Tag Archives: tomatoes

Fish and Seafood

Octopus in its own ink

PULPOS EN SU TINTA

(Recipe from Gabriela Barraza)

Wash octopus with lime juice and rinse well. Cut up and cook. (Emilia, the maid, cooks them for 10 minutes in a pressure cooker without water, and then chops them.)

Finely chop garlic, onion, tomato and parsley. Sauté the onion and garlic lightly, then add tomato and parsley. Allow to cook. Add octopus pieces, a bay leaf and the octopus ink. A bit of red wine may be added.

Personal comment:

I’ve heard that there’s a way to cook octopus very slightly, just to the right point so that it’s tender and juicy–a matter of a few minutes. I’ve never been able to do it. My method of cooking octopus tender is to throw it in a large pot, cover with water, cover the pot and put on the stove for a minimum of two hours. You don’t have to worry about anything except keeping the level of water high enough to cover the carcass. Once a fork glides smoothly into the thickest part of the body, drain and cool. Once it’s cool, remove the fatty parts and the suckers on the tentacles, if you wish (all that can be slid off with your fingers), and chop the now buttery-tender tentacles and body (discarding the hard eyes), and use as desired. By the way, the ink must be removed before boiling!

Vegetables and Salads

Papas Chorreadas

  • 6 medium potatoes, boiled and peeled
  • 2 T oil
  • 1 T flour
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 3/4 cup grated fresh manchego or mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup milk plus 1 tbsp cream

Cut potatoes into large cubes. Saute onions in a little oil till soft and add tomatoes. Melt fat and add flour and a bit of salt. Add tomatoes, onion and cilantro. Cook 3 mins. Add milk and cook until thick. Add grated cheese and cream and stir until melted. Pour over the potatoes and combine gently.

Fish and Seafood

Dad’s Pescado Veracruzana

This recipe for Veracruz-style fish was developed by Dad over the years. He always used cazon,  or baby shark, which is a very firm fish. The recipe instructions as presented are just as he wrote them out. I have added the ingredients list separately above to make it easier to prepare at a glance.

  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2-3 chiles largos, canned
  • 1-1/2 cups pitted olives
  • 1/4 cup capers
  • 1 T Knorr chicken bouillon granules
  • juice of 2 limes
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
  • 1-2 small tomatoes, chopped
  • Cazon fillets for four (baby shark)
  • water as necessary

Fish by Carol

Veracruzana.

(portion for four)

In three quarter cup of olive oil fry one medium chopped onion, add two or three chiles largos ( strong long yellow pepper preserves preferred)  To tame hotness seeds can be removed. Add one to one and half cups  pitted olives and half cup of capers.  A table spoonful of Knorr’s chicken powder, juice of two limes, one finely chopped carrot. One stalk of finely chopped celery, one or two small tomatoes.

Bring mixture to a boil and then let simmer for an hour or two before adding fish. The longer it simmers the better the taste.

Quantity of fish depends on appetite and size of fillets.  Baby shark (cazon) is my favorite but any white fish fillet can be used I believe. Fish should be filleted bone free and sliced thinly.  I believe that tuna can be substituted but I am not sure.  Not being too familiar with the fish available in Canada this may take some experimentation.

The fish can be placed into boiling sauce for stove top cooking in covered pot for ten minutes (Time is for cazon other varieties may require more time.)   Best is to place fish into baking dish and bake for about fifteen minutes at high heat.

You may wish to alter the consistency of the sauce by adding water.

Good luck and enjoy it.

 

Pickles, Salsas, and Miscellaneous

Loretta’s Homemade Tomato Ketchup

  • 8 pints ripe tomatoes
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup pickling spices
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 pint vinegar
  • arrowroot

Wash tomatoes. Chop and cook with onions until soft. Strain and put through sieve or food processor. Add the pickling spice, tied in a cheesecloth bag, the sugar and the vinegar. Simmer for about 1/2 hour and remove spice bag, unless you want a spicier ketchup. Cook for an additional 2 hours. Thicken with arrowroot as desired.

Meatless Main Dishes

Chilaquiles a la Angel

  • Oil
  • 12 corn tortillas, 1 day old or more (stale but not dry)
  • 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 serrano chiles, seeded and chopped finely
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 cup grated Manchego or Mozzarella cheese

Cut tortillas into strips or in triangles. Heat 1/2″ oil in wide frying pan. Brown and crisp tortillas in batches. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Sauté onion in a little oil till soft. Add tomatoes, bouillon cube, garlic, chiles and water. Cook until tomatoes are mushy and liquid is slightly reduced. Throw in coriander and adjust salt. Cook 5 minutes. Throw about two thirds of fried tortillas into sauce and toss to coat. Add 1/2 of the grated cheese and toss again.

Let simmer for 2 minutes to soften tortillas slightly and melt cheese. Add the remaining tortillas and toss quickly. Top with remaining cheese and allow to sit for a minute until cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

Fish and Seafood

Caldero Murciano

  • 1 lb. mullet, whole
  • 2 lbs. other mixed whole hearty fish
  • 2 cups rice
  • 2 dried pimientos, if available (otherwise, regular pimientos)
  • 3 heads of garlic
  • 2 ripe tomatoes
  • 1-1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 8 cups water
  • Saffron, salt and pepper
  • 1 small, cooked potato

Cut heads off fish and reserve. Cut fish bodies into thick rounds and sprinkle with salt. Set aside. Heat half of the oil in a heavy pot( traditionally iron). Fry the dried pimientos. Remove and put aside.

Add the fish heads to the same pot. Fry and remove. Throw the tomatoes, peeled and chopped, into the same pot. Fry 5 minutes. Add 8 cups water. In a mortar, crush the pimientos, one head of garlic, and 3 or 4 saffron filaments.

Add to pot and cook 5 minutes. Add the fish bodies and cook until done. Remove fish and set aside, keeping warm. Set aside 1 cup of the fish stock. Season the rest of the stock with salt and pepper and add the rice, letting cook over low flame for 20 minutes.

In the mortar, crush another head of garlic and mix with the cup of reserved fish stock. This will be used as a sauce for the fish upon serving. Crush the third head of garlic with the cooked potato; combine with the egg yolk and rest of oil. This sauce is for the rice. Serve the fish and rice separately with their respective sauces.

Meatless Main Dishes

Lecso 2

Another Lecso  … also spelled Letscho.

  • 8 oz. tomatoes
  • 1 lb. green peppers
  • 1 large onion
  • 1-1/2 oz. bacon fat or drippings
  • salt and pepper

Slice the onion into thin rings and cook in the hot fat till they shrivel, but do not turn brown. Wash the green peppers, take out the seed cases and the inside veins. Slice them into rings and add them to the onion in the saucepan. Fry lightly and then add the quartered tomatoes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Put the lid on and cook very slowly till the tomatoes get – mushy and the peppers are tender. Serve hot.

Although this has no meat in it, to make it truly vegetarian and vegan friendly, substitute vegetable oil for the bacon fat or drippings! Add a sprinkle of smoked paprika for extra flavor.

Soups and Stews

Gumbo

Filé powder, also called gumbo filé, is a spicy herb made from the dried and ground leaves of the sassafras tree (Sassafras albidum), native to eastern North America. It is used in the making of some types of gumbo, a Creole and Cajun soup/stew often served over rice; other versions of gumbo use okra or roux as a thickener instead. Sprinkled sparingly over gumbo as a seasoning and a thickening agent, it adds a distinctive, earthy flavor and texture. Filé can provide thickening when okra is not in season. Filé translates to “string”, suggestive of the powder’s thickening ability.

Wikipedia contributors, “Filé powder,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fil%C3%A9_powder&oldid=440771200 (accessed December 28, 2011).
  • 6 slices bacon
  • 3 large onion, chopped fine
  • 2 large cans tomatoes
  • 1 cup diced ham
  • 2 cups okra
  • 2 T filé powder
  • 2 T flour
  • 1 can whole kernel corn
  • 1/2 cup rice
  • 1/2 lb. shrimp
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 2 small hot red peppers
  • salt to taste

Fry bacon until golden and crumble. Put in chopped onions and brown lightly. Add tomatoes and diced ham. In another pan heat a spoonful of lard. Add okra; add flour and stir until brown.

Combine the two mixtures in a large kettle, add corn, rice and shrimp. Add water until the pot is 2/3 full. Add salt and cloves and peppers tied in a bag. Simmer for at least 1 hour.

Remove spice bag. Thicken soup with a little flour and water. Turn off heat, let gumbo sit for 5 minutes, then add filé. Serve immediately with extra rice on the side. 10-12 servings

Soups and Stews

Andalucian Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a refreshing cold soup from the Mediterranean–most notably Spain–made from raw vegetables and tangy seasonings.

A Mexican tweak on traditional Andalucian gazpacho is to add creamy, pureed avocado, a fruit native to Mexico and Central America, to the blended base, or add cubed avocado to each bowl as a garnish when serving.

gazpacho soup

 

Andalucian Gazpacho ingredients

  • 6 small, ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped coarsely
  • 4 small cucumbers, finely chopped
  • 1 green pepper, finely minced
  • 1 clove garlic, finely mashed
  • 2 T grated carrot (optional)
  • 2 T grated onion
  • Cold water
  • 2 T lemon or lime juice
  • 2 t dry mustard
  • dash of  Tabasco
  • salt and pepper

Combine tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, garlic, carrot, and onion. Add cold water to cover. Can be mixed in blender or pounded in a mortar and pestle for a creamy soup, or finely chopped or run quickly through food processor for chunkier soup.

Add lemon juice, dry mustard, Tabasco, and seasonings. Chill at least 8 hours.

If desired, serve with a spoonful of coarsely chopped tomato and cucumber a dab of sour cream.

A chunk of day-old bread, softened in water, can be added to the blended soup to provide a thicker consistency.