Charred Scallion Crema Food

BURNED-SCALLION CREMA

Steps:

• Put the scallions and jalapeño in a large dry sauté pan and cook over high heat, tossing occasionally, until the scallions and jalapeño have blackened at the edges, approximately 10 to 12 minutes.
• Put the scallions and jalapeño in the bowl of a food processor, and blitz them with the juice of 1 lime, then add the sour cream and mayonnaise, and blitz the mixture until it is smooth and flecked with blackened bits. Season to taste with the salt and, if you'd like the mixture thinner, the juice of the second lime. Scrape into a bowl, and reserve.

CHARRED SCALLION DIP

Steps:

• Heat a grill pan or grill to medium-high heat. Lightly oil the grill grates.
• Set 2 scallions aside. Drizzle the remaining scallions on a plate with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the oiled scallions to the grill pan and cook until slightly charred, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Set aside to cool completely, then finely chop. Thinly slice the whites and light greens of the remaining 2 scallions and set aside for garnish.
• Combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, Worcestershire, garlic salt, onion powder and 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Stir in the grilled scallions. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the fresh sliced scallions. Serve right away or chill.

SLAB-BACON TACOS WITH BURNED-SCALLION CREMA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix the chile powder, ground cumin, brown sugar and black pepper together in a large bowl, and then add the bacon slices, tossing to coat them with the spice mixture.
• Arrange the coated bacon slices on a sheet pan, ideally one fitted with a wire rack. Roast in the oven until they are caramelized and starting to crisp at the edges, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven, chop the bacon into large dice and keep warm. Reserve the bacon fat for another use.
• While the bacon cooks, make the crema. Put the scallions and jalapeño in a large dry sauté pan and cook over high heat, tossing occasionally, until the scallions and jalapeño have blackened at the edges, approximately 10 to 12 minutes.
• Put the scallions and jalapeño in the bowl of a food processor, and blitz them with the juice of 1 lime, then add the sour cream and mayonnaise, and blitz the mixture until it is smooth and flecked with blackened bits. Season to taste with the salt and, if you'd like the mixture thinner, the juice of the second lime. Scrape into a bowl, and reserve.
• To serve, warm the tortillas in the dry pan, one or two at a time, and reserve them in a tortilla warmer or clean dish towel. Fill them with the diced bacon and a slash of the crema, along with quartered limes and, if you like, salsa, cilantro, mint and hot sauce.

MARINATED BEETS WITH CHARRED ONION CREMA

Steps:

• Scrub the beets to remove any residual dirt and trim the tops and tails but leave the skin on. Cut in half and place in a medium pot, then add water to cover by at least 1 inch. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer the beets until fully tender, testing by piercing to the center of the largest beet with the tip of a paring knife, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the beets, and while they are still warm to the touch, use your not-favorite kitchen towel to rub off the skins. Cut the beets into wedges, taking care to keep the like-colored beets together, but separate from the other colors.
• Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and honey in a medium bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste and whisk again to combine. Add the Pickled Shallots and the beets and marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
• Dollop spoonfuls of the Charred Onion Crema on the bottom of a serving platter. Top with the beets, herbs and Harissa Breadcrumbs.
• Cut the shallot into 1/8-inch rings and place in a medium metal bowl. Separate the layered rings with your fingers and try to keep the rings as whole as possible.
• Combine the apple cider vinegar, beet juice, sugar, salt and a few turns of pepper in a small pot. Whisk the mixture and bring to a boil over high heat. Whisk one more time to make sure everything is fully combined. Remove the pot from the heat and pour over the prepared shallot rings. Stir the rings to make sure they are fully covered. Allow the shallots to cool naturally, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Cut the onion into 1/2-inch slices or wheels. Place the onion wheels in a dry cast-iron pan set over medium heat. Allow the onions to char deeply on one side, 10 to 15 minutes, then flip them over and char the other side, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the onions to cool slightly.
• Place the onions in the bowl of a high-powered blender and pulse a few times to break them up and release any remaining steam. Let the onions cool down for another few minutes, then add the crema to the blender. Blend the onions and crema, then season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Peel the outer crust off the boule. Cut the remaining bread into 1- to 2-inch cubes. Place the cubes in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until you have small and consistent breadcrumbs.
• Pour the olive oil into a medium saute pan set over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until it becomes fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the harissa paste. Whisk in the harissa paste until it is dispersed throughout the oil.
• Place the untoasted breadcrumbs in a large bowl and drizzle the garlic and harissa oil over the top, stirring and flipping the breadcrumbs to ensure even coverage.
• Lay the coated crumbs on a sheet tray and bake until crispy and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the toasted crumbs and scrape onto a paper-towel lined sheet tray to drain any excess oil. Season with salt while the crumbs are still warm.

SHRIMP AND COTIJA ENCHILADAS WITH SALSA VERDE AND CREMA MEXICANA

Steps:

• Preheat broiler. Line large rimmed baking sheet with foil; brush lightly with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Arrange tomatillos, poblano chiles, cut side down, and garlic cloves on prepared baking sheet. Broil until tomatillos and chiles begin to soften and blacken in several spots, watching closely to prevent burning, about 10 minutes (do not turn). Remove from oven. Let stand until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer tomatillos to processor. Peel garlic and add to processor. Peel charred parts of chiles; coarsely chop chiles. Add generous 1/3 cup chopped chiles to processor (reserve remaining chiles for enchilada filling). Add 2 cups cilantro and 1 cup green onions to processor; using on/off turns, blend until coarse puree forms. Season salsa verde to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer 1 1/2 cups salsa verde to shallow bowl.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped red onion and sauté until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper. Add shrimp, oregano, cumin, and remaining chopped chiles to skillet; sauté just until shrimp are almost opaque but not completely cooked through, tossing often, 3 to 31/2 minutes. Remove shrimp mixture from heat.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush 15x10x2- inch glass baking dish with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Spread 1/2 cup salsa verde from processor in bottom of dish. Stack tortillas; wrap in damp paper towels and place on plate. Microwave tortillas on high just until soft and pliable, 1 to 11/2 minutes. Working with 1 tortilla at a time, dip tortilla into bowl with 1 1/2 cups salsa verde, turning to coat both sides evenly. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Place 4 shrimp and some onion-chile mixture down center of tortilla, then sprinkle rounded tablespoonful cheese over. Roll up tortilla, enclosing shrimp and onion-chile filling. Place seam side down in dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas, shrimp, onion-chile mixture, and cheese. Spread 2 cups salsa verde from processor over enchiladas.
• Bake enchiladas just until heated through and cheese melts, about 20 minutes. Using spatula, transfer 2 enchiladas to each of 6 plates. Spoon any remaining salsa verde over; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Drizzle with crema and garnish with red onion slices and additional chopped cilantro, if desired.
• Available in the produce section of some supermarkets and at Latin markets.