Recipes

Seafood Relleno Verde

Over Black Beans

 

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

Fresh pasilla chiles

Rock shrimp & dungeness crab meat

1 egg omelet per chile

Black beans (cooked)

3 1/2 lbs. Tomatillos, cleaned

Garlic & Onion, chopped

Salt, to taste

4 Garlic cloves

Shredded jack & cheddar cheese

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Preparation

Char the chiles on all sides over open flame. Seal them inside a plastic bag and allow them to sweat. Peel and clean chiles, then stuff them with the shrimp and crab meat. Wrap chiles in omelet and place on top of black beans.

Prepare the green sauce by cooking tomatillos, onion, garlic cloves in boiling water. Grind in a blender and salt to taste. Pour over stuffed chiles; sprinkle with cheese and place under broiler until cheese melts. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Sun-Dried Tomato Tamales

Stuffed with Chicken

Topped with Castroville Avocado Salsa

Chef Luis emphasizes that any tamale recipe is open to interpretation, depending on how ingredients are at the market or what your whim is the day you make it. The bottom line, thought, is that life's too short for a dry tamale. Coarsely ground corn masa is traditionally embellished with lard in tamale recipes, but this chef uses corn oil instead, for a more contemporary approach.

Making tamales definitely takes time. Have some friends over and make a party of it, with these delicious brick red tamales (and maybe a few bottles of really cold beer) as a reward.

Ingredients (Makes 8 servings or more depending on the size)

Tamales:

1 package (8 ounces) dry corn husks

8 ounces sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed)

3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

3 cups water

2 pounds corn masa (about 6 cups)

3 cups corn oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 large tomatoes, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Salsa:

2 ripe avocados

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Pinch sugar

1 medium tomato, finely diced

1/2 onion, finely diced

1 cup drained artichoke hearts in water, finely diced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 clove garlic, minced

 

Preparation

Fill large pot with cold water, add the dried corn husks, and soak overnight. Put the sun-dried tomatoes in a large bowl, add the chicken stock and water, and soak overnight as well. (For shortcut, you could pour hot water over the husks and let them sit for a couple of hours, heat the chicken stock and water to a boil, pour the liquids over the sun-dried tomatoes in a large bowl, and let sit for about 1 1/2 hours to plump).

Rinse the husks well and cut off the tip of each husk. Cut any oversized husks in half lengthwise. Dry well with paper towels and set aside. Drain the sun-dried tomatoes, reserving the liquids. Finely chop the remaining sun-dried tomatoes.

Put the puréed and chopped sun-dried tomatoes in a very large bowl, and gradually stir in the masa and corn oil, adding the sugar and baking powder about halfway through. Stir to mix well. Set aside.

Half-fill a large sauté pan or saucepan with water, add the tomatoes, onion, and garlic, with salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil. Add the chicken breasts, lower the heat to medium, and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Take out the chicken breasts and set aside to cool, reserving the cooking liquids. Scoop the tomato, onion, and garlic into a food processor or blender, add 1/2 cup of the cooking liquids, and purée.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, finely shred it. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and tomato purée and cook, stirring, until the liquids are almost fully evaporated, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool, then stir in the cilantro.

Cut thin strips from a few of the corn husks to use as ties for the tamales. Spread about 3 to 4 tablespoons of the prepared masa evenly across one of the corn husks, almost to the edge but with at least 1 inch of each end open. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the chicken stuffing down the center. Fold the sides of the husk over the filling, overlapping the edges. Tie the ends with husk strips. Repeat with the remaining masa and filling. (You should get about 36 tamales).

Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a large steamer pot. Cover the steamer rack with corn husks and arrange the tamales on top, preferably upright. Cover the tamales with more corn husks and a dish towel. Put the lid on the steamer and steam until the husk can easily be peeled from on e the tamales, about 1 1/2 hours. Keep an eye on the water level in the pot, adding more hot water as needed.

While the tamales are steaming, prepare the salsa. Peel, pit, and coarsely chop the avocados and put them in a food processor with the olive oil, vinegar, and sugar, with salt and pepper to taste. Process until smooth, then transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the tomato, onion, artichoke hearts, cilantro, and garlic.

To serve, arrange the tamales, husks partially opened, on 8 individual plates. Top with a spoonful of the salsa and pass extra salsa alongside.