Tag: queso fresco
Chilean Sea Bass with Smoked Paprika with Corn Risotto and Avocado Salad
- 1½ pound Chilean sea bass, cut into 3 to 4 filets
Spice Rub
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
Mix the spices in a small bowl. Rub the fish filets all over with the spice rub. Marinate for 2 to 3 hours in the fridge.
- Olive oil
- Salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the fish filets on a lined cookie sheet. Drizzle oil and sprinkle salt on each of the filets. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of the filets.
Corn Risotto with Avocado Salad
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon roasted cumin, powdered
- 1 medium shallot, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 ears of corn, off the cob
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- 3 to 4 cups chicken broth, warmed
- Salt
- 1/3 half and half
- ½ cup queso fresco, grated
Heat a wide frying pan with the olive oil. Add the cumin and sauté for a minute on medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the corn and the rice. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes on medium low heat. Gradually add the broth one ladle at a time, stirring the rice in between. Add the liquid as it cooks out. The risotto should take about 20 minutes to cook. Add the half and half and cheese. Mix well and check for seasonings. Add salt. Serve with avocado salad on top and fish on the side.
Avocado and Tomato Salad
- 1 large Hass avocado, cut into ½ inch pieces
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- Juice of half a lime
- Salt
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
Mix the avocado, tomatoes, lime juice, salt and cilantro in a medium bowl. Mix well and serve on top of the risotto with the fish on the side.
Mexican Style Pork Stew with Pomegranate Salsa
Delicious stew for the holidays- one of my favorites!
- 3 to 4 pounds pork shoulder (bone-in, cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces)
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 to 5 tomatillos, peeled and cut in half
- 1 medium onion, cut in half
- 2 poblano peppers, cut in half, seeds taken out
- 1 cubanelle pepper, cut in half, seeds taken out
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 3 to 4 green onions, chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- 4 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup queso fresco
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Transfer the tomatillos, onion and peppers to a lined cookie sheet. Roast the vegetables for 30 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables to a blender. Add the cilantro and green onions. Blend till a smooth sauce is formed.
Heat a heavy saucepan with the oil. Dredge the pork pieces and brown on all sides. Keep aside. Add the green sauce and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the pork pieces and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and place lid. Cook for 2 to 3 hours or till the meat is falling off the bone. Skim the excess fat off the top.
Pomegranate Salsa
- 2 pomegranates, seeds taken out
- 2 green onions, chopped
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
Mix the pomegranate seeds, green onions, cilantro and salt in a medium bowl. Keep aside for an hour. Serve stew topped with salsa and queso fresco.
Scalloped Potatoes with Roasted Poblano Sauce
I am very proud of this recipe. I combined a bunch of peppers, garlic and onion and roasted them till they became soft and deliciously nutty. I then blended the veggies with cream and milk- I basically made a cream sauce to be used to make scalloped potatoes. I bought a reasonably priced mandolin. Usually they are quite expensive and not worth the money. They are handy to have around- as they make slicing the potatoes a cinch. I was done in no time. The whole dish took me hardly any time to make.
I would recommend making the cream sauce ahead of time if you are planning a big Thanksgiving dinner. You could even freeze the sauce and take it out a day ahead and assemble the potatoes the morning of and then bake them right before eating. They are simply delicious…
- 1 poblano pepper
- 1 anaheim pepper
- 1 head of garlic with the top sliced off with a drizzle of olive oil and wrapped in aluminum foil
- ½ medium yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup cream
- ¼ cup milk
- Salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the peppers, wrapped garlic and onion onto a lined cookie sheet. Drizzle the peppers and onion with the oil and massage with fingers. Roast in oven for 30 to 45 minutes, until the peppers are charred on the outside. Let cool. Take the skin off the peppers and squeeze the garlic out of the skins.
Add the roasted vegetables into a blender with cream and milk. Blend till smooth and add salt. Keep aside. This can be made two days in advance.
- 2 pounds red skinned potatoes, sliced thin about 1/8 inch
- ½ cup queso fresco, shredded
Divide the potato slices into three batches. Add the first to the bottom of an ovenproof dish (9X9). Spread a quarter cup of green sauce. Repeat till you have the third and last bit of potatoes. Pour all of the sauce covering all the potatoes. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Take the foil off and add the cheese. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or till the cheese is golden brown.
Fresh Corn & Arugula Salad with Queso Fresco
- 4 ears of corn, taken off the cob
- 3 cups of baby arugula
- ½ cup roasted sliced almonds
- ½ cup crumbled queso fresco
Dressing
- 2 medium lemons, washed, cut in quarters and deseeded
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- Salt
- Pepper
Transfer the ingredients to a blender. Blend till the dressing is creamy and smooth. Dress the salad and serve immediately.
Deconstructed Shrimp Enchiladas with Tomato Sauce
These are soooo good! I saw some chef make a version of these on The Chew… and it looked yummy.. and very interesting as she added nutmeg to the tomato sauce- not something I associate with Mexican cooking…. So, I tweaked it to my taste and came up with this version. They are easier than traditional enchiladas as there is no assembly requires.. just dip the tortillas in the sauce and add the filling, fold in half and serve!!! Definitely make yesterday’s slaw with them…
- 2 cups tomato sauce, homemade or store bought (14 ounces can of tomato sauce)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 jalapeno chili, sliced in half and deseeded
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup fish stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Transfer the tomato sauce to a medium saucepan. Add the garlic, jalapeno, onion, nutmeg and salt. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer for 10 minutes or till the vegetables are soft. Transfer to a blender and add the fish stock and blend till smooth.
Heat the same saucepan with olive oil and add the tomato sauce and sauté for a minute. Turn heat lower and simmer, covered for 15 minutes, till the sauce is thickened. Add the heavy cream, mix well and check for seasonings. Keep warm.
- 1 pound medium shrimp, cleaned and cut into half
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Heat a frying pan with the butter and olive oil. Add the shrimp and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes or till the shrimp is cooked through. Turn heat off and keep aside.
- 1 large avocado, diced
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
Mix the avocado, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl and keep aside.
- 6 to 8 6 inch tortillas, heated in a toaster oven or stove top
- ½ cup queso fresco, crumbled
Take each tortilla and immerse in the tomato sauce. Remove and place on a plate. Add some shrimp and avocado and garnish with some queso fresco. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.
Pico De Gallo Rice
As I was thinking about making the chicken taco salad super flavorful, I was also wondering what to serve with it…
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I was disappointed with my lunch at Restaurant Serenade and was in the process of replicating it. The original entree was served with a mixed salad. I wanted to serve rice with it as well as a tomato salad. To save time, I thought of combining the two and came up with this rice dish- it is yummy.
I started with cooking rice in chicken broth with salt and smoked paprika. I wanted to infuse tons of flavor into the rice even before it finished cooking. As the rice cooked, I prepared the rest. I chopped the tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, etc and mixed them with some lime juice. I also had queso fresco in the fridge which as a great salty flavor and is used in many Mexican and Latin dishes. I decided to slice some and add it to the mix.
Once the rice was cooled off- I added all the veggies and the cheese and I had a delicious, flavorful side dish to serve with the taco salad.
Definitely try this one- it is great to make with any entree!
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Mexican Chili Enchiladas-Great way to use leftovers…
I loved making these enchiladas- what a great way to use up my leftovers. I feel like a champion when I come up with a completely different preparation to use up stuff in the fridge.
I had the Mexican pork chili in the fridge and wasn’t in the mood to cook a whole new meal. I always have all kinds of tortillas and cheeses in the fridge. So, I immediately thought of enchiladas. I had enough to make 3 to 4 enchiladas which was perfect for my husband and I. A big salad with the enchiladas was perfect for a healthy, delicious dinner.
I separated the meat from the sauce and then shredded the pork with my fingers. I then placed the sauce in a flat platter so I can dip the tortillas in there to make them soft and pliable. I stuffed the tortillas, placed them in a shallow platter and then topped the whole thing with a mixture of Mexican cheeses- how easy was that!
This method can be used for any kind of leftover. Even if your leftover has no sauce, you can use a jar of your favorite salsa or tomato sauce and bake your enchiladas to perfection.
Dinner was delicious and didn’t look like old, boring leftovers…
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