Side Dishes for Any Night

I love great flavors. I have actively searched out great recipes from the age of 16, though I never actually cooked back then. I cut out things that sounded interesting and saved them, for that "someday," when I would cook. This happened around age 20, when I got married. However, I married a Guatemalan man and moved to Guatemala, where the food situation was vastly different from my upper midwest upbringing. 

No complaints. Truly. I learned a whole new world of flavors and cooking styles, and these have carried me through all the years since that time. I am grateful for what life handed me. I am grateful for my upbringing (from Mom) that stressed:

"Whenever you visit someone's house and are invited to eat, you must at the very least try each food on the table, whether you like it or not. This is polite."

Boy, did I ever run into a lot of things I had NO inclination to try when I first moved to Guatemala! But I held on to Mom's teaching, determined not to disgrace myself in front of my new family. I am so glad I did, because my palate would not be what it is today. I found out I really did like a lot of things I would have assumed otherwise, had I not tasted them. And that holds true no matter where I have been.

Black Bean Salsa

One of the things I learned to love, truly love, was black beans. Yum, yum, yummy! And my husband of 30 years has finally learned that he loves them as well. With that in mind, many years back, when my husband was still extremely iffy on the eating of black beans, I had made a recipe that I loved, called Black Bean Salsa. It has black beans, which I love, and corn which my husband loves. One can each. I figured we were getting a 50/50 chance of him liking this salad. As it happened, it was a sort of "it's okay, but nothing to write home about" situation with him. Oh well. 

Yesterday I ran into that recipe again, so opted to try it out once more, now that he loves black beans. It was fabulous, flavor wise, and both of us were very happy with the dish as a side to grilled chicken. 

But, you know how sometimes you revisit an old recipe and something just makes no sense? Well, the vast amount of liquids in the mix seemed ridiculous to us both. It is a waste of lime juice and olive oil to put so much into a recipe. The flavors are perfect, but the amounts are off. So this time I am going to post the recipe here, with my updates. It is well worth it. It could also be used as a dip, similarly to "Texas Caviar."

Black Bean Salsa

Black Bean Salsa

Serves 4 to 6

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained
1 - 2 medium tomatoes, small cubes
1 (4-ounce) jar diced pimentos
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies
1 Poblano pepper, optional
½ cup diced red onion or shallot
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
(½ cup vinegar, optional)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup chopped cilantro, or to taste
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt
dried chili flakes, optional, to taste

If using the Poblano, I opted to blister the pepper under the broiler, peel and de-seed, then chop. It makes a nice addition but is not essential.

My husband and I do not handle raw onion well, so I opt to prepare the onion and the garlic, place in a small bowl and cover with the vinegar (listed as optional) for about 10 minutes while prepping the rest of the ingredients. After this time, drain the vinegar well and add into the rest of the ingredients.

Place the drained and rinsed beans, the corn and all the remaining ingredients into a bowl and toss well. Allow to stand for about 20 minutes to meld flavors and serve.

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This next recipe I wanted to feature is one that some may not like because of the texture. If you love bread pudding or flan, with the soft texture, then you may enjoy this. My family certainly did. It is a recipe given me by a co-worker long, long ago, and it is absolutely excellent with ham. It would also be good with Polish sausage or Brats, or anything you would serve a sweetened sweet potato casserole.  My friend called it Scalloped Pineapple. Not sure of this terminology. Truly Pineapple Bread Pudding would be closer to how this dish comes out. It could certainly be used as dessert. Back in the 1980s, when I first ate this dish, it was made with plain white store-bought bread. If you get creative, it could likely be made better with some other bread, but I am presenting here recipe as it was given.

An old, old recipe I hadn't made in ages, so I have only photos of it made with a loaf of whole grain bread. 

Scalloped Pineapple

Scalloped Pineapple

Serves 4 to 6

3/4 cups sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
8 slices white bread (or whole grain)
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple with juice
- more butter for the bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter each slice of the bread, stack then and cut into cubes. Place the bread cubes into a 9 x 9-inch casserole dish.

Cream together the stick of room temperature butter with the sugar. Add in the eggs, one at a time and beat well. Dump in the whole can of pineapple with juice. At this point the mixture will look completely curdled and unappetizing. Have faith and carry on. Once the pineapple is well mixed in, pour this mixture over top of the bread cubes in the casserole and bake for about 45 minutes, or however long it takes to turn a nice golden brown on top.

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Another oldie but goodie of a recipe is one I found back in the 1980s in a Southern Living Annual Cookbook. At that time I was still young enough not to suffer from too much sodium (from too many canned veggies), and this was an easy salad, it made plenty, so having family over for dinner was a snap. These days I might do some things differently, like cook my own green beans, keeping them bright green, using fresh herbs. I am presenting my own methods here.

This oldie of a recipe was made so long ago that I have no photos.

Marinated Vegetable Salad

Serves 8

2 good handfuls of fresh green beans
1 can (15-ounce) kidney beans, drained and rinsed well
1 can (7-ounce) pitted ripe olives, drained
1 jar/can (6 - 8 ounce) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can (14-ounce) artichoke hearts, drained, quartered
1 jar (4 ounces) sliced pimentos
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1½ cups celery, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon capers
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DRESSING:
¼ cup tarragon vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon parsley, finely minced
2 teaspoons chives, finely minced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, stems discarded
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Snap off ends of green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths and steam just until crisp-tender and still bright green, 5 to 8 minutes. To stop cooking and keep bright green color, plunge them into ice water for a few minutes, then drain well.

Place the green beans and the next 8 ingredients into a mixing bowl. Separately, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, sugar, herbs and pepper, then pour over the vegetables in the bowl and toss well. The salad is best if allowed to marinate overnight.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Black Beans on the Menu

First of all, I truly cannot believe that in all these 5½ years since I have been blogging and setting recipes on my website, I have never once thought to write about my black beans!

I have always liked beans. I grew up on pork & beans of course, and my parents often made Bean Soup using a leftover ham bone and white beans. But it wasn't until I got married and went to live in Guatemala that I encountered Black Beans for the first time. That first time, when I saw them on the table I had absolutely no idea what they were. This was mainly because they were served pureed. There was no form to identify it as beans. When I tasted them, I loved them, though they tasted like no beans I had ever tried before. Pork & Beans are very sweet. Mom & Dad's Bean Soup was savory, but tasted of ham and other vegetables. These black beans had no sweetness, no ham flavor.

As I lived in Guatemala for 12 years, I learned so much about Guatemalan foods, and enjoyed most everything. I embraced learning to cook everything I could. I jumped in with both feet and kept myself firmly entrenched there and to this day, I keep going back to some of these favorite foods. Beans have stayed at the top of the list, mainly as they are easy to find now. Cooking them and preparing them might take a while, but then I have beans made and ready to reheat for a few days. If you leave them "parados," or whole, they really don't take much preparation. To strain them or puree them, they are called "colados" and all you need is a blender, or at very least a food mill. And best of all, my current husband has also come to like them, most particularly if they are made "volteados."

Parados or Cooked - Colados or Strained - Volteados or Turned

"Volteados," you ask?

Okay, so there are three main ways you might find black beans in Guatemala:

• Parados, or cooked and left whole
• Colados, or pureed or strained
• Volteados, literally translated as "turned over," or "flipped" 

Pureeing cooked beans is a simple matter. I generally cook my beans without salt or any other flavors except for apasote / epazote (it was called "apazote" in Guatemala, but here in the US, I find it called "epazote"), an herb used when cooking beans in Guatemala (and Mexico, I presume) because it is supposed to help with that little problem when one eats beans, parodied in the little ditty that begins, "Beans, beans, they're good for your heart . . ." I have no idea if the use of epazote does help with that affliction or not, but I found that I love the flavor epazote gives to the beans, so while I no longer find it fresh in the market (or in the backyard - it is a weed after all!), I can buy it dried, and happily, it is one of those herbs that retains its flavor when dried.  Here are two photos from online that show best how to identify it. Believe me, once you smell it, there is no doubting you got the right thing, and this helps eliminate some lookalike herbs that do not have this scent. It is pungent, herbal, resinous. It is not unpleasant, but only strong.

Epazote herb

Once my beans are cooked through, I saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet until deep golden and caramelized. I add these to the beans, along with salt, and that is all it takes, if you are eating them whole. If there is too much liquid in the pot, I cook some of the liquid out, slowly, but other than that, the beans are done.

If I prefer to make them pureed, or colados (literally, "strained" as they used a food mill for this task, when I lived in Guatemala), I then put them into the blender and puree them smooth and there you have them. And only then can they be made properly into "Volteados."

How to make Frijoles Volteados

Once you have pureed your cooked, flavored beans, you can begin making them into Volteados. In the photo below, I took photos at 5-minute intervals. This is accurate only if your beans are not too runny (it will take a while longer to evaporate too much liquid), or your heat too low during the process (in which case it will take a while longer to stir them until they are dry enough to "flip," or roll around in the skillet). 

The whole process is one of evaporation. If there is a lot of liquid with the beans when they are pureed, then it will take a lot longer to make Volteados. If you plan to make Volteados, it is best to allow the whole beans to cook down and evaporate some of their liquid. The reasoning is simple: while they are whole, the liquid can boil down without much hands-on attention. Once they are pureed, they will need to be stirred vigorously for the full time it takes to evaporate out the liquid. If you stop stirring, you run the risk of burning the beans, and all it takes is one bit of inattention to turn a heavenly dish into an inedible dish.

Making Frijoles Volteados

To start the process, add oil (I use olive oil) to a large, heated skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium heat. Then:

1. Pour in the pureed beans.
2. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula.
3. Lower heat slightly if needed; the beans will boil and splatter, and they are HOT. Like molten lava hot!
4. Continue stirring. After a few minutes, you should be able to see the pan, when scraping through the beans with the wooden spoon, as in photo 2 above. 
5. In another few minutes, the beans will have gotten very noticeably thicker and start to clean the skillet in spots, as in photo 3 in the sequence.
6. Once the beans come together in a whole mass, as in photo 4 of the sequence, begin to tilt the pan one way and then the other, forming them into a smooth, somewhat crescent-like shape.
7. Turn out onto a platter to serve, hot or warm.

Possibly, these are such a hit because they are further cooked down, evaporating liquids from them until the whole batch comes together into one, semi-solid, mass. It may not look very appealing at first glance, I understand. But once all the excess moisture is cooked out, the flavors are really concentrated, and they are just this side of heaven, in flavor. 

Black Beans

Black Beans

Basic Recipe
Makes a large pot of beans

1 pound black turtle beans
Epazote herb, fresh or dried, optional
1 tablespoon cooking oil or olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 to 3 teaspoons salt

Sort through the dry beans, preferably the night before, removing any debris or stones. Wash them well, then place in a bowl and cover with water by about 3 inches. Let set overnight. 

In the morning, drain the beans and place them into a large, heavy duty pot with tight-fitting lid. Cover with clean water by about 2 - 3 inches and set to boil. If you have access to epazote herb, place one or two sprigs in with the beans to cook. If you have only dried epazote herb, use about 1 to 2 teaspoons, or more, to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover with lid. Cook the beans for about 2 hours, or until they are very tender and beginning to fall apart.

Separately, heat a large skillet and add in the oil. Sauté the onion and garlic slowly, stirring often, until deep golden brown. Pour this into the pot with the cooked beans and the salt, as desired. Stir well, then cook for about 10 minutes to meld flavors. Serve them whole or use one of the methods above to puree or make volteados.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

A Most Amazing Breakfast

Okay, first off, this is no snap to prepare.

Photo of Tweets' Poblano Relleno

I wrote about a wonderful breakfast I ate at Tweets Cafe while I was out in Washington visiting my son and his lady. It was called "Poblano Relleno & Black Beans with Red Cabbage Slaw, Creme Fraiche & Heirloom Tomatoes . . ." Ever since eating it, I had been thinking about how to recreate it. And finally, the weekend before last, I made it. Holy heaven, it was as good as I remembered. 

And I re-iterate: It is no snap to prepare. 

It needs some time and some planning and some organization. But I am nothing if not methodical, and I had put a month worth of thought into this, so I finally just made the decision. And the decision was that I would make this casserole in a very small loaf pan, just to serve two (albeit in very large, restaurant-sized portions).

Assembling the component parts

My Preparations

I knew I would need the Poblano Peppers blistered and peeled. I bought two of them as I was still unsure how much I would be making and what I would need. The Poblanos were blistered, peeled and into a baggie in the fridge that day. I bought both Feta cheese and "Queso Fresco," unsure which I would want to use. I made a pot of black beans the day before. 

The morning of my grand event, I set out prepping things like the salad for the top. I love red cabbage (or any cabbage😋), so shredding some for the top was no big deal. My husband, on the other hand, really will not touch raw cabbage, and eats cooked cabbage only grudgingly. So I made a little green salad for his plate. Scallion greens were sliced for garnish. Sour cream was well stirred and into a squeeze bottle for "scribbling." Tomatoes were sliced for my plate (my husband will not eat fresh tomatoes). I set out Queso Fresco (finally made my decision) easy to crumble by hand, last minute. I had fried the potatoes, using my recipe for "Pan Potatoes" (but using one medium/smallish potato) and making sure they were well browned and well seasoned.

Now it was time to assemble. My initial reasoning was to whip the eggs up a bit, in the hope they would stay light in the casserole. At Tweets, the egg part of the casserole did not seem at all heavy or too compact. It held perfect shape, but seemed light, all the same. I layered the potatoes in the bottom of the pan. I had lined the pan with foil in the hope of easy release and easy cleanup. I have no idea why or how, but there was baked-on egg between the foil and the loaf pan and the egg was very well baked on. Oh well. So much for planning. So the potatoes in place, I poured on about half the eggs and let them set for a few seconds, hoping it would easily distribute through the potato layer. 

It did not.

My Poblano Relleno Breakfast Casserole

Okay, so my advice is to tap, rap, bang, or whatever works to get the egg down in among the potatoes before proceeding. At Tweets the potatoes were nicely compact in the bottom of the casserole. The Poblano was nicely centered, just above the potatoes, yet well below the top of the baked casserole. This did not happen with my attempt, either. It in no way impaired flavor. It was just a puzzling out kind of thing. 

Back to the layering: After the first half of the egg mixture, I set the Poblano in a layer over top. Then I poured on the remaining egg mixture. This went into the oven at 350 degrees and I timed it 25 minutes. I reasoned that it was a very small casserole, right? What a gross underestimation. It ended up taking a full hour for that tiny 4 x 6-inch casserole. I removed it from the oven various times to check. Upon pressing on the top, liquid egg still kept surfacing. I timed it 10 minutes more, ten minutes more, etc, until finally, at one hour, it was done. Whew!

The Outcome?

Casserole set atop Beans

Getting the casserole out of the pan was a true challenge, since the foil stuck to the pan, and the casserole stuck to the foil (despite spraying the foil with cooking spray). I finally got a knife run around the edges and turned the casserole out into my hand, then set it upright on the cutting board. Since loaf pans have a slight flare at the sides, I trimmed the edges straight, then cut the casserole in half, making two beautifully square pieces.

I put some of my reheated black beans into large bowls, then set the casserole squarely on top. I piled my red cabbage on top of my portion, and the green salad on my husband's portion. I "scribbled" the sour cream over each plate. I set pieces of heirloom tomato around my portion, then crumbled some of the Queso Fresco over each and a bit of scallion greens went over top. I also put a few cilantro leaves over each plate, since we love cilantro. 

The flavors were absolutely exceptional, and a very close match to what was served at Tweets. My potatoes ended lifting themselves up into the egg mixture, causing the Poblano to be setting on top, rather than the middle. This in no way affected flavor, only esthetics. Other than this, there was nothing I could criticize; the flavors were tremendous.

It may not be a simple "throw-together" for a weekend, but for someone really special, it is a little labor of love that is well worth attempting.

Poblano Relleno Breakfast Casserole

Serves 2

Poblano Relleno Breakfast Casserole

MAKE AHEAD (one day, at least):
1 Poblano Pepper, blistered, peeled
2 cups black beans (cooked ahead or use one can, divided between plates)

CASSEROLE:
1 medium potato, quartered, sliced thinly
oil for frying
¼ to ½ teaspoon salt for potatoes
6 eggs, whisked to combine
½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
½ teaspoon salt

ASSEMBLE GARNISHES:
1 small "salad" portion, per plate (red cabbage, salad greens, arugula, etc)
2 - 4 small cherry tomatoes
sour cream, thinned if needed
scallion greens, sliced or chopped
cilantro leaves, optional
Feta Cheese or Queso Fresco (1-ounce per plate)

Fry the potatoes in enough oil so they do not stick, and sprinkle with the ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt. Toss them frequently, until they are nicely browned, crisp and cooked through.

Spray a small loaf pan (4 x 6-inch) with cooking spray. Press the potatoes into the bottom of the casserole. Whisk the fresh thyme leaves and the ½ teaspoon salt into the eggs. Pour half the egg mixture over the potatoes and rap the pan various times to get the egg to penetrate the potatoes. Allow to set for a few minutes, while this occurs. Cut the peeled Poblano in half lengthwise, then set the halves over top of the potatoes so they cover the whole surface. Pour on the remaining eggs. Bake the casserole in a preheated 350 degree oven for about one hour, checking after 50 minutes, as all ovens are different. If wet egg seeps up when the casserole is pressed on top, it needs more cooking time.

While the casserole is baking, assemble all the garnish ingredients. Heat the black beans, whether homemade or canned. When the casserole is done, give it a few minutes to set, then run a knife around the edges and remove the casserole from the pan. With a very sharp knife, trim the outer edges and cut the casserole in half. Place about 1 cup of black beans into each of two large bowls. Set a slice of the casserole on top of the beans in each plate. Place a portion of salad or slaw on top of the casserole, then "scribble" some sour cream artfully over the whole plate. Set the tomato slices around the casserole, crumble on the cheese and strew with scallion greens and cilantro, if using. Serve immediately.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Hash Browns, Hatch Chiles & Eggs

Hash Browns for One, with eggs

I have had a desire to create a "Hatch Chile Sauce" for a long while. This began many years ago, down in Tucson, where one of my sisters resides. Near her house is a park and Tea Garden called Tohono Chul. The park is lovely in the Southwest xeriscape way, showcasing the plants and critters local to the area. The "Tea Garden" or, as I see in the website is now called "Garden Bistro", showcases absolutely fantastic meals, but breakfast is the meal I have enjoyed most often. For years, as I would visit my sister, we would go there and I would order the same meal, every time. It was scrambled eggs, wrapped in corn tortillas, served with a pool of Hatch Chile Sauce and black beans, sour cream and some olives. A Southwest breakfast fit for a king. Everything in that meal caused me raptures. And then, they took it off the menu.

I realize that menus must change periodically. The locals would want something new I assume. But me - I just wished that breakfast was still on the menu. And this is what brings me to this blog. I have been dreaming of that Hatch Chile Sauce ever since. It had a little bit of bite, but was mild, overall. The southwest flavor was the thing that just enchanted me. The last time I was in Tucson, my husband and I drove back from there, via the Grand Canyon, the giant meteor crater (remember "Star Man"?), Hatch, New Mexico, Denver, CO, Aberdeen, SD, and on and on, till we got back to Florida, where we lived at the time. When passing through Hatch, we stopped and I bought a large string of Hatch chilies. I had not really used them; mainly I had them hanging as a decoration. My understanding is that "Hatch Chilies" are just chilies that grow in Hatch, NM, and not any particular variety. They could be hot chilies or mild. The string I have are relatively hot.

A few days ago I wanted some hash browns. My husband will absolutely not eat hash browns if the skins are on the potatoes. Skins are his big, fat no-no. Me - I love the skins, so if I make hash browns for myself, I leave the skins on. I made one little potato-worth of hash browns in a tiny skillet, just for me. I made 2 eggs in the same skillet to set on top of the potatoes and it was my supper. Here is the recipe:

Hash Browns for One

Potato Mixture - In the pan

1 small potato, scrubbed
1 tablespoon olive oil 
3 scallions, chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of pepper, optional
1 teaspoon cornstarch

One side cooked - Hash Browns served

Chop the scallions and set aside. Lay out a 2-layer thickness of paper toweling at least a foot long or more. Heat a small skillet over medium heat. With a large-holed grater, grate the little potato onto the paper toweling. Spread the shreds out relatively evenly, roll the paper toweling with the potato inside, then squeeze all along the roll to wring as much moisture from the potato shreds as possible. Unroll the paper toweling, dropping the potato shreds with the scallion. Add the salt, pepper if using, and the cornstarch. With fingers, toss the mixture to combine. Add the olive oil to the hot skillet and drop in the potatoes. Press them gently into an even circle. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 4 minutes. Remove lid and set a spatula under one side of the potato cake. Using the pan's momentum, lift the pan and flip the potato cake with the spatula. Back on the heat, cover and cook for another 2 minutes. At this point the potatoes should be cooked through.
Delightful as my hash browns and eggs were, it got me thinking about that Hatch Chile Sauce again, and I started gazing fondly at my string of Hatch chiles and dreaming of how I could make a chile sauce that would be similar to the one at Tohono Chul. I have a large bag of dried Ancho peppers in my freezer. They are in 2 zip-top bags, as I do not use them often, and just want them as fresh as possible when I do want them. I wondered how many chilies it would require to get the sauce to be similar to the one at TC. Theirs was a relatively smooth sauce, a nice dusky orange in color. I figured there was no way to find out but by trying. This is what I did:

My Hatch Ancho Chile Sauce

Hatch Ancho Chile Sauce

Makes 1 pint

2 hot, dried chilies
1 large dried Ancho chili
Boiling water, for soaking 
1 large onion, or 2 small onions, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt 
2 cloves garlic, coarse chopped
3 tablespoons double concentrated tomato paste (from a tube)
2 - 3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, rough-chopped
1 cup water, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
pinch of dried epazote, optional
pinch of annatto powder, optional
1 tablespoon butter
 
In a small saucepan, heat some water to boiling. Reduce to lowest heat and add the 3 chilies. Allow them to steep in the water while starting the onions. Heat a medium skillet and add the olive oil. Add in the onions and teaspoon of salt; saute until translucent, stirring periodically. Add the garlic, thyme and tomato paste and stir to combine, cooking until the garlic is fragrant, about one minute. Add in half the water and stir.
 
Remove the chilies from the hot water. If you want the sauce to be very hot, leave in the seeds and membranes; otherwise, remove stems, seeds and membranes, coarsely chop and add to the skillet. Stir just to combine and pour into a blender or food processor. Process until the sauce is as smooth as you like and return the sauce to the skillet. Stir in the rest of the water, with the half teaspoon salt, vinegar and epazote and annatto, if using. These last may make no appreciable difference. The annato will give more depth of color. The epazote is a very southwest flavor and I have it in my cabinet! Add in the butter and stir until it melts and is well combined. Once cooled, store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Corn Tortillas, Hash Browns for One, Eggs, Hatch Ancho Chile Sauce with a side of black beans, olives and sour cream

The sauce tasted really good, though it has been quite a few years since I last had it at Tohono Chul. This morning I made my Hash Browns for One, set them onto a couple of tortillas, topped that with two eggs, served myself some black beans and topped the eggs with the newly created Hatch Ancho Chile Sauce. It was a meal fit for a Southwest King - or Queen, as the case may be!



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Guatemalan Foods; Heathy and Delicious

In general, the typical foods from Guatemala are quite healthy, and certainly full of fiber. I learned a lot about  foods in Guatemala when I lived there in the 1970s and early 1980s. They use a lot of vegetables and beans in very creative ways, with the addition of tomatoes, tomatillos, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds in the most unlikely places. And the food is so good. Even now, so very many years later, I crave some of these foods. The fact that it takes a fair amount of time to create some of these dishes is the only deterrence from making them all the time. I am going to make Rellenitos de Platano today, and some time this week I am making Guatemalan Enchiladas. Guatemalan enchiladas are nothing at all like Mexican enchiladas, and I cannot wait to taste them again.

Rellenitos ready to eat

I have been eating black beans regularly for the last 4 weeks, just because I got in the mood, suddenly. I love them made "volteados" or pureed and cooked down to nearly dry  consistency, where they hold the shape of the pan, when flipped back and forth. But just pureed is easy and really good, and that is how I have made the last batch. But there are dishes using black beans that make one wonder. One of these is Rellenitos de Platano. Relleno means filled. Any word with the addition of the letters "ito" or "ita" afterwards is a diminutive. Rellenito (rrray-yen-EE-toe) means something small and filled. Platano is the Spanish word for Plantains, so we come to "small fried filled plantains".  Somehow that doesn't sound quite as lyrical as Rellenitos de Platano, but I will go on to wax lyrical about how good these little things can be! 

So, okay, what are these little things? And, how are they made?

Rellenitos de Platano are cooked, very ripe plantains, which are then pureed. A little sugar is added, with some cinnamon. For this recipe, only true cinnamon will taste right, so if you are unsure what this is, look in the Mexican section of your grocery, or go to a Mexican grocery. They always have true cinnamon. True cinnamon, cinnamomum verum, is distinguished by its very thin quills, making it very easy to break into bits. With the thick-quilled cassia we are so accustomed to, this is not an easy task. Cassia tastes very different.
 
Once you have your plantains ready, you need to have some black beans made into volteados, or very cooked down and dry and paste-like. You take a small ball of the plantain puree, probably about an ice cream scoop size. Oil your hands well and take the plantain mixture in one hand and pat it out a little. Place about 2 teaspoons or so of the black beans and place in the center, and then form the plantain mixture to encase the black beans, making it into an oval. Now you have the relleno, or filled part of the recipe. At this point, though it is not authentic, I always dredge the filled plantain lightly in flour. This helps when frying so they do not stick to the pan. If you leave off the dredge in flour, or use maybe a rice flour instead, these are naturally gluten free.

The little ovals are fried in oil in a skillet to brown. The ingredients are all cooked already (except if they are dredged in flour), so they do not need a long cooking period. In Guatemala, they generally fry them in a little oil, but I have also filled the pan with oil to about an inch or so, so that when they are frying, they partially float, ensuring that they are not sticking to the pan. If the plantains are very soft, they can stick. Once fried, they are rolled in white sugar, to coat. These are good hot or cold and oh, so delicious.

If all of this does not sound good, it is just as I said. Guatemalan foods use lots of ingredients in unlikely places, but you really have to try the foods to believe how good they can be. It may be less likely that someone just tries this out without any prior knowledge, but I do so hope that someday you all may find a good Chapina to make them for you, or lacking that, someone like me who lived there long enough to become enchanted with the foods. 


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.