Recipe: Salsa Verde

Tomatillos a re fantastic and I was so excited when I grabbed some from Inglewood Farm at the Locavore Market. I loved making this salsa verde because in a month without citrus, the tomatillos had a bright citrusy flavor that was a great companion to fish or shrimp. I also served it up as a dip for some sweet potato fries and it was great there too.

Salsa Verde
Ingredients
1 lb. tomatillos
1/2 chopped white onion
pecan oil
Jalapeño peppers or other hot peppers, seeded and finely chopped
cilantro
wine, cane vinegar, or lime juice if available
Salt to taste

Instructions
Remove the papery husks of the tomatillos, as they are inedible. Rise the stickiness off the tomatillos and place in a baking pan. Place under the broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin. The tomatillos should look lighter and feel softer. 

Saute the onions in pecan oil in a small to medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. Once the onions are softer and more translucent, add the peppers and tomatillos. Use a blender or stick blender to puree. Add cilantro, wine/vinegar and salt to taste. (I used a dash of Pontchartrain Vineyards Ponchatrain Vineyards Roux St. Louis)

 Enjoy!

Recipe: Braised Goat with tomatoes and coriander

 I grabbed some goat from Rouses local meats section and realized I had never cooked it before. So I did some googling and came across this recipe from The Oregonian's website for Braised Goat with tomatoes and coriander, which was perfect since I just snagged a bunch of coriander from my mom's garden. It took some editing since I didn't have a lot of the other ingredients, but the result was so yummy, its something I'll definitely add to my recipe bank outside of the challenge. I actually didn't have much broth on hand, just a bit of mushroom broth so use what you have or just use water--a good bit of the flavor will come from the wine anyway. I served it over rice because I already had some made and handy. I imagine it would go very well with some roasted potatoes and carrots. Overall it tastes like a condensed stew and the meat is very tender.



Braised Goat with Tomatoes and Coriander
adapted from The Oregonian
makes about 3 servings

1 to 1.5 pounds goat meat, cut into chunks
salt
1 tablespoon pecan oil
1.5 cups onion, diced
1 tablespoons garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or other available hot pepper)
1 cups tomatoes, diced
1 cup white wine (I used Ponchatrain Vineyards Roux St. Louis)
1 cup broth, plus water as needed
1 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375. Pat meat dry with paper towel and season the goat with salt. In a Dutch oven or cast iron skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the meat on all sides; transfer to a plate.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and saute the onions. Cook until onions are tender and just beginning to brown. Stir in the garlic, & coriander cook for 1 minute more. Return the goat to the pot, then add the tomatoes and wine, broth and enough water as needed to barely cover the meat. Cover and bring to a gentle simmer on the stovetop then transfer the pot to the oven.
3. Braise in the oven, covered and adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. The goat is ready when the meat is tender and easily comes away from the bone, about 1.5 hours (more if there if you double the recipe or cut larger chunks of meat).
4. Stir the cilantro into the meat and sauce just before serving. Excellent served with rice and roasted root vegetables.

Recipe: Homemade Ketchup

I will never buy bottled ketchup again. This was relatively easy and came out so yummy, this is exactly why I love doing the Nola Locavore Eat Local Challenge: new food discoveries.

Would I have ever thought to make my own ketchup on my own? Maybe eventually, but now I did it because I needed to and I won't ever look back!

I looked at a handful of recipes and got the idea: spice tomatoes, sweetener and just ran with it. I'm super happy with the end result. If you're not as lazy as I am, you would have done it right and removed the skins and seeds and extra water. I didn't feel like doing it and thought it was yummy and not so tedious and time consuming. A hand mixer/immersion blender makes the process super easy. Please excuse the vague amounts of ingredients--I just put stuff in the pot and made adjustments as needed.

All-local Nola Creole Tomato Ketchup

1-2 garlic cloves, diced
pecan oil
couple lbs of creole tomatoes, chopped
spicy oregano
salt
Steen's cane syrup
couple tablespoons of lemon juice

In a large sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat and sautee the garlic for about 30 seconds or until golden brown. Add the oregano and tomatoes and use a stick blender to puree the mixture. Add salt and a couple tablespoons of cane syrup to taste. Add in lemon juice. Cook the mixture down, stirring often until it thickens (about 20 minutes or so depending on the amount of tomatoes). Make adjustments to taste as needed. I used the stick blender again at the end just to make sure to get a nice smooth consistency. The sauce will thicken more as it cools. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator. The info I've read on the interwebs varies, but I'd guess it can last about 3 weeks in the fridge and obviously longer in the freezer.

Recipe: Shrimp and Grits

3 cups water
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
Salt
1/2 cup grits
1/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon pecan oil
1 medium tomato
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup white wine
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

In a saucepan, over medium heat, add the water, milk, butter and salt. Bring to a boil. Slowly stir in the grits. Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook for about 1 hour or until the grits and tender and creamy, stirring every 10 minutes to prevent the grits from sticking. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese and heavy cream. Season with more salt if needed. Set aside and keep warm.
Puree the tomato in a food processor or with a hand blender. In a saute pan, over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the garlic, bell pepper and mushrooms and saute for 30 seconds, then add tomato puree and wine and let cook for about 2-3 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt, then add to pan and saute for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and add in the butter. Remove from the heat and stir in 2 teaspoons of the parsley. To serve, spoon the grits in the center of a shallow bowl and spoon the shrimp mixture over the grits. Garnish with parsley. 

Recipe: Squash Fritters with Roasted Creole Tomato and Shiitake Mushrooms

As I've said before, I've really just been making things up as I go along this food adventure. Some meals are actually based on recipes...others I've just been making up depending on what I have on hand.

I didn't submit any recipes to the recipe contest because 1. I didn't really think I made anything of note of my own creation until well into the challenge. 2. I'm actually really bad at keeping track of what I use and the amounts when I'm just making things up on the fly. Even the amounts for this recipe below are a complete guestimation. At the time, I just did what looked right and then thought about how much I used of each ingredient after the fact and took a stab at it.

But this meal in particular was so yummy I wanted to share the recipe. I even shared it on ehow's Rachel Ray contest. So if you like it, go vote for it here: http://www.ehow.com/contest/rachael-ray/20400838/. I'll fully admit, I'm not a big Ray fan--I think I have a grand total of two of her recipes I've tried and liked--but I do like the concept of the contest: sharing meaningful meals. This whole Locavore experience has been educational and makes me feel more in touch with our community. This recipe in particular I was very excited about, so here it goes...

Squash Fritters with Roasted Creole Tomato and Shiitake MushroomsMakes 4-8 fritters
2 c. grated raw squash (I used patty pan and zucchini)
1/4 cup flour (I used corn flour)
2 eggs, beaten
3 oz. grated asiago cheese
salt to taste
2 large creole tomatoes, cut in thick slices
1 cup shiitake mushrooms

Pat the squash dry with a paper towel. Whisk together the eggs and flour. Add in cheese, squash and salt. Form fritter patties and drop into a greased griddle. (I made 4 really good sized fritters since it was a entree, but you could get more if you make them smaller.) Cook until delicate brown, turn and brown on other side.
While the fritters are cooking, place tomatoes on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Broil on high until the edges are crisp. Once the fritters are done, melt a tablespoon of butter in the pan and saute the mushrooms. Serve while hot with the fritter topped with tomato slices, sauteed mushrooms and a few sprinkles of cheese.