Tag Archives: salsa verde

Cast-Iron Green Chile Tamale Pie

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We found this version of Tamale Pie in a recent issue of Fine Cooking Magazine. Its name is due to the awesome layer of cornbread that sits on top of the ground beef (or ground turkey) filling, mimicking masa-wrapped, meat-filled tamales. In lieu of more traditionally used canned tomatoes, this Southwest riff favors green chiles and tangy, tomatillo-spiked salsa verde.

As is often the case, we put our own spin on the recipe. In this instance, we doubled the amounts of beans and onion. Originally I planned on using ground turkey in place of ground beef, but the supermarket was out of it. (Still dealing with COVID supply and delivery issues two years later!)

After it was fully cooked, and I went to spoon out a portion, there seemed to be a fair amount of liquid in the bottom of the skillet. Once in my dinner bowl however, the fluid soaked up into the cornbread topping. Perhaps replacing the zucchini with red pepper—which has less moisture content—would be a good alternative and add a nice pop of color.

Based on some of the ingredients, you may think it is spicy. And yes, it does have a slight kick, but I wouldn’t scale back on any of the suggested amounts. An alternative, if spice is just not your thing, incorporate milder salsa verde and chopped green chiles. We both thought that the leftovers, when reheated, were even better than the first go-around—plus any liquid had been reabsorbed.

Cast-Iron Green Chile Tamale Pie

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

For the filling

  • 1 lb. 85% lean ground beef
  • 1 medium zucchini, chopped
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. chili powder
  • 1 cup mild or spicy salsa verde; more for serving
  • 1/2 cup cooked black or pinto beans
  • 1/2 cup fresh or thawed frozen yellow corn kernels
  • 1 4-oz. can mild or spicy chopped green chiles (undrained)
  • Kosher salt

For the cornbread topping

  • 1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbs. sugar
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro leaves; more for garnish
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or pepper Jack cheese
  • Sour cream and avocado slices, for serving

Directions

Make the filling

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. In a deep 10-inch wide cast-iron skillet, cook the beef over medium-high heat until browned, breaking it into pieces with a wooden spoon, 6 to 8 minutes.
  3. Add the zucchini, onion, and chili powder, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
  4. Stir in the salsa, beans, corn, green chiles, and salt. Remove from the heat.

Make the cornbread topping

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda, and set aside.
  2. In another medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, cilantro, and egg. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir just until combined.
  3. Scatter half of the cheese over the beef mixture in the skillet, then pour the cornbread batter over and spread to the edges. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
  4. Bake until cornbread is cooked through and golden brown, about 25 minutes.
  5. Serve with additional salsa, sour cream, and avocado slices. Garnish with cilantro.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe by Liz Pearson for Fine Cooking

Sous Vide Leg of Lamb with Salsa Verde

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This is a great meal for a slow, cool Sunday afternoon—provided you have an immersion circulator for the sous vide process. If you don’t own one, Christmas is coming up and it could make your list—just sayin’. Sous vide, which means “under vacuum” in French, refers to the process of vacuum-sealing food in a bag, then cooking it to a very precise temperature in a water bath. This technique produces wonderful results that are impossible to achieve through any other cooking method.

The benefits:

Consistency. Because you cook your food to a precise temperature for a precise amount of time, you can expect very consistent results. Taste. Food cooks in its juices. This ensures that the food is moist, juicy and tender. Waste reduction. Traditionally prepared food dries out and results in waste. For example, on average, traditionally cooked steak loses up to 40% of its volume due to drying out. Steak cooked via precision cooking, loses none of its volume. Flexibility. Traditional cooking can require your constant attention. Precision cooking brings food to an exact temperature and holds it. There is no worry about overcooking.

It’s actually very affordable and easy to get started with sous vide cooking thanks to the recent availability of sous vide devices built for the home cook. We own a Joule which is the smallest sous vide tool on the market. But it’s also the most powerful. It heats to the perfect temperature—no more, no less—which means that your proteins won’t overcook, ever. Even if they cook for extra time. 

As far as this recipe, by all means, feel free to use whatever dried herbs you happen to have on hand. Don’t have coriander? No biggie. Only have dried rosemary? Don’t sweat it. Create a taste profile that suits your own preferences. The amounts below indicate how much overall you’ll need.

To begin, season the leg of lamb liberally on both sides with kosher salt. Lay with the fat cap side down and score the top with a sharp pairing knife by dragging the knife across in diagonal lines both ways. Rub your herb mixture all over the scored side. Roll it up, and secure in place with butcher’s twine. Simply, vacuum seal the rolled leg of lamb and she’s ready for her water bath.

Our roast was only 2 1⁄2 pounds and we got 4-5 servings out of it, so a 5-pounder would yield 8-10 servings. It was delicious! We prefer our lamb medium-rare, but if you like yours less pink, adjust the immersion circulator to preheat the water bath temperature as needed.

Sous Vide Leg of Lamb with Salsa Verde

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: moderate
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Ingredients

For the lamb:

  • 3-5 lb. boneless leg of lamb
  • 1 Tbsp. mustard seeds, lightly toasted
  • 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds, lightly toasted
  • 1 Tbsp. cumin seeds, lightly toasted
  • 1 tsp. peppercorns
  • 2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • Leaves of 1 rosemary sprig
  • Leaves of 2 thyme sprigs
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • Ghee or butter for searing

For the salsa verde (optional):

  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/2 tsp. flaked sea salt
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • Prep herbs and spices
  • Score the lamb
  • Rub mixture into meat
  • Roll meat
  • Secure with butcher’s twine
  • Put vacuum-sealed bag in water bath
  • After meat comes to temp, sear all sides in very hot skillet

Directions

  1. Using your immersion circulator, preheat water bath to 130° F.
  2. Add all the ingredients except the lamb, ghee, and salsa verde ingredients to a food processor or use a mortar and pestle to grind them into a paste.
  3. Season the leg of lamb liberally on both sides with additional kosher salt. Lay with the fat cap side down (you can trim this if you want) and score the top with a sharp pairing knife (this means dragging the knife across in diagonal lines both ways).
  4. Rub the herb mixture all over the scored side. Roll it up, and secure in place with butcher’s twine.
  5. Vacuum seal the rolled leg of lamb or add to a gallon-sized zipper top bag and remove all the air. Add to preheated water bath and cook for 3-5 hours.
  6. When done, remove from the water bath and bag. Pat leg of lamb as dry as possible with paper towels.
  7. Get a cast iron skillet searing hot—as hot as possible—and add enough ghee to coat the skillet. Sear the leg of lamb on all sides until golden brown. You may need to prop up the lamb roast with tongs to make sure it is browned all over.
  8. Let the leg of lamb rest for a moment on the cutting board. Prep the salsa verde by mixing together all ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
  9. Remove the twine from the leg of lamb and slice into 1/2 inch slices. Top with salsa verde and serve!

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe from Chelsea Cole, food blogger for A Duck’s Oven

Flank Steak with Salsa Verde Salad

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This summery dinner salad is perfect for the dog days of August. While the list of ingredients may seem a bit lengthy, the salsa verde made with scallions, mint, cilantro (or parsley), capers and garlic becomes the marinade for both the steak and the dressing for the greens. A win-win in my book. If you’re following a low-carb diet, this baby is for you.

This meal was one of our Cape Cod vacation dinners for the two of us. (So yes, we had leftovers, yeah!) The NYTimes recipe originally called for skirt steak, but the local grocery store wasn’t carrying any—instead they had some beautiful flank steaks, a perfect substitute.

We also took it upon ourselves to grill the romaine quarters, even though the original recipe didn’t include this step. Slightly charring the romaine, which was brushed all over with olive oil, added an inviting addition to the flavor profile. And what the heck, the grill was still hot and the meat had to rest, after all…

And because when you are in vacation mode and need to adapt without fuss, we used cilantro in place of parsley, because, well, that’s what we had on hand and didn’t feel like making an extra trip to the supermarket. Some folks can’t stomach cilantro, so parsley is your best alternative. We happen to love the herb.

Flank Steak with Salsa Verde Salad

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for romaine
  • 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
  • 2 tablespoons capers, drained and roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 large cloves)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
  • 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
  • 2 romaine hearts
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

  1. If necessary, cut the steak crosswise into large pieces that will fit into a shallow, nonreactive dish such as glass. Transfer steak(s) to dish.
  2. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, scallions, capers, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Pour about 1/3 of dressing over the steak and turn to coat both sides.
  3. Add the cilantro (or parsley) and 1 tablespoon mint to the reserved dressing, stir, and set aside until ready to use. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3o minutes and up to 24 hours. (If marinating overnight, cover and refrigerate the reserved dressing.)
  4. In a small sauté pan over medium heat, toast the pine nuts, tossing often, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
  5. Set the grill to medium-high heat. Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel and grill 3 to 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare, 125°. Check with an instant read thermometer.
  6. Transfer tp a plate, sprinkle with salt, and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
  7. Meanwhile, cut the romaine hearts into quarters. Brush all over with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Grill for a total of 5 minutes, turning once to char both sides lightly.
  8. Arrange romaine in one layer on a large platter, leaving room in the middle for the steaks.
  9. Slice the steak into 3″ pieces, then slice against the grain to cut the steak into wide strips. Place in center of platter pouring any accumulated juices over the meat.
  10. Sprinkle feta, pine nuts and remaining 1 tablespoon of mint over the romaine.
  11. Arrange the sliced steak on the platter, drizzle with reserved dressing over steak and lettuce. Serve immediately.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe by Lidey Heuck from the NYTimes