Guacamole and salsa, or let’s call it Gualsa!

On Sunday, I posted this  picture on Facebook ans asked my friends to guess what I was making. And yes, it totally looked like guacamole – and/or salsa. I lately decided to save some time and combined the two  – because what’s better than getting all the guacamole and tomato salsa on the chip at the same time, right? Ever since, that’s the only way I am making it. Who has time to make guacamole, and then tomato salsa to go with it?

I call it my “Gualsa”. If you want to try it, here is the recipe (the amounts of each ingredient are flexible, it all depends on your personal taste, and how many people you want to serve). Down side: just like guacamole or salsa, it doesn’t keep well, so it’s better to make less and make a fresh one again soon!

Vera’s Gualsa

Ingredients:

4 ripe tomatoes (I like campari tomatoes, they seem to have the most flavor)
1/4 red onion
1 lime
1 green bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper (or, when you don’t have one when you feel like Gualsa, you can use Sriracha for heat, instead)
1-2 avocados
salt and freshly grated pepper
2-3 tablespoon of high quality olive oil
bunch of chopped cilantro

Start with tomatoes and cut them into small dices (personal preference here, if you like bigger chunks, that’s fine). But smaller are better to get on the tortilla chips. Place into larger bowl.

Seed the pepper and cut  into strips first, then small dices. I like to use green pepper for the color, but any peppers are fine. Add to the tomatoes. Do not mix yet. Next, finely chop red onion and jalapeno pepper. If you like spicy, leave the seeds in jalapeno, otherwise take the seeds out and chop just outer pepper. It’s still going to add heat to your Gualsa.

Wash and chop cilantro (I like plenty, again make it to your personal taste and preference), and let cilantro join the party. Season with salt and pepper. Do not mix just yet.

Last, halve the avocados. Take out the pit with your knife, and with small pairing knife, carefully cut stripes into the avocado, all the way to the skin, while holding the half in the palm of your hand. Be careful not to cut through the skin and not to cut yourself. Then repeat crosswise, so you’ll end up with dices of avocado. Repeat with the other avocado. For my own taste, I like to leave avocado in bigger chunks – since they are soft and will be inevitably little broken when mixed anyway.

With table spoon, carefully run it against the skin, and take the avocado flesh out, straight above the bowl with the rest of the vegetables. Sprinkle all over with the lime juice. I use juice of whole lime for that. You can squeeze the juice ahead of time, and then just pour it all over. Make sure to cover the avocado evenly; the lime juice is not added just for the taste, it also prevents avocado to oxidize and turn dark. When everything is in the bowl, sprinkle with olive oil and mix carefully together. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed.

Cover with plastic foil, and let cool in the fridge for 1/2 hour. That is, if you can wait – or dig in right away, and enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips! I also use this as super bright salad on its own.Oh – and as for wine pairing – when I go this road, although devoted wine lover, in this case I reach for nicely chilled bottle of Corona with a slice of lime. What would be your choice of drink? How about some great margarita?!!!

Enjoy!

My first Chicken Tikka Masala with Chia Basmati Rice

There are certain cuisines that we are less familiar with then others, and for me the one I have never tried was Indian cuisine. I love to eat it but it’s “unknown” territory. My Indian customer in Connecticut got me hooked on the food, but I always believed it’s a special combination of freshly grounded seasoning, and techniques  and yadi yadi yada … With respect to an authenticity, I wasn’t even fooling around with it.

But I started to experiment (just for myself) with some vegetarian dishes, creating recipes with eggplant and chickpeas and spinach …. some that tasted “like Indian cuisine”, but probably far from the original stuff. And then one day I virtually befriended  one sweet Indian soul called Vrinda who assured me that just like any other “traditional staples” of different international cuisines, Indian cooking also has its multiple variations of dishes, and everybody adds their own personal touch to it. In other words – just do it, and make it your own!

So, why not? I gave myself permission to play with Indian food. And shortly after, I became a personal chef for a lady whose father is an Indian and, on top of it, great cook. On our second session, she asked me to prepare some Indian chicken dish. Whaaaat? That’s like cooking your own Bolognese for an auntie from Tuscany!

But being a fighter as I am, I looked up some recipes on line and realized that it shouldn’t be such a trauma. The bonus – it’s going to be delicious and spicy. And that’s all that I like.

So here is my adapted recipe for my first ever Chicken Tikka Masala. I loved it so much, that after all day cooking at my client’s house, I immediately made some for us at home so my husband can taste it! Please don’t get discouraged by the list of ingredients. Most of it are spices  you probably already have in your spice cabinet and pantry.

Chicken Tikka Masala with Chia Basmati Rice
Serves: 6

Ingredients

• ½ cup rice vinegar (or white yoghurt)
• teaspoon each of cumin, ginger, turmeric, paprika
• 5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or regular butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1½ tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, double if you want more heat
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3- 4 large ripe tomatoes (peeled – instructions included – and roughly chopped)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons curry powder or

For the rice:

• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 tablespoon of raw chia seeds
• ½ small shallot
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups of water or chicken broth
• salt

1. Mix rice vinegar with 1 teaspoon each of cumin, ginger, turmeric, paprika, and add coconut oil. Pour over chicken and store covered in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
2. Heat ghee or butter in a large skillet with heavy bottom over medium heat, add onions and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. I used my favorite cast iron pot. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add cumin, salt, ginger, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and turmeric into the onion mixture and saute for 2 more minutes. Scrape the onion mixture to a small bowl.
3. Peel tomatoes (pierce skin on the bottom of each tomato, boil for 30 seconds, take out of the boiling water, cool with running cold water in the colander in the sink, and carefully peel the skin off with your hand). Roughly chop tomatoes and let simmer in the same large pot you just sauteed onions, until it reaches sauce consistency (about 10 – 15 minutes).
4.  Return onion mixture to the tomato sauce and simmer for 10 more minutes. Mix in coconut milk, paprika, and sugar. Bring sauce back to boil and turn the heat down to simmer.
5. Heat coconut oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Take the chicken pieces from the marinade and stir carefully into the hot oil, sprinkle with more curry powder, and sear until lightly browned but still pink inside, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken and any pan juices into the tomato sauce. Let simmer chicken in sauce until no longer pink, about 30 minutes. The sauce will reduce, thicken and all the flavors just beautifully blend together. Adjust seasoning if needed.
6. While the chicken is cooking, heat tablespoon of olive oil (or coconut oil) in the small rice pan, mince shallot and garlic and cook until fluorescent but not brown. Add tablespoon of chia seeds and cook shortly, stirring. Add basmati rice, water (or chicken broth), season with salt (unless you’re using chicken stock), and bring to boil.
7. Cover the lid, turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 15 minutes on very low heat. Turn off the heat, and let the rice finish up in its own heat. Fluff with fork when done, and pour the chicken tikka masala deliciousness all over the rice!!! If you have time before you dig in, you can decorate it with few leafs of cilantro. Enjoy!

I have paired this dish with Weingut Groiss Grüner Veltliner 2011. The crispiness of this wine paired well with this spicy and creamy chicken dish.  I must tell you, well made Gruner veltliner like this one (by the way, it comes in 1L bottle so it’s a gem) is so versatile, it pairs with almost anything. This one is my “house wine” and I hooked many of my friends on it. Even those that prefer sweeter white wines. Funny, this wine is dry and crisp, but collectively loved.

Let me know what cuisine you are experimenting with!