Grilled Red-Chile Steak with Sweet Plantains, Red Onion, and Chipotle Salsa

Another great recipe from Rick Bayless.  This rub is fantastic.  We used it on the steak for this recipe, then a few nights later we sprinkled it over pan-fried potato wedges, and a few nights after that we sprinkled it over ground beef.  I'm sure you'll find many uses for it as well.

We have a charcoal grill, and since it would be a waste to use a bunch of coals to grill just one steak, we grilled two T-bone steaks, splitting one for this meal and saving the other one for lunches/dinners later in the week.

Plantains kind of look like bananas, and they really should be "black-ripe" for this recipe.  Think of a banana that is so black it's squishy - that's the color you want.  Except that bananas need to be thrown away (or quickly made into banana bread) when they get that ripe, but for plantains, it's just right, and they don't get squishy.  It just means they will be nice and sweet.  

If you go to the store and find only green plantains, you can still buy them, but you'll have to wait until they are ripe before you can make the recipe.  That's what we ended up doing, since our store didn't have any ripe ones.  Boy, was that an AGONIZING week!  Every day we'd get home, check the plantains, and be disappointed because they weren't quite ripe enough yet and we'd have to figure something else out for dinner.

Grilled Red-Chile Steak with Sweet Plantains, Red Onion and Chipotle Salsa

adapted from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless

Serves 4

Notes: The first time we made this, we went to two stores and could not find ancho chile powder, so we bought a package of whole anchos and ground them up ourselves.  We have a small coffee grinder dedicated to grinding spices only.  To remove color and odors between spices, grind up some white rice.

For the Garlicky Ancho Chile Rub:

4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped or crushed through a garlic press

1/3 cup ground ancho chile powder (available from national companies such as McCormick, Mexican groceries and internet sites).

4 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

4 teaspoons ground black pepper

5 teaspoons salt

A 1 1/4 pound flank steak (or an equivalent weight of rib-eye, strip steak, chuck steak, or whatever else may be your favorite)
2 black-ripe plantains
Vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
About 1 cup of your favorite smoky chipotle salsa, for serving

Heat one side of a gas grill to medium-high heat.  Or light a charcoal fire and let it burn until the charcoal is covered with white ash but still hot - move the coals to one side.  

Mix together all the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl.  Spread a heavy coating on each side of the steak(s) - you will need 1-2 tablespoons to heavily coat a 1 1/4 pound steak.  Store the extra rub in the fridge. The only thing that will eventually spoil in the rub is the raw garlic, and even that will last a long time, so it should keep for several weeks at least.

Trim the ends off both the plantains, then split them in half lengthwise (don't peel them).  Drizzle the cut surfaces of both the onion and the plantains with the oil.  Lay the plantains cut side down onto the hot part of the grill.  Do the same with the onion.  Cook about 2-3 minutes, or until well browned, then flip and cook the other side.  Move the plantains and onion to the cooler part of the grill while you cook the steaks.

Lay the steak(s) on the grill, directly over the fire.  If using a very lean cut of meat, lightly spray with oil before grilling.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until nicely colored underneath, flip and cook on the other side until almost as done as you want it, 2-3 minutes more for medium-rare.  Move to the cooler part of the grill with the plantains and onion and let it gradually finish cooking for a few more minutes.

On a cutting board, peel the skins from the plaintains and chop into small pieces.  Chop the grilled onion as well.  Slice the steak into nice thin slices.

Serve it Rick's way:  Put the chopped plantains and onions into a bowl and toss with about 3 tablespoons of the chipotle salsa.  Divide the mixture among the four plates.  Lay the steak slices on top, and serve with more salsa.

Serve it Robyn's way:  I thought the salsa was pretty spicy, so I piled all the components onto my plate and put a dollop of salsa on the side to dip my fork into.  I liked the flavor of the smoky salsa A LOT, but I wanted to control how much I had with each bite.  :-)

Classic Mexican Red Rice

I can't contain how excited I am to have discovered this great recipe!  I am usually not impressed with typical Mexican-American red rice, but I feel like I've never given it a fair shot, because I don't eat at good Mexican restaurants to begin with, and growing up we always made our Mexican rice with instant rice and a spice packet.  So it's almost like saying I'm not impressed with Top Ramen, which should go without saying.  It's all about the ingredients you start with.

Does adding peas to Mexican rice seem weird to anyone else?  It made me feel like I was making fried rice.  But I have to admit, I love the added burst of color they add to the dish.  And I'm always trying to add extra veggies so this is something I can certainly get on board with.  

Since I'm just an amateur cook, I don't know if this is true or not, but it seems like cooking the rice in oil first like Bayless suggests help to keep the rice from clumping together at the end.  This is a technique I want to remember for other rice dishes as well.  

My favorite way to eat leftover Mexican rice?  Mix in leftover taco meat and/or kidney beans, shredded cheese, and chopped tomato for a delicious one-bowl meal.    

Classic Mexican Red Rice (Arroz Rojo)

adapted from Rick Bayless - Mexican Everyday

serves 6-8

Notes: We made this with fresh salsa from the refrigerated section of the grocery store (I love Emerald Valley brand).  A jarred non-refrigerated variety would work too.

Bayless has a whole list of other vegetables you can add if you want - halved garlic cloves, chopped onion, and sliced mushrooms can be added with the rice, and cubed carrots, parsnips, butternut squash, or kohlrabi can be added with the salsa.  Chopped snow peas or green beans can be used instead of the peas.

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

1 1/2 cups medium-grain white rice

1 cup of your favorite bottled tomato salsa

1 cup good quality chicken broth

Salt

1 1/2 cups frozen peas (optional)

Set the oven to heat to 350 F.  In a 3 quart oven-proof saucepan over medium heat, add the oil and rice.  Cook the rice in the oil, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until they all have turned from translucent to milky-white.  Some of them might start to look a little toasty - that's ok.  

Add the salsa, broth, and 1/2 teaspoon salt (that how much salt to add if using normally salted salsa and broth).  Stir together to thoroughly combine, then let it come up to a boil.  

Cover, and move the pot to the middle rack in the oven.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  Uncover, scatter the peas over the top (if using), replace cover and bake for about 5 minutes longer.  Remove from heat and let stand about 5 minutes.

Fluff the rice to release the steam and mix in the peas.  

Bayless also gives instructions for preparing this dish in a rice cooker.  First, sauté the rice in the oil in a separate skillet, then scrape into a rice cooker, and add the remaining ingredients.  Don't use the peas, or cook them separately in the microwave and add them in just before serving.  

Swiss Chard Tacos with Caramelized Onion, Fresh Cheese and Red Chile

Joe and I have just come across an awesome cookbook:  Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless.  He demonstrates how Mexican food does not have to be limited to things slathered in cheese lying alongside dull rice and beans (that's not even very authentic).  It can actually be very fresh, delicious, and even healthy.  His advice is similar to Mark Bittman and others, advocating small portions in general, especially of meat, and loading up on the veggies.  That's my kind of cooking!

This recipe is a prime example that Mexican cooking can be healthy.  True Mexican tacos do not necessarily have to consist of the seemingly standard fillings like ground beef, cheese, lettuce and tomato.  While living in various parts of Mexico he's eaten tacos filled with a yummy mix of braised greens and onions, so he developed this recipe based on those.  Use good chicken or vegetable broth for best flavor.  I added sliced orange bell pepper because I had one on hand that I wanted to use up.

Swiss Chard (or Spinach) Tacos with Caramelized Onion, Fresh Cheese and Red Chile
adapted from Rick Bayless - Mexican Everyday
serves 4

A 12-ounce bunch Swiss chard (or collard, mustard, or beet greens), thick lower stems cut off
OR 10 ounces cleaned spinach (about 10 cups)
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, olive oil, fresh pork lard or bacon drippings
1 large white or red onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or crushed through a garlic press
About 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
Salt
12 corn tortillas
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese such as feta or goat cheese, for serving
About 3/4 cup bottled smoky chipotle salsa, for serving

Slice the chard crosswise into 1/2 inch slices (if using spinach, small leaves may be left whole).  Heat the oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for about 4-5 minutes or until the onion is golden brown.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes.  Stir for a few seconds until fragrant, then add the broth or water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the greens.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the greens just about tender.  Spinach only takes a couple of minutes, while chard will take about 5 minutes.  Collard greens will take a little longer, about 7-8 minutes.  

When the greens are tender, remove cover and turn the heat up to medium-high.  Cook until the mixture is nearly dry, stirring often.  Taste and season with salt if needed.  

We usually warm flour tortillas in a dry cast iron skillet over high heat.  This method does not work so well with corn tortillas.  They are best when they are warmed by steaming, whether in the microwave or in an actual steamer.

This is how Bayless recommends warming corn tortillas:

In the microwave: Drizzle 3 tablespoons of water onto a clean kitchen towel, then wrap the tortillas with it.  Put this packet into a microwavable plastic bag and fold the top over but don't seal it.  Microwave at 50% power for 4 minutes.  Let stand 2-3 minutes before serving.  

In a vegetable steamer (the kind without the little post sticking up the in middle): Fill a pot with about 1/2 inch of water and set up the basket in the pot.  Wrap up to 12 corn tortillas in a clean kitchen towel, and set inside the steamer basket.  Cover, and turn the heat up to high.  Once you can see steam, wait one minute, then turn off the heat.  Let the tortillas sit in the steam for 10 minutes before removing them from the basket.