Escabeche de Jalapeño

Escabeche...any cooked meat or vegetable that has been marinated in something acidic like any vinegar or citrus. I will be sharing a few different kinds of escabeche but one that I know at least a Mexican household can't go without a can/jar of is pickled jalapeños or Escabeche de Jalapeños. I know my household didn't. We went through 2 cans per week! Eating them alone, with your meal or adding a jalapeño to a salsa or dish to spice it up. Once I learned how to make this, I stopped buying the cans or jars. When you make them, you can pretty much use them right away. I like waiting a day or 2 after to let it marinate more. The flavor is fresh, crisp and delicious.. my mouth is watering just talking about it! I like making it in bulk and sharing them with my mom and friends. It's just too inexpensive and easy to not do yourself! Hope you enjoy this recipe

You will need about 5-32 oz Kerr self sealing mason jars to be safe. You may only use 4.

Ingredients

2 lbs of fresh jalapeño peppers, chopped anyway you like. Some sliced in half and some left whole, all sliced in half with the stem left on, or sliced in circles. What ever way you do it, do not seed them.

10 carrots, peeled and chopped 1/4 inch thick at a bias.
2 white onion, chopped in larger pieces
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tbsp of Mexican oregano
3 cups of apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar
3 cups of water
5 bay leaves
3 tbsp of kosher salt or to taste
1 tbsp whole black pepper

In a large pot over medium-high heat add the oil. Once hot, add the chopped onions and cook until you can smell them, just a few seconds. Add the oregano, jalapeño and carrots and cook stirring often to cook evenly for about 5 minutes. Next add the vinegar, water, bay leaves, salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes..should come to a soft boil, then remove pot from flame. With a large slotted spoon, start filling the jars with the jalapeños, carrots and onions distributing them evenly between the jars. Let the cooking liquid cool just a bit but not all the way then pour it evenly to each jar making sure an even amount of spices go into each jar as well. Finally seal them. The Jars should seal themselves with the warmth. Refrigerate immediately.

You can eat them right away, but best if left to marinate for a day or 2.


Note:
You can do more carrots and onions or just more carrots versus jalapeños if you prefer it less spicy.

You can also add garlic to the mix.

Lomo de Puerco Enchilado (spicy pork loin)

If ever I am making a Lomo Enchilado (spicy loin), I'm usually making a Botana (snack/appetizer) with the loin which includes tomatoes, red onion and queso fresco or making a torta.. OR I'm making my favorite, tostadas!

My mom and entire family have made this spicy loin since I can remember. Usually when making tostadas. Each one is different but all extremely flavorful and spicy. I have taken my mothers recipe and tweaked it just a bit. Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients

1- 2 1/2 lb pork loin roast or 2 of the thinner loins
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup of dried toasted chile de arbol (usually found in your local Mexican market or the international isle at your supermarket)
1 whole clove
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp while black pepper
1/2 tsp of Mexican oregano
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Have your loin patted dry and read in a large bowl.

In a small sauce pan, add the chili de arbol and water to just about cover them and bring them to boil on high heat. Once they boil vigorously, turn off the heat and let them sit for about 10 minutes. Take the chilies out, and set aside. Do not discard the water. In a small food processor or blender add the chilies along with the last 6 ingredients and add about 1/4 cup of the chilies cooking liquid and blend until smooth. Place a large strainer over a bowl and pour the blended chili mix inside. Let the liquid strain out. You can assist it by taking a spoon and pushing the liquid through the strainer until the blended chili becomes a paste. Taste for salt (should be more on the salty side since its being used to marinate meat) and place in a small bowl. Now time to marinate the meat...

Added 4-5 tbsp of the paste to the pork and the 2 tbsp of olive oil and coat the pork loin completely using your hands. Place the marinated pork loin on a roasting pan and cook for 45 minutes turning 1 time half way through. Once cooked, place the loin on a cutting board and let it stand and hold all it juices for about 10 minutes. Slice thin and serve!

Veggie Pita Tostada!

Today I was craving tostadas! Tostadas is a Mexican dish usually made with a fried corn tortilla, then can be topped with several different things. Later I'll get into the real Mexican tostadas, but as I was sitting obsessing about them, I started thinking of different ideas and twists on them.. One was a pita as the shell then everything else came to me instantly....

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients

4 wheat of regular round pita bread, left whole
Olive oil to brush on the pita

Brush each pita with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt, place directly on the oven rack and bake for 8-10 minutes or until crisp but not burned. Set them aside to cool.

For the hummus, I've always used the simple recipe from the Joy of Cooking cookbook as my base. I kept it simple for this and only used 1 tbsp of tahini to lower the calories. It usually calls for 3 that's 600 calories alone!

Ingredients

1 15oz can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp tahini
Salt to taste.
1/2 cup water

In a small food processor or blender add all of the above ingredients for the hummus and start blending. Pour water slowly through the pour spout until it blends smooth, you may not need the full 1/2 cup of water. Transfer it to a bowl, taste for salt and set aside.

Salad Ingredients

4 cups of baby arugula
3/4 cup of chopped cherry or baby heirloom tomatoes, each chopped in 4
1/4 cup res onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Crumbled feta

In a large bowl, add the last 3 of the above ingredients and whisk them together to make you dressing. Taste for salt. Then add the arugula, chopped tomatoes and onions and toss together.

Assemble the tostadas by taking one and spreading hummus on one side, then a handful of the salad on top, finally top with crumbled feta! Mmmmmmmm!! Now enjoy!

Escabeche de Jalapeño y Camaron

For this Escabeche I took most of the components of my recipe for Jalapeño Escabeche to create it. It was perfect. This will be a great light dish for spring and summer and easy to bring along on a picnic!

Serves 4-6

Part 1. Ingredients

1 lb of jumbo shrimp or large prawns, peeled and deveined with tails left on
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 Tbsp Mexican oregano
Kosher salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix all ingredients above in a bowl and cook for 10 minutes then set aside.

Part 2. Ingredients

2-3 large jalapeño, sliced thin in rounds
1 1/2 cup yellow onion. Sliced vertically along the grain from root to end.
1 tsp Mexican oregano
Kosher salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup carrot, peeled
3/4 cups apple cider vinegar

Have carrot ready. In another bowl, toss the first 5 ingredients of part 2 and sauté in a medium sized pan on med-high heat. Don't cook completely, just until you smell it, about 3 minutes then remove from heat.

In a large bowl mix shrimp, onions, jalapeños, carrots and vinegar together, taste for salt and let it chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Taste for salt and give it a final mix before serving.

Serve in a nice serving dish or individual dishes and drizzle with some good olive oil. Enjoy!