Babaga-hummus

A mí no me gustan mucho las habichuelas, pero me encanta el humus.  Yo ya he compartido con ustedes mi receta básica de humus cuando les presente la receta de mi sándwich de humus, unos de mis sándwiches favoritos.  Me gusta mi versión porque tiende a ser más alimonada que las versiones de los restaurantes árabes por ahí.

Y cuando vas a un restaurante árabe la gente asume que porque te gusta el humus y eres vegetariana, te debe encantar el babaganoush, y eso no es así.  ¡PARA NADA!  Me gusta la berenjena, pero he tratado muchas, muchas, muchas veces el babaganoush y simplemente no es lo mío. 

Aparentemente estamos en temporada de berenjenas porque he estado recibiendo muchas de ellas en mi cajita del CSA.  Antes de irme de retiro tenía 2 berenjenas en mi nevera y no quería que se me echaran a perder así que decidí mezclarlas con mi receta tradicional (que en realidad no es muy tradicional que digamos en el verdadero sentido árabe de la palabra) de humus a ver qué pasaba…

¿¿¿El resultado???

BABAGA-HUMMUS

2 berenjenas japonesas pequeñas, picadas a la mitad

1 lata de garbanzos, escurridos y enjuagados

Como ¼ taza de queso parmesano

1 cdita de paprika

El jugo de un limón criollo o de una lima – a veces si no está lo suficiente alimonado, le hecho ½ o 1 mas

Como 1 cdita de sal – per realmente se la echo al ojo…

Como 5 vueltas del pimentero

Como ½ taza de aceite de oliva

 

1. Con una brochita aplícale aceite de oliva a las berenjenas y sazónalas con sal y pimiento.  Colócalas en una parilla (yo uso my grill de George Foreman) como por 10 minutos hasta que veas la marca de la parrilla y las berenjenas se hayan ablandado un poco.  Quítalas de la parrilla.  Ellas seguirán cocinándose y se pondrán más blanditas.
2. 
3. En un procesador de alimentos, mezcla los ingredientes del humus – los garbanzos, el queso parmesano, la paprika, el jugo de lima, sal y pimienta.
4. Ráspale la pulpa de las berenjenas y añádela al procesador de alimentos.  Deja la cáscara fuera de la mezcla.
5. Procésalo todo por varios segundos y añádele el aceite de oliva por la abertura en la tapa del procesador hasta que obtengas una consistencia cremosita.  Verifica que las sazones son de tu agrado y pulsa unas cuantas veces más si tienes que añadirle algo.
6. Sírvelo con pan pita integral…

 

Lleve este invento a un pool party que organizo mi amiguita Ana Yolanda en su casa.  A todos les encantó, especialmente a Valerie, la nena de mi amiguita Sarah, quien tiene solamente 3 añitos.  Prueba de que si expones a tus hijos a diferentes sabores y comidas desde temprana edad, desarrollas individuos con buenos hábitos alimenticios.

Y como recibo tantas berenjenas en mi cajita CSA semanalmente, esta receta se ha convertido en mi nueva versión de humus para llevar a parties o a picnics…  es un twist diferente a mi receta original porque tiene el sabor ahumadito del grill.  Lo hice recientemente también para un picnic/get-together este pasado weekend para participar en el evento de Serious Eats Picnics…

Espero que les guste tanto como le gustó a Valerie…

Aceite de Perejil y Albahaca

Hice este aceite con hierbas para sazonar y decorar una Ensalada de Tomates con Tostadas de Queso de Cabra… pero lo que más me sorprendió es lo versátil que es este aceite para sazonar muchas otras recetas.

 

 

ACEITE DE PEREJIL Y ALBAHACA

Un puñadito de perejil fresco – mayormente las hojitas sin los tallos

Un puñadito de hojas de albahaca frescas

Como 1/3 de taza de aceite de oliva

Sal Marina – como una vuelta al bowl del procesador de alimentos

Como 4 vueltas del molino de pimienta

 

1. En un procesador de alimentos, mezcla todos los ingredientes hasta que las hierbas estén picaditas súper chiquitas.
2. Déjalo reposar a temperatura ambiente como por 1 hora para que los sabores se incorporen bien antes de usarlo.

 

Si deseas puedes colar el aceite, pero a mí me gusta con las hierbitas mezcladas…

Yucca con Mojo Cubano

The first Mojo I learned about was this – the Cuban Mojo you eat with yucca or with black beans and rice.  The now famous drink in the diminutive, Mojito, has been an acquired taste in the last few years…  This Cuban Mojo over Yucca is a staple at ANY and EVERY Cuban household, and something my family in Miami always makes for me, especially now that I am vegetarian.

Cuban Mojo is delicious – the best “sauce” to pour over anything.  To me, it’s just glorious.  It’s the only decent accompaniment to eat with boiled yucca.  Once you learn how to make it, I am sure it will find its way pairing a lot more than just yucca.  I am almost sure this mojo is the culprit of why I need to squirt lemon juice on arroz moro (black beans and rice).

Try it today… you’ll be a convert immediately!!!

 

YUCA CON MOJO CUBANO

1 yucca root, peeled and cut and middle thread removed or a few pieces of frozen yucca

½ cup of extra-virgin olive oil

½ onion, sliced thinly

3 garlic cloves, finely minced or grated

The juice of 1 lime or limón criollo

Salt to taste, for the boiling water and for the mojo

 

1. In a medium pot with water, add the yucca root pieces and salt and bring to a boil.  Salt the water as if you were boiling pasta.  Water should only barely cover the yucca.  I am lazy, so I buy sometimes the frozen yucca kind.  It works very well and it always turns out soft when boiled.  Yucca can have a tendency to turn out hard; it’s a crap-shoot.  
2. While the yucca boils away, in a small saucepan over low heat add the olive oil, the onion and the garlic.  Let the onions and garlic soften and simmer slowly in the oil.  Add salt to taste.  I tend to season well, about ½ tbs, but I have to be honest, I do not measure.
3. 
4. When the onions are softened, the garlic is cooked, but none have gotten any color, turn off the heat and add the juice of the lemon.  The oil will cloud a bit, but that’s the measure of a true mojo… lemony tangy goodness with the punch of the garlic and onion… YUMMM!!!
5. 
6. When the yucca is fork tender, drain and serve with spoonfuls of mojo over it.

 

This is the perfect side dish with any Cuban dish… I particularly like it with black beans and rice.   And that’s an upcoming lesson.

The Best Spanish Olive Oil

This past Summer I spent a little over 2 weeks in Spain.  I visited Madrid, Pamplona, Zaragoza, San Sebastian, Barcelona, among others.  Near Barcelona, we visited this little town called Villafranca del Penedés.  It was a must we visited this town, as my friend Walter’s family is originally from there.  The proof – there was a street named after him… it was amazing.

 

But what I never thought I would find in Villafranca was one of the best extra virgin olive oils I have ever tasted.  As part of a tour to Villafranca and Montserrat, we visited the Bodegas Torres.  I was afraid this was going to be one of those tourist traps… but the local winery, well known for their Sangre de Toro wine and one of my dad’s favorite red wines, as a real surprising treat.   Besides the winery, Bodegas Torres has a gastronomy division named Torre Real which, among other things, makes olive oil made from Arbequina olives.  According to information I have read since then… Arbequina olives are the “crème de la crème” as Spanish olives is concerned.

             

I brought back a bottle of this wonderful olive oil… and now, no other olive oil stands next to it.  I ration it so that I can enjoy it as long as I can…

 

To me, it’s the perfect olive oil to dress a salad, to dip great crusty bread or to drizzle over a soup or pasta as a finishing touch.  And the most amazing thing – this olive oil only cost me 5 Euros.  Not bad for such high quality.  They also make white and red wine vinegars.  I have not tried the vinegar yet – I have like 7 open vinegar bottles, so I would like to decrease that inventory before I open a new now.

I good friend from high school lives in Barcelona now and I have asked her to please bring me 3-4 bottles of the Arbequina olive oil when she comes to Puerto Rico in the next few weeks.  If you have access to this wonderful product, I urge you to try it.

Do you have any favorite olive oil?? Tell me all about it.

Mustard Vinaigrette

It’s the time of New Year resolutions… another one of mine – eat more salads at home.

I tend to eat big salads when I eat out or a side salad when I feel what I am eating is not that healthy – like a pizza. I try to add more nutrition by accompanying whatever I am having with a salad. But at home, sometimes I get lazy. But I have noticed that when I am hooked to the taste of an awesome dressing, I look forward to eating a salad at home everyday.

This is my new vice – Mustard Vinaigrette. Easy, tasty, and goes well with any greens and vegetables you might fancy in your salad. I did this to accompany my not-so-healthy veggie “chicken” nuggets.

I make this by “eye-balling” the ingredients… so bear with me here on the quantities.

MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE

1 tbs Dijon or Grain Mustard
1 tbs Apple cider vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Extra-virgin Olive oil

1. In the same bowl you’ll prepare your salad, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper.
2. Then, pour olive oil slowly while whisking it in, until you get a nice emulsified dressing mixture.
3. Taste to adjust any seasonings.
4.  Add any greens and vegetables you crave on your salad.

I am sure you could use this vinaigrette to season grilled vegetables – like portobello mushrooms, peppers, onions, etc.

Enjoy!!!

Pesto 101

This is my recipe for pesto… my mom loves pesto and every time I have too much basil that might go bad, I do a batch.  It’s great on it’s own with pasta, as a condiment, as an ingredient for a salad dressing or to add to a recipe where you would like some fresh basil flavor.

 

PESTO

2 tablespoons pine nuts or almonds

3 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 cups basil leaves, strip away the stems

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Mix  everything in a food processor. 
2. Add more olive oil if the mixture seems a bit dry.

Store in a jar in the fridge or you can freeze it in an ice tray for individual servings .

Garlic Parsley Breadsticks

This is a great appetizer or accompaniment to any Italian dinner. 

 

GARLIC PARSLEY BREADSTICKS

1/2 package of refrigerated whole-wheat bread-stick dough mix

1/4 cup of parsley, finely chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix in a small bowl the parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.
2. Let it sit on top of the counter to marinate for about 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
4. Take the bread-sticks dough and spread the garlic parsley mixture on one side.
5. 
6. Twist the individual bread-sticks and place next to each other in a baking sheet.
7. 
8. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the bread-sticks are golden brown.
9. Serve warm.

You can definitely use this same garlic parsley mixture to make regular garlic bread… just spread it on a cut baguette and bake in the oven until crunchy.

My apologies… the bread-sticks smelled so good, I forgot to take a photo of them.

Super Easily Dressed Green Salad

This is my go-to dressing…

It’s sooooo simple, people usually don’t believe it only has 4 ingredients.  And the only thing you’ll dirty is your hands to toss it together with the salad.

This works with ANY green salad – romaine, arugula, iceberg, baby spinach or a spring mix. I added this time grape tomatoes, but it’s your salad, you can add whatever you’d like.  I’m just showing you the dressing…

 

SUPER EASILY DRESSED GREEN SALAD

1/2 bag of spring mix salad

6-7 grape tomatoes

the juice of 1/2 a lemon

about 1/4 cup of olive oil – use the best stuff you have around here

salt and pepper to taste

1. Place salad greens and tomatoes in a salad bowl.
2. Squeeze the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper on top of salad.
3. Toss gently with your hands to dress.

Serve immediately.

Pasta with Marinated Tomatoes

This is one of my go-to recipes when I am hungry NOW!!! It’s super easy to make. I learned this recipe from an old Martha Stewart show where she cooked this with Oprah. That probably was about 10 years ago.

I like to make this pasta with spinach fettuccine, but you can use your favorite pasta. Noodles are nice because it’s a chunky sauce olive-oil based sauce and it coats them well, but any kind will do. This works as a main dish or as an accompaniment to others. I served this together with my Eggplant Parmesan dish.

PASTA WITH MARINATED TOMATOES

1/2 pound of spinach fettuccine, or any other pasta you prefer
3 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, julienned
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Mix the tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil in a bowl. Let marinate while you make the pasta. Stir a few times so the flavors meld and the fresh tomatoes break up a bit.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt liberally. Cook pasta according to package directions, al dente.
3. Drain the pasta and return to the pot.
4. Mix in the marinated tomatoes mixture in the hot pot.  The warmth of the pasta and the pot will warm-up the sauce.
5. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

A few additional notes:

• I never peel the tomatoes, but you can if you prefer it. I just wash them really well using Fit.
• I’ve done this with regular tomatoes, vine-ripened tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and grape tomatoes. The results will always be delicious. And if tomatoes are not in season, use jarred chopped tomatoes (Viter is a great brand because they have no additives or preservatives).  If using whole canned or jarred tomatoes, just don’t add the juice they come in… Just take the tomatoes and chop them finely.
• Make sure the sun-dried tomatoes do not contain sulfites… Sulfites are harmful to your health and a proved carcinogen.

This sauce is really versatile… later on, I’ll show you additional recipes in which yo can use the same marinated tomatoes in other applications.