The Gouda Life

You’ve got to hand it to the Mexicans; they can do food like nobody else. Better than the French (Désolé mes amis), better than the Spanish (Lo siento mis amigos) and better than the Italians (Spiacente miei amici)… at least as far as my gut is concerned. Their colourful plates are amass with vibrant produce, umpteen varieties of tongue tingling chilies, slow braised, barely holding themselves together cuts of meat, cobs of corn slathered in butter and rich mayonnaise infused with a Cajun mix of spices, lusciously creamy posoles and mole, cemitas filled with potatoes, tender cactus & stuffed with Oaxacan cheese, crispy chiles rellenos loaded with smooth Mexican-style ricotta……have I lost you yet? Because I’m suddenly filled with the urge to hop a plane to Oaxaca. Truly, my love of Mexican cuisine knows no bounds. Even something as simple as a plate of rice and beans serves as one of my most sensuous meals in recent memory.   



There is something truly magical about the textural varieties of Mexican food that makes me coo with delight upon seeing a giant plate of toothsome corn tortillas charred lightly and stuffed with tender carnita meat, creamy avocado, tart Tomatillo Salsa and pickled jalapenos.… there lies the perfect bite of crunchy, smooth, creamy, hot, spicy, cool… nothing is missed, nothing is without balance. This seems to be a constant in most of Mexico’s historic cuisine. Though sussing out a spot that respects the traditions and authentic flavours of Mexico isn’t always a task easily completed. We’ve only recently started to see a movement in truly authentic Mexican cuisine in Ottawa, but it’s still a far cry from the hole-in-the-wall joints you might find in bigger cities.  Making dishes at home seems to be the only way to experience all the flavours and colours of Mexico without being bombarded with the sometimes tacky, overly Americanized Tex-Mex cuisine.

 
To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, I decided to make something that hadn’t made it’s way into my kitchen before.  Sopa Aztec; a chili-spiked tomato broth, acidic and ever-so-lightly spiced, topped with cubed avocado, melty cheese (usually queso fresco, Chihuahua, or Asadero), fried tortilla strips and more crumbled chilies if desired. It’s one of the most comforting soups I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. And of course, since it was a recipe I adapted from the KING of Mexican cuisine, Rick Bayless, it’s no surprise that it came out as tummy-pleasingly as it did. He truly is a master of his craft.

Whip up a batch of this sopa, don your most colourful sombrero, shake your mariachis and sip on a citrusy Margarita (on the rocks or bust!) this May 5^th, Cinco de Mayo! It’s time to throw down! 



Sopa Azteca with Cilantro Pesto
adapted from Rick Bayless 

I wasn’t able to find epazote or Pasilla chilies on such short notice, so I left out the former and opted for a dried ancho chili instead. I also couldn’t find any authentic cheese, but I usually use a simple goat mozzarella in my Mexican dishes. I love the flavour. 

1 large dried pasilla or ancho chile, stemmed and seeded
One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice ( fire-roasted if you can find them)
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1 medium white onion, rough chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 quart chicken broth
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large ripe avocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups queso fresco, oaxaca or goat mozzarella cheese
1 corn tortilla per person, sliced into thin strips
1/2 cup Mexican crema, sour cream or creme fraîche for garnish
*cilantro pesto (recipe to come)
1 large lime, cut into 6 wedges, for serving

Start by placing the dried chile in a dry pan over med-high heat and press down with a heavy pan or a fork until lightly toasted. Flip and repeat.

Place the chile and tomatoes in the blender and puree until smooth.

In a large pot over medium heat, add the oil, onions and garlic and saute until golden, about 6-7 minutes.  Scoop up the onion and garlic in a slotted spoon, leaving as much of the oil in the pan as possible. Toss the onions and garlic into the blender with the tomatoes and puree for another 10 seconds or until smooth. 

Bring the pan back to medium-high heat and add the tomato mixture. Let the liquid evaporate while stirring almost  constantly, until the mixture is almost as thick as tomato paste, about 10-12 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and let it cook, about 10 minutes. 

Taste for salt and add if needed.

While the soup is simmering, toss the tortilla strips with a small amount of oil, just enough to coat them. Place on a foil/parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 325, checking halfway through. 

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with avocado cubes, cheese, cilantro pesto and tortilla strips. 


*Cilantro Pesto:
2 healthy handfuls of fresh cilantro
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
 
Place in food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  

TACO. 

Did you just get so excited? I know I did. 

The word ‘taco’ brings about emotions in me that food shouldn’t be able to. I get excited from the pit of my tummy to the tips of my toes when I hear that sacred word. TACO! It happened again. Oh god I love them so much. 



Whenever my mom asks my sister or I what we want for our birthday dinners (yes, we still get to pick whatever we want even though we’re both well into our 20s) its consistently a resounding “TACOS!” or “FAJITAS!”. We do love our Mexican food so very much. So much, in fact, that Mr. GL doesn’t much like to be around me when I’m eating Mexican because I turn into a rabid dog focused only on stuffing as much of everything-on-the-table as I can in one tortilla. Often I fill my tortilla so full that I end up eating it with a fork and knife, defeating the whole purpose of tacos all together. Oh, what a life. 

Over the summer I had the pleasure of dining Ottawa’s SideDoor Contemporary Kitchen & Bar a few times and was amazed to learn that there was more to tacos than Old El Paso had told to me.  How pathetic, right? Somehow I believed that tacos were a thing of merely taco seasoning and ground meat. I feel ashamed to tell you this, but we’re friends. And friends tell each other the truth. My eyes were opened. And tacos have never been the same. Not that I plan on wiping Old El Paso from regular rotation around here, that will never happen, but I shall be expanding my taco-horizons. 



When I accidentally stumbled across a recipe for crispy shrimp tacos this week, my world came to a sudden halt. A doughy taco shell, stuffed full of a cumin-spiked tomato, shrimp and cilantro mixture and then… get this, are you ready? Rolled up and DEEP FRIED. The resulting roll is somewhere between a taco and a taquito, bursting with this extremely bright and fresh filling. It was a game changer. A life changer. A WORLD changer, if you will. I know you won’t be surprised to learn it’s a recipe from White on Rice Couple’s stunning blog. They are the cat’s ass, Diane and Todd. If you haven’t been for a visit, I’ll wait here while you go and take a look. Go ahead. Right now. I insist!

See what I’m saying? Brilliant. And those photos? Forget about it. I can only dream of being that kind of talented some day.

These tacos are so good I didn’t even sit down to eat them. I stood there, hanging over the counter, tossing them back as fast as I could. What a pretty picture that paints. I served some quick pickles alongside to contrast with the rich filling and they were a perfect addition. 



Crispy Shrimp Tacos with Tomato Broth and Quick Pickled Vegetables
adapted from White on Rice Couple 

The recipe calls for corn tortillas, but my market had run out the day I went in to grab some. I urge you to try and find some at your Latin Market, their flavour is so much better than flour tortillas, I find.  

Taco Filling
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 jalapenos (or chilies of your choice), diced
1 tsp ground cumin
3-4 medium sized tomatoes, diced
1lb shrimp, peeled, de-veined and cut into 1/2” pieces 
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Oil for frying, enough to fill 2” in your frying pan (preferably peanut or Grapeseed oil)

8-10 corn tortillas
Tomato Broth (recipe follows)
Quick pickled vegetables (recipe follows)

Filling;
In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and let them sweat until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, chilies and cumin and cook for another minute.  Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is about ketchup-consistency. It shouldn’t be too watery. Stir in the cilantro, remove from heat and let cool. 



Roll and Fill the Tacos;
Fill frying pan with oil to a depth of about 2”. Heat the oil to about 350-375 or until a drop of water sizzles when you flick it in the oil. 

Two at a time, drop the tortillas in the oil for 1 second just to soften. Place on paper towels to drain. 

Lay tortillas flat and spoon 2-3 tbsp of the mixture onto one side of the tortilla. Roll them up tight (ends open) and secure with a tooth pick. Repeat until no more filling remains. 



Place tacos, 3-4 at a time, into the hot oil for 1.5 minutes. Flip over and cook for another 1 minutes until golden brown. 

Place fried tacos on paper towels to drain. Serve with tomato broth and quick pickles. 





Tomato Broth;
3-4 tomatoes, rough chopped
1/2 sweet onion, rough chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed

In a blender, puree all ingredients until smooth. 
Pour tomato puree into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by about 1/3. It should be a soupy consistency. 







Quick Pickles
1/2 cup cauliflower florets
2 jalapenos, sliced into rounds
2 carrots, cut into thing strips
1 small daikon, cut into thin strips 
1 1/2 cups white wine vinegar
1 3/4 cups warm water
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
large pinch of salt
Large mason jar

In a bowl, add the vinegar, water sugar and salt. Whisk until sugar dissolves

Place half the cauliflower and jalapenos into the bottom of the jar. Add the carrot/daikon strips, and finish with the rest of the cauliflower jalapenos. Pour pickling bring over until the jar is filled and vegetables are submerged. Place the lid on the jar and let pickle for at least an hour in the fridge. These will keep for 1 week.