Tag: mayo

Mexi Pasta Salad

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I am always on the hunt for a good summer cookout side.  There are only so many times a person can make a great Potato Salad before you feel like you have potato salad coming out your ears!  I have always enjoyed a good pasta salad though.  So, I made it my mission this summer to perfect a great pasta salad and by golly, I think I got it… In fact, I know I got it.

This pasta salad is something different, out of the box and packed with fresh ingredients and delicious flavors all marrying to become one heck of a side dish.  I served it at a cookout just yesterday along-side some BBQ chicken and grilled Montreal Steak.  But, I can totally see it with some Southwest Turkey Burgers or even just topped with some fresh avocado and Grilled Shrimp or chicken.

The trick is not to gobble it all up before you get it to the party!  I call it “Mexi Pasta Salad” because although I am pretty sure there isn’t an Abuela in Mexico throwing this together, it gives a good solid nod to the flavors of Mexico. With all your basic taco toppings thrown in and some cumin to spice things up, this salad is not your run of the mill deli get.

Add salt to a good size pot… a pot larger than you think you need for the pasta if possible.

Campanelle Pasta is what I am using today, you can really use any type of pasta for this.

Be sure to stir the pasta a few times throughout the cooking process to ensure nothing sticks together.

Here are some of the fresh ingredients you will need.

Some halved grape tomatoes.

Dice up that jalapeno into a nice small dice after removing seeds and ribs. (Unless you like a kick, then you can leave in as much of the innards as you like haha)

Dice up the bell pepper (any color is fine, I like red for it’s sweetness and color)

Once you dice up half your red (it’s really purple, I never understood why we call them red onions) pepper be sure to soak them in water for a bit to take out that onion tang that makes you cry, it’s a bit too strong for a pasta salad.

Roughly chop up half a bunch of cilantro.

Roughly chop a can of black olives. You can use freshly brined black olives if you like, but there is just something about the canned variety I like here.

Now for the little to no prep ingredients… Start with about 3/4 of a bag of frozen corn… If you happen to have fresh, please use that, I didn’t have any handy.

Rinse out a can of black beans.

Drain your pasta… I cook mine just past aldente.  Also, I did not feel like having to wash another bowl, so my extra-large pot (Magic Pot from Pampered Chef) was perfect for mixing everything in together!

In a small mixing bowl, add in 1 cup of may.

To that, add about 1/2 cup of sour cream. This may seem like a lot of moisture, but we are adding a lot to this pasta.

Now the zest of one lime.

You could add in the juice of the lime, but I find the zest strikes just the perfect balance and the juice is really not needed… Save the juice for your Blueberry Mojito!

Next add in about 1/2 tsp of ground cumin.

Now a good pinch of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Mix your dressing.

Add corn.

Add beans.

Add dressing.

Drain onions and add in.

Add your chopping block stuff.

Mix together.

And for some extra crunch, add in half a diced english cucumber. If you prefer to use a cuke from your garden, just be sure to seed it first to reduce water content.

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Mexi Pasta Salad

Serves 10-15 as a side

Ingredients:

1 lb. pasta, cooked in salted water

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced small

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 red onion, diced and soaked in water, then drained

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

1/2 English cucumber, diced

1 can black olives, drained and roughly chopped

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

3/4 bag frozen corn or 2 ears fresh corn grilled

For the dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

zest of 1 lime

1/2 tsp. cumin

kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare all ingredients as stated in ingredient list.  Drain pasta.  In a small bowl mix together mayo, sour cream, cumin, zest, salt and pepper.

Add dressing to pasta. Add beans, corn, both peppers, drained onion, tomatoes, cilantro, cucumbers and black olives.  Mix well.  Taste for salt. Pour into serving bowl and chill at least 2 hours.

 

Chicken Mozambique Sandwich (Sanduíche de frango Moçambique)

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main plate3If you are looking for something fun and exciting with a Portuguese twist for those Spring baseball games or just to enjoy with your family tonight for dinner.  Try this super easy and quick recipe for Chicken Mozambique Sandwiches!  While hot dogs and hamburgers definitely have their place all summer long, it won’t be long before they can become less than desirable.  Throw this in the mix and keep um guessing.

A good Mozambique sauce is a staple all year long.  Traditionally, Mozambique sauce is paired with shrimp, but it has proven to have great results with chicken.  Check it out and try it with whatever protein you would like.

onions

Start by slicing up a large onion. Traditionally, onions are minced for Mozambique, but since we are making a sandwich, I thought it would be extra yummy to have some nice onions on top of our sandwich. (If you are not a fan of onions, try not to leave them out, instead ether do it this way and remove later or mince and they will melt right in. You need the onion flavoring though.)

add butter

Saute the onions on medium in olive oil until they soften. Then add half a stick of butter.

garlic

Once the butter melts in, add minced garlic.

sazon

After about a minute or so, add in a packet of saffron seasoning. (If you don’t have saffron seasoning in your neck of the woods, just add in 6-8 tendrils of actual saffron and about a teaspoon of salt)

add sazon

This is what you should have.

sliced chicken

Slice two chicken breasts about 1/4″ – 1/2″ thick.

add chicken

Add in the chicken… You want to coat all that yummy saffron seasoning directly on the chicken for just about a minute. (It’s a crazy color, right?)

glass of wine

Next, add in a glass of dry white wine. (about a cup… beer can be substituted here)

hot sauce2

Add in your favorite hot sauce, or whatever you have on hand, to taste… if you aren’t into spice, leave it out, no biggy, there is still a ton of flavor going on.

 

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If you have some fresh parsley around, add some in… it’s not totally necessary, but I like it. Simmer for 5-8 mins and your done with the chicken part of this sandwich. If you want to serve this over rice, it’s super good!

I like to make a kind of aoli sauce to top my sandwich, here’s how I do it:

mayo

Measure about a half cup of mayo. (If you prefer a healthier option, you can use Greek yogurt here, gives if a bit of a tang)

add broth

Add in about half a cup of broth and wisk to combine

add garlic and hot sauce

Now we want to intensify some of the flavors we used. So add in about 1/2 t. garlic powder and some hot sauce. Wisk.

add paprika

Lastly, add in some paprika. This is Hungarian paprika, its got a spicy kick, whatever you have on hand works too.  And you’re done… If you have extra after the sandwich… Keep it! This would be really yummy over some fish or shrimp.

Now just a couple of preparations to build your sandwiches:

bread

Find some sub rolls.

cut bread

Cut down the middle using a serated knife.

 

 

toast

Toast up your sub roll with some butter.

swiss2

Slice up some Swiss cheese.

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Build your sandwiches by first placing in the cheese. Then add the piping hot chicken, don’t forget to grab some of those onions to place on top and then top with the sauce. And wala, you’re done!

Recipe for Chicken Mozambique Sandwich:

(Serves 4)

For the chicken:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced thinly

2 T. olive oil

1/2 stick butter

1 large onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup dry white wine

1 packet saffron seasoning

hot sauce to taste

For the sub sauce:

1/2 c. prepared mayonnaise (or Greek yogurt)

hot sauce to taste

1/2 t. garlic powder

pinch of paprika

For the Sandwich:

4 torpedo rolls or sub roll of your choice

1 t. butter

8 slices swiss cheese

Directions:

Chicken:

Saute onions until soft in olive oil over medium heat. Melt in butter.  Add in garlic, continue to saute one minute.  Add in saffron seasoning.  Add in chicken to coat with spices. Add in remaining ingredients.  Cook for about 5-8 minutes until chicken is cooked through.  (Wine should come to a boil)

Sub Sauce:

In a medium bowl add in 1/2 c. Mozambique broth with mayo, garlic powder, hot sauce and paprika.  Wisk.  Set aside.

Putting the sandwich together:

Toast the sub roll with butter.  Cut down the middle to allow for stuffing.  Layer cheese, chicken, onions (from the chicken recipe) and top with sub sauce.