Chocolate Clams And Salsa Food

HAKE WITH CLAMS IN SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• Place clams in a bowl, cover with cold water and set aside. If using fish trimmings, rinse them with cold water, place in a 3-quart saucepan, add water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve and discard the solids. You should have at least 1 cup fish stock, preferably more. Set aside.
• Drain clams and scrub them. Rinse fish fillets and pat dry. Season with salt on the skinless side.
• Heat oil in a large sauté pan or stovetop casserole. Add garlic and cook on medium-high until garlic barely starts to color. Add flour and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add wine, cook 30 seconds and add fish stock. Lower heat and simmer about a minute.
• Add fish to the pan, skin side up. Simmer gently about 3 minutes. Turn fillets over, add clams, placing them around the fillets. Cook about 5 minutes, or until clams open. If the liquid appears to be drying up, add some additional fish stock or water. When the clams open, scatter parsley around the pan.
• Remove pan from heat and move it in a circular motion a minute or two to swirl the sauce so it begins to emulsify and look smooth. Add more salt if needed. Serve directly from the pan or divide among individual shallow soup bowls.

CHOCOLATE CLAMS AND SALSA

Steps:

• For the dressing:.
• Put the mayonnaise, mustard, cilantro, onions and jalapeno in the recipient of a blender and pulse until creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
• For the salsa:.
• In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, chile, onions, lime zest and juice, cilantro and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. If you like things spicier, put everything through a meat grinder, or a blender, and grind it up. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• For the refried beans:.
• Heat the lard in a heavy frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and chipotle pepper and continue sauteing for 1 minute.
• Add a ladle of cooked beans and, using a masher, start mashing the beans. Once the first spoonful of beans has been mashed completely, keep adding more beans and repeating the process. The unique taste of refried beans occurs as a result of slowly frying the starches inside the beans in the lard, so you want to add the beans a little bit at a time, to make sure they all get good and fried.
• Once all the beans have been mashed, add a little bean liquid or water, until you get the texture that you want. Keep it a bit looser than you eventually want, as they will continue to firm up as they cool off the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
• For the clams:.
• Scrub them under cool running water. Discard any gaping clams that don't close when cleaned.
• Set the clams on a BBQ grill over a solid bed of hot coals or over high heat on a gas grill. Close the lid on the gas grill. Cook the clams until they pop open, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Serve with a spoonful of the dressing, the salsa and refried beans. Garnish with lime wedges.
• Cook's Note:.
• The Mexican chocolate clam, so-called for its brown-colored shell, is the largest West Coast bivalve. Reaching up to 6 inches across, the clams are very popular all along the coast of Central America. If Mexican chocolate clams are unavailable at your local store, you can use any other high-quality clams (still in their shells).

LAUGHING BIRD SHRIMP WITH BLACK GARLIC SALSA

Steps:

• For the salsa: Pulse the olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, cucumber, jalapeno, onion, and lime zest and juice in a food processor until coarsely pureed. Season with salt and pepper. Keep in the refrigerator.
• For the shrimp: Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat. Saute the shrimp for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• To serve, slice the avocados and squeeze lime juice over them to prevent them from browning. Season with salt and pepper. Mix the trout caviar with some olive oil. Divide the avocados among 4 plates. Top with a generous spoonful of salsa, the shrimp and the caviar.

PORTUGUESE CHICKEN WITH CHORIZO AND CLAMS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to broil and place the red peppers, skin-side up on a baking sheet for approximately 10 minutes or until all the skin is blackened.
• Remove the red peppers from the oven and place them in an airtight container or bowl covered in plastic wrap to sweat and cool for 5 minutes. Cook's Note: The skin will then be easy to peel off.
• Reduce the heat of the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, place the chicken in a bowl and add the smoked paprika, paprika, chorizo, salt, pepper and mix well.
• In a pan, heat the canola oil on high heat. Add the chicken and fry until crispy on all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chorizo and do the same for another 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and onions and stir. Slice the skinless, roasted red peppers into long strips and add to the pan, along with all the juices. Place the smashed garlic on top of the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Put the pan in the oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until the chicken is fork tender. Remove from oven. Add the clams and kale. Cook for another 10 minutes.
• Remove and plate, garnishing with fresh parsley, chives, a drizzle of olive oil and some crusty (Portuguese) bread on the side.
• Cook's Note: Chorizo can be replaced by bacon cut in pieces. Kale can be replaced by baby spinach.

MARCO'S PLANTAIN SALSA

Steps:

• In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the canola oil. Add the onions and saute with the garlic and leeks until translucent. Add the plantains and continue sauteing for 5 minutes. Add the bonito flakes and allspice and continue sauteing for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and reduce into a coarse puree, keeping some texture to it. Add a little water if too thick. Season with salt and pepper.

GREEN ONIONS AND SALSA

Steps:

• Wash green onions.
• Combine salsa, lemon juice, and salt stir with a clean green onion.
• Eat cold serve as an appetizer or a snack or a side dish to a dish.

SPANISH HAKE AND CLAMS IN SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• Scrub the clams under cold running water, discarding any that fail to close to the touch. In a large bowl, combine the clams, coarse salt, and water to cover and let stand for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours so that the clams release any sand trapped in their shells. Drain.
• In a large saucepan, combine the clams with the 4 cups water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they open. As the clams cook, uncover the pan occasionally and stir with a wooden spoon to encourage them all to open at about the same time. Drain the clams, reserving the cooking liquid. Discard any clams that have not opened.
• In a large cazuela, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, if using, and fry, stirring often, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the garlic begins to turn golden. Sprinkle the flour over the garlic and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is well blended. Add 3 cups of the reserving cooking liquid and the salt, parsley and wine. Decrease the heat to medium and boil, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly. Add more cooking liquid if you prefer a thinner sauce. Rotate the cazuela in circular motions over the burner to mix all the ingredients, and boil gently for 2 minutes, or until the sauce is blended and looks whitish green.
• Sprinkle the hake pieces with the salt and place in a single layer in the sauce. Cook, turning once, for 2 minutes on each side, or until opaque at the center when tested with a knife tip. Add the clams and asparagus, shake the pan gently to prevent sticking, and simmer for 2 more minutes so heat all the ingredients through.
• Garnish with the egg wedges and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve immediately.