Salsa

I have a weakness for salsa.  I think it may run in my family.  I think it may run in humanity.  And, really, I'm okay with that.  I like all sorts of salsa, but there's always something about the stuff that you get before a meal at a real Mexican restaurant.  It's not specially flavored, it's not "extra chunky," it's just delicious.  This recipe is a lot like that.  Salsa from a jar may have more "stuff" in it, but this is straightforward, clean, and altogether addictive.

The nice thing about salsa is that the ingredients are eminently variable, so if you don't have or don't like something, you can probably work around it.  Here's what I used, but adjust as you see fit: one large can whole peeled tomatoes, two cans original Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chilies, one bunch cilantro, a couple of  small Jalapeno peppers, one large green bell pepper, the juice of two limes, one large sweet onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, a bit of sugar, plenty of cumin, some smoked paprika (not pictured - oops!) and some salt.

This recipe is very, very easy, and this first step is most of the work.  Start by chopping up all of the fresh vegetables: the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic.  The blender will finish the job, so don't worry too much about the size or uniformity of the chop.

I like to make my salsa in the blender in stages so I can get the flavor balance just right.  Start by adding all of the chopped vegetables above to the blender along with the large can of tomatoes, sugar, cumin, paprika, salt, lime juice, and salt.  Basically, that's everything but the Ro-Tel and the Cilantro.  I do this so it's easy to adjust the spice level - the spice of jalapenos can vary, especially depending on how many seeds you have (assuming you left them in).  The spice from the Ro-Tel chilies is more or less consistent, so it's easy to add bit by bit to achieve the level of spice you're looking for.  I generally end up content after two cans - you may want anywhere from none to several.

Give everything a few pulses in the blender until it's fairly well-mixed, then taste and see how you're doing so far.  If you're like me, it won't be nearly spicy enough yet, and you may also have underguessed on how much cumin or paprika you want in there, as well.  Adjust the seasonings and start to add Ro-Tel about a half can at a time, pulsing the blender in between to mix.  Stop when you've reached your desired level of spice.

Once things are appropriately spicy, add plenty of cilantro and give it a couple of last pulses to chop and mix through.  The cilantro can't survive much time in the blender, so we add it last to keep it relatively intact.  Taste again and add anything you want more of, then you're ready to serve.

This recipe makes a lot of salsa, so it's easy to serve it in a variety of ways.  It's great on chips, in tacos, or in any recipe that calls for salsa as an ingredient.  Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator - but don't expect them to last long.  If  you have anything like my salsa addiction, you'll pull those leftovers out to finish off in no time.

Recipe: Salsa
Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: None | Difficulty: Easy | Yield: Approx. 2 Quarts

Ingredients

• 1 large can (28 oz) whole tomatoes.
• 2 medium (14.5 oz) cans Original Ro-Tel Tomatoes and Green Chilies
• 1 bunch Cilantro
• 2 small Jalapeno Peppers
• 1 large Green Bell Pepper
• 1 large Sweet Onion
• 2 clove Garlic
• Juice of two Limes
• 1 tbsp White Sugar
• 1 tbsp Cumin
• 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 2 tsp Salt

Instructions

1. Dice bell pepper, sweet onion, garlic, and Jalapeno peppers.
2. Add diced vegetables to blender along with all other ingredients except Ro-Tel and Cilantro.  Pulse several times to blend.
3. Taste and adjust seasonings.  Add a half can of Ro-Tel at a time and pulse to blend.  Taste and stop adding Ro-Tel when desired spice level is reached.
4. Chop cilantro and add to blender.  Pulse to mix through.
5. Serve immediately or refrigerate to preserve freshness.

Tomato-Vegetable Soup with Turkey

Generally speaking, I think soup is best used as a condiment for good bread.  A lot of the time, I can take or leave a bowl of soup - it's okay for one night now and again, but I generally want a meal with a little more substance.  This left me in a difficult position shortly before Christmas, when I had a wisdom tooth out and couldn't eat any solid food.

I needed a soup that I could put up with nearly every meal for days on end.  My thoughts immediately went to a tomato soup made by Kristin's brother in law, adapted from Pioneer Woman's Sherried Tomato Soup. I made some changes to that recipe to add a little spice and complexity, cooked a big batch, and pureed it down to be thin enough to eat without risk to my dental health.  It was fantastic!

That post-wisdom-tooth soup was tasty, but I still prefer not to eat as if I've just had oral surgery whenever possible.  This further adaptation of my first attempt adds some meat and many more vegetables.  The result is a complex, hearty dish with definite roots in tomato soup, but enough interesting elements to eat as a main course - accompanied, of course, by some good bread.

Here's what you'll need: ground turkey (not too lean), tomato juice, canned diced tomatoes, frozen corn, bell pepper, sweet onion, carrots, sherry, Worcestershire sauce, heavy cream, basil, cayenne pepper, and paprika.

First, dice up all of your vegetables in a manner that inadvertently honors your Irish heritage.

Brown the ground turkey with a bit of salt and pepper in a large stock pot or dutch oven.  Take care not to overcook it - remove and set the turkey aside as soon as all of the pink is gone from the meat.

There should be just a little bit of fat left in the bottom of the pan from the ground turkey.  If there's not much, consider adding just a tiny bit of butter.  Cook all of the vegetables over medium heat until tender.

When the vegetables are tender, return the ground turkey to the pot and add the tomato juice, diced tomatoes and their juice, frozen corn, Worcestershire sauce, basil, paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne.  Be conservative with the seasonings for now - you can add more at the end once the cream has been incorporated.

Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes to marry the flavors.

After that half-hour has elapsed, shut off the heat and add the heavy cream and sherry and stir well to mix.  Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed - you may want more paprika and cayenne if you like a bit more kick.

Serve hot with crusty bread.

Recipe: Tomato-Vegetable Soup with Turkey

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 10-12

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs Ground Turkey (pref. 90/10 or 93/7)
• 46 oz. Tomato Juice
• 1 28 oz. can Diced Tomatoes
• 1 large Sweet Onion
• 1 large Green Bell Pepper
• 10 oz Frozen Sweet Corn
• 3/4 cup Shredded/Diced Carrot
• 1 cup Cooking Sherry
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/2 tbsp Basil
• 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions

1. Finely chop sweet onion, bell pepper, and carrots.
2. In a large stock pot or dutch oven, brown ground turkey over medium-high heat.  Remove and seat aside.
3. Reduce heat to medium.  Cook vegetables in remaining fat until tender.
4. Reduce heat to low.  Return ground turkey to pan.  Add tomato juice, canned tomatoes, corn, Worcestershire sauce, basil, paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper and simmer 30 minutes.
5. Turn off heat.  Add heavy cream and cooking sherry.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
6. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Trout Pasta Pomodoro

Kristin and I are doing our best to eat generally more healthily, and part of doing so involves adding some more fish to our diet.  Now granted, pasta with cheese over it is not exactly ideal, but this was still a nice, light, fresh summer meal.  I got my inspiration from a similar Trout dish in Cooking Light, but opted to make it into a pasta and the "tomato topping" into a sauce so that the dish would be more of a meal.  It ended up really fantastic, and I'll definitely make it again.

Our ingredients are simple and fresh.  Trout is the star of the show - you can use a lot or a little, but make sure it's fresh and - preferably - sustainably farmed.  The sauce is based on fresh cherry tomatoes, backed up by some bacon, white wine, fresh basil, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Grate some cheese over the top at the end if you desire - we used Asiago to very nice results.

First thing's first, we're going to harvest a lot of flavor from not a lot of bacon.  Cut 2-3 ounces down small and get it rendering in a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium-high heat.

While that's rendering, get your veggies ready.  Dicing the onion is mandatory, as is removing the little green stems from your cherry tomatoes.  Also mince the garlic, or just be ready to wield your garlic press with extreme prejudice when the time comes.

I don't care what Alton Brown says about unitaskers in this instance - I adore my garlic press.

Mmm, bacon.  Once it's getting cooked, pull it out of the pan and set aside for a few minutes.  We'll get the veggies going in the awesomely flavorful stuff left at the bottom of the pan.

Dump those veggies right in.  Medium-high heat is fine, as we actually want the veggies to cook pretty quickly.

We want them to cook quickly because the cherry tomatoes will pop after a few minutes and release lots of liquid, quickly turning themselves into the beginnings of a sauce.  If you want it chunkier, just let them alone once they've popped.  If you prefer a little smoother texture, go ahead and crush them up a bit with the back of a stirring spoon, a potato masher, or whatever takes your fancy.

Now's the time to amp up the flavor.  Chop up some fresh basil, and add it to the sauce along with your white wine and that bacon you've been holding onto.  You didn't eat all the bacon, did you?  It's up to you what to do with the rest of the bottle of wine...I favor drinking it with the finished product.

Before long your sauce's flavors will really have melded.  Reduce it just a bit, then we'll add some starchy pasta water later to return some body.

In the meantime, it's time to grill some fish.  You can broil it or do it in a pan if you like, but I got a cast-iron grill-pan for my birthday (thanks, mom!) and it's fantastic.  All a great fish like trout needs is some salt and plenty of fresh black pepper.

While you're at it, cook your pasta, if you haven't already started.

2-3 minutes per side on the grill pan and it's beautifully done.  If you don't have a fish spatula, your trout may fall all to pieces as you remove it from the pan.  Do your best.  Really, it's perfectly tasty to just flake the fish over the pasta anyway, but sometimes it's nice to keep the pieces whole for the sake of presentation.

When your pasta is still al-dente, go ahead and mix it and a bit of pasta water into the sauce, and let it finish there for a couple of minutes.  It'll absorb a whole lot of flavor.

Now add that fish right on top.

And, if you're into that kind of thing, garnish with grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese and/or some more fresh Basil.  Serve immediately, and don't forget about that wine you opened.

Recipe: Trout Pasta Pomodoro

Prep Time: 5 Minutes | Cook Time: 30 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh Trout
• 2-3 oz Bacon, chopped
• 24 oz Cherry Tomatoes
• 1 Onion, diced
• 2-4 cloves Garlic, minced 
• 1/2 cup White Wine
• 16 oz Bowtie Pasta
• 4-6 leaves Fresh Basil
• Parmesan or Asiago Cheese to taste
• Salt and Pepper to taste 

Instructions

Cook Pasta to al-dente according to directions on box.

In a large saucepan or dutch oven, render chopped bacon over medium-high heat 3-4 minutes until cooked through.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Dice onion and mince garlic.  Remove stems from tomatoes.  All onion, garlic, and tomatoes to pan with bacon drippings and cook 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat until tomatoes pop their skins.

Crush tomatoes down if desired.  Add bacon, basil, and white wine to sauce and continue cooking 10-20 minutes until flavors are well melded.

Season trout lightly with salt and plenty of ground black pepper.  Cook 2-3 minutes per side on a heavy grill pan until fish flakes easily with a fork.  Set aside until serving.

When pasta is al-dente, add pasta and 1/2 cup pasta water to sauce and mix well.

Serve trout over pasta and sauce.  Garnish with cheese and/or additional basil to taste.