Guacamole a la Boudros

This guacamole recipe was inspired by a visit to the excellent Boudros restaurant on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas. Up until then I'd been using too much lime and not enough salt - at Boudros they used less lime, added orange and more salt - and what a difference it makes! Try it yourself.





















Ingredients

• 1 large avocado
• 1 orange
• 1 lime
• bunch of fresh cilantro (coriander)
• 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 spring onion
• 1 tsp salt

Directions
1. Slice lime in half and squeeze juice from one half into a bowl











2. Slice orange in half and squeeze juice from one half into a bowl











3. Grind 1 tsp cumin seeds and add to the bowl with 1 tsp salt











4. Finely chop the spring onion and add to the bowl

(Note: at Boudros they used a red-onion, which works just as well)











5. Finely chop the cilantro and add to the bowl











6. Dice the tomatoes and add to the bowl











7. Slice jalapeno in half lengthwise and remove the seeds; finely dice and add to the bowl











8. Slice avocado in two halves, scoop out the flesh and dice











9. Mix together (not too much.. don't want to pulverise the avocado) and chill until serving time

Awesome Fajitas

I've done extensive Fajita Research in my kitchen - probably over 100 experiments in the last 5 years. The key variables are:

• marinade (ingredients and how long)
• meat (usually skirt steak, but sliced before or after cooking?)
• heat (stove or grill - briquettes or charcoal, wok or open flame)

Anyway, the recipe below gave "awesome" results according to the critics. See what you think...




































Ingredients

(Serves 4-6)

• 2lb (1kg) skirt steak
• selection of green peppers (poblano, jalapeno, serrano)
• sides: lettuce, sour cream, grated cheese, chopped tomotoes, tortillas, peach salsa, guacamole, corona to drink

For marinade

• Bunch of fresh cilantro (coriander)
• 1 tbs whole cumin
• 2 dried ancho peppers
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 bottle corona beer
• 2 limes

Part 1. The Day Before
Try to marinade your meat the day before grilling, this will give the best results.

1. Slice limes in half and squeeze their juice into a mixing bowl











2. Finely chop the cilantro and add to the bowl











3. Grind the whole cumin seeds and add to the bowl











4. Prepare the meat; your meat probably has a layer of fat on one side; I usually remove this to make it tenderer














5. Thinly slice meat across the grain














6. Put meat into a tupperware and add the coriander-lime-cumin mixture; stir well












Okay - at this point I decided that it was too bland and decided to take it up a notch - adding ground ancho, garlic and corona...

7. Take 2 dried ancho peppers and grind using a coffee or spice grinder; add to the meat marinade











8. Crush and coarsely chop 3 garlic cloves; add to the meat marinade











9. Add a bottle of corona to the meat marinade and stir-well











10. Cover and place in the fridge overnight until cooking time. Reminder - remove the meat from the fridge 30-60 minutes before cooking - to bring it to room temperature. This makes it cook faster and is somehow tastier.

Part 2. Cooking day

1. Prepare the sides (see list above)

2. Wash and slice the green peppers, removing the seeds











3. Get your grill started. Here I'm using a weber with charcoal and a lump or two of mesquite.

4. Before cooking, remove meat from marinade and drain using a colander











5. OK , grilling time.!

For this experiment, I tried first using a "grill-wok", but then had an epiphany and switched to using two grill racks -- one 22" and the other 20", placed on top of one-another at right angles. I felt the wok wasn't working (too much meat in there..) and putting the meat directly on the two grill racks allowed it to quick faster and seared-in the flavour - without falling through to the coals.

I kept the lid off most of the time and turned the meat frequently using tongs. When cooked (about 8-9 minutes I counted) I then removed to a pre-heated cast-iron frying pan for serving (and it get the authentic "sizzle" your diners will expect from fajitas!).




















11. Serving time

Serve fajitas with all the fixin's. Lettuce, tomatoes, grated cheese, tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, salsa and corona. Fantastico!

Fast Creamy Coconut Satay Curry

Pressed for time? But want something tasty as well? This is a quick and easy recipe, should only take you 30 mins from fridge to feeding.




















Ingredients

(Serves 4)

• 1.6 lb (700g) boneless pork chops (or fillets; substitute chicken if you prefer)
• 1 bag frozen green beans (peas or spinach would work as well)
  
• 2 tbs curry paste (use Pataks or Sharwoods)
• 1 tin (400ml/14 oz) coconut milk
• 1 tbs soya sauce
• 2 tbs peanut butter
• a little butter for frying (or vegetable oil)
• fresh ginger
• 2 spring onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• steamed rice

1. Place frozen beans in a bowl and cover with boiling water












2. Peel and grate ginger and finely chop spring-onions and garlic














3. Gently fry ginger-garlic-spring onion mixture in a casserole (dutch-oven) pan with butter or oil until fragrant (2-3 minutes)











4. Add 2 tablespoons of curry paste and stir well














5. Add 1 tablespoon of soya sauce and stir well














6. Add tin of coconut milk and stir well














7. Add 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and stir well














8. Drain the beans and add to the curry sauce, cover and simmer for 5 mins














9. Thinly slice the pork across the grain














10. Stir-fry until no longer pink on the outside














11. Add pork to the curry sauce, stir, cover and simmer for 5 mins














12. Serve with rice and enjoy!