Some people see danger. I see dinner!
A recent secret I learned when making cactus paddles (nopales) is to add some tomatillo husks (and corn husks if you have them) to the boiling water as you cook them. The texture of the nopales improves and husks absorb some of the okra-like goo.
To make a salad, I used some cooked nopales, cooked Black Valentine beans, cubed cheese, diced red onion, some cilantro and salad greens. Toss with your favorite dressing.
I have to warn you, my interest in nopales is becoming borderline obsessive. I’m watching my once proud and mighty cactus plant rebound from the cold winter and embrace Spring with new paddles and new prickly pears and I’m getting excited.
In Mexico a few weeks ago, I had a delicious molcajete with shrimp, octopus and nopales. Molcajetes are a little gimmicky, but they’re great. The lava is heated to the point where it’s red hot and then the ingredients are grilled on the hot lava, along with a tomato-based broth and cheese. It arrives at the table still bubbling and it’s a great sense of theater. It’s also a lot more interesting than fajitas.
The dish is served with tortillas and the cactus and shrimp combination is one that deserves to be explored more.
I’ve just come back from a really fine trip to Jalisco and Michoacan in Mexico. The real surprise was the city of Morelia. I had much the same reaction as I did when I first saw Venice: How come no one told me about this? I had no idea it was so wonderful. I love cafe life and Morelia’s is world class. It was like being in Europe only the food is spicy!
I went hoping to find bean pots (ollas) to import but I didn’t have so much luck with this quest. I did find this nice small pot that will be good for half pounds of beans. It’s a fairly common shape but it is somewhat thick on the bottom and the handles were larger than normal. (Can you see me trying to justify my manic bean pot collecting?)
I also came back with some new beans, of course, and I’ll be featuring them here over time. These beautiful beans caught my eye in the market in Patzcuaro, the charming town in the state of Michoacan. I asked the vendor what they were. "Frijoles", he replied. "I know frijoles (beans) but what type?" He looked at me as if I were nuts and said, "Frijol". I compared them to a sample I got about two years ago and I believe the bean is called Patzcuarenses and it’s truly a local bean. I love the yellow and pink colors. Hopefully they’ll taste as good as they look.
Again I found myself with just a cup or so of Runner Cannellini in the fridge, so I strained them through a fine mesh wire strainer and made a salad with a drained can of tuna, a quarter of a red onion chopped, a handful of mesclan from Star Route Farms and my own vinaigrette. If bell peppers were in season, I would have added them as well.
We’re in the process of cleaning some black beans that are very small and more in the style of Oaxacan beans rather than traditional turtle beans. Black beans have a thick skin and dense center that is almost chalky, but not quite. We’ll have them for sale later in the season.
I was experimenting with adding refried beans to fresh masa recently. I knew I was going to be deep-frying the mix so I was not so keen on refried beans and put some beans and their pot liquor in a blender instead. Refried beans are almost like butter and I assumed it was the lard I was adding but it’s really the blending that releases a buttery flavor. That, or these black beans are that much different. I’m not sure. Either way, dipping a hot tortilla into a bowl of pureed beans is something remarkable.
So often when I’m at the farmers market I suggest that my customers cook the beans simply. They often nod in agreement and say “I’ll just add a ham hock.” This normally makes my heart sink a little . The real glory of heirloom bean varieties is their flavor. A smoked ham hock is full of old fashioned goodness, I’m sure, but it’s completely unnecessary with most of the varieties we grow. I love pork and I like a lot of smoked things (although I am beginning to tire of everything being smoked) but in general I suggest saving it for something else or as an occasional change.
My turn for a change came the other night. If there is one bean that belongs with a ham hock it’s the Yellow Eye. It’s wonderful on it’s own but the pork is a natural partner, whether it’s leftover ham, a ham hock or a ham shank. One taste and for me it’s pure nostalgia for a type of cooking my mother rarely did. My ham hock came from The Fatted Calf.
To make the beans, add soaked beans to a large pot. The add chopped aromatics like garlic, onion, celery and/or carrot. Finally add the ham hock. Bring to a hard boil for about 2 or 3 minutes and then reduce to low. I used soaked beans and they cooked in just over an hour, but budget for two hours. When the beans are soft, remove the ham hock and salt the beans, testing as you go as some ham hocks are very salty. Remove and discard the fat from the ham hock and then chop up any meat and return it to the pot. I add the bone back for good measure.
The beans are smoky and delicious and incredibly rich from the pork fat that renders from the ham hock. If you want a creamier pot, remove a cup, blend it and then add it back to the pot.
I was looking at a Spanish-language recipe for Gorditas and I’m confident I have no idea what I was reading. But I never let these details stop me so I plowed ahead in my kitchen to make a really nice treat.
The dough was about 2/3 masa (you could make your own from masa harina powder if you don’t have access to fresh masa) and 1/3 mashed black beans. I had some good beans and I didn’t think I needed to fry them for this recipe so I just put the in the blender. I mixed up the wet, messy dough and tried to make small patties that were then fried in oil. I have a small cast iron skillet that doesn’t take too much oil and could do two patties at a time. After they were cooked, I drained them on paper toweling and salted.
Once they were all done, I grated a wee bit of jack cheese and added a big dollop of tomatillo salsa.
Obviously, anything deep fried is going to be at least halfway good but these were great. The beans kept the dough really moist and it was no problem working through half a dozen of these.
We’ve been sampling Cellini runner beans at the farmers market and I always manage to save an extra cup or so for me to use at home. This morning I made an omelet and the filling was a few spoonfuls of the drained beans and a big handful of grated Vintage white cheddar cheese, from the Point Reyes Cheese Company. It was a winner.
One of my favorite wineries here in the Napa Valley is Cakebread Cellars. Brian
Streeter runs the kitchens and co-authored the seminal Cakebread Cellars Napa
Valley Cookbook. More than almost any other book, I think this one really helps
define Napa cuisine.
Brian came up with this challenging but delicious twist on the classic
pot pie. It’s a special event dish but well worth the bother.
Cakebread Cellars’Duck Pot Pie with Good Mother Stallards and Kale
8 oz. Rancho Gordo Good Mother Stallard beans
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
½ onion, cut into four wedges
1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. salt
6 duck legs, boned and diced
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 tsp. tomato paste
1 c. white wine
2 c. chicken stock
1 tsp. fresh thyme, picked
1 bay leaf
2 bunches cavelo nero*
salt and pepper
1 lb. frozen puff pastry
½ c. flour
1 egg, beaten
Pick through beans to make sure there are no stones. Soak overnight in cold water to
cover.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour the beans and water into a large saucepan. Add the chopped
vegetables and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and cook until
beans are tender, about 45 minutes to an hour. Add salt and allow beans to cool
in their own broth.
Meanwhile, heat a wide bottom skillet over high heat. Season the diced duck with salt and
pepper. Add the olive oil to the pan along with the duck. Sear on all sides
until brown. Remove from the pan and add the onion, carrots and celery. Saute
until vegetables are soft. Stir in the tomato paste and deglaze the pan with
the white wine, scraping the bottom to release any of the brown glaze on the
bottom of the pan. Reduce until wine is almost evaporated.
Return the duck to the pan with the thyme and bay leaf. Cover and place in the middle
of the preheated oven. Cook for one hour until the duck is tender.
Puree one cup of the beans with enough of the broth from the duck to make a smooth
puree. Add to the duck stew along with the remaining beans. Cut out the stems
from the cavelo nero. Roughly chop it and blanch in boiling water until wilted
and bright green. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Squeeze
out all the water and stir into the braised duck. Continue cooking for another
15 minutes.
Allow the puff pastry to come to room temperature. On a lightly floured surface, roll
the pastry out to an 1/8” thickness. Using the bowls or cups that you plan on
serving the pot pie in as a guide, cut out circles from the pastry about an
inch wider in diameter.
Raise the oven temperature to 400°F. Ladle the stew into the serving bowl and lightly
brush the rim with the beaten egg. Drape the puff pastry over the top and press
to seal around the edges. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and set on a sheet
pan. Place in the middle of the preheated oven. Bake until pastry is golden
brown, about 10-12 minutes.
Enjoy with a glass of Cakebread Cellars Syrah.
**Cavelo nero is a type of kale popular in Italy. If unavailable substitute another
variety of kale.
Among chili aficionados, your answer to the question of “beans or no beans” can earn you disdain or respect. I love beans in my chili but I also dislike that thick, stodgy mess made from mostly beans that is called “chili con carne” on the labels of cans and in certain regions of our fair country. The star should be the chiles, either from pods or ground to a powder. Even the meat (in this case some delicious chuck roast I got from Doug Stonebreaker of Prather Ranch Meat Co.) takes a
back seat, as do the wonderful Good Mother Stallard beans.
A note on spelling: The pods are called chiles. The dish is called Chili. When you see Chile Powder, you should expect it to be 100% ground chiles. If you are buying Chili Powder, there’s a better than good chance there will be spices and herbs added.
Rancho Gordo Chili con Carne
¼ cup olive oil
2-3 pounds chuck roast, cut into ½ to 1 inch cubes
2 white onions, chopped
4-6 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon Rancho Gordo Mexican Oregano
½ cup Rancho Gordo New Mexican Red Chile Powder
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
salt
3 cups water
1 bottle Negra Modelo (or other dark beer)
1 cup Rancho Gordo Good Mother Stallard beans, cooked and drained
1 tablespoon of Masa
Harina (optional)
In a stock pot, heat the oil and brown the meat pieces. Remove as they brown. When all the pieces are browned and seared, lower the heat and sauté the onions and garlic until soft. Then add the oregano, chile powder, cumin and salt. Fry the spices for a few minutes and then slowly add the water and then the beer. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Add the meat back to the pot and allow to simmer gently for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Add the beans. Cook for another 10 minutes or so.
The texture should be somewhat soupy but if the liquid is too thin, dissolve the masa harina in about ½ a cup of water. Stir well to avoid any lumps. Slowly trickle the liquid into the chili. Cook on low for another 15 minutes or so. This step adds a nice “nixtamal” flavor and you can choose to do it even if you like the texture,
noting that it will dilute the chile flavor somewhat.
Ladle out hot with garnishes of raw chopped onion, chopped cilantro, chile powder, etc., Serve with hot flour tortillas, buttermilk biscuits or your favorite cornbread.