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Anyone living in the south will most likely sooner or later develop a love of guacamole, I like a little hot sauce with mine, but that is beside the point. There could almost be wars fought about how to make the best guacamole, but here is what I like.
2 ripe avocados, this means soft like a tennis ball. Avoid squishy, and avoid hard.
2 shallots, minced (about 1/2 cup)
1 serrano chile, and 1/2 a habanero pepper stems and seeds removed, minced
2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped, grow this in a garden, its easy.
1 tablespoon of fresh lime or lemon juice, squeeze it from the real thing.
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated black pepper
1/2 ripe tomato, seeds and pulp removed, chopped
Tomatillos can be a nice addition as well.
If this is too spicy leave out the habanero, the 1/2 pepper goes a long way. Season with hot sauce to taste.
METHOD
First, cut the avocados in half, remove the seeds and scoop out the avocado from the peel. Put the avocado in a mixing bowl and using a fork mash the avocado.
Next, add the chopped shallots, cilantro, lime, salt and pepper and mash some more, until fully mixed.
Chili peppers vary in their heat, so if you are timid start slowly. Handling peppers can be dangerous, so be careful and wash your hands after use being careful not to touch your eyes
Set the tomatoes aside until you are ready to serve they do not mix well.
Adjust this recipe to your particular taste and don’t forget that learning to pick the perfect avocado is the most important part of the process. I also believe that adding the right hot sauce is another critical step.
Before serving add the tomato, I like to put it on the top and not mix it in.
Variations and other quick recipes:
Short on time and big on company? Mix 2 avocados with 1/2 cup of salsa. Not as good as the above recipe, but still very good.
Adding sour cream or plain yogurt can stretch your short avocado supply.
I also like to garnish with cheddar cheese or refried beans. And, never forget your hot sauce when eating guacamole.
Paella is some one of the best dishes around, add a little hot sauce to give it some flare of keep it simple. Here is a basic paella recipe that will delight many time and time again.
Paella is cooked in stages and is often a family affair. It is part of the party and is usually done outside over an open fire. You must use a wide short pan, similar to a wok, with sides that are 4” to 5” tall. Many paella pans are up to 2’ across.
This recipe is made to serve 4 very generously, it can be added to or taken away from. There is no right or wrong way to cook paella. Many will notice the similarities to Creole cooking, they both originated from similar parts of the world but have developed in tandem along similar courses.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup white wine
1 tsp saffron
Olive oil or or another non stick, I like coconut oil as well
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup long grain rice or yellow rice with zaffron (Mahatma is one brand)
1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
3 cups beef or chicken stock
6 oz chicken breast, skinless
1/2 lbs large fresh shrimp
1 lbs large mussels
2, 3 oz lobster tails, optional
1/2 lbs of sausage, cut into slices. I like spicy
1/2 cup artichoke hearts
1 cup peas
1/2 cup diced tomato
Pre-cooking, getting the ingredients ready for quick addition is a big part of putting paella together:
Peel the shrimp, or get pre peeled shrimp
Cut the chicken in small cubes
Scrub the mussels, discarding any that are open (dead).
Chop all of the vegetables
Cooking:
Preheat the frying pan for one minute at med-high heat and add the oil, to avoid sticking
Sauté the onion for 2-3 mins until caramelized.
Add the rice, stir frequently to avoid burning
Add the wine and saffron and stir until all the wine is absorbed, keep stirring, this is a big part of the proper cooking process.
Mix in the peppers
Add 2 cups of chicken or beef stock, 1/4 cup at a time stirring until the rice absorbs the stock, this will take some time but is essential for the rice to cook.
Add the last cup of stock
Add the chicken and sausage
Add the shrimp, lobster and mussels, tuck them under the rice
Cover the whole Pan with foil if you do not have a lid big enough for the pan.
When the muscles open and the shrimp and lobster are pink the cooking is complete.
Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring continually. At this point it is easy to burn.
Tips:
Saffron is really hard to find, and expensive, but is one of the most important ingredients. It gives the dish its distinctive yellow coloring and adds to the flavor. The lack of saffron is one of the main differences between old and new world cooking. If you don’t want to break the bank look for rice with saffron already in it.
Like I said, paella is great for parties and always fun during the summer or at the beach. Add some hot sauce to really liven things up and make you sweat.
Hot sauce is made from the hot pepper. There are many different types of hot pepper and they can actually be difficult to distinguish. Most people are used to seeing a green jalapeno pepper but are not sure what it is when it is red. The interesting part about peppers is that when left on the plant to maturation process actually causes them to change color. So, a single pepper can go from green, to red, to orange to yellow.
All of the different stages have different flavors, properties, levels of heat, and amounts of vitamins. The hottest pepper in the world, the Bhut Jolokia will turn brown at its peak.
When peppers are young they will usually start out green. Many of them, such as jalapenos are harvested at this point. But, can be left on the plant longer, if left they will normally turn red. Red peppers are usually a little more expensive because they are more rare and less common, supply and demand.
The aging process of a pepper and the flavor have a lot to do with each other. Some peppers reach their peak heat quickly other must age for a little while it is really dependent on the individual pepper. The amount of water and the amount of heat that peppers are subjected to will also influence the heat. One thing is certain, the smaller the pepper the hotter. Habaneros are some of the hottest peppers in the grocery store and they are also some of the hottest.
As a pepper ages on the plant it will usually become sweeter and a little more mild. The vitamin content of the pepper will also rise as it is left on the plant, pulling more nutrients out of the ground.
Peppers are often used ornamentally and many growers have taken pepper growing to an art and experiment with ways to bring out different colors. Peppers are a great way to spice up your food, add some color to a kitchen, or make a great hot sauce.
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