Recipe: Some Cafe Pasqual's recipes for Terri

BANON:
This is an appetizer served at the Cafe Pasqual in Santa Fe, as described by Steven Reichlen in his website:

" 'banon' and it's modeled on a cheese from southern France. It consists of local goat cheese, tightly wrapped in chestnut leaves, and grilled. They keep it pretty simple at Pasqual's-grilled cheese served with puff pastry crisps, spiced pecans, and sliced apples by way of a garnish.

Here's how I'd do it at home. (Note: this is a rough sketch, not a finished recipe.)

Take disks of goat cheese about 1 inch thick and 3 inches across. Dust the top and bottom with coarse salt, cracked black pepper, chili powder, and toasted pumpkin seeds or pine nuts. Wrap the pieces of cheese in grape leaves (rinse them well in several changes of cold water first.) Tie off w/ string. Grill the cheese packets over a high heat for 3 to 6 minutes per side and serve with slices of grilled bread".

Whole Roasted Garlic with Asadero or Brie Cheese and Tomatillo-Cilantro Salsa
Source: Cafe Pasqual's Cookbook by Katharine Kagel
Serves 4

(Often requested by our patrons, this simple yet sumptuous recipe is a United Nations plate. The whole roasted garlic is a staple Italian dish, the asadero is a contemporary melt-away white Mexican cheese, and the salsa is from Old Mexico. Or you can choose to put France on the plate by using Brie in place of the asadero.

Thanks go to my brother Peter for this dish. On seven different occasions he sent me the menu from his favorite Italian restaurant in San Francisco with the roasted garlic offering circled. Finally, I developed this appetizer, and have been grateful ever since! Set out oyster forks for the guests to use to lift the roasted garlic cloves whole from their skins. The cloves will spread like softened butter on a piece of French bread or warmed flour tortilla. Also, out of respect for Peter's abhorrence of cilantro, please note that Italian flat-leaf parsley may be substituted for the cilantro in the salsa.)

4 whole bulbs garlic
1/4 cup olive oil

For the Tomatillo-Cilantro Salsa:
1/3 pound tomatillos, husks removed
1/2 small white onion chopped
1 clove garlic
1 fresh serrano chile, stemmed
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro (coriander) or flat-leaf parsley, stemmed

6 ounces asadero cheese or Brie cheese, cut into 4 equal pieces
1 loaf French bread, sliced, or 12 white-flour or whole-wheat tortillas, warmed

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F.

To prepare the garlic bulbs for roasting, remove the excess papery skin but leave the bulbs whole. Cut off the top 1/2 inch of each bulb, exposing the tops of the individual garlic cloves. If some of the clove tops remain uncut, take a little slice off each with a Paring knife to expose the inside.

Place the garlic bulbs, cut sides up, in a casserole or loaf pan and add water to reach halfway up the sides of the bulbs. Drizzle the olive oil evenly over the tops of the bulbs. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Bake until the cloves feel soft when pressed, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the salsa. Place the tomatillos, onion, garlic, chile, and water in a blender or a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the cilantro or parsley and whirl until smooth. Do not add the cilantro or parsley until just before serving because it will lose its flavor and bright green color. You will have about 3/4 cup salsa.

To serve, preheat a broiler. Place 1 piece of the cheese on each of 4 flameproof serving plates. Run the plates under the broiler until the cheese just begins to melt, 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful not to allow the cheese to melt into a puddle. Place a garlic bulb next to the cheese and flood the plate with the salsa. Accompany with French bread or tortillas.

Cafe Pasqual's Huevos Motulenos
Source: Cafe Pasqual's Cookbook by Katharine Kagel
Serves: 4 Servings

2 cups black beans; see recipe
4 cups green chile sauce; see recipe
8 blue corn tortillas
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup clarified butter plus
2 tbsp clarified butter
4 bananas; split lengthwise
8 eggs
1 cup feta cheese; crumbled
1 cup green peas; fresh shelled or frozen; cooked until just tender in boiling water; well drained; and kept hot
2 cups salsa fresca; see recipe
8 sprigs cilantro; for garnish

Place the beans and chile sauce in separate saucepans over medium-low heat and heat to serving temperature, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.

Brush each tortilla on both sides with vegetable oil. Place a dry skillet over high heat. When the pan is hot, add the tortillas, one at a time, and heat, turning once, until soft, about 5 seconds on each side. Set aside.

In a saute pan, melt the 1/4 cup butter over medium-high heat. When the butter sizzles, add the banana halves and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes on each side. Set aside.

In another saute pan, melt the 2 tablespoons butter and cook the eggs as desired: fried, over easy, sunny side up, or scrambled.

To assemble the motulenos, place 2 tortillas side by side on each serving plate. Spoon 1/2 cup of the beans into the center of each tortilla, and place 2 fried eggs or one fourth of the scrambled eggs on top of the beans.

Ladle the chile sauce around he eggs, covering the beans. Scatter 1/4 cup of the cheese and 1/4 cup of the peas over each serving. Top with 1/2 cup of the salsa, and place 2 fried banana halves along either side of each serving.

Garnish with cilantro sprigs. Serve immediately.

Cafe Pasqual's Green Chile Sauce
Source: Cafe Pasqual's Cookbook by Katharine Kagel

1 1/2 lb fresh mild green New Mexico chiles (see note)
3/4 lb fresh hot green New Mexico chiles (see note)
4 cups water
1/2 white onion; medium dice
2 tsp dried mexican oregano or marjoram
6 cloves garlic; finely minced
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp all-purpose flour

NOTE: Roast, peel, seed, devein, and chop chiles to measure.

Green chiles are available fresh, frozen, canned, or dried. If using fresh chiles for this recipe, which are preferred, make a special effort to obtain New Mexico green chiles rather than use the milder, ubiquitous Anaheim variety.

If New Mexico green chiles are unavailable, substitute fresh poblano chiles. Poblano chiles are shiny, dark green, and have more of a bell pepper shape that the longer, pointed New Mexico and Anaheim varieties.

Fresh chiles need to be roasted, peeled, stemmed, seeded, and chopped before using.

Frozen chiles have already been prepared in this
manner. If using canned chiles, the least preferable choice, rinse them thoroughly before using. Canned and frozen chile producs are specifically labeled by the processor as to whether the chiles are hot, medium-hot, or mild.

If using dried green chiles, soak in hot water tocover for 45 minutes to rehydrate them, then drain, seed, and chop.

Place all the ingredients, except the vegetable oil and flour, in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer uncovered, until juice has thickened and is opaque, 20 to 30 minutes. Stir occasionally, taking care that the chiles do not burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and flour until smooth and well blended, to form the base for as roux. Place in a saucepan over medium-high heat until hot and bubbling. Reduce the heat to low and whisk, constantly until the roux is slightly brown and has a nutty flavor. Remove from the heat.

Add 1/2 cup of the green chile mixture to the roux and whisk thoroughly until smooth. Add the roux to the remaining chile mixture and cook over low heat until the sauce thickens and the "flour taste" disappears, about 15 minutes. Adjust to taste with salt.

Remove from the heat, let cool, cover, and store in a nonreactive container in the refrigerator until needed. The sauce may be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Check it for sourness if held any longer. The sauce may be frozen for up to 2 months.

To heat the sauce for serving, place it in a nonreactive pan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.

Variation with meat:
Prepare the sauce as directed. Cut 1 pound pork shoulder in half and trim off any fat. Place the pork in a saucepan and add 2 white onions, quartered; 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; 2 teaspoons cumin seeds; 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano leaves; 12 whole black peppercorns, and water to cover (about 8 cups).

Bring to a boil and skim off and discard the resulting foam. Cover and simmer over low heat until the meat is tender, about 1 hour. Drain and, with two opposing forks, shred the
meat into long strings. Chop the shredded meat with a cleaver into 1/2-inch lengths and stir into the finished chile sauce.

Cafe Pasqual's Salsa Fresca
Source: Cafe Pasqual's Cookbook by Katharine Kagel

10 oz Italian plum tomatoes; about 5
1/4 white onion
1/2 fresh serrano or jalapeno chile; stem, seeded, & minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves; chopped
1/4 tsp salt; or to taste
1 pinch (small) ground cumin; optional

Always make salsa by hand using a good sharp knife. A machine reduces the ingredients to a mushy liquid and, at that point, you might as well buy a jar of commercial salsa.

Chop the tomatoes by hand. Put the diced tomatoes into a nonreactive bowl. Cut the onion in the same-size dice as the tomatoes and put in the bowl with the tomatoes.

Add the chile and cilantro. Add the salt and a very small amount of cumin, if you like. Stir well. Makes about 2 cups.

Note: Because the piquant qualities of onions and chiles vary, you man need to adjust one or the other of these ingredients to taste. Serve the salsa at room temperature within a few hours of preparing it. It does not store well, the tomatoes and onion become soft and the flavors dissipate.