This is one of my all-time California favourites. There two kinds of fish tacos: quick and easy from the taco shop around the corner (heatburn no extra charge), and the made with love delicacy I am about to share with you. Each has its time and place however since this is supposed to be a cookbook I will spare you any further digression and get to the point.
1 kilo fresh White fish filets (Sole, haddock, etc. don’t buy anything expensive for this one)
2 cups Flour
Salted butter
2 cups rice
1 cup OJ
3 cups water
1 tbsp. Brown sugar
Sea Salt and fresh Ground Pepper (Peppermill is best)
1/2 lettuce, finely chopped
3 tomatoes
1 med. Red Onion
2 shoots Cilantro
1 small jalapeno
2 fresh Avocado
3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
3 Limes
12 small or medium fresh Corn Tortillas
Olive oil
Perpare your Salsa brava by dicing two Tomatoes, Onion, Garlic, Cilantro and Jalapeno, mix together, cover and put in the fridge.
Scrape out the Avocado's and mix well in a bowl with one diced Tomato and a squirt of Lemon. Presto! one order of Gringo Guacamole. Now put it in the fridge.
Make rice with 1 cup of fresh-squeezed OJ and 3 water.
Mix the flour, sugar, a pinch of salt and several good turns of ground pepper in a wide mixing bowl. Cut fish into 1 inch wide strips, 6- 8 inches long and coat well with the flour mixture. Fry breaded fish in a generous amount of salted butter (adding more as necessary).
When everyone is ready heat up the tortillas with a spot of Olive Oil. Note- they are done when brown spots appear. Don’t cook them longer or the will be rigid. Keep warm in a closed container.
Down the centre of a tortilla spoon out rice, salsa, guacamole and a piece or two of fish. Dress with chopped lettuce and drip with limejuice, roll and serve.
Serves 4
This was the dish I proudly prepared for our first ever dinner guests who ordered in a pizza and didn’t bother to show up.
4 packs of instant Ramen (only buy the ones without MSG. Unfortunately I didn’t know what MSG was at the time and now have a strong reaction to it).
4 thick slices of Eggplant
4 slices Swiss Cheese
4 Cups of crushed Corn Flakes, 1 cup flour (Corn is best)
Salt
Olive Oil
Salt both sides of the Eggplant and let sit for an hour or so. Mix flour and Corn flakes. Wipe salt off the Eggplant, oil liberally and cover with corn flake/flour mix. Fry in Olive oil at medium temp. until very soft (use a fork to test). Meanwhile make the ramen soup as per instructions then drain all liquid, and divide into four bowls. Throw a slice of cheese on each piece of Eggplant while still in the pan then plop one on top of each bowl of noodles.
Serve and watch food until cold.
Friday night at Buby Sarah’s (my Dad’s mom) was meat night. A dish with more than two items was considered a luxury, lukchen soup for example (chicken and noodle), and, in tribute to her humble beginnings, Sarah boiled everything for a minimum of three to five hours. Drumsticks were cooked grey and when picked up the meat fell off the bone. Brisket (also grey) would literally melt in your mouth.
It should have come as no surprise to me then that my favourite dish of all time was less creative genius and more Warsaw ghetto but hey, it was my grandmother and we all have our illusions.
“Hey Dad, how’s things? Cool. Well I was wondering if you knew how to make Buby’s fricassee? Great! I’ll get a pen…. What do you mean I don’t need one?"
• 1 large Pot, should be the same one used for everything consumed in the last twenty-five years.
• 6 chicken thighs (the cheap part after separated from the drumstick)
• 1 pack of chicken giblets (I said comfort food remember?)
• 2 carrots
• 2 Onions
• 1 Celery stalk
• 5 to 6 cups water
“OK, but how do you make the sauce? What?!! Are you sure? Really. That’s kind of disappointing, OK well I can try it I guess… when you were a kid too huh?”
• 1/2 bottle of Heinz Catsup
Slice vegetables into threes (Buby never cut anything more than three times) and throw into the pot along with chicken parts, catsup and water. Bring to a boil then simmer for a minimum of two hours. Three is better. Alternately put everything in a crockpot and forget about it until dinner time the next day.
Serves two for three days.
Sounds dumb, tastes unreal.
1 ripe Aquacate (Avacado)
1 ripe mango diced (substitute with pinapple if Mangos are unavailable)
2 tbsp salted butter
1 Cebolla poquito (small Onion), diced
Cook the Mango, Onion and Butter in a small pot, stirring frequently until contents are soft. When done store in fridge to cool off.
Cut the Agucate in half, scoop out the goodness and save the 1/2 skins intact. Stir the aquacate and mango compote together in a bowl until creamy. Re-fill the skins and serve on their side with extra filling spilling out.
Fry diced jalapeno in butter, after a few minutes add honey and stir. Heat up another pan with butter, pour in the eggs and slap a lid on it for 20 or 30 seconds. Lift the lid, add the jalapeno honey sauce and get ready to fold.
Get your spatula under one side and fold over two-thirds, then do the same from the other side. You should have a nice, long omelette. Flip it over for 20-30 seconds or so and serve with extra sauce on top.
Oh man this is good. OK check the tide chart. If it’s going out grab your speargun and head out towards the big rocks off the point. If its approaching high tide then wait until you can catch going out as that’s when the fish come in to feed.
Now don’t forget to swim slowly on the way out because your going to have to fight the current coming back... Right so we’re at the rocks. Take a few gentle but deep breaths and pop under to see what’s going on down there. Nobody home? Try again but this time, hang out on the bottom for a minute without moving and see what shows up. There see? Two eight-pound Golden Jacks looking for food. Nice. OK now remember that each of those is about two kilos of meat so just take what you need and lets get back to the kitchen.
2 kilos fresh BOQUIPENDA (Golden Jack), also works well with Tuna or Marlin
1 oz. fresh Jinjimbre (Ginger)
2 Cebolla (Yellow Onions)
4 cloves Ajo (Garlic)
2 tbsp. Aciete (Sesame Oil)
2 tbsp. Honey
4 cups Aqua (Water)
6 new/small potatoes
1/2 litre milk
Prepare filets and keep cold. Boil potatoes for 10 minutes then cut into good-sized chunks. Peel and slice onions, garlic and ginger into a covered baking dish (remove cover first). Add soy sauce, sesame oil, honey and water and stir it all up. Lay in the filets and making sure to get the sauce and stuff all over them. Add potatoes and bake for 20 minutes or until fish is perfect.
Serve with warm tortillas (see Preparations) and a nice Merlot.
Feeds four.
While everyone knows how to scramble an egg there is no reason to let it pass uninspired. Hey eggs are pretty amazing things when you think about it. You ever see the size of the hole they come out of? Eggzactly. So, if for no other reason, think of how hard that chicken had to work and let’s put in a little extra effort.
3 fresh Huevos (Eggs baby eggs)
Curry powder
Ground pepper
While beating the eggs with a small whisk add some curry powder and a dash of pepper. Do not add milk or water as it will ruin the eggs’ natural full flavor. Then, if you haven’t overdone it, add a little more curry. Fry in a hot pan with manzanilla (butter) and serve still damp. Dry eggs are an insult.
PS- Fresh eggs usually stay intact (the yolk that is) when cracked into a frying pan while old ones spread out flat. Conversely old ones peel better when hard-boiled.
I am in love with Gallo Pinto (fried rice and beans). Someone told me that it is slang for man and wife but the direct translation is Rooster Bean which, as I understand it, is a type of Pinto bean with a funky pattern but don’t ask me, I just live here. For those not in the know, rice and beans together form a perfect protein, which makes this a cheaper-than-chips all around winner.
• 4 cups cooked Arroz (Brown or white rice)
• 1 cup cooked pinto frijoles (black or red beans, they pretty much taste the same)
• 3 cloves diced Ajo (Garlic)
• 1 diced Chile Dulce (Red Pepper)
• 1 diced Cebolla Amarillo (Yellow Onion)
• 1 Jalapeno if desired
• Aciete Acietunas or Girosol (Olive or Sunflower Oil)
Right then, fry up the ajo, cebolla, chile dulce, some cilantro and the jalapeno until the ajo turns light brown in colour.
Mix this with the Arroz y Pinto, cover and let sit in the fridge overnight. Next morning all you have to do is throw a few scoops into a frying pan, add a dash of salt and fry until the rice starts to sizzle.
Then, stir it up and wait for the sizzle again. Continue like this until all of it is lightly fried. Serve with salsa picante (hot sauce) and enjoy.
Gallo Pinto con Huevos Reveltos (Rice’n’beans’n’scrambled eggs)
This is our traditional après surf breakfast. Gallo Pinto served with a scrambled eggs, salsa picante (chile sauce) and a few corn tortillas (soft) or buttered slices of toast. Ummm, there’s nothing better after a good session. Then its straight to the hammock for a siesta.
This is a delicious, quick little recipe that will make you feel like you know what you are doing even if you suck at cooking. The combination of jalapeno and soy ads a very subtle nutty flavour that stays on the palate and also serves to remind your taste buds that there’s more to life in the tropics than rice and beans.
4 large cloves of Ajo (garlic), chopped
1 Cebolla (onion), sliced
1 Chile picante, piqueno (small jalapeno), chopped
1 small bag of Pasta shells
1/4 cup Leche de Soya (Soy milk or milk if you prefer)
Aciete aceitunas (Olive oil)- if not available use Girasol (Sunflower)
Pinch of salt
In a frying pan lightly brown chopped ajo, cebolla, and chile in oil. When it starts looking crispy turn down heat half-way, add a pinch of salt and slowly pour the soy milk into the edge of the pan. Careful as the oil will spray when the new liquid is added. Let simmer, stirring regularly until it thickens,
Meantime boil pasta shells with a bit of oil and pinch of salt. Drain when al-dente and return to pot, add the boiled down Crema Ajillo, stir well and serve.
Serves two.
Here is a fabulous treat for the afishionado. WARNING! This recipe requires dangerous coconut retrieval techniques that should only be performed by a trained professional. Do not attempt this if you are soft-skulled or clumsy.
• 2 Mango fresca, cut into squares (see how-to’s)
• 2 cups Arroz (Rice)
• 1 cup Jugo Naranja (O.J.)
• 3 cups Agua (water)
• 1 cup soaked (overnight) Pinto frijoles (beans)
• 1 fresh Tomato, sliced
• 5 or 6 cups Aqua
• 2 Pescado, approxima 1 kilo todo (medium sized fish of .5 kilo each)
• 2 Limon, sliced
• 3 Cebolla (Onion), 2 chopped, 1 sliced
• 1 Coco verde (Green coconut, yellow will do)
• 3 shoots Cilantro, chopped
Put on the rice and beans (make rice with 1 cup of fresh-squeezed OJ and 3 water). Beans get 4-5 cups water and add the fresh tomato and salt & pepper to taste.
Chop two fresh mangos and one onion into a bowl, mix, cover and put in fridge.
Grab a bolsa (plastic bag) and walk down the beach till you find a fisherman with something to sell (Pargo-Red Snapper is best!). Negotiate a fair price for two plate-sized tasties, drop them in your bolsa and cruise back to the casa.
On your way home snatch two limons from your neighbours arbol (tree).
Clean and scale the fish, leaving whole and dress with sliced onion and lemon in a glass baking dish. (Distribute these under and inside the fish).
Pull down a coconut (watch your cabeza), chop a small hole with your machete then empty the pipa (coco water) into the baking dish. Then use your machete to chop the coco in half. Scoop out chunks of coconut meat with a spoon and cover the fish with them. Bake for 15-25 minutes being careful not to overcook.
Serve fish whole with side of Arroz Naranja, beans and your fabulous mango salsa and don’t forget to eat the cheeks!
Serves two hungry muchachos.