Category Archives: Sauce
Tomatillo Sauce with Avocado
I have trying to get reservations at a place called La Esquina in New York. The restaurant is divided into a taqueria, a cafe and a brasserie. It is the brasserie that takes reservation and it is very hard to make them! A few weeks ago I got an email featuring the chef and his signature sauces. One of them was the salsa verde.. it was like a typical green Mexican style sauce but it also included avocado.
I immediately wanted to make the sauce and I decided to serve it on top of grilled shrimp. The recipe was quite easy to follow but tried to tweak it a bit to my taste. I added all the ingredients into a blender including tomatillos, jalapeno, an avocado, lime juice, onion, cilantro and a tad bit of olive oil. This sauce goes amazing with seafood. I grilled some shrimp and we enjoyed it with a salad. It can also be served with tortilla chips and it can be used as a taco topping.
I used the leftover sauce to make a delicious one pot rice dish… recipe to come tomorrow…
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Zucchini Pesto with Thyme
This is a great sauce to make in the spring/summer. I love making different kinds of pestos to use with pastas, on top of fish or any meat, or even as a sauce for pizza. In fact I have made one in the past which I used in numerous dishes.
This one has fresh thyme paired with pistachios. It is a delicious sauce to simply mix with pasta. I served it with brown rice pasta with some simple chicken on the side. The great thing about this pesto is that kids will eat it.. they have no idea what is in there..
As my daughter was finishing her last bite, I asked her to guess the main ingredient in the pesto.. she had no idea and she was very surprised when I revealed it was zucchini…
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Fresh Smoked Paprika Tomato Salsa
This recipe is a continuation of yesterdays dinner idea. I talked about the amazing meal I had in Mexico- I would love to go back and eat the same exact meal but here I am, in my kitchen- all I can do is replicate the flavors…
Anyway, one of the key things in Mexican food are all the salsas. Most of us buy bottled ones from our supermarkets and no matter how much you pay for them- they don’t taste as good as the ones you can make at home.
Salsas are very easy to make and don’t really require any special ingredients. That being said, you can definitely improve upon a plain old salsa. In this case, I used the usual ingredients for a tomato salsa including, onion, garlic, cilantro but I added an extra component to this recipe which elevated it to a completely different level- in my humble opinion. I added my favorite ingredient- smoked paprika. I think if I ever was stranded on a deserted island, I would have to take smoked paprika with me. It makes everything delicious.
Try this salsa with the pulled chicken tacos or just with tortilla chips and a cold beer- well, some wine in my case but either way it is really good…
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Avocado and Poblano Pepper Crema
I am not sure how this recipe came about. I was at the farmer’s market and I found these great looking poblano peppers. Once I had decided to make grilled steak fajitas, I wanted to make some kind of a salsa to serve on top. Instead I thought of making an avocado crema- what is that you ask??? Well, it is essentially a combination of creamed sour cream and avocado.
In this case, I grilled the poblano peppers, green onions, garlic and yellow onion with a drizzle of olive oil and salt. Once all the vegetables turned golden brown, I blended them with a cut up avocado, lime juice, Greek yogurt and salt. That was it- super simple and so flavorful.
I drizzled the crema over the steak and the vegetables. It complemented the spiced in the steak really well. The tang and the creaminess was delicious with the crunchy vegetables. I used up half of it for the meal and stored the rest away for another meal- hmm, how will I use it up??
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Spicy Chimichurri Sauce
Delicious is what I think of when I look at this vibrant sauce. It is full of flavor and best of all- goes with all sorts of meats and even vegetables.
It is my version of a chimichurri sauce which is popular in Argentina, Uruguay, Nicaragua and Mexico. It is mostly used as a sauce for grilled meat and even as a marinade.
Good friends were coming over for dinner and I wanted to barbecue but keep it simple. I had a huge piece of a boneless rib eye steak and I also bought my husband’s favorite fish- alaskan butterfish or also known as black cod. Thankfully our local fish monger (Freemans) now carries the fish regularly.
I bought some corn to grill and potatoes to roast in the oven- and thats it. I grilled the meat and the fish and served it with this delicious sauce. It complimented the steak as well as the creamy fish.
The sauce is simply made with cilantro, parsley, lemon juice, orange juice, garlic and my secret ingredient- ancho chili powder. I love using that spice in sauces and marinades- it gives everything a delicious smoky flavor.
Try this spicy chimichurri sauce- you will want to eat it everything in the fridge…
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Pan Seared Cod with Mango Sauce and Bok Choy
Here is another recipe using one of my favorite ingredients- mangoes. I bought some cod for dinner and decided to make a mango sauce.
I cut up two mangoes and cooked them with garlic, shallots. I added apricot jam (yum!), rice wine vinegar and garlic chili sauce. Using all the delicious ingredients resulted in an unbelievable sauce.
I sauteed the fish simply with salt and olive oil- delicious and very quick.
Bok choy is one of our favorite vegetables and I try to incorporate it lots of dinners. In this case, I sauteed them with olive oil and salt. I served the bok choy on the side with the fish and the mango sauce. I made brown rice and it was a perfect meal. It was delicious, quick and healthy- what more do you want??
Try the pan seared cod with mango sauce and bok choy- you will love it…
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Fish Tacos with Tomato Salsa and Avocado Chunks
I love ordering fish tacos in Mexican restaurants. I remember eating my first fish tacos years ago in Los Angeles when my husband was on a project there for a few months and I would go visit him every few weeks.
Those tacos were out of this world. I have never had better ones since- especially here in the Northeast.
Since I have no plans on going to California any time soon, I decide to make the tacos at home.
I went to our local fish monger and got my daughter’s favorite fish- cod. She loves any white fish- especially if it is not too fishy tasting.
I marinated the fish in lemon juice, salt and some olive oil. I then drenched the pieces in some flour and lightly sauteed the fish. The ones you get in the restaurants are fried. I wanted mine lighter and healthier so I merely sauteed them.
I made a fresh, delicious tomato salsa and cut up some avocado chunks. Since my daughter doesn’t like anything very tart, I served her the fish in the tortillas without the condiments.
We enjoyed the tacos with all the condiments and a delicious bean salad on the side- recipe to follow tomorrow.
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