Posts Tagged by avocado
Guacamole with Pomegranates
| April 10, 2013 | Filled under Fruits, Sauces & Dips, Snacks & Appetizers, Vegetables |
Are you thinking ‘What the what?! Pomegranates in guacamole? This Chinese girl from Canada is crazy.’ Seriously, I don’t blame you but I swear this is the real deal. I’ll always remember my first authentic Mexican meal after moving to Arizona at Barrio Cafe in Phoenix, where they made fresh guacamole right at our table. The waiter wheeled out a little cart with cut up limes, cilantro, jalapeno, and fresh avocados and smashed them together in a stone mortar and pestle. And just when I thought he was done, he mixed in some fresh pomegranate seeds. That, my friends, was when my mind was officially blown away.
Once I fully comprehended what had just happened, I tried the fresher than fresh guacamole on warm just-fried corn tortilla chips and died. Died and went to taste heaven. In fact, my taste buds did the Three Amigos Salute as the sweet pomegranates blended perfectly with the sour lime juice, sharp red onion, creamy avocado, and salty chips for the ultimate bite. I don’t remember what I had for my main as the rest of the night became a blur of tequila shots, but I do recall our friends losing their minds over the churros and goat’s milk caramel. At least I’ll have the memories of the guacamole for the rest of my days.
Barrio Queen is the sister restaurant located in Old Town Scottsdale. They add dried apricots to the guacamole there.
This guacamole is great for dipping tortilla chips into, or topping onto some yummy fish tacos, or even on top of a corn and black bean salad. Besides being delicious, avocados are full of healthy things like good fats, fiber, and have more potassium than bananas. Pomegranates are full of anti-oxidents and other good stuff. Plus they’re pretty. Whenever I make this guacamole, it feels like I’m in Arizona all over again. Hope you enjoy.
Guacamole with Pomegranates (serves 2)
- 1 medium ripe Hass avocado, cubed
- 1 Tbsp Spanish onion, finely diced
- 1 Tbsp finely minced coriander/cilantro
- 1 tsp fresh lime juice
- Pinch of cayenne or chili powder (optional)
- 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced (optional)
- Salt to taste
- 2 Tablespoons fresh pomegranate seeds
Combine all the all the ingredients except for pomegranates into a bowl and mash with a fork. Serve chunky or smooth. Stir in pomegranate seeds and serve immediately with tortilla chips.
If serving later, place the pit of the avocado in with guacamole and cover to prevent avocado from turning brown.
Mexican Salad with Honey Lime Dressing
| May 4, 2012 | Filled under Fish & Seafood, Main Dishes, Salads, Sides, Southwestern, Vegetables |
Happy Cinco de Mayo! The fifth of May is a day of celebration and reminds me of all the fun times I had living in Arizona, enjoying all the benefits of living in a mucho Mexican-influenced town. This salad is so fresh and flavourful, yet hearty and packed with protein to keep you full for hours. It’d be great at a summer barbecue or as a side to some fish tacos.
I’ve been packing this salad for lunch all week, served atop crisp romaine lettuce, topped with roasted tomatillo avocado salsa from my fave brand Mad Mexican, and some tortilla chips. If only I could enjoy a fresh margarita at my desk to wash this down. Sigh… dare to dream.
Recipe (Serves 6 to 8 )
Ingredients:
- 1 15 oz can black beans (preferably low sodium), rinsed
- 1 12 oz can whole kernal corn (preferably low sodium), rinsed
- 1 English cucumber, peeled and diced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 large avocado or 2 small, cubed
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- 1/2 lb imitation king crab meat
- 3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped
- 4 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 Tbsp honey
- Salt and pepper to taste
Combine beans, corn, crab meat, and vegetables together. Whisk honey and lime, add to salad, and toss to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste, serve with tortilla chips and guacamole. To make vegetarian, omit king crab. To make vegan, replace honey with agave nectar or 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Enjoy Cinco de Mayo with this salad. Or mustaches. You decide.
Mexican Tortilla Soup with Shrimp
| February 2, 2012 | Filled under Fish & Seafood, Main Dishes, Snacks & Appetizers, Soup & Sandwiches, Southwestern, Vegetables |
This dish is hearty, deliciously satisfying, and super easy to make – it’s a variation of traditional Mexican tortilla chicken soup. Suprising, even though I lived in Arizona where Mexican food is amazing and bountiful, I didn’t make this soup until I got back to Canada. I guess it’s the cold dark winter months that’s got me craving a taste of sunny Scottsdale, which is warm and wonderful this time of year. Dear Scottsdale, I miss you. Send over some summer while I make this soup and remember the good times we had together.
PS – make this soup ahead of time and reheat mid-week with a grilled cheese sandwich or quesadilla for a fast comfort food dinner.
I happened to find some colourful carrots at the market over the weekend, but normally I would use regular carrots. And that may look like a lot of jalapeno, but this recipe makes quite a bit of soup and it adds a nice flavour and not a lot of heat. Also, when using canned tomatoes for this soup, get the crushed kind if possible. I only had whole tomatoes in my pantry, so I did a little puree after it was done to break up the big chunks.
Lately, I’ve started using organic chicken bouillon cubes – no msg. This recipe was based on Ina Garten’s ’Barefoot Contessa at Home’ cookbook and she’s got a great recipe for homemade chicken stock. If I had more time and freezer space, I would make buckets of homemade stock. But for now, these cubes are a life saver. PS – this brand has a ridiculously high amount of sodium, so maybe try one that has less or use less of it.
Not a fan of shrimp? Chicken is the traditional way to serve this soup and store-bought roasted chicken is a great way to easily switch it up. Just shred the chicken breast and add it in when the recipe calls for shrimp. Or throw in some canned black beans for a vegetarian option. Either way, it’s a belly warming delicious soup that will wipe your winter blues away without packing on the pounds.
Mexican Tortilla Soup with Shrimp (Serves 6 to 8 ) Adapted from Ina Garten’s barefoot contessa at home
Ingredients:
- 2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)
- 1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
- 2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Liters/quarts water
- 2 organic chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 can whole tomatoes (28 oz can)
- 2 to 4 jalapeno peppers
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped fresh coriander/cilantro
- 36 to 40 medium sized raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
To serve:
- 6 to 8 corn tortillas, cut into ½” strips
- 1 avocado
- Sour cream (optional)
- Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
- Corn tortilla chips (optional)
Directions:
- In a medium pot, bring water to boil and add chicken bouillon cubes to make stock. Set aside.
- In a large stock pot, heat olive oil and add onions, celery and carrots. Cook on medium low heat for 10 minutes or until onions start to brown. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add stock, canned tomatoes with juices, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, and ground black pepper. Add half the tortilla strips and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer covered for 25 minutes. Stir in chopped cilantro. Taste and add salt if needed.
- Before serving, add the shrimp to the soup. The shrimp will be cooked after two minutes or when shrimp pink. To serve, add cubed avocado and garnish with remaining tortilla strips and fresh coriander sprigs. Add a dollop of sour cream, grated cheddar cheese and broken corn tortilla chips if desired.
Fish Tacos with Guacamole and Pico de Gallo
| April 24, 2011 | Filled under Fish & Seafood, Main Dishes, Sauces & Dips, Snacks & Appetizers, Soup & Sandwiches, Southwestern |
Growing up in Toronto, my exposure to Mexican food was limited to A) Taco Bell (fries supreme anyone??), B) Old El Paso taco kits and C) Cancun resort food (spring break at a 3 star = pepto bismal appetizers).
Fish tacos are pretty easy to find on a lot of restaurant menus, especially here in the Southwest. For a while, I thought that in order to get them, I had to go out to eat . But I figured out how to make them and now my fast fish tacos are a go-to meal when I want a yummy and healthful meal, with minimal effort.
Authentic Mexican? Um no. Infinitely better than Taco Bell/Old El Paso/Cancun all-you-can-eat? Si.
A note about corn tortillas: living in Scottsdale, Arizona is amazing for authentic Mexican food. Ingredients like Mexican hot sauce and fresh corn tortillas are staples in grocery stores but definitely harder to find in Toronto. I know they carry the fresh corn tortillas at Whole Foods in Hazelton Lanes in Yorkville (not sure where else though).
I used blue corn tortillas from Trader Joe’s for these tacos here but like using white and yellow corn tortillas too. I don’t discriminate, just appreciate.
The hot sauce is the secret ingredient here to keep the tacos somewhat authentic tasting – it’s smokey and delicious and I use copious amounts. D adds it to ketchup for a spicy ketchup-y dipping sauce for his grilled cheese sammies… so clever. Secret sauce no more. Go find it… Cholula and Tapatio are the best (Cholula ships to Canada!). Don’t you just love the dude on the Tapatio label? We use this one at home.
Fish tacos are typically garnished with shredded cabbage; I add a dollap of fresh guacamole (avocado dip) and/or pico de gallo (fresh condiment made from tomato and onion). To heat the tortillas, I pile them on a plate (max 5 at a time) and put a damp but not wet paper towel over them and microwave for about 30 – 45 seconds. Or if you have a tortilla warmer, use that instead (duh). Or you can individually heat them in a pan with a little spray oil.
You can use just about any firm white fish – I used sea bass here but have used halibut, cod, tilapia and trout in the past and all have been great. I really like the texture of the sea bass so that’s my preferred fish taco fish choice.
And of course, you don’t have to make all the condiments for the tacos. Store bought salsa or guacamole are great time saving options or you could just use a few slices of fresh avocado and/or tomato. That’s what makes this such a great meal – you can usually find enough of the basics to whip this up with just about anything you happen to have on hand.
PS – when cutting the jalapeno, de-seed them to reduce the heat factor as most of the heat is in the seeds. I also removed the white parts and dice the green, which adds flavour without too much heat. And don’t touch a jalapeno and then touch your eyes – your eyes will burn like crazy (trust me, I learned the hard way). Wear gloves or use a fork when handling jalapenos or any hot peppers.
PPS – I revised the recipe because I’ve started adding some tapioca powder or cornstarch to the spice mixture to coat the fish before pan frying. This gives the fish an amazing lightly crispy coating making these tacos even more delicious. Revised ingredients are underlined below.
Recipe (serves 2, about 5 – 6 tacos) ***Recipe revised***
Fast Fish Tacos
- 12 oz firm flesh white fish, cut into 1″ pieces (I used seabass for these ones)
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch or tapioca powder***
- Salt to taste
- 2 tsp canola oil, plus cooking spray or canola oil for the pan
- 1 lime
- 5 - 6 fresh corn tortillas
- Mexican hot sauce (optional)
- Coriander/cilantro leaves for garnish
- 1 to 2 cups finely sliced purple cabbage
Combine the fish, spices, cornstarch or tapioca powder, salt, and oil in a bowl and toss until fish is evenly coated. Heat a large non stick skillet to medium high heat and coat with cooking spray or canola oil. Add fish pieces to the pan without crowding – the fish should not touch the other pieces or the edge of the pan. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes before flipping. Edges should start to crisp up. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until fish is cooked (depends on thickness of the fish). Remove from pan and squeeze fresh lime juice.
To heat corn tortillas by microwave, pile tortillas on a plate and cover with a damp but not wet paper towel and heat for 30 – 45 seconds. To heat on stove, spray a skillet with non-stick cookcing spray and warm tortillas until slightly crisp. Assemble and serve with sauces and garnishes of your choice.
Fresh Guacamole (serves 2)
- 1 medium ripe Hass avocados
- 1 Tbsp Spanish onion, finely diced
- 1 Tbsp finely minced coriander/cilantro
- 1 tsp fresh lime juice
- Pinch of cayenne or chili powder (optional)
- 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced (optional)
- Salt to taste
Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mash. Serve chunky or smooth. Serve immediately.
Pico de Gallo (serves 2)
- 1 cup diced and de-seeded tomatoes (I used baby plum tomatos)
- 2 Tbsp Spanish onion, finely diced
- 1 jalapeno, de-seeded and finely diced (optional)
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- pinch of sugar
- Salt to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
Stacked Crab and Avocado Salad
| April 22, 2011 | Filled under Asian, Fish & Seafood, Salads, Snacks & Appetizers, Vegetables |
Stacked salads look so fancy, don’t they? I recently had a couple friends over for a girls night and when I whipped out this salad, they were totally wowed. ‘Five star’ was what they called it (thanks girls!). But really, they had no idea how easy this is to put together, well until now. All you need is a 3″ ring and a little patience to put this posh looking starter together. And not only does it look glam, it’s so full of fresh yummy flavour.
A salad is only as good as it’s ingredients. Nevermind the fancy tower of seafood, if the ingredients aren’t fresh, it’s just a stack of grossness. So buy the best ingredients you can – you’ll be able to taste the difference. When cutting fresh mint, make sure your knife is super sharp so you don’t bruise the delicate leaves. To cut, I stack up a pile of leaves, roll them, and slice into thin ribbons before chopping them up.
To get uniformly thinly sliced veggies, you would need a mandoline. Read more about it here. No mandoline? No problem. Just slice thinly and you’re perfect. This recipe is adapted from the LCBO’s Food & Drink magazine from a few years back. The great thing about this mag is they post all their recipes and gorgeous photos online. I simplified the salad and modified the seasonings a bit. This website is a great source for food and drink recipes – I use it often.
How do you get cubed avocado? I cut the avocado in half and cut the flesh into squares. Then use a tablespoon to scoop out the avocado flesh. This way, you don’t need any of those fancy avocado slicers. To get slices, just cut the avocado lengthwise and scoop out.
The ring I used here is from Sur la Table for $3.95. If that’s not convenient, I think you can just go to a hardware store and buy some plastic plumbing parts. When filling the ring, press the ingredients down gently. The more compact the ingredients, the less likely it will fall apart when you slowly remove the ring. Don’t freak out if the crab starts falling out – just gently put the pieces back into place or put them back on top. Most likely, no one will even notice. The chives crossed on top are an effective decoy for any errant pieces of crab.
This salad can definitely be made ahead of time – up to 4 hours is fine. Just make sure the avocado is really well coated in the dressing; the lemon and lime juices keep the avocado from turning brown. The nice thing about making this ahead is that the cucumbers get slightly pickled from the lemon and vinegars in the dressing. So refreshing. Reminds me of a california roll.
Recipe (serves 4)
Stacked Crab, Avocado and Cucumber Salad
Avocado Dressing
- 2 Tbsp champagne vinegar
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pickled sushi ginger finely diced (I found an organic one here)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- pinch of salt
Salad
- 2 ripe medium Hass avocados, cut into small cubes
- 1 cup cucumber, thinly sliced rounds
Crab Salad
- 8 oz fresh lump crab meat
- 2 Tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro/coriander, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp chives, finely chopped
- 1 tsp minced shallot
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- pinch of salt
Special Equipment/Tools: one 3″ metal ring, mine was from Sur la Table .
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients for the dressing. Set aside. Combine all the ingredients for the crab salad and set aside. When ready to plate, place ring in the center of your dish. In a small bowl, add half an avocado, cubed into squares, and add 1 tablespoon of the dressing so avocado is well coated. Place in ring and press down to make an even layer. Add about 10-12 slices of cucumber to create an even layer to cover the avocado. Press down and add a half teaspoon of dressing. Add 2 ounces of crab and press down gently. Slowly lift the ring off while down the crab. Repeat for additional servings. Refrigerate for up to 4 hours before serving. Garnish with two stems of fresh chives, sprig of mint on top of the stack and scatter chopped fresh chives around the plate.
Stacked salads look so fancy, don’t they? I recently had a couple friends over for a girls night and when I whipped out this salad, they were totally wowed. ‘Five star’ was what they called it (thanks girls!). But really, they had no idea how easy this is to put together, well until now. All you need is a 3″ ring and a little patience to put this posh looking starter together. And not only does it look glam, it’s so full of fresh yummy flavour.
A salad is only as good as it’s ingredients. Nevermind the fancy tower of seafood, if the ingredients aren’t fresh, it’s just a stack of grossness. So buy the best ingredients you can – you’ll be able to taste the difference. When cutting fresh mint, make sure your knife is super sharp so you don’t bruise the delicate leaves. To cut, I stack up a pile of leaves, roll them, and slice into thin ribbons before chopping them up.
To get uniformly thinly sliced veggies, you would need a mandoline. Read more about it here. No mandoline? No problem. Just slice thinly and you’re perfect. This recipe is adapted from the LCBO’s Food & Drink magazine from a few years back. The great thing about this mag is they post all their recipes and gorgeous photos online. I simplified the salad and modified the seasonings a bit. This website is a great source for food and drink recipes – I use it often.
How do you get cubed avocado? I cut the avocado in half and cut the flesh into squares. Then use a tablespoon to scoop out the avocado flesh. This way, you don’t need any of those fancy avocado slicers. To get slices, just cut the avocado lengthwise and scoop out.
The ring I used here is from Sur la Table for $3.95. If that’s not convenient, I think you can just go to a hardware store and buy some plastic plumbing parts. When filling the ring, press the ingredients down gently. The more compact the ingredients, the less likely it will fall apart when you slowly remove the ring. Don’t freak out if the crab starts falling out – just gently put the pieces back into place or put them back on top. Most likely, no one will even notice. The chives crossed on top are an effective decoy for any errant pieces of crab.
This salad can definitely be made ahead of time – up to 4 hours is fine. Just make sure the avocado is really well coated in the dressing; the lemon and lime juices keep the avocado from turning brown. The nice thing about making this ahead is that the cucumbers get slightly pickled from the lemon and vinegars in the dressing. So refreshing. Reminds me of a california roll.
Recipe (serves 4)
Stacked Crab, Avocado and Cucumber Salad
Avocado Dressing
- 2 Tbsp champagne vinegar
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pickled sushi ginger finely diced (I found an organic one here)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- pinch of salt
Salad
- 2 ripe medium Hass avocados, cut into small cubes
- 1 cup cucumber, thinly sliced rounds
Crab Salad
- 8 oz fresh lump crab meat
- 2 Tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro/coriander, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp chives, finely chopped
- 1 tsp minced shallot
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- pinch of salt
Special Equipment/Tools: one 3″ metal ring, mine was from Sur la Table .
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients for the dressing. Set aside. Combine all the ingredients for the crab salad and set aside. When ready to plate, place ring in the center of your dish. In a small bowl, add half an avocado, cubed into squares, and add 1 tablespoon of the dressing so avocado is well coated. Place in ring and press down to make an even layer. Add about 10-12 slices of cucumber to create an even layer to cover the avocado. Press down and add a half teaspoon of dressing. Add 2 ounces of crab and press down gently. Slowly lift the ring off while down the crab. Repeat for additional servings. Refrigerate for up to 4 hours before serving. Garnish with two stems of fresh chives, sprig of mint on top of the stack and scatter chopped fresh chives around the plate.
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