Esalen Cookbook (10 page)
Authors: Charlie Cascio
In a large pot, bring 5 quarts of water to boil. Add the 1½ tablespoons salt and the macaroni, stirring as you pour the pasta into the water. Cook the pasta, stirring occasionally, until it is chewy but firm (al dente). Drain the pasta and rinse in cold water; then set aside.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until it starts to bubble, and then whisk in the flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and chile powder. Whisk until it forms a paste; then add the green chile strips and the jalapeno pepper, stirring constantly. Add the milk and stir until the mixture boils; then reduce the heat to low and cook slowly until sauce is thick. Cut off the heat and slowly sprinkle in the cheese, whisking or stirring until the cheese is fully melted. Add the cooked pasta, turn the heat to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour into a 9- x 11-inch baking dish and cover with crumbled corn-chip topping. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes.
Green Chile Macaroni & Cheese
Leek
&
Onion Tart
&
Onion Tart
This is a classic dish of Nice, France. You will find it on menus in restaurants there as well as in the many bakeries in the Old Quarter. We serve it as a lunch dish at Esalen. Except for the addition of the whole wheat flour, it was in this original form when I started to prepare it at Esalen. As I was pulled away from the cooking line and spent more time in the kitchen office, many other cooks explored this recipe and created their own variations of this yummy lunch.
Makes 6 to 8 servings
CRUST1 teaspoon brown sugar
1¼ cups lukewarm water (about 110 degrees F)
1½ teaspoons dry active baking yeast
3¼ cups unbleached bread flour
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole wheat bread flour
FILLING2 pounds yellow onions
4 medium-size leeks
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese
½ cup chopped oil-cured olives
1 small tin anchovies, drained
The crust for this tart is similar to thin-crust pizza dough, having to raise only once. To make the crust, in a nonmetal mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water and then slowly whisk the yeast into the liquid and set aside for the mixture to “bloom.”The bloom usually takes 5 to 10 minutes—bubbles will rise and a frothy head will develop on top.
Using a wooden spoon, slowly stir 1¼ cups unbleached flour into the mixture until it is smooth. Then stir the dough rapidly for about 5 minutes, cover, and let rest for 5 minutes. This helps to develop the gluten.
Stir the oil and salt into the dough until thoroughly mixed. Slowly stir in the whole wheat flour until smooth. When finished, stir in the remaining unbleached flour. You may find it easier to use your hands to mix in the last part of the unbleached flour, adding a little and then kneading it into the dough, then adding a little more flour, and so on until you have a firm, nonsticky dough.
Knead the dough for another 5 minutes. You can do this by pushing the dough away from you with the heel of one hand, then folding it back over and toward you with the other hand. Turn the dough one-fourth turn and repeat the procedure. When finished kneading, return dough to the bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel. Place in a warm, draft-free spot to raise until the dough doubles in size (about 45 minutes).
When the dough has doubled, place it on a floured board and roll it out to the shape of your pizza pan, cookie sheet, or baking pan. Rotate the dough as you roll, and flip it over, until you roll it out to the size of the pan. The dough should hang over the edge all the way around. Place the dough gently into the pan and roll up the edge to form a rim that will hold the onion mixture.
While the dough is raising, prepare the filling. Peel and chop the onions in thin, half-moon slices. Slit the leeks down the side, and then rinse under running water to remove any dirt. Chop into 1/4-inch rounds. Heat olive oil in a saute pan over high heat and saute the onions and leeks until the onions turn translucent. Lower the heat to medium and saute until the onions turn a golden brown. Add the thyme and salt; mix well.
After placing the dough into the pan, place one-third of the cheese on the dough to lightly cover the bottom. Then evenly spread the onion mixture over the dough. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the onion mixture. Place chopped olives over the cheese and anchovy fillets over the olives. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for about 45 minutes or until you can see the edges of the crust turn light brown. The tart, like pizza, is best served warm.
GRIDDLE CORN CAKESCorn and potatoes were staples for many of the Indian nations of the Americas. Although we have no way to verify it, this savory little cake could have been a recipe of those early inhabitants. At one time it was a favorite lunch item in our dining lodge. It tastes best served with a Chipotle Cream Sauce (see recipe on page 7 74).
Makes 8 cakes
¾ pound Yukon Gold potatoes
2 large ears fresh corn or 2½ cups frozen corn
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 tablespoons bread crumbs
2 teaspoons chile powder
2 teaspoons fresh chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 egg
Oil for frying
*If you can’t find Yukon Gold potatoes, use a creamy rather than a mealy type of potato for this recipe, such as Yellow Finn, white, or red potatoes. Do not use Russet or baking potatoes.
Wash the potatoes and leave the peel on. Grate potatoes with a food processor or a hand grater. Cut the kernels from the ears of corn and scrape the pulp from the cut ears with a fork. The pulp will help hold the corn cake together. If using frozen corn, puree ½ cup of corn in a blender. Place this with the corn kernels into a mixing bowl with the grated potatoes.
Toast the cumin in a dry frying pan over medium heat. Toss cumin into the corn-and-potato mixture and add the bread crumbs, chile powder, cilantro, and salt, blending everything thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Stir it into the mixture. Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan over medium heat and drop a scoop of the mixture into the pan. Flatten the mixture with a fork in one hand and a spoon in the other; hold the spoon on the edge of the cake and press with the fork to form an escalope, or cutlet, shape. The corn cakes should be about 3/8 inch thick. Fry on one side until brown, about 4 minutes, and flip over to brown the other side. Serve with a fresh salsa and Chipotle Cream Sauce.
Anthony Giacobbe, Rachel Fann, and Matt Glazer
Angela Karegeannes brought this recipe to Esalen. When I ask her how she created this recipe, this was her answer: “I came up with the seasoning ideas for this burrito during my college years when I used to go to see Phish, a now-retired rock band. One night at Deer Creek Amphitheater I decided that adding cinnamon to the beans might warm the bellies of my burrito-buying friends, and I also had some limes on hand to add to the burrito. I’ll never forget people coming up to me and smiling, saying, ‘Wow! What’s that smell?’ Adding the yams to the mix came later at Esalen when I learned how perfectly cinnamon complements winter vegetables of all kinds.”
Makes 6 servings
3/4 cup dry black beans
or about 2 cups canned cooked black beans
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
½ medium yellow onion, cut into ½-inch dice
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
Pinch brown sugar
2 teaspoons cumin
medium Roma tomatoes, cut into ½-inch dice
2 medium ears of fresh corn or 2 cups frozen corn
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 large yam, cut into ½-inch dice
2 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, and cut into
½-inch dice
1 teaspoon oregano
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
6 burrito-size flour tortillas (10-inch diameter)
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
To cook the beans, use the quick soak method. Put beans into a pot with 4 times the amount of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and then turn off the heat, cover the beans, and let sit for 1 hour. Drain in a colander and rinse well with water. Place the beans back into the pot, adding 4 times the amount of water, along with the whole cloves of garlic and the salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer. Cook until tender, about 1 hour, and then drain and let cool.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet over high heat, and then saute the onion for 2 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the onions are brown and caramelized. Blend in the juice of 1 lime, cocoa powder, brown sugar, cayenne, and cumin, and then stir in the tomatoes, corn, and cinnamon. Cook for 5 minutes.
In a separate pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil on high. Add the diced yams and saute until al dente. Then lower the heat and add the chiles and oregano. Continue to saute until the yams are fork-tender.
On a flat work surface, lay out a tortilla and estimate how much one-sixth of each ingredient will be. On the lower third of the tortilla, place a layer of cheese, followed by a layer of beans. Then do the same with the onion mixture and the yams. Fold and tuck the outer edges of the tortilla inward, and then tightly roll the burrito away from you, tucking in the ends as you roll. Place the burritos on an oiled baking pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F until bubbly, about 25 minutes.
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