Carrot, orange and radish salad

A striking looking salad, great as a side to grilled chicken, lamb or fish...or on its own of course.

I like how the spices in the dressing are extremely popular both in Mexico and in the Mediterranean.

Start with slicing unpeeled oranges as thin as you can and place them in a LARGE bowl.

Add thinly sliced peeled carrots and radish.

Sprinkle with equal parts of sugar and salt.

Add freshly cracked pepper, cumin seeds and coriander seeds in equal amounts.

Throw in a generous pinch of ground cinnamon and a touch of oregano, mix everything well and let macerate at room temperature for 10/15 minutes.

Just before plating, add freshly chopped herbs... cilantro (coriander) is a must, mixed with some parsley and/or mint .

If you like, you can add some crumbled feta on top as well.

Buon Appetito!

Spice rubbed venison tenderloin with red wine poached squash and grilled nopal

Inspired by the season and by this great Ted Nugent's song

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IspJrRWdKas I thought it's time to pull out some game off the freezer......

Recipe is really easy, it just takes some time to prep all the ingredients but... perfection is in the details, isn't it?

Prepare the spice rub for the meat: 1 measure of freshly cracked black pepper,1 measure of coarse sea salt, 1 measure of ground coffee,172 measure mustard powder, 1/4 measure of cracked cumin seeds, one pinch of cinnamon.

Let's get started by poaching the squash ( butternut, sugar  or pumpkin...) with full bodied and aromatic red wine ( Syrah, Zin...), orange zest,clove, cinnamon, black pepper corn , star anise a touch of coriander, brown sugar and a pinch of salt.

While the squash poaches, rub the venison strap with the spice mix and let it rest at room temperature, place the nopal on a medium hot grill and cook them until most of the slime disappears... around 5 to 7 minutes each side ( note : smaller, younger nopales are more tender and with a brighter flavour).

To make the sauce, when the squash is ready, pour the syrup in a hot pan and reduce it, over high heat,to half; reserve warm.

Take the nopal off the grill, slice them open length wise and fill them with a mix of ricotta and feta cheese, to which you added a bit of smashed garlic, salt and pepper.

In a very hot thick bottom skillet, with just a trace of oil, sear the meat on all sides until a nice thin crust appears; remove the strap from the skillet and place it to rest under a "tent" of aluminium foil for around 5 minutes ( this is a very important step, since the rest will allow the juices to go back in their place and maintain the meat moist and tender).

Let's put it all together:

Place a few pieces of squash on the plate, next to it a cheese stuffed nopal, which you'll have rolled up like in the pic.

Slice the meat into medallions and place it on the plate, put the sauce back on the fire and when it starts bubbling, shut the heat off, toss in it a few good chunks of butter and keep moving it until ALL the butter dissolves and the sauce looks nicely emulsioned and glossy.

Sauce your dish, sprinkle some green stuff and , if you have it, drizzle reduced balsamic vinegar on the nopal.

Ready! A little more labour intensive than my usual recipes. but wild game deserves respect and care.

Cheers!

Watermelon, tender fava beans, asparagus and feta salad with watermelon vinaigrette

Beautiful and fresh summer and, here in Baja, every season salad.
Lots of "green" flavours, sweetness and salty bits....

Start by taking the seeds off the watermelon; do it over a bowl, because you'll want to reserve the juices for the dressing.

The dressing: in the bowl, smash a piece of watermelon with a fork and add the best olive oil you have, a splash of dry vinegar ( white wine or sherry ...), salt and pepper.

The salad: dice the watermelon, take the fava beans out of the pod and peel them ( briefly blenching them makes things easier...), julienne the asparagus.

Toss everything in the bowl with the dressing, plate the beans and watermelon first, then top with the asparagus and, finally, sprinkle with crumbled feta.

Add a few leaves, I like to throw some fresh dill i n it too, and you're ready to eat.

Freshly toasted pita bread and a good dry rose', like a Sangiovese rose' , or a crisp white like a Verdicchio would be a nice complement.

Buon appetito!