Mexiterranean St. Patty : Nopal gelatine

Ok, ok...I tried not to get caught up in the St. Patty thing but old habits are hard to die.

Here's a GREEN, think out of the box, dessert: a gelatine made with nopal (cactus), with a foamie top and tomato marmalade on the side.

It's very easy to make and for sure it will raise some of your guests' eyebrow..."wow effect" guaranteed!  HAHAH

Start by blending 2 cups of cleaned and chopped up nopal with 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar.
Blend it like you want ot kill the thing...and then blend some more.

In 1 cup of water hydrate 2 envelopes of gelatin. Add to this another cup of water and bring to a boil.

Combine the blended nopal and the boiling gelatin base and whip very hard until a froth forms on the top.

Pour the green thing into a square baking mold, making sure the froth stays on top,cover tight with plastic wrap, punch a few holes in the wrap to allow steam to escape and refrigerate overnight.

For the marmalade : equal parts of peeled tomatoes, the riper the better, and sugar.A bit of lemon juice and cook down till ready.

Cut a square of gelatin from the mold, place it on a white plate, pour a spoonful of marmalade next to it and, if you have it, a cactus flower, a slice of prickly pear  or some ground toasted pumpkin seeds (pepita )for garnish.

That's it...provecho!

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!