Last week I was asked to prepare and instruct a cooking class/demo for a group of people just outside of Chicago. They wanted similar flavour profiles to their traditional Mexican fare, but also something new and exciting that wasn't intimidating. Other important aspects of this class were to include low sodium foods, lower fat foods (not to be confused with low fat -simply less animal and more plant based fats), and heavier on fresh produce to demonstrate healthy eating.
The objective was to engage the family in the kitchen and learn a new technique, food item, and/or nutrition information. Considering these requests, my mind immediately went to watermelon, ceviche and grilling. The rest of the menu unfolded itself once I couldn't shake the idea of these foods and cooking methods. Menu:
chicken anticucho
Serves 4
Ingredients 20 oz chicken, bone-in 3 cups anticuchera sauce* Direction: 1. marinate chicken in anticuchera sauce for a minimum of 3 hours 2. remove chicken from sauce and grill for 40-50 minutes, basting as necessary 3. heat sauce and serve anticuchera sauce*
Prepares 3 cups
1 cup pasilla pepper paste (~6 each) 1/3 cup garlic paste 2 tsp. black peppercorn, ground 1/2 tbsp. cumin, toasted and ground 1/2 tbsp. oregano 3/4 cup red wine vinegar 3/4 cup vegetable oil salt to taste Direction: 1. If making chili paste from scratch, begin here by throughly washing peppers. Cut in half and remove seeds and veins. Put chiles in a bowl, cover with water and let soak for 12 hours or overnight, changing water if time/schedule permits during soaking. Once soaked, drain chiles and put in a blender with 1/4 cup boiling water. Blend for 5 min -chili paste 2. If you are not making your own chili paste, start here. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Set aside for 3 hours or overnight to marinade.
Pasilla peppers are not the original pepper to this sauce, but to make it Mexican, I swapped out the Peruvian pepper for a mild, low heat pepper, pasilla. The word anticuchos means meat stew, originating in the Andes and is now a popular menu in Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chlie, which consists of meats cooked in a highly acidic, vinegar marinade often including dried peppers. Additionally, it is usually served on a skewer with a boiled potato or bread. Feel free to try the skewers vs my method; it's quicker if you're short on time and don't have 40-50 minutes to grill.
Still hungry? Check out other great eats like grilled radish or lotus root, carrot & daikon slaw.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
SEARCH ARTICLES BY CATEGORYAll Dough & Noodle Main Nosh Sauce Or Spread Skin Soups & Stews Spices Sweets READ NEXTMOST POPULAR |
Copyright © 2015 Ranelle Kirchner - All Rights Reserved - Designed by Adrian Daniel Schramm