Monday, April 26, 2010

Southwestern with a Twist

Other than French, our favorite fare here at AF is southwestern - we are suckers for anything in this genre. So, when the most foodie–esque person I’ve ever met (name to remain anonymous) made this dish for me years ago, I immediately demanded the recipe. It sounds like an odd pairing: a salmon burrito with bacon? While anything with bacon is typically better in my book, I still had to taste this one to believe it. But I promise if you give this dish a chance, it will become a staple in your cooking repertoire moving forward.

The dish itself is easy to make; however, there is quite a bit of prep work, which can be done ahead of time to break it up. Really, the salmon burritos are three dishes combined for one extraordinary result, and it’s wise to consider each part – the sauce, the preparation of sides and the burritos themselves – as three separate recipes as you get started.

I must really like you all a lot because I hate giving this recipe away! This dish has long-since been my very favorite; my "hole in one." But, as Kara says, “It’s for the blog,” so I'm releasing it to the public with love.

We paired the burrito with a southwest rice and corn salad with lemon dressing, yet another recipe we had been dying to try in this month’s issue of Bon Appétit! We recommend pairing the food with a homemade Margarita – only fresh lime juice, grand marnier and agave tequila will suffice. When we served this meal last weekend to Beard and Elisha, they brought over the perfect wine pairing, La Crema Chardonnay. It compliments the salmon and is under $15 dollars. Hope you enjoy!

Southwest Rice and Corn Salad With Lemon Dressing (serves 8)

Ingredients

1 cup long grain white rice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (we recommend doubling this)
4 tablespoons olive oil (we recommend doubling this as well)
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels, or frozen corn kernels
1 cup chopped fresh poblano chilies
1 cup diced seeded yellow bell pepper
1 cup 1/2-inch cubes yellow zucchini
1 avocado, halved, peeled, diced
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Cook rice until just tender. 12 to 15 minutes. Drain and rinse in cool water. Drain again. Meanwhile whisk lemon juice and 3 tablespoons oil in a small bowl. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add corn, poblanos, yellow bell pepper, and zucchini. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until vegetables are just tender, 6 to 7 minutes; scrape into large bowl. Add rice, avocado, green onions, cilantro, and dressing; toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.


Salmon Burritos with Adobe Chipotle Cream Sauce (serves 8)

Ingredients

8 small salmon filets (Whole Foods usually has a good deal - look for their "Great Cuts")
Ground cumin
Ground coriander
Salt
Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
1 cedar plank
1 can chipotle chilies in adobe sauce
½ cup sour cream

Directions

Soak cedar plank in warm water for at least one hour. Rub salmon with extra virgin olive oil. Then season to taste with salt, pepper, cumin and coriander. Place over medium-high heat coals and cook for 15 - 20 minutes until the fish reaches your desired temperature (We prefer ours cooked through but medium rare will work for this recipe). Remove fish from grill and break up the salmon into nice sized chunks for the burritos.

While the salmon cooks, mix together chopped chipotle chilies and sour cream. Add sauce from the can to taste. Chill until ready to serve.


Build Your Own Burrito Bar

Ingredients

1 cup of black beans
1 cup of fresh corn, roasted on the grill or sauteed in a pan
1 cup sauteed red onions
1 avocado, sliced into wedges
1 cup freshly cooked, crumbled bacon (We suggest Wrights bacon, it's the best bacon hands down)
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup pickled jalapenos
1 cup of adobe chipotle cream sauce (see recipe above)
1 cup freshly shredded extra sharp white cheddar cheese
8 12" flour tortillas
1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro
2 limes, cut into wedges

Directions

It couldn't be easier - assemble the toppings and invite your guests to serve themselves from the burrito bar. Avoid over stuffing your burrito. Otherwise, you'll have a heck of a time rolling it. Below are some visuals of the proper way to roll yours. Enjoy!









9 comments:

  1. Love the pics. This might be perfect for a CInco de Mayo party I was contemplating having. Or I might just drink margs at a bar instead.. .

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  2. This looks amazing! I can't wait for Kara to cook it for me when I see her next :)

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  3. Bacon does make everything better! This dish is a must try---soooo delicious!!! The rice dish was a nice compliment to the burrito as well. Gracias AF!

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  4. Top these lil babies off with a delicious margarita and wow! What a great night! Berries, when should I pencil this in on my calendar?

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  5. D-Lish!!!!!!!!!! I can not wait to make these. Salmon is brainfood, perfect for exam time!

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  6. AF,
    Super delish! SUPREME FOOD PORN... and not just the regular Skinemax stuff, but the weird kinky off the walls biznass. Totally had to change after consumption!!!

    Speaking of food porn, check out the below from the fine folks at ABC news:

    http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/video/food-paparazzi-10518660

    Thanks again for the delicious meal and wonderful evening!

    Holler,
    Z

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  7. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  8. It was food porn and fabulous company I might add!

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  9. Hey AF gals...just wanted to let you know that I made this rice salad last night to complement our taco night. It was super easy and tasty, and also looks pretty!! So much better than the typical mexican rice, and healthier too with the veggies. BTW, I didn't have poblano or cilantro and used a mix of lemon and lime juice. The leftovers are really good today, an added bonus because I didn't have to make lunch this morning. :)

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