Giselle’s take on Huevos Rancheros! by Giselle Stafford

Giselle’s take on Huevos Rancheros!

I had Huevos Rancheros in Berkeley, California a few years back in a cute little hippy style cafe – they were awesome!  All I really remember was there were refried beans underneath the tomatoey sauce and black bean sauce may have been involved!

So … I hunted around in the fridge and cupboards and came up with this recipe – it really is my own, and this is definitely not traditional – but we scarfed them down for lunch yesterday and we both say YEAY!! It’s a winner in the Stafford house!

 

 

What you need 

1 red onion cut into wedges

6 large ripe tomatoes – the vine ones have great taste.

(chop 4 of them and cut 2 of them into wedges)

2 tsp black bean sauce (that’s all I had left!)

Half tsp sambal oelek (I think green chilli is more traditional, but I didn’t have any!)

1 tsp ground cumin

Handful of fresh chopped parsley (or coriander if you have it – mine is still in the seedling stage!)

Refried beans – I had a 400g tin, used half of it, but I think they come in smaller tins too.

Melty cheese, grated – I used some of our precious cheddar stash.

4 eggs

Salt (optional)

Tortillas for dipping and mopping up the sauce – as many as you feel you need!

 

What to do …..

Heat up the oil in a wide frying pan or wok type pan.  Add the onion and gently fry until softened and a little translucent.

Add the chopped tomatoes, reserving the tomato wedges until a little later.

Add the black bean sauce, sambal oelek, cumin and most of the chopped parsley (save a sprinkle for the finish)

Cook on a med high heat and reduce the liquid, it should start to thicken.

When the mix is thick enough for you, give it a little taste and maybe add some salt if you feel it needs it.

Add the tomato wedges and stir through.

Make 4 dents in the mix, and drop an egg in each one – so make the dents evenly spaced!

(My mix was a little too liquid, so it was difficult to make the dents, however, the result was still great!)

Turn the heat down a notch to a medium heat.

Cover the pan with a lid for a few minutes to help cook the eggs.

In the meantime, warm some refried beans spread on the bottom of a grill/oven proof dish (I used a terracotta one).

Heat the grill.

When the whites have, well, turned white, with a large spoon, carefully – CAREFULLY transfer the mix and hopefully unbroken eggs on top of the refried beans.

Sprinkle with the cheese and pop it all under a grill until it’s all bubbly and there are patches of brown on the cheese.

Sprinkle the remaining parsley on top and serve with the warmed tortillas.

You can put the pot between you and just share directly out the serving dish or serve up into warmed wide bowls!

This serves 2 hungry folk!

 

Cheat’s French Cassoulet – Crock Pot or Le Creuset

From Food.com

Cheat’s French Cassoulet – Crock Pot or Le Creuset

French Tart‘s Note:This great Cheat’s recipe has all the elements of a traditional French Cassoulet – assorted meats, beans, carrots, tomatoes, wine & …

To  read more and the recipe….

Chili for the Non-Chocolate Lover byMary Leonardi-Cattolica Sansen

Chili for the Non-Chocolate Lover

By Mary Leonardi-Cattolica Sansen
This recipe started out as homage to Mole, but I figured that was asking too much for the Official House taster, so this is an homage to the chocolate that’s in Mole.

1 kg good stew meat cut into 1/4″ cubes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 yellow onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 dried California chilies, seeded cut into small pieces and soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes
5 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp salt
50 grams of 70% dark chocolate
1 400 gram can of crushed tomatoes
1 400 gram can of water
Sour cream
Shredded cheese
Chopped onions

In small batches, brown the meat until it is very dark in the oil. Remove meat from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, saute the onion and garlic until translucent and starting to brown. Add the chilies, chili powder, paprika, cumin and oregano and continue to saute until spices start to darken and become fragrant. Return the meat to the pan, stir thoroughly to mix then add the crushed tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil, then add the chocolate. Stir thoroughly until the chocolate melts, cover, reduce the heat to low and cook at a gentle simmer until the meat is tender.

Serve hot with the sour cream, cheese and onions and cornbread on the side.

Melanzane and Zucchini Lasagna by Marla Gulley Roncaglia

Melanzane and Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients:
2 large eggplant/aubergine/melanzane, peeled and sliced lengthwise in medium thick slices,
2-4 large zucchini
4-6 large tomatoes, fresh or a large can of crushed or diced tomatoes
Basil, handful fresh, julienned
1 large or 2 medium eggs500g (2-12 oz containers) Ricotta
200g (1c ) Parmesan or other hard grating cheese, and a bit more for topping
1/4 t or less nutmeg, fresh grated
Salt and pepper
Hot red pepper

Feel free at add any tidbits of goat or other flavorful cheese you might have kicking around begging to get used up. This recipes lends it self to much variation.

Method:

Wash and prepare your vegetables, slicing them lengthwise so the are about 1/4″/1/2cm thick. Heat your grill up and begin grilling your vegetables, while you prepare the remainder of your ingredients.

Wash and pat dry the basil and cut up into thing strips, or if you prefer, tear into bite size bits

In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg and Parmesan cheese. Add a few good gratings of nutmeg.

Season the cheese mixture with salt, pepper and a pinch of hot pepper.

Take a 9″x13″pan, or something equivalent, and grease with olive oil or or line with baking paper, like I do for an easy clean up.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil and begin you vegetable layering with grilled slices of aubergine laid singly sibe by side to cover the bottom and cover with a single layer of the zucchini, sprinkling a bit of salt and olive oil if you haven’t seasoned the vegetables while grilling. Spread 1/3 to half of the ricotta mixture over they layered vegetables. Cover the cheese, with a single layer of sliced tomatoes or part of your crushed tomatoes, sprinkle some salt over and scatter about 1/3 of the fresh basil. This is not a super tomatoey saucy version, so it doesn’t have to be a solid layer of crushed tomatoes, but a solid layer of sliced tomatoes is good.

Continue layering 2 more times if you have enough ingredients ending with the tomatoes as the top layer. Try to use the last of your basil under the tomatoes for the top layer so it doesn’t burn. Sprinkle a light layer of parmesan on top.

Cover loosely with another layer of paper and aluminum foil. Try to keep above the top so it doesn’t stick to the top layer.

Bake in a preheated 350*/190* for 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake a few minute langer till bubbly and the top browned up.

Let the lasagna rest 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Usually even more flavorful the second day. You make it one day ahead before cooking.

Sour Cream, Aubergine & Potato Gratin with Pecorino Cheese by Sarah Topps

Sour Cream, Aubergine & Potato Gratin with Pecorino Cheese

This dish is simple to make, delicious for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike and can be served as a whole meal or a side dish. It really is yummy and can easily be made in advance then baked just before you need to eat it!

Serves 4 as a main or 8 as a side dish.

5 tbsp olive oil
2 large aubergines cut into 1 cm slices
6 medium onions finely sliced
1 clove garlic (optional)
1 tsp soft brown sugar
1 kg potatoes (preferably Jersey Royal or similar), peeled
220g sour cream (home-made or shop bought)
2 tbsp finely chopped thyme
Butter for greasing dish
250g Pecorino or other strong cheese
300 ml vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the aubergines until golden.
2. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon.
3. Reduce the heat and cook the onions & garlic with the sugar in the frying
pan for around 20 minutes until soft and caramelised stirring occasionally.
4. Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a saucepan in salted water, bring to the
boil, cook for no more than 10 minutes (until still firm). Drain.
5. Preheat the oven to 425oF/ 220oC/ Gas mark 7
6. When the potatoes are cool enough, slice into 1cm thick slices.
7. Put them in a large bowl and coat with the sour cream and thyme. Season.
8. Butter a 2 litre oven-proof dish (we used an oblong one).
9. Cover the base with 1/2 the potatoes. Sprinkle over the onion mixture.
10 Layer the aubergines over the top and 2/3rds of the cheese.
11 Cover neatly with the rest of the potatoes and pour over vegetable stock.
12 Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and for extra taste grate a
little parmesan over.
13 Bake for 40 minutes until golden and bubbly.
14 Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes before eating.
15 Delicious served with a crisp green salad.
16 Enjoy! (we certainly did) and I’m now thinking of variations. A sprinkling of
walnuts or pine nuts on the top would be great too.

Aubergine, ricotta and tomato pesto roulade by Temple Perrotta

I have one more aubergine recipe but no picture (because I made it last summer).

Aubergine, ricotta and tomato pesto roulade

Slice the aubergine lengthwise and salt as usual.

Rinse and pat dry.

Brush each slice on both sides with a little olive oil and grill on a ridged cast iron grill so you get the grill marks.

Meanwhile soften dried tomatoes in hot water, drain and squeeze out excess moisture.

In a blender, make a pesto out of the tomatoes and olive oil to make it spreadable.

Take one slice of aubergine, spread a thin layer of tomato pesto on it and put a good sized dollop of fresh farmer’s ricotta.

Roll up the aubergine slice and place on a plate, seam side down.

Don’t cook it, just eat.

Great as part of an antipasto.