This weeks Food Network Chef’s Challenge hosted by I Blame My Mother is Daisy Martinez. Daisy has a showed called Viva Daisy, I have yet to see the show but from her recipes I can tell I will love it. She has a latin style of cooking that I just love. So because of that I choose her Re-fried Black beans and Tomatillo salsa. I choose these because one of my very favorite restaurants The Gristmill serves a dish called Tomatillo chicken. The Gristmill is located in a tiny town called Gruene, Texas (pronounced Green). Gruene is also home of Gruene Hall which is the oldest dance hall in Texas, and a great place to visit if your ever in the Texas Hill Country.
But anyways. I’ve always wanted to recreate this dish, which is basically a layer of refried beans, grilled chicken and then topped with tomatillo sauce. So when I saw Daisy had a recipe for both the beans and salsa, I knew it was time.
Verdict: The beans were excellent, very easy to cook, and the smoky flavor from ham was delicious! The tomatillo sauce was also just great. I could have used a little more heat and added more peppers, but this made a mild salsa, which I like also.
*Be Sure to enter my Pioneer Women Cookbook Giveaway, click here for details.*
Ingredients for Re-fried Beans: 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 small Spanish onion, cut into medium dice, 2 cloves garlic, whacked with the side of a knife and peeled, 1 pound dried black bean, 1 smoked ham hock or smoked turkey wing (I used Ham Pieces), 1 bunch cilantro, washed, 2 bay leaves, Salt and freshly ground black pepper, 2 jalapenos (optional), 2 banana peppers (optional)
For starters rinse your black beans really well in a colander.
Then in a large stock pot pour in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, turn on medium heat
and go ahead and prepare your aromatics, like garlic, smash with a knife
pop out of the shells and dice, no need for a super fine dice
Then dice your onion
add both of your onions and garlic to the pot
and cook for about 3-4 minutes until softened
Then add your beans and ham pieces
add the roughly chopped cilantro
and cover with water about 2 inches, I think I used about 7 cups
toss in a few bay leaves
and if you like me and using any excuse to use your garden peppers, go ahead and add a few now
I used 2 jalapenos and 2 banana peppers
I also added about 2 tsp of kosher salt
bring to a boil
and then lower to a simmering boil, stirring ocassionally
and keeping and eye on if you need to add a little more water or not, I did add about 2 more cups
Once the water has reduced and the beans are thoroughly cooked, remove the bay leaves, and ham pieces
The recipes calls for using a food processor to mash the beans, but I used my handy immersion blender
Next up Tomatillo Salsa Ingredients: 1 pound fresh tomatillos, 1 large Spanish onion (about 12 ounces), cut into large chunks (about 3 cups), 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 packed cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves, 1/2 jalapeno (seeds and all if you like heat), 1 banana pepper, 1/2 lime, juiced, Kosher or fine sea salt
To start prepare your tomatillos by removing the outer husk, and rinsing them well with water
Then dice into quarters
and add to the food processor or blender
go ahead and add your garlic cloves
Then rough chop the onion and add to the food processor
and process until smooth
Then add in the peppers
and roughly chopped cilantro
and juice from the lime, I used a lemon because it’s what I had
Then process until smooth and no chunks
Pour into a medium sauce pan and add some kosher salt
cook over high heat, until boiling
and all the water has cooked out
Then pan cook or grill a chicken breast however you like. I just marinated them in Italian dressing, and then cooked in a skillet for about 3-4 minutes each side.
The best part about this dish is the plating.
First you put a healthy serving of the re-fried beans down
Then on top of them the chicken breast
and on top of that the tomatillo sauce
and be sure to get a little of all three with each bite
I just couldn’t wait to dig in.
Be sure to visit the the other challenge participants at I Blame My Mother!
New Style Refried Beans (Frijoles Refritos Estilo Nuevo)
Recipe courtesy Daisy Martinez, 2008
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small Spanish onion, cut into medium dice
2 cloves garlic, whacked with the side of a knife and peeled
1 pound dried black beans
1 smoked ham hock or smoked turkey wing
1 bunch cilantro, washed
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Good quality tortilla chips, for serving
Thinly sliced red radishes, for serving, optional
Directions
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add the beans, ham hock, and cilantro. Pour in enough water to cover the ingredients by 2 inches. Toss in the bay leaves and bring the water to a boil, then adjust the heat so it is boiling gently. Cook the beans until tender, about 2 hours. Keep an eye on the beans; they should always be covered by liquid. When the liquid meets the level of the beans, top it off with cold water. Toward the end of cooking, ease up on the liquid you add; the goal is to have the beans barely covered with liquid by the time they’re tender.
Drain the beans, reserving the liquid. Discard the turkey wing or ham hock and the bay leaves. (Leave the cilantro in with the beans.) Put the bean mixture in a food processor and process, gradually adding enough of the reserved liquid, until the beans are the consistency of mashed potatoes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mound the beans on a platter and garnish with tortilla chips and radish slices, if using. (The beans can be prepared up to 30 minutes in advance. Return the beans to the saucepan and keep warm over very low heat.)
Tomatillo Salsa
Recipe courtesy Daisy Martinez
Ingredients
1 pound fresh tomatillos
1 large Spanish onion (about 12 ounces), cut into large chunks (about 3 cups)
3 cloves garlic
1/2 packed cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 jalapeno (seeds and all if you like heat)
1/2 lime, juiced
Kosher or fine sea salt
Directions
Pull the husks from the tomatillos and wash them under cool water until they no longer feel sticky. Cut them into quarters and put them into the work bowl of a food processor. Add the onion and garlic and process until smooth. Add the cilantro, jalapeno and lime juice and process until the jalapeno is finely chopped.
Scrape the mixture into a small saucepan. Season lightly with salt and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is boiled off and the salsa looks relish-y, about 15 minutes. Cool before using. The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. If refrigerated, you may want to add a little salt and/or lime juice to the salsa before serving.
