Recent Posts
Chimichurri Shrimp Quinoa Salad
Chimichurri Shrimp Quinoa Salad
This is the first time I’ve cooked with quinoa. I’ve eaten it in numerous forms plenty of times and am now making it a regular part of my diet due to quinoa’s nutrient density of protein, fiber, b vitamins, and other minerals. The salad has chimichurri sauce mixed in with quinoa, shrimp, and grape tomatoes. If you aren’t a fan of shrimp, you can substitute cooked chicken breast.
Ingredients
- 1 lb 41/50 count shrimp
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups quinoa
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups grape tomatoes sliced in half
- 1/2 cup chimichurri sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring 4 cups of water to boil. Add in the shrimp and boil for 4-5 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pot. Remove the shells and tails. Set aside.
- Add the quinoa to the boiling water. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 20 minutes until all of the water has been absorbed.
- Allow the quinoa to completely cool.
- Mix together the quinoa, chimichurri sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir in the shrimp and grape tomatoes.
Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri is a raw sauce originating from Argentina. It is used on all types of meat, fish, vegetables, and doubles as a marinade. Chimichurri’s base ingredients are parsley, cilantro, onion, garlic, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. There are a couple ways that you can prepare chimichurri. The first way is to process all of the ingredients in a food processor. This produces a a sauce with a homogenized blend. The other way is to process the herbs, onion, and garlic. Then the rest of the ingredients are stirred in. This gives the sauce a chunkier texture. Both are great. The sauce keeps for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup parsley
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1/2 medium white onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Chop the onions and garlic in a food processor.
- Add in the parsley and cilantro. Process until the herbs are finely chopped. Scrape into a bowl.
- Stir in the red wine vinegar, olive oil, oregano, chili flakes, and salt.
- Store in a container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Arepas de Choclo con Quesito
Arepas de Choclo con Quesito
These arepas, which are popular in the Andes region of Colombia, are made out of fresh corn kernels straight of the husk. They are puréed in a food processor until a batter forms, then ladled into a buttered skillet and cooked for 5 minutes a side until crispy. The corn arepas are topped with queso fresco and drizzled with honey.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh corn kernels
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp butter
- queso fresco crumbled
- honey
Instructions
- Place the corn, sugar, and salt in a food processor.
- Purée until a batter is formed.
- Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Drop a ladles worth of batter per corn cake in the skillet.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes a side until golden brown and crispy.
Hmong Smoked Pork with Ginger and Lemongrass
Hmong Smoked Pork with Ginger and Lemongrass
Earlier I did a Hmong recipe for smoked beef. You can do the same smoking process with pork. I used pork sirloin since it is minimally fatty and inexpensive. The pork is cured overnight and smoked for 90 minutes over mesquite wood. The pork gets shredded in a food processor, then mixed with ginger, lemongrass, chilies, cilantro, and green onions. This flavorful, porky mix gets topped over steamed rice. The heat from the rice melts any fat in the meat as it permeates the ginger and lemongrass. FYI, this is also one of the best pork jerky recipes that you’ll ever eat.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- meat hooks
- food processor
Ingredients
- 4 lbs pork sirloin sliced 1/4” thick
- 1 tbsp pink curing salts
- 1 tsp mushroom seasoning
- 1/2 cup ginger minced
- 1/2 cup lemongrass finely chopped
- 1 cup cilantro chopped
- 1 cup green onions chopped
- 5 Thai chilies finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp salt
Wood Chips
- mesquite wood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the curing salts and mushroom seasoning.
- Marinate the pork with the cure seasoning overnight.
- Put the pork slices on a meat hooks.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Hang the pork on the top rack in your smoker.
- Smoke for 90 minutes. Remove from the smoker.
- Place the pork on a baking sheet. Bake in a 400 degree preheated oven for 8 minutes a side to further dry out the pork.
- Place the pork in a food and pulse until chopped. Place the pork in a large bowl.
- Place the ginger, lemongrass, and chilies in the food processor and pulse a few times.
- Mix together the pork, lemongrass/ginger blend, cilantro, green onions, fish sauce, and salt.
