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 as
delicious as the dip itself. This Broken Cot Soup is no different. He
explained to me that when it’s really hot and sticky in Mexico, people
sleep on canvas and wood cots under a fan or outdoors. The married folks
tend to get a little rowdy sometimes and have been known to break their
cots and end up on the hard ground. He claims that this soup will induce
such behavior because the catfish in it is an aphrodisiac! I can’t vouch
for the story, but if you try it and you break your cot, please let me
know! This recipe serves about eight and the broth is wonderful with meat
and nopales soup too!
2 pounds catfish fillet (no bones)
cut into large chunks
1 pound crabmeat, cut into chunks
1 pound shrimp, skinned and deveined but with head attached
8 large tomatoes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
5 cups water
4 guajillo chiles, lightly toasted
20 chiles de arbol, lightly toasted
2 ancho chiles, slightly toasted
6 epazote leaves
2 medium white onions, puréed
10 cloves garlic, puréed
3 tbsp cider vinegar
¼ cup caldo de camarón o pollo (shrimp or chicken bouillon powder)
Salt and pepper to taste
8 large chunks queso fresco or feta cheese
In a large skillet, sauté tomatoes in oil until blackened
and softened. Mix in bowl with one cup water, guajillo, arbol and ancho
chiles. Add epazote, onion, garlic, vinegar and shrimp bouillon. Purée in
food processor until completely liquefied.
In Dutch oven, place puréed chile mixture. Add remaining
water, catfish, crab and shrimp. Bring to boil and simmer for three to
four hours. Serve immediately with a chunk of queso fresco on the side.
Now, prepare to play “crash the cot” tonight!
 CHILES
EN NOGADA
Suzanne lives next to a chile field in Todos Santos where
poblanos are grown every year. After the chiles have been harvested in
early June, she’s invited to pick any leftover chiles for herself and her
friends. Terry and I visited in mid-June and she made us this amazing
creation for dinner. There were no pasas (raisins) anywhere in town, so we
bought a box of Raisin Bran and fished out enough raisins to make this
famous and elegant Mexican dish. The next morning she took me out and we
had a field day (literally) picking chiles. We filled giant grocery bags
with fresh chiles. I went home and went on a poblano binge! This is
Suzanne’s recipe and it serves four.
8 poblano chiles
4 tbsp butter
2 white onions, finely chopped
1½ tbsp flour
½ tsp white pepper
½ tsp nutmeg
6 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup raisins
1 green apple, peeled and cut in chunks
½ cup mango, peeled and cut in chunks
½ cup pineapple, peeled and cut in chunks
1¼ cup crema media ácida or sour cream
6 cups cubed cooked chicken
1½ cups chopped walnuts blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes
If you have a gas stove, lay the chiles over the open
flame and char skins well, turning with tongs frequently until they’re
uniformly blackened and stop snapping. The more charred they are, the
easier it is to remove the skins. If you have an electric stove, place
chiles in a large skillet on high heat. Turn frequently as above. Remove
chiles to plastic bag, close it and let stand for 10 minutes. Remove from
bag, place in ice-cold water and remove the skins, veins and seeds. Do not
remove stems.
Melt butter in frying pan at medium heat. Add onions and
cook until limp. Stir in flour, pepper and nutmeg and stir until bubbling.
Add chicken broth, raisins and apples. Cook, stirring until softened. Add
mango and pineapple. Gradually stir in media crema. Add chicken and heat
thoroughly.
Place two chiles on each plate, or arrange all chiles on a
platter. Fill each chile with chicken and sauce mixture. Sprinkle walnuts
over top and serve.
|
 For
John, whose previous career was designing restaurants and office
buildings, this project was the dream of a lifetime. He indulged his
passion for brilliant, bold colors, colonial Mexican architecture and
furniture, metal and glass sculptures, exotic plants and art. Truly a
celebration of the senses, the Hotel California explodes with purples,
reds, hot pinks, oranges, periwinkles, and pulsating shades of green and
golden yellows. The old blends gracefully with the new, as original tile
floors and 100-year-old beams merge with the best modern Mexico can offer.
 The
patios, pool and terraces are private and lushly landscaped. Hotel guests
have a choice of 11 luxuriously appointed, wildly imaginative rooms and
suites. They can sit on a balcony overlooking the town and watch the sun
set in the Pacific as the choir sings in the church across the street.
This is a perfect place for weddings, honeymoons or just to get away and
wander along cobble stone streets, exploring Todos Santos’ art galleries,
restaurants and historical buildings. Venture out of town and enjoy some
of the most spectacular surfing beaches on the west coast.
When you visit the hotel, make time for
a leisurely lunch under the pagoda-style palapa at La Coronela Restaurant.
Breathe in the fragrance of tropical flowers; listen to live Mexican music
with a backdrop of softly tinkling fountains. John Stewart lured Chef Dany
Lamote away from Calgary, Alberta. Born in Belgium, Dany studied
culinary arts in Brussels. He immigrated to Canada in 1979 and settled in
Calgary. There he was a chef and partner in many successful restaurants,
from small European style bistros and cafes to fine dining establishments.
Local organic ingredients influence his style of cooking. As a passionate
traveler he loves to fuse the cuisines of different cultures in his
recipes. For
 15
years he was a culinary instructor teaching in small private schools. Here
in Mexico he draws from Baja California ingredients to create a fresh,
innovative seasonal menu at the Hotel California.
Chef Dany offers this explanation about this unique,
popular dish: “The concept of open-faced ravioli is between lasagna and
ravioli. The dish is made in a frying pan. The ingredients are stacked and
assembled at serving time instead of being baked in the oven. Most of the
shrimp comes from the Sea of Cortez as well as the marlin. We smoke the
marlin in our Texas smoker, parked outside the restaurant. After having
the smoker inside on the patio for ambience and smoking out our customers
a few times, we decided that it was a better business practice to move the
smoker outside. My preferred wood for smoking is a fruitwood.” Serves
four.
16 lasagna pasta sheets
1 tbsp olive oil
16 jumbo shrimp
1 cup white wine
½ lb sliced smoked marlin or smoked salmon
1 cup whipping cream
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook the lasagna sheets according to package direction.
Drain and allow to cool off. Rub with olive oil to prevent sticking.
Poach the shrimp in white wine for five minutes or until
they turn white. Add the cream and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper
and add the pasta sheets. Bring to a boil and let the cream thicken a bit.
Stack by alternating the shrimp and pasta. Garnish with
the smoked marlin.
Click here
for other recipes...
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Agua de Jamaica
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Carnitas & Nachos
Tomatillio Salsa, Margarita Pie & Chilequiles
Vallarta
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SOPA
ROMPE CATRE — BROKEN COT SOUP
