Tag: *

Purslane

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I first encountered purslane in the books of Diana Kennedy. In Spanish, it’s known as verdolagas and often teamed with pork and tomatillos for what must be  a tangy stew that I’ve never tried. I found it in my garden when I took up tomato-growing and was pleased that the succulent weed came up so easily by the root. Once I identified it as purslane, I took the weeds to the farmers market where I was thrilled to see I could get $3 a pound for my waste! All of my purslane customers were Mexican or Indian and they were very grateful to see the vegetable for sale.

Purslane is a succulent but it’s soft. You can add it to a salad, but not very often. It’s a very particular taste and I think you’ll get tired of it pretty fast. I like to saute it with onion, garlic and serrano chiles and then use it as a filling for tacos, or if I’m ambitious, tamales.  It’s actually delicious like this, not just a healthy weed. Did you know purslane has Omega 3 oils in it? Who needs the mercury in fish?

The purslane is dying back with the cold but there still is plenty here. If you don’t see it, ask a grower at your farmers market if they can bring you some.

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Cascabel chile sauce

This is one of the easiest salsas imaginable. It’s nutty and
has a very mild heat. I’ve been putting it in a squeeze bottle and smothering
my eggs with it. Last night I used it with a little beer to de-glaze a pan
that had turkey cutlets frying in it earlier.

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Take about 10 cascabel chiles and remove the stems and seeds,
reserving the seeds. Toast on a hot comal or grill untul gently toasted.
Don’t let them burn or they will be bitter and inedible but if you don’t
toast them they will have a raw, inpleasant taste. Remove the toasted chiles
and place them in a blender jar. Now toast the reserved seeds until brown.
Add these to the jar, along with 2 cloves of garlic, a little salt and about
3/4 cup of water. Blend well, adding more water if needed. Allow to stand
for a few minutes so it can thicken up. You can add a little water if it’s
too thick. It’s that simple.

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Chilaquiles with poached eggs

Sunday mornings I normally feel pretty out of it after doing the farmers
market in San Francisco on Saturdays. A fellow vendor described it as
“market hangover” and I know exactly what she means. Once I spent the
whole day in bed watching bad TV and the longer I did the less I could
move. And the worse I felt. Good food is a motivator to get out of bed.
This morning I made chilaquiles.

Early this week my friend Grant was over to film some cooking demos for the website
so I had some extra chile sauce made from anchos and guajillos.

Basic Chile Sauce
Clean and the toast on a hot dry skillet 4 ancho chiles and 2 guajillos. Soak
in warm water for about 20 minutes and then place the chiles in a
blender with enough of the soaking liquid to keep the blades moving.
Add a small chopped onion, Mexican oregano and some garlic. Blend well
and the fry in some fat for 5 minutes. Thin with chicken stock or water
and cook another 15 minutes or so. Add salt as needed and a touch of
sugar oif the sauce is bitter.

For the chilaquiles, I started by poaching 2 eggs in a the chile sauce.

I removed the eggs with a slotted spoon and set them aside. I then added
the tortilla chips and cooked them until they were soft and pliable.

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On a plate, I added the tortilla pieces and grated cotija cheese, added
the poached eggs and then drizzled the whole thing with a little crema
Mexicana. Some cilantro for green

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Excellent Sunday morning fare. I later discovered I had an avocado. Damn.

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Dealing with prickly pears

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My cactus has gone nuts this year and I have dozens and dozens of prickly
pears and a constant stream of paddles. I’m thinking of selling the
pears at market but how do you clean them?

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After a little web research, it seems that a culinary torch works best. I had pretty good luck with a burner from my range.

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One of the sites suggested water afterwards and the stinging in my hands makes me think this is right.

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But  whatever the pain, it’s worth it. You can eat the tuna, seeds and all, and it’s a great snack.
You can also blend it with water, a little sugar and some lime for an agua fresca.

Leftover chile sauce

I had lots of chile sauce leftover and I’m getting obsessive with the technique of
poaching eggs in chile sauce, I did it again for breakfast. I thinned
out the chile sauce with chicken stock but I’m beginning to suspect
water would have been fine. I added some previously cooked nopales
(cactus paddles) and when the brew was simmering, I gently cracked two
eggs into the pan.


I’m liking this technique more and more. I also liked the fully cooked
cactus. There was some tooth to it but it is soft and I think better a
little less al dente.


Now my question is: Is this just huevos ahogadas?