Sopa seca de Fideo y Camarones

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Fideos (vermicelli) are much loved in Mexico, where they form the basis of thick, delicious soups. Usually the soups are served as a first course, but our hearty shrimp version is a meal in a bowl.

The name “sopa seca de fideo” translates to “dry soup with noodles”. It’s not soup, it’s called a “dry soup” because the noodles absorb all of the wonderful rich stock, making the noodles taste more delicious than you can possibly imagine.

Although it can be made with straight noodles, I have found if easier to make fideo with the twirled angel hair nests. It’s pretty, and easier to serve that way, one nest per individual  serving.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 dried ancho or pasilla chiles*
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lb. dried angel hair nests or vemicelli
1/4 cup olive  oil
One medium yellow onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1/2 cup crushed canned tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 quart chicken broth
1 pound (30 to 35 per lb.) peeled, deveined shrimp, tails left intact
Kosher salt, to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

For Serving:
1/2 cup sour cream
Queso Fresco
Diced avocado

Directions:
Break stems off chiles and shake out seeds. In a small bowl, cover chiles with hot water and let stand until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and coarsely chop.

Brown the angle hair nests: Choose a frying pan with a lid in which the angel hair nests will all tightly fit in a single layer (about 9 or 10-inches wide, depending on the brand of angel hair nests you use). In the pan, heat the oil until shimmering hot. Working in batches, fry the vermicelli angel hair nests on both sides in the hot oil until golden brown in color. Remove from pan.

Sauté onions and garlic, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in chiles. Add tomatoes, cumin seeds and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Reduce heat to a simmer and cook angel hair nests in the broth. When broth is simmering, place the browned angel hair nests or vermicelli in a single layer in the pan, nestled into the broth. The nests should cover the whole pan. Turn them over in the broth so that they get moistened on all sides. Cover and cook until the vermicelli has soaked up the liquid, about 5 minutes.

If after 5 minutes the top of the vermicelli is dry, flip over the individual angel hair nests and cook a minute longer. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

To serve, spoon soup into wide, shallow bowls. Top each serving with a spoonful of sour cream and some avocado, if you like, and sprinkle with cilantro.

Cook’s Notes:
Vermicelli usually comes in 1 pound packages, so about 1/2 a package can be used for this recipe. If you cannot find angel hair nests at the market, you can make fideo with straight vermicelli pasta. Just break up the pasta in 3 to 4 inch long segments and cook the same way as you would the nests, browning them first in hot oil.

*Good dried chiles are soft, flexible, and smell a bit like prunes. Avoid hard, brittle specimens—they’re old and less flavorful.

How Hot Is Your Chile? To assess a chile’s heat, slice off its top through the ribs and seeds, where the heat-producing compound capsaicin is concentrated. Touch the slice to your tongue. If you want your food to be milder, split the chile and scrape out all or some of the ribs and seeds. If your skin is sensitive, wear kitchen gloves or hold the chiles with a fork—and don’t touch your eyes.

The trick to a great sopa seca de fideo is the chicken broth. If you do not have the time to make your own homemade chicken stock, you can easily use bouillon, boxed broth, and canned chicken stock. While bouillon and the boxes work in a pinch, nothing beats homemade stock for this recipe. It brings a richness that can’t be had any other way. So if you try it, I strongly urge you to use homemade stock!

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Bar Amá Guacamole

Photo Credit: William-Sonoma, 2015

From Bar  Amá  Restaurant Los Angeles, California, March 2015

There are almost as many ways to make guacamole as there are cooks who enjoy making it with the freshest ingredients. At the Los Angeles restaurant Bar Amá, celery puree is the secret ingredient. No one will be able to guess what’s in the guacamole, but everyone will agree it’s delicious. Another secret to making great guacamole is the use of more than enough lime juice, to prevent the browning of the condiment while being served.

Makes About 3 1/2 Cups
Ingredients:
2 celery stalks, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 Tablespoons water Kosher salt, to taste
4 ripe Hass avocados, pitted
1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) fresh lime juice, or more as needed
2 teaspoons minced serrano chile
2 Tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Directions:
In a blender, combine the celery, garlic, water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Puree until smooth. Measure out 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) of the celery puree; discard the remaining celery puree or reserve for another use. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits and scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Add the 1/4 cup celery puree, the lime juice, chile, cilantro and 2 teaspoon salt. Using a large fork or potato masher, mash the ingredients until they are thoroughly combined but the mixture is not completely smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and lime juice. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.

Crab and Avocado Salad

Avocados filled with crab salad

Photo Credit: Layla Pujol, Laylita’s Recipes ,www. laylitas.com, 2015

With Summer approaching, no one wants to stand in a hot kitchen over a stove. With that being said, here is a salad that requires a sharp knife, a large bowl , serving plates and a fork. Not only is this salad healthy for you and gluten-free, but it is refreshing as well. You can use any type of fresh crab meat. I prefer Dungeness crab meat, and you can easily substitute the crab for cooked peeled shrimp as well.

The basic ingredients for this classic dish from Ecuador is  prepared by filling ripe avocados with a a crab salad, red onion, bell pepper, cucumber, radishes, lime juice, olive oil, and cilantro.

Enjoy!

Courtesy of Layla Pujol of  Laylita’s Recipes, 2015

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 pound of cooked crab meat
½ red onion, finely chopped
½ red bell pepper, finely diced
½ green bell pepper, finely diced
½ cucumber, finely diced
4 radishes, finely diced
Juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4-5 ripe but firm avocados
½ lime

To garnish:
Iceberg Lettuce or salad greens
Fresh cilantro leaves
Sliced scallions
Sliced radishes

Directions:
To prepare the crab salad:
Mix the cooked crab meat with diced onions, diced bell peppers, diced cucumbers, diced radish, lime juice, olive oil, chopped cilantro, and salt and pepper. The salad can be prepared in advance and kept refrigerated until just ready to assemble the avocados.

Cut the avocados in half, remove the seeds and peel the avocados. Sprinkle each avocado half with a little lime juice to prevent the avocados from browning too quickly.

Fill the center of the avocados halves with the crab salad. Serve the crab stuffed avocados over lettuce leaves and garnished with scallions and radishes.