Putting Up With: Tomatoes Two Ways

My "Putting Up With" series is a play on the phrase 'putting up' as a colloquialism for canning.  But in this case, it's particularly apt, because the only way I can put up with (tolerate) tomatoes is when they're canned, cooked or preserved in some way.  

I was a very picky eater when I was younger, but I've learned to tolerate, and even enjoy, some of the things that horrified me as a child.  I now cook with all types of peppers and mushrooms and even occasionally use mayonnaise and beans, all things I couldn't stand a few years ago.  But I've never grown to love raw tomatoes. Both the texture and taste are repulsive to me.  These recipes have helped me use up all the tomatoes I get every week from our garden and my CSA box.  

Jamaican Patties

My Jamaican jerk turkey breast went over so well that I decided to try another Jamaican recipe.  These spicy beef patties are full of flavour.  They take a little time to come together, but they're not difficult at all.  

The dough comes together easily in a food processor and the spiced beef filling cooks quickly.  This recipe is adapted from Serious Eats.  

Here's what you need...

Tomatillo and Chicken Chilaquiles

We finally harvested the last of our miracle tomatillos from our garden.  Peppers do well in our garden in the fall, but these tomatillos have been the most successful thing we've ever grown.  

Chilaquiles (fun to say: chee-lah-KEE-less), like tortilla soup, is another great way to use up stale tortillas.  It's a dish that usually uses corn tortillas, but I used flour tortillas in this. 

Here's what you need:

Tostadas

These tostadas are wonderful!  Matt went bananas for them.  Tostadas are fried, flat corn tortillas topped with beans, meat and vegetables.  You can be very creative in your toppings and make things from scratch or use shortcuts.  These have refried beans, shredded chicken in a smoky sauce, avocado, sour cream, lettuce, onions and radish, topped with Mexican queso.  

The tostadas themselves can be made or bought.  I found these at our local Asian grocery store that also has a great Latin food section.  I found four kinds of queso and real Mexican crema as well!  Instead of these you can buy corn tortillas and fry them in oil until crispy.  Or you can make your own corn tortillas and fry them.  The point is a crispy, flat shell to hold the toppings.  This dish was created to use up stale, leftover tortillas.  

Chiles Rellenos

Before I knew Matt, I'd never heard of chiles rellenos, stuffed, fried poblano chiles.  But over the years I've seen him order them any time he sees them on a menu.  It's not easy to find a wide variety of chiles where we live, so when I saw poblano peppers at the grocery store, I snapped them up and decided to surprise Matt with his favourite dish.  

I'm not going to say this was easy.  It's pretty ambitious, but you can prepare it in stages and fry the peppers in the batter at the last minute.  Frying indoors is one of my least favourite ways to cook; it's messy and hot and requires full attention.  But for some things - including this - it's worth it.  

I used this recipe from Chow which calls for an egg batter and claims to be the most authentic method.  Some recipes call for breadcrumbs in the coating.  This was an unusual batter but it tasted great.  

Orzo with Corn and Peppers

Matt loves orzo.  It's like rice, but it's pasta!  It's also really easy to whip up an impressive side dish with orzo.  It cooks very quickly and mixes well with most veggies, herbs and even cheeses.  You can serve it hot or cold.  It's very versatile.  

This would work as a salad, chilled or at room temperature, but I served it warm as a side dish.  Here's what you need:

Souperday - Stoplight Pepper Chicken Fajita Soup with Avocado Relish

This is a really great soup. It's a full meal in a bowl and you can add or change the ingredients to suit your taste.  Make it spicy or mild. The avocado relish adds a delicious creaminess and will cool it down if you spice it up too much.  

For the soup you need:

• Red, green and yellow bell peppers (stoplight peppers)
• Jalapeno or other hot peppers
• 2 onions
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 carton chicken broth
• 2 cans fire roasted tomatoes (or one large can regular diced tomatoes)
• 2 cups frozen corn
• Juice of one lime

Plus two boneless chicken breasts and some spices:

For the spice mixture:

• 2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

And finally for the avocado relish:

• 1 avocado
• 100g (3oz) queso fresco or soft goat's cheese or feta (I can't find queso fresco unfortunately) 
• Zest of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
• 1/3 cup green onions

Mix your spices together.

Slice the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.

And sprinkle the chicken with 1.5 tablespoons of the spice mixture.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large soup pot.

Add the spiced chicken and sear both sides.

Take your colourful peppers.

Chop them up.

And add them to the pot along with the onions, garlic and hot peppers. Toss them together and sauté for a few minutes until slightly softened.

Then sprinkle with the remaining spice mix, stir and cook for a few more minutes.

Pour in the carton of chicken stock.

These tomatoes have a bit of smoky flavour. If you can't find them you could use a little chipotle or smoked paprika with regular tomatoes to get a similar flavour.

Add the tomatoes to the pot.

And the corn kernels.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile make your avocado relish.

Zest the lime.  Dice the avocado, chop the green onions and crumble the goat's cheese.

And mix it all together. My avocado was a little riper than is ideal so it's a bit messy but it still tastes great.

Serve up the soup in a big bowl.

And top with the avocado relish.

This is a nice, hearty soup that makes a great meal. I even added beans and rice to the leftovers for a different taste.  Yum!

Spicy Roasted Corn Chowder

Fresh corn is in season and I love eating boiled corn on the cob, but here's another way to use fresh corn in a delicious, spicy chowder that'll make your house smell amazing!

I was inspired by this recipe but made a few changes.
Here's what you need:

6 cobs of corn, still in their husks
2.5 cartons chicken stock
A mixture of poblano, jalapeño and Hungarian or bell peppers
6 slices bacon
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
2 ribs celery
1 lb potatoes
3 Tbsp tequila
1 cup half and half (or milk or cream)
1 lime
crumbled feta or cotija cheese 

First, roast the corn.  Place the cobs on a baking sheet and stick them in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes. Roasting them in the husks gives them great flavour.

While the corn is roasting, roast some peppers.  I used these peppers from my garden. The yellow ones are mild Hungarian peppers.  The long green ones - I'm not sure what they are.  Maybe Anaheim? They're pretty spicy though.  I also used two jalapeños.  This turned out a little spicy for me so you might want to substitute some bell peppers for the hot ones if you don't like it too spicy. 

I'd also recommend putting some foil down on the pan under the peppers because they tend to leak as they roast.

Once the corn is roasted, carefully shuck it.  It'll be hot so let it sit for a few minutes or run it under cold water first.

Use the tip we talked about the other day to remove the corn from the cobs, but don't discard the cobs!

Put the cobs and half the corn in a pot.

Cover with chicken stock.  Bring it to a boil and simmer for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile take your roasted peppers and place them in a bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap.  This'll generate steam to help the charred pepper skins peel off.

Peel and chop the peppers, removing the seeds.  I used gloves.

While the corn stock is simmering, you can also chop your onion, celery, garlic and potatoes.

And dice the bacon.

In another large pot, brown the bacon.

Once browned, remove the bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Remove all but 1 Tbsp of the bacon grease from the pot and add in the onions and potatoes.

Sauté for about 5 minutes, then add celery, peppers and garlic and sauté 3 more minutes...

...until softened.  Add the tequila to the veggies.  

Once the corn stock has simmered for 40 minutes, remove the cobs and purée the stock until smooth.  

And add it to the vegetables in the other pot.  Simmer for about 10 minutes until slightly thickened, then add a cup of cream and the remaining corn kernels.  Bring back to a simmer and get ready to serve!

Fill your bowl with chowder and top with the crumbled bacon and cheese.

Serve with fresh bread.

This turned out pretty spicy. I would use fewer or different peppers next time, but it was extremely tasty.  And I love the corn cooking technique. I'll use it next time we have corn on the cob for dinner.