1 C. shredded parmesan cheese

Season the tofu on both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Dredge in the flour, then egg-milk mixture, then Panko breading. Sautée in the butter and olive oil mixture over medium heat until golden on both sides (approx. 5 minutes per side). Remove to a baking sheet. Top with marinara sauce, then shredded mozzarella, then the parmesan. Bake in a 475° oven until cheese is melted and golden (approx. 10-12 minutes, but watch closely to prevent burning). Enjoy! 

Tofu-Cashew Lettuce Wraps

This is an excellent vegetarian meal, and is sure to please all lovers of Asian cuisine.

10 green onions

4 cloves garlic, minced

Fresh ginger (large thumb-sized), finely grated

1 12-oz. package extra-firm tofu, diced

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1/3 C. chopped cashews

Stir-fry quickly in a hot wok, using peanut or canola oil, adding ingredients one at a time in the order above.  Add:

½ tsp. Vulcan’s Fire Salt (from The Spice House)

½ tsp. crushed Aleppo pepper

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. sesame oil

2 Tbl. soy sauce

4 Tbl. oyster sauce

1 Tbl. Mirin (sweetened Saki, found in well stocked grocery stores)

Combine by tossing quickly, and serve on romaine lettuce leaves.  Wrap the lettuce around the filling and eat like a taco.  Serves 2 (or 4 if you can control yourself).

This recipe may also be used in our chilly SoCal winter nights J by serving with angel hair pasta instead of the lettuce.  If you do that, it’s also nice to add finely julienned slices of cucumber, to add some extra crunch.

Chili-Cheese Enchiladas with Mole

These are fairly simple to prepare, and are best when you use the freshest tortillas you can find.  Check out our local suggestion, Flor de Mexicali in Santa Ana, for some authentic, made-that-very-day tortillas.

Serves 4

Molé Sauce

3 Dried Chili Ancho pods

3 Tbl. Serrano Chili jelly

1/3 C. ground pumpkin seeds, hulled

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 C. vegetable stock

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Reconstitute the Chili Ancho pods in hot water for 6 hours, until well softened. Do not discard the soaking liquid.  De-seed the chilies and put in blender. Add Serrano Chili jelly, pumpkin seeds, garlic, ½ C. of the soaking liquid, and half of the vegetable stock.  Pulse a few times to combine, then slowly add as much of the remaining veggie stock until the consistency is thick but easily pourable. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Filling:

3 fire-roasted Pasilla Chilies* - skinned, seeded, membranes removed, sliced into strips

¼ lb. Jack or CoJack cheese, sliced into 8 (½ “ by ½ “ by 3”) fingers

1 Maui or other sweet onion, sliced, slowly cooked to translucent (not browned)

8 fresh corn tortillas

Cotija cheese for topping

Assemble the enchiladas:

Evenly divide the chilies, onion, and Jack or CoJack cheese; place on the tortillas and roll each one tightly.  Pour ½ the Molé Sauce in a baking dish, and place the enchiladas seam side down on top of the sauce.  Pour the remaining sauce on top, and sprinkle with crumbled Cotija cheese.  Bake at 375 degree for ½ hour or until cheese bubbles.

* Char the Pasilla chilies over a grill or gas flame until blistered and blackened on all sides.  Let cool; then peel the skin and remove seeds and membranes.  At this point, the chilies may be frozen for later use (we usually do a whole bunch at once to have on hand.  **WARNING** These can put out some major fumes, so work in a well-ventilated area, and we recommend using gloves to peel them, especially if you wear contacts or will be touching your eyes at any point that day!