Wild Mushroom Tamales with Kale, Feta. Lime & Serrano Chili

Happiest Winter fellow foodies!

It has really been chilly here in Northern New Mexico.  The good thing about that?...it really inspires the "foodie urge" to create hot steamy soups and spicy dishes to keep us warm for the next few months.  I have been doing a lot of that; from slow cooking Pinto Beans in a Micaceous pot to robust pasta dishes to thick chunky chili with fresh hot crusty Sourdough Bread. 

If you know me well, you know that I am crazy about wild mushroom foraging in the summer months here in the high elevations of Northern New Mexico.  This year because of a great deal of much needed monsoonal rains, it was like a mushroom fantasy land in our forests.  I am lucky enough to be able to do this while practicing the art of keeping myself alive, because I was taught one summer for the entire summer, by a mushroom nerd.  Here is where I enter my disclosure;

Mushroom gathering in the wilds can be such a rewarding experience...and to boot, its free food!  However, there can be extreme risks in harvesting wild fungi in that the wrong mushroom eaten can, at best cause a violent vomiting session or two or three or four, till the bad enzyme's are out of your system, or at worse, kill you.  Just make sure that you truly know what you're doing when out gathering the delicious gilled fungi morsels.  This is not a hobby where you can take chances...enough said. 

I have been staring at all of my jars of dehydrated mushrooms sitting up on a kitchen shelf for months now...finally yesterday the kitchen spirit moved me.  I began researching recipes on the Internet for mushroom tamales.  There are numerous recipes out there with flavor slants this way and that way.  I knew that I wanted to incorporate dinosaur kale in my recipe, as well as tangy feta cheese.  When all was said and done, I had created a culinary fungi masterpiece!  I really love this tamale.  Fellow aficionados of the wild fungi...you will not be disappointed.  In this recipe I am giving instructions for the filling only...if you wish to learn about making tamale masa, refer to my previous blog, where I share all of that in my pork tamale recipe here:

http://www.foodolicious.blogspot.com/2011/01/tamale-masa-hold-lard.html

I used four different wild mushrooms, porcini, lobster, oyster & shaggy parasol.  Not certain that you need to use this combination, it was just what I reached for when I was brainstorming yesterday.  You could probably even succeed with this recipe if you used all domestic store bought varieties of mushrooms or only used one type instead of four.  I will just say that the combination I used in this recipe was dead on delicious.  Also my measurements for quantity of mushrooms was from a dehydrated state, before reconstituting with boiling water.

Here is my slant on Wild Mushroom Tamales;

 

Wild Mushroom Tamales

 

2 cups dried porcini mushrooms

2 cups dried lobster mushrooms

2 cups dried oyster mushrooms

2 cups shaggy parasol mushrooms

 

boil up some water and then pour over all the mushrooms into a bowl till covered.

Cover the bowl with a dish to allow for thorough steeping for 30 minutes.

Do not discard the mushroom broth created because you will be using it to add to the recipe.

After 30 minutes remove the mushrooms from the liquid, and chop finely and set aside.

 

 

 

1 medium sized bermuda onion finely chopped

 

3 large cloves of garlic finely chopped

 

1 serrano chili

 (I used dried and then pulverized in coffee grinder..but you can use a finely chopped fresh serrano)

 

5 large leaves of dinosaur kale finely chopped

 

1 cup of crumbled feta cheese

 

1 cup of dry white wine

 

1 1/2 cups of mushroom broth (from re hydration)

 

1 lime - use 1 teaspoon of zest and half of the lime for juice

 

3 tablespoons cilantro finely chopped

 

 

To the saved mushroom broth add 1 no salt vegetable broth bouillon cube (I use Rapunzel brand sold at Whole Foods) and dissolve - set aside

 

In a large pot, add 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter and drizzle in some good olive oil...

be generous ;)

 

sauté the finely chopped onion for about five minutes till softened over medium heat 

 

add in the chopped mushroom mixture, the chili (either powdered or fresh chopped) & the garlic

 

sauté for another 10 minutes...(hopefully you will have a bit of fond at bottom of pan to deglaze with the wine)

 

Add in the chopped kale and season with salt and pepper

(remembering that feta cheese can be quite salty in of itself)

 

Once the kale is wilted in a few minutes, add in the wine and deglaze if fond has formed at bottom of pan

 

Add in mushroom broth and once a boil had been reached, cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes

 

Add in the lime zest and juice of 1/2 lime

 

Allow mixture to cool and then add in the crumbled feta and the chopped cilantro

 

Your filling is ready to make tamales with.  Yum!

 

If you are making your own masa, instead of chicken or pork broth, I used more of the mushroom broth/vegetable bouillon cube mixture for the liquid...so make sure that you pour lots of boiling water over your mushrooms during re hydration...if using fresh mushrooms you can skip this step all together, but you will not have the delectable mushroom broth to use...

 

 

Fully fenjoy(?) fellow fungi foodie followers!

 

;)

 

 

robert

 

 



Why is Ceviche so much more delicious in the midst of summertime?

 

 

 

Ever notice that certain delicacies that we enjoy are somehow categorized as "summer foods".  Not that you can't eat them in the midst of a winter storm, but certain culinary pleasures seem to scream "summer is here so enjoy these summertime flavors!"  Sweet red watermelon dripping down your chin, vine ripened tomatoes bursting with juicy sweetness, dark burgundy colored cherries exploding with sweetness....I could go on and on... a Blue Moon beer with a big slice of fresh sweet orange...ok enough.  I believe I have made my point.

 

I have been eating Ceviche since I was a youngling, eating it for the first time in Ensenada, Mexico.  From the first bite, I was hooked with the uber vibrant flavors of cilantro, avocado, onions, lime and lemon juices, chili sauce and of course fresh caught fish. 

 

So two months ago, I started making my Ceviche using Tilapia.  I got a great deal on a pound of it at our local market.  It tasted so good....and then I just happened upon about a zillion articles on farm raised seafood and how bad it is for you.  How the process of feeding the fish less than healthy food ends up making the fish not so healthy fish after all...Apparently you might as well be eating bacon because the nutrition or lack thereof in both ends up being about the same.  I just muttered..."it's always something." 

 

Living in northern New Mexico, I don't have access to the Redondo Beach Pier, or the San Pedro fish markets or any of the other California coastal spots I could go to for fresh, wild caught pescado.  I started to get "creative"....(good substitution for desperate).  Every time I got excited about a sale on fresh fish it was farm raised fresh fish...So I did what a native Californian rarely does...I started looking in the frozen seafood sections...it was painful but I had researched about fishermen flash freezing right on fishing boats and so I muttered "Robert your not in California anymore..."

 

First I tried frozen wild caught Ocean Perch, it worked perfectly in my Ceviche recipe.  Next I tried

frozen wild caught flounder...and on and on.  Each time I tried a frozen but wild caught fish, that is one that was of a firmer texture, I was pleased with the results.  Of course if I started thinking about the ample supply of wild caught and I mean just caught ocean fish in southern California...well I tried not to...

 

I eat a lot of seafood.  I was raised eating it because my father was a deep sea fisherman.  The kind that would be able to yank a huge tuna onto the boat with a good strong tug...(ahhh the imagery of yesteryear)...I don't think that happens anymore.  By the time I came around, he was only doing it for sport, mostly in the azure seas of México.  I actually eat everything from raw sushi to octopus to mussels to raw clams and oysters to everything in between.  I know it's good for me so that makes the eating of it all the more appealing.   

 

There are a lot of Ceviche recipes out there and I have tried a lot of them.  I was experimenting a few weeks ago and came up with this super easy and fast recipe.  For those of you reading this that are into Ceviche and all it's healthy goodness enjoy this whether you have the luxury of having lots of fresh wild caught fish to choose from or whether you need to resort to frozen wild caught.  I am not telling you not to use farm raised seafood. I don't use it anymore and I am simply suggesting doing your research before you continue eating it.  Also, for those that want to try Ceviche but never have because of the raw fish in the recipe.  I can say that the acidic nature of the lime and lemon juices changes the texture of the fish to appear like cooked in texture.  You actually see the semi transparency of the fish change to opaque after leaving it in the fridge overnight....enough said.  Here you go friends:

 

 

 

Roberto's Ceviche

 

 

1 pound of firm fleshed fish

 

1/2  red union finely chopped

 

2 large limes

 

1 large lemon

 

2 tsp Sea salt

 

1 tbs crushed dried oregano

 

1 can of Ro Tel Mexican style -lime and cilantro***

(10 ounce size)

 

***If you like fire hot Ceviche, use the Ro Tel with Habanero Chili instead

 

 

Chop the fish into 1/2 inch chunks

If using frozen, if you allow the fish to semi thaw it makes cutting into chucks easier

Finely chop the red onion

Juice the limes and lemons

 

In a covered container add the fish, the onion, the can of Ro tel (DO NOT DRAIN)

the citric juices, the salt and the crushed oregano

 

Mix well, cover and place into the fridge for 6 hours.

 

When you serve, chop up an avocado and fresh cilantro and mix in with the Ceviche

 

Serve up on either a crispy corn tostada shell or soft corn tortillas.  Or just eat it with your favorite chips...it's the bomb with Stacey's Pita Chips.

 

Mucho Yummy!

When going bananas is okay...

Two things...I can't believe how long it has been since I posted to Foodolicious and I can't believe
how much I love all things bananas.  Banana ice cream, banana pudding, banana cream pie, banana bread, banana cheesecake,  banana cake with banana frosting...Okay I think I made my point. 

Ironically in the past, due to my extreme affinity for those yellow potassium filled morsels, listing that many scrumptious desserts would make me get right into the kitchen and concoct one of them immediately.  But thankfully and healthfully, my partner and I have given up processed white sugar.  Sure wasn't easy for this pair of sugarholics, but two months down the line, the cravings are gone and we feel great.  The weirdest part about giving up those sinful empty non nutritional delights, is that if you decide to, so to speak, "treat yourself" and have something sugary you have given up, you immediately notice not only a rush from the sugar, but your body just doesn't like it the way it did before and you know it pretty quickly...amazing what our body tries to tell us if and when we are ready to listen.

I try to live by the nutritional rule that says; If it's low fat, no fat, no salt, low salt, no sugar, low sugar, low calorie, no calorie, etc....then it was given it's "qualities" in a laboratory of sorts and if that's the case my body would rather have stuff not altered by a man or woman or even perhaps an automaton in a white coat among all of those petri dishes...so to speak.  Just sayin...

I was excited to discover that there are lots of healthy baked goods you can sweeten with bananas, raisins, applesauce, etc. instead of white sugar.  After I "got" it, and realized that you could use alternative natural sweeteners in baking, I began creating a few really good sweet desserts that are truly good and good for you.  We aren't staying clear of items made with cane sugar.  The other day I purchased some Kashi Cereal sweetened with cane juice that is really good tasting.  By the way talking about sweeteners; beware of all that marketing around Agave Nectar...it's just as bad as white sugar...just sayin...(google it)

We really appreciate the naturally sweet flavor of fruit now more than ever.  So twelve pounds lighter and feeling absolutely fantastic...with the help of cardio exercise of course, allow me to share the easy and noisy recipe for banana soft serve.  By the way, when Rachel Ray made this on her show, she topped it off with chocolate syrup and peanuts.  You may opt to do that, but if you use really ripe bananas that are beginning to get the black spots on the peels, you really don't need anything else.  It's the perfect dessert for the palate in our hotter month ahead.


Here is one time when it's okay to go bananas.....


rv



Banana soft serve

3 very ripe bananas (3 serve 3 people so plan this accordingly)
milk of your choice; whole, low fat (I use sweetened and unsweetened almond milk)

Food processor or high end blender

Peel the bananas and chop them into 1 inch long slices.  Place into a ziploc bag and freeze.

Here is the noisy part:

Remove the completely frozen banana pieces from the freezer and drop into a food processor.  To make it an easier process, break up the frozen mass carefully with a small sharp knife.
Begin to pulse the bananas and then fully turn on power as soon as they begin to puree and blend.
Drizzle in milk of your choice a little at a time just till it looks like ice cream. You may need to do some additional pulsing if the frozen chunks are not separating.

You will not believe the fluffy soft serve consistency. Enjoy.