Chori-pizza

I have been wanting to make this pizza ever since I wandered the city streets of Argentina.  It was an idea inspired by my many encounters with another hand-held food beacon, one that is served from street carts all around South America.  The one, the only, Choripan.

My rendezvous with choripan in Argentina were abundant and, more importantly, welcomed.  Your basic choripan is the simple combination of french bread, grilled chorizo (pork sausage), and different toppings of your desire.  Chimichurri sauce is the most native and renowned topping, of which I could eat by the spoonfuls if I knew no one was watching.  I expressed my love for chimichurri when I paired it with fish while living in Buenos Aires working at a wine school.  And then I put it in the guacamole.  And the rice.  And here I am again, finding more ways to incorporate this Green Sauce of the Gods into my life as much as possible.


But first, a few pictures to reflect on choripan in its natural habitat.

 

Ah, nothing better than a good photo reel of the glories of choripan.



So, the pizza.  It's summer, so the grill was the go-to cooking mechanism.  Within ten minutes, the chimichurri was made and the chorizo grilled and broken into pieces for pizza-topping purposes.  That's when you could find me standing over the food processor, eyes closed, taking deep breaths in of the just-made, herbacious, lemon-and-vinegar-and-olive oil bliss that wafted from below.  It's like a facial you get at a spa....only one million times better.

The other flavor components we wanted to add to the pizza came from crumbled queso fresco, caramelized shallots and garlic, thinly sliced tomato, and a final sprinkle of fresh parsley and cilantro.  Now it was ready for its ultimate creation.

As we sat and ate this pizza, we wondered.  We wondered how something so delicious could be so undiscovered.  Every bite was...awesome.  Satisfying, balanced, packed with flavor.   Chori-pizza...why have you not been discovered yet?  To the point where your existence is shouted over mountain tops and your name is on every trendy pizza menu worldwide?  We wondered.  And kept eating, mostly in silence, with eyes glazed over with satisfaction and accomplishment.

We paired our pizza creation with a 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon from Catena Zapata.  This bold, spicy, and currant/cassis fruit wine was not only an excellent pair to the flavorful pizza, it was a perfect way to celebrate the exciting news that I will be moving down to Mendoza, Argentina next month to work for the Catena Zapata winery!  There was a lot to celebrate, and the meal turned out to be a perfect celebration of the flavors, and future adventures, in Argentina all at once.

Make this pizza, drink this wine, and experience a trip to Argentina.  Then, after you're inspired to go to the real place, know there will be friendly face to greet you there when you arrive.


Salud!

Chori-pizza

Ingredients

1 ball of pizza dough, store-bought or homemade

1 batch of chimichurri sauce (recipe below)

1/2 pound bulk chorizo sausage

1 medium sized tomato, thinly sliced

1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco

2 large shallots, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
Freshly chopped parsley and cilantro (optional)

Method

Preheat your grill to medium high heat.  Form the chorizo into a patty and grill until cooked through.  When cool, break up into bite sized pieces.  Set aside.

Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat on the stovetop.  Add sliced shallots and garlic to the pan and cook until softened and golden brown, stirring often to avoid burning.  Season with salt and set aside.

Assemble all toppings on a tray to be ready to top the pizza and bring to grill-side.

Stretch out your pizza to desired size and thickness.  Brush one side with oil and lay that side down first on the hot grill.  Put the top down on the grill and let cook for 1-2 minutes depending on strength of heat, monitoring it to make sure its not burning.  

Brush the second side of dough with oil and flip.  Add toppings to pizza in desired amounts - chimichurri, chorizo, tomatoes, shallot/garlic mixture, queso fresco.  If you can do this quickly you can keep the pizza on the grill.  If you are slower, take the dough off the grill, top it, and then put back on. 

Cook pizza on second side until done, 1-2 more minutes.   

Take off grill and sprinkle with fresh parsley and cilantro.  Slice and serve.

Chimichurri Sauce

Ingredients

3 garlic cloves

1 small shallot (or half of 1 large shallot)

1 cup packed parsley leaves

1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup olive oil

Salt to taste

Method

Pulse garlic cloves and shallot in a food processor until finely chopped.  Add parsley, cilantro, oregano, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and red wine vinegar.  Process to combine and finely chop the herbs.

With the food processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil until the chimichurri reaches your desired consistency.  Season with salt to taste.  

Take a moment to smell the magic wafting from your creation below.  

Moroccan Tagine Chicken with Preserved Lemon

I was able to experience two very exciting Firsts this past weekend.  One was cooking in my friend's tagine for the first time, and the other was using my new digital camera for the first time (RIP old Olympus, lord knows how many food photos passed through you over the last three years...)

A tagine is an earthenware cooking vessel that is very widely used in Morocco and northern Africa.  Its unique shape creates the perfect, moist atmosphere for whatever is cooking inside; keeping all juices in a rhythm of evaporating, condensing on the inside of the lid, and then dripping back down into the base to continue to baste the deliciousness that is stewing below.  That evening we decided to go with a very traditional tagine combination of chicken, green olives, and preserved lemon.

Preserved lemon is the ingredient that really makes this dish special.  Like so many other delicious I-never-knew-I-could-make-this-myself foods, making preserved lemons is head-scratchingly simple.   They are as simple as putting lemon halves in a jar with a lot of salt.  That's it.  After some time and patience, the salt will encourage the juice out of the lemons, and a natural curing liquid will appear and envelop the citrusy domes of flavor.  We were lucky enough that day to be able to use my friend's homemade preserved lemons.  Their slightly bitter acidity pairs beautifully with the briny olives, caramelized shallots, and the sweet raisins we put in the couscous.  

We cooked mostly from the hip last night - pulling what we wanted from the shelves as we went and not knowing exact ingredient amounts - but I've included a guided recipe from Simply Recipes below that reads very close to how we made our tagine creation that night.  Below are more pictures from the first round of camera use as well.  Taking on all of these Firsts never looked or tasted so good!

Moroccan Tagine Chicken with Preserved Lemons

from SimplyRecipes

Prep time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour

This recipe shines with preserved lemons. If you don't have access to any, you can use thin slices of regular or Meyer lemon, and you'll likely need to add quite a bit of salt to the dish at the end. If you use a tagine, you will likely need to soak it in water over-night before subjecting it to the heat of the stove. Doing so will help keep the tagine from cracking.
Ingredients 

2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 chicken, 3-4 lbs, cut into 8 pieces (or 3-4 lbs of just chicken thighs and legs, the dark meat is more flavorful)
Salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
The rind from 1 preserved lemon, rinsed in cold water, pulp discarded, rind cut into thin strips (if you don't have preserved lemon, use whole thin slices of regular lemon)
1 cup green olives, pitted
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Method

1 Combine all the spices in a large bowl. Pat dry the chicken pieces and put in the bowl, coat well with the spice mixture. Let the chicken stand for one hour in the spices.

2 If you are using a clay tagine (if you have one, you must soak the bottom in water overnight before using), place it on a heat diffuser on the heating element to prevent the tagine from cracking, and place the olive oil in the tagine and heat it on medium heat. If you do not have a tagine, you can use a thick-bottomed, large skillet with a cover. Heat the oil in the skillet on medium high heat. In either case, sprinkle the chicken pieces very lightly with salt (go easy on the salt, the olives and preserved lemons are salty) and place skin side down in the tagine or skillet for 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Lower the heat to medium-low, add the garlic and onions over the chicken. Cover and let cook for 15 minutes.

3 Turn chicken pieces over. Add the lemon slices, olives, raisins, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a simmer on medium heat, then lower the heat to low, cover, and cook for an additional 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and quite tender.

4 Mix in fresh parsley and cilantro right before serving. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve with couscous, rice, or rice pilaf.

Chimichurri Baked Fish with Lemon Shallot Rice and Guaca-churri

After an extended amount of time living in Buenos Aires, you figure out that steak is almost its own food group.  You're able to not only get it whenever and wherever you want, but it's often the only thing you smell as you walk down restaurant-strewn streets.  It's equally as likely to walk by restaurant patios and see people eating a mammoth slab of bife de choirzo for lunch at 2pm as it is to see the same scenario for 'dinner' at 2am.  Although fantastic if you are craving a perfectly grilled piece of cow, it is clearly not something you would necessarily want to indulge in every day.   

One of my favorite things about having steak down here, however, are the condiments they serve with it.  The most popular and my ultimate favorite is the chimichurri sauce, as it speaks to my heart with it's bright acidity from red wine vinegar, smooth edge of good olive oil, and flavorful herbal punch of oregano and parsley.  It is a perfect accompaniment to a rich and savory cut of steak, but incredibly versatile as to what else it could pair up with as well.

...like fish and guacamole!  One night my roommate and I decided we wanted to make an argentinean inspired dinner at our apartment, but without using the standard and expected role of steak.  Chimichurri sauce was my required inclusion to the meal, and we realized it would go equally as well with a nice piece of baked fish as it would steak.  The lemon rice was the perfect bright pairing for a starch, and once I realized that chimichurri would not only go great mixed into guacamole, but that I could also call it Guaca-churri, it was a done deal trio.  

It.  Was.  Delicious.  Seriously, we still talk about the meal.  It is so fantastically flavorful that you literally are blown away with every bite, which in turn makes you chew just a little bit slower to be able to taste every flavor element that just came off of your fork.  Bright lemon, herbacious sauce, fresh chive, flaky light fish, smooth guac...es del cielo!  (it's from heaven!).  

And now, you too can taste a lighter side of Argentina.  Buen provecho!  

Chimichurri Baked Fish 
All of these recipes Serve 2, and can be easily multiplied for a bigger crowd.

Ingredients


1 lb fresh white fish filets (cod, halibut, sea bass...)
1 batch chimichurri sauce (below)
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1 matzo cracker sheet, broken to pieces, or 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Fresh chives to garnish

Method

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place fish filets on a baking sheet and rub with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.

Spread chimichurri sauce on top of filets, and top with the thinly sliced shallot.  Sprinkle matzo crumbles or bread crumbs on top.

Bake until filets are flaky and and opaque throughout.  10-20 minutes, depending on thickness of the
filets.

Chimichurri Sauce
The dry spice mix we used was already blended, and was made of up dried oregano, dried parsley, granulated garlic, and red pepper flakes.  All dry mixes will vary, so either taste yours before using and manipulate it to your liking, or mix your own!  Alternatively, you can also make a fresh herb version using all of the same ingredients, just double the amount as the dry herbs are more intense in flavor than the fresh.


Ingredients


2 tablespoons dry chimichurri spice mix
2 teaspoons freshly minced chives
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
pinch salt
red pepper flakes, to taste

Method
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and use on anything!  You can omit the tomato paste and use that version as a serving sauce as well.

Lemon Shallot Rice


Ingredients
2 cups cooked white rice
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
Juice of one lemon
Salt
Pepper
Minced fresh chives to garnish
Lemon Wedges

Method
Heat a medium sized saute pan over a medium flame.  Add butter and oil.  Once the butter melts, add the shallots.

Saute until fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and stir for 1 minute.  Stir in rice to coat.

Pour lemon juice over rice and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Plate the rice in the shape of the filets to act as a bed for the fish.  Garish with fresh chives and serve with a big honkin' wedge of lemon.





Guaca-churri


Ingredients
1 ripe avocado
1 tablespoon chimichurri sauce (recipe above)
Splash of red wine vinegar
Salt, to taste
Red pepper flakes, to taste

Method 
Mash the avocado in a bowl and mix in all of the rest of the ingredients.

Breakfast (or lunch...or dinner) Enchurritos

Enchurrito? Wha?  Well, it’s a creation I just made myself for dinner.  As I pulled it out of the oven, my roommate walked by, stopped, and said: “you better be blogging about that”.  So, here I am.

I was trying to scrounge up something for dinner from my fridge, and once I saw my trusty-always-must-have carton of eggs, I knew it was breakfast-for-dinner time.  I had corn tortillas too, and I knew I wanted them to be involved.  Breakfast burritos?  Yes please.  But wait…then I saw a full jar of peachy green chili made from peaches picked from one of the best places on earth (Excelsior Orchard, which you can read and see more about here) and then I had a smothering sauce that needed to be incorporated.  This meant fork and knife.  Plus, they were corn tortillas and not flour ones.  Yes, this meant enchiladas…and breakfast burritos….as one.  And right then and there, enchurritos were born.  (I thought this was my own crafty creation, but apparently they already exist?  Madness I tell you.  Let me know if you already knew this or have had them before.  That is…before you make these!)

To round them out and make them even more super fantastic, I added a bunch of fresh herbs and cheddar cheese to my scrambled eggs, and layered them with cooked spinach and beans within their tortilla robes.  Hearty, cheesy, eggy, smothered-in-a-chili salsa goodness.  Topped with a whole lot more freshly chopped herbs and a dollop of sour cream, and you’ve got yourself a helluva breakfast…lunch….or dinner. 

Breakfast (or lunch...or dinner) Enchurritos

This recipe is made for one person, but be sure to double, triple, or quadruple to make for as many friends who want in too!

Ingredients

2 eggs

¼ cup (or more) shredded cheese of your choice

½ tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (or use any combination of herbs you like! chives, tarragon, cilantro…)

1/2 cup cooked spinach

1/3 cup black, white, or red beans (optional)

1 cup salsa

2 6-inch corn tortillas

Salt

Pepper

More fresh chopped herbs, shredded cheese, and sour cream

Method

Preheat broiler to high and set a rack to one of the highest rungs in the oven.  Cover bottom of a small, ovenproof casserole dish with half the salsa.  Warm up the two tortillas in the microwave, toaster oven, or in a dry skillet just to make them pliable.

Heat a splash of olive oil in a small skillet over medium high heat.  While it heats, scramble the two eggs in a small bowl and add to the skillet when up to temp.  Move the eggs around with a spatula until just cooked; add cheese, beans, fresh herbs, salt and pepper to taste.  Stir to combine.

Divide spinach and spread in middle of each tortilla.  Divide egg mixture and place on top of spinach.  Fold each side of the tortilla to the center over the filling and place seam-side down in the casserole dish.  Top with remaining salsa and shredded cheese, if desired. 

Place under broiler until salsa is bubbly and cheese is melted. 

Top with herbs, and a dollop of smooth, cool sour cream. 

Devour.    

Grilled Romaine with a Soft Boiled Egg

Lettuce?  Grilled?  Hot?  You may be skeptical.  Maybe even afraid.  But fear not, your world may change forever.

For something that you're so used to having only one way, at only one temperature, with only one texture, it can be scary to do something different with it.  But let me tell you that although high heat and a crisp, fresh head of lettuce seem to be instinctively incompatable, they create something on your plate that is texturally and flavorfully delectable.  

This dish shines with simplicity, and has a list of ingredients that you can count on one hand;  romaine lettuce, an egg, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and olive oil (salt and pepper too...but these are mainstay seasonings, not ingredients).  And with recipes as simple as this, the quality of each ingredient is tremendously important.  

Use a fresh, sturdy head of lettuce, and fresh eggs.  Buy a piece of parmesan cut from a certified wheel of parmesan cheese from Parma, Italy, from your local store's cheesemonger (dear god, not from the green can please).  And for the olive oil - the one you are drizzling on top with the lemon juice - make it extra virgin;  one that actually contains flavor profiles of earthiness and hints of fruit, that finishes with a bite of pepper in the back of your throat.  If you have never tried an olive oil like this before, please do.  It will change your view of what olive oil actually can, and should, taste like.  

From the seared, caramelized marks on the outer leaves, to the steamed, leafy center, to the nutty salty parmesan, the richness and natural sauce of the egg yolk,  the grassiness of the olive oil, and the brightness of the lemon, your taste buds will be blown away with every bite, all the way from the first bite until the last (or until you're licking your plate....not that I'm speaking from experience).  

In fact, get a good loaf of crusty bread to take care of that.  All together you'll have a full and satisfying meal that beats a regular old chopped romaine salad any day.  

Grilled Romaine with a Soft Boiled Egg 


Ingredients

1 head of Romaine Lettuce (Romaine Hearts work best for this since they are sturdier and not as 'leafy' as regular romaine.  It helps maintain texture and structure against the high heat of the grill or skillet)
1 egg, soft boiled (instructions below)
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, to taste
1-2 tablespoons quality Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 tablespoon other oil; either canola, vegetable, or other less-flavorful and high-heat tolerant oil
Juice of a quarter to half of a lemon
Salt
Pepper

Method


Start your method for preparing your soft boiled egg(s) as described below.

In the meantime, heat a grill, grill pan, or saute pan over medium high heat.  Rub the Romaine heart with the high-heat tolerant oil and season all around with salt and pepper.  Have your grated cheese, lemon wedge, and extra virgin olive oil ready next to your plate to assemble the dish easily once the other components are ready.

Once your egg is done cooking in the water, drain the hot water and let the egg sit in cold water to cool down.  Now put your romaine heart on the heat, rotating it with tongs to sear it on all sides.  Remove the lettuce when it has slightly wilted but still holds shape when you pick it up - about 1-2 minutes.

Remove the lettuce to your plate and sprinkle with a generous snowfall of freshly grated parmesan, big squeeze of lemon juice, and healthy drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Peel your soft boiled egg and place it on top, repeating with another layer of cheese, lemon, oil, s&p.

Break the yolk with your fork.  Cut your first bite of wilted-yet-still-crunchy-and-caramelized lettuce, swirl it within the river of cheesy, yolky, olive-oily, lemony heaven, and taste the salad revolution you've been waiting for.  Repeat.




Soft Boiled Eggs


Heat water with a pinch of salt in a saucepot over medium high heat (the right size pot and amount of water for the number of eggs you are cooking to be fully submerged in the water once placed inside.)

Once the water just barely begins to show signs of boiling - beyond a simmer but not at a rolling boil - gently place the egg(s) inside the water, using a spoon to lower them to the bottom of the pan.

Let the eggs cook for 5-6 minutes while never letting the water come to a rolling boil.  Exact timing will depend on elevation, which takes a bit longer the higher up you are, and on desired doneness of the yolk.   It takes a few rounds of cooking soft boiled eggs to learn your stovetop and your water temperatures and your eggs to know your exact rules to make your own perfect soft boiled egg.

Drain the hot water and run cool water over the cooked eggs.  Gently peel off the shells and devour.  Dont forget a sprinkle of salt and pepper on top.