Quick, Healthy, Delicious: 5 Easy Ways to Have a Delicious and Healthy New Year

Quick, Healthy, Delicious: 5 Easy Ways to Have a Delicious and Healthy New Year

Its that time of year! The time when we all try and recover from all the sweet treats and fatty foods we ate during the holiday season. More veggies you say? Eating clean? Going low carb or Keto? Here are five foods you can prep to make sure you can always throw together a delicious meal no matter how busy you get.

Roast Carrots

Peel a bunch or carrots, toss them in olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast at 400 until soft and with ever so slightly burnt ends.

  1. Eat these as is as a side dish
  2.  Toss into your salad
  3. Add to a sandwich or wrap

Other veggies to roast: Cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, white potato, sweet potato, beets, Brussels sprouts, onions

Boiled Eggs

Perfect jammy eggs are a wonderful luxurious touch you can add to any meal. They are easy to make and make even the simplest salad feel fancy!

Let your eggs come to room temperature. Prep a large bowl full of ice water. Bring water to a boil. Gently slip in your eggs and boil for 6.5 minutes. Remove eggs from pan and slip into the ice water. Chill until they are just a little warm, about 2 minutes. Peel

  1. Add to salad
  2. Make avocado toast and eggs
  3. Add to chicken or tuna salad
  4. Add to asian noodle soup (use spiraled zucchini for your noodles if you are going low carb for the new year)
  5. Grate over roasted asparagus
  6. Eat as is with salt and pepper

Cooked Beans

I know you can buy these in a can… but they are extreamly simple to make and just so much more delicious when you make them at home. I promise!

Soak black beans, white beans or chickpeas in salted water for 18-24 hours.

Drain and rinse then simmer with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and a bay leaf or a bit of lemon peel until soft and creamy

  1. Serve as a side dish
  2. Transform into a soup
  3. Puree and use as a sandwich spread or a dip
  4. Toss in a salad

Vinaigrette

These are not just for salads. Seriously a little vinaigrette can brighten up almost anything you are eating 

Have it on hand to:

  1. Toss with your roast veggies
  2. Dress your salad
  3. Dress your sandwiches or eraps
  4. Marinate chicken or fish
  5. Drizzle over roasted meats

Basic Vinaigrette

1 part Vinegar or citrus juice

2 parts good olive oil

1-2 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp minced shallot

salt/pepper to taste

Add all ingredients into a jar and shake until thoroughly combined. Dip a lettuce leaf in and taste. If it tastes too tart add some olive oil. If it does not taste tart enough add more vinegar. Taste again and continue to adjust until you like the balance. Adjust seasoning once you have the tartness level where you want it.

Nut Butter Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon your favorite nut butter: tahini, peanut butter, cashew butter or almond butter

2 tablespoons acid: lemon, lime, Apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar, rice wine vinegar, sherry vinegar

A pinch of seasoning: salt, pepper, chili flake, minced shallot, onion powder, garlic powder, soy sauce, fish sauce, mustard

Add all ingredients into a jar and shake until thoroughly combined. Dip a lettuce leaf in and taste. If it tastes too tart add some olive oil. If it does not taste tart enough add more vinegar. Taste again and continue to adjust until you like the balance. Adjust seasoning once you have the tartness level where you want it.

Quick Pickle

This one takes a little more planning ahead, but minimal effort. Once you have them, you can quickly grab them and jazz up any meal!

  1. Add to sandwiches
  2. Eat as a snack with a little prosciutto or smoked turkey
  3. Add to a taco
  4. Use the brine as a marinade
  5. Use the brine in your vinaigrette
  6.  eat with roasted meats like carnitas, brisket, chicken, pulled pork

1 lb Veggie of your choice: Onion, radishes, carrots, cucumbers, green beans, cauliflower, fennel, yellow squash or zucchini.

a few sprigs of herbs of your choice: oregano, dill, rosemary, fennel fronds

1 tsp whole mustard seeds, peppercorns, coriander, or juniper (or combine your faves)

1-2 cloves smashed garlic (optional)
1 cup water
1 cup vinegar rice or apple cider
1 tablespoon kosher salt (diamond crystal)
1 tablespoon sugar (also optional)
2 pint size jars or 1 4 pint jar

WASH your jars and lids and dry thoroughly
Prep your veggies (wash, peel and cut to the desired size. Spears, slices, dice whatever you want)
Add herbs and spices and garlic if using to jar
pack in your veggies. Leave 1/2” space at the top. Put in as much veg as you can without breaking or crushing them.
in a saucepan combine vinegar, water, salt, and sugar and bring to a boil stirring to ensure everything is dissolved
Pout into jars, leaving a 1/2 inch from the top.

Gently tap the jars to get out any air bubbles and add more brine if needed. Top and allow them to cool at room temp. Once totally cooled you can put them in the fridge. You can open and use after 48 hours, the longer they sit, the better they will taste. Date your jars, they are edible for about 2 months…. if they last that long!

Want More? Check out these recipes!

 

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Spanish Style Shrimp and Garlic

Spanish Style Shrimp and Garlic

Gambas al Ajillo

I think the first meal that hit me as “Spanish” is a classic tapa called gambas al ajillo. At that moment I realized it was going to be harder to navigate a Spanish menu than I anticipated. This was quite a surprise to me. I speak and read Spanish passably well. I hardly ever have a problem reading a menu written in Spanish when I am at home in Texas. Well, Spanish in the Americas and Spanish in Spain are two different beasts.

The differences make sense in some ways. There are ingredients in Spain that are not that common in Latin America. They are thousands of miles apart with very different climates. The food traditions share a common root, but many dishes have diverged wildly from their sources. In the case of the word “gambas,” I had never once heard this word until I arrived in Spain. The word has always been “camarón.”

There are Actually THREE Words for Shrimp

So in the United States, we use the word shrimp. On rare occasions, we may say prawn. For most of us, a shrimp is a shrimp. The Spanish have a much deeper love affair with fish and seafood and for them, using one word is not enough. There are three main words, and each one indicates a SIZE of shrimp. The largest version of shrimp is a langostino. Say langostino in Central America or Mexico and you can expect to get a lobster. But in Spain, it is a jumbo shrimp. The next size down and most common is the gamba. This is the average size of shrimp. The size of any shrimp you might find on an American table. The smallest size is camarón. Except if you say camarón to a Spaniard, they have no idea what you mean. It is a gamba. So while in Spain, order gambas.

About the Shells

One thing you take away from this is that shrimp shells bring a lot of flavor to the party. I hate peeling shrimp before I cook them. But, lots of people DO NOT LIKE to deal with the peeling the shrimp when they eat their meal. For me, I love the messiness of it. I love licking all the golden spicy, garlicky, shrimp infused olive oil off my fingers. I take great pleasure in the silky oiliness of it all. Leaving the shell on makes me happy. This may not be a great pleasure for you. You may even serve these to guests. In that case, shell the shrimp before you cook them. Its ok, it is still a delightful little plate of food.

 

Gambas al Ajillo

Spanish Style Shrimp and Garlic (Gambas al Ajillo)

Yield: 4 people

This recipe is a magical combination of shrimp, garlic, olive oil, and chili. I like a squeeze of lemon juice too. Play around with the basics of this, but no matter what it will be tasty and delicious.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Shrimp, med, shell on
  • 3 cloves Garlic, peeled
  • 1-2 fresno or jalapeño pepper, red
  • 1 cup Olive Oil, EVOO
  • 1 Lemon
  • 1/4 cup Parsley, chopped
  • 1 tsp salt, kosher

Instructions

Prepare all your ingredients

  1. If you are shelling your shrimp, remove the shells, but leave the tails on.
  2. Peel your garlic being careful to keep them whole. If you have a mandolin use it to slice your garlic, this will give you lovely even slices. If you don't have a mandolin slice the garlic with a knife. Try and slice the garlic as thinly and evenly as you can.
  3. Do the same with your red chili.

Cooking

  1. Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet on med heat. When the olive oil is shimmering, add the chilis, the slices of garlic, salt, and the shrimp into the oil. Distribute the ingredients evenly. Cook for 5-8 minutes until the shrimp are opaque and pink.
  2. You want to keep an eye on the garlic and the chilis while they are cooking. You want the garlic slices to be crispy and golden. Do not let them burn. If they burn, they will be bitter and gross. Once the garlic turn golden and crispy remove them from the pan. When they are all the ingredients finish cooking, transfer everything into a serving dish. 
  3. You can serve everything in one big bowl and let people tuck in and help themselves. For a slightly more elegant experience divide into four separate plates. Make sure each serving gets plenty of garlic and chili. Sprinkle everything with parsley and serve. Don't forget to have plenty of good bread on hand so people can mop up the oil. You won't want to waste a bit of that golden, garlic infused oil.

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Easy Tuna Nicoise-ish Dinner Salad

Easy Tuna Nicoise-ish Dinner Salad

Looking for a Easy Weeknight Dinner?

Keeping dinner interesting, healthy and quick all week long, week after week can be challenging. Sometimes I just don’t want to stress about making something, I don’t want to go get that one ingredient I’m missing… I just don’t wanna! For nights like that, I think a nice dinner salad is the way to go!

Tips for Making a Great Salad Everytime!

Make Sure Your Salad Greens are 100% Dry

I think salad spinners are wonderful… but do that washing before you put your greens in the fridge. Wrap your washed lettuce in a paper towel and store. So when you are ready to make your dinner salad they are dry and ready to go. Washing your greens right before your make your salad will make your dinner salad a bit soggy no matter how much you spin those greens.

Season Your Greens

It is important in ALL your cooking to season every step of the way. There are several reasons for this, but the most important is flavor. When you season each step of the way you are adding layers of flavor to each ingredient. When you do this you will actually end up using LESS salt, because you are not trying to compensate for one under-seasoned ingredient. So step one of every single salad? Putting salt and pepper on your lettuce. Use a flaky sea salt or your favorite kosher salt (I always recommend Diamond Crystal). So, before you put any dressing on your dinner salad, season your lettuce with salt and pepper and toss. It does not have to be alot, just grab a pinch of salt and sprinkle it in. Then follow that up with a few grinds of a nice black pepper.

Make Your Own Dressing

Making salad dressing is soooooo easy. You don’t need special tools or ingredients. A simple dressing is just 1/3 acid, 2/3 oil and then you season it from there. You can make any dressing to suit your own preferences and tastes. You can use citrus or vinegar and you can use any oil you find delicious. There is an AMAZING flavor matrix in Samin Nosrat’s cookbook “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” that will help you match flavors if you aren’t exactly sure what to pair with what. I find homemade dressings have a cleaner flavor and are much healthier for you because they have none of the added chemicals and preservatives you almost always find in commercially made dressings. You will also use less salt because homecooks ALWAYS use less salt than food manufacturers. Don’t skimp of the fat though. You need it to really enhance the flavors of the salad.

Use the BIG Salad Bowl

A good dinner salad is really evenly dressed and that means tossing the salad in a really, really big bowl. You need lots of room in that bowl to toss that salad and get dressing all over every single leaf of lettuce. If you don’t have a big salad bowl, use your biggest mixing bowl… and use tongs or your hands to make sure you get best application of dressing on your dinner salad.

Season ALL Your Ingredients

Each element of your dinner salad should taste really good before you put it in your salad. If you are using roasted veggies, taste them and make sure they are well seasoned and yummy. Taste your proteins, make sure they taste really good on their own. Make sure each element is yummy and  ready to eat before adding it to the dinner salad

Super Heavy Ingredients Go on Top

The last thing you want in a salad is to have all the good stuff fall to the bottom. You can just lay your heavy ingredients on top of your greens after you have dressed the salad to make sure you aren’t fishing for the good stuff at the bottom of the bowl. You can try layering your salad as well, Use a plate instead of a bowl and lay your dressed greens on a thin layer on the plate, place your other ingredients on top, maybe drizzle them with a little more dressing so you have a pretty presentation and your ingredients are all evenly dispersed.

We Recommend

Diamond Crystal Salt

 

Tellicherry Peppercorns

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Tim’s Picks!

An irresistible pink! Charming, refreshing, refined, and with plenty of juicy, enticing, strawberry and berry fruit. You might taste or smell tart Bing cherry, jasmine, pear blossom; papaya, melon and lemon. So refreshing! Drinkable is an understatement and you’ll keep on coming back for seconds… I bet you can’t resist.
I will earn a small commision on some of the products on this page if you purchase through my link. I have only recommended products I know and love. I have not recieved anything from these companies for free.

 

Tuna Nicoise-ish Dinner Salad

Tuna Nicoise-ish Dinner Salad

This delicious dinner salad is filling and quick and easy to make. Enjoy a healthy delicious salad any night of the week.

Ingredients

Vinegarette

  • 1/3 cup White wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup Olive oil
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp Paleo worcestershire sauce
  • 2 dashes Fish sauce, Red Boat
  • Salt, Crystal Diamond, Kosher
  • Pepper, Fresh ground

Salad

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tuna Steaks
  • 1/2 bag Mescelun or Spring Lettuce Mix
  • 1/2 Carrot, Grated
  • 1/2 cup Mixed olives
  • 1/4 bag Multi-color baby potatoes
  • 1 handful Pistachios, shelled , chopped
  • Salt, Crystal Diamond, Kosher
  • Pepper, Fresh ground
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 Red Bell Pepper
  • 1/4 cup Parsley leaves, chopped

Instructions

Prepare Your Salad Ingredients

  1. Heat a cast iron skillet on med high. Drizzle pan with one tablespoon olive oil. Season tuna steak with salt and pepper on one side and put into hot pan, seasoned side down. Cook on one side until nicely brown (about three minutes) flip, season with salt and pepper and cook equal amount of time on second side.
  2. Remove tuna from pan and set aside to cool. When it is cool to the touch flake the tuna into large pieces.
  3. Boil your baby potatoes in salted water. Make sure your water is salty like the sea. Boil until soft, drain and let them get cool enough to handle. Cut them in to quarters. (You can do this upto 5 days ahead)
  4. Place your red bell pepper directly on the flame of your stove until charred completely black on that side. Rotate until charred and black on all sides.  Place pepper into a ziplock bag and seal. Allow it to steam for 10 minutes or so. 
  5. Remove from bag and scrape off all the charred bits. Don't make yourself crazy with it. Just get it all off. Tear open the pepper and remove and discard the seeds, interior veins and stem so all you are left with is the red pepper flesh. (You can do this a few days ahead if you want)
  6. Dice the pepper into 1/4 or 1/2 inch dice. 
  7. If your olives have pits smash them with the back of your knife and remove the pit and seperate the olive into two pieces lengthwise. If they are already pitted just cut your olives in half lengthwise.

Make your Vinegartte

  1. In a measuring cup put juice your half a lemon, add enough vinegar to give you 1/3 cup.
  2. Then pour in your olive oil to fill to 3/4 mark. Add your dijon, fish sauce, a pinch of salt, a few grinds of pepper and worcestershire sauce and whisk. Taste and adjust seasoning and fat and acid levels until you like it. I would recommending dipping a piece of lettuce in the dressing to taste it so you get the most accurate flavor.

Assemble Your Salad

  1. Pour your salad greens into the largest bowl you have. Season with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Toss
  2. Add the remaining salad ingredients and toss.
  3. Pour on 1/4 of the dressing and toss thoroughly. Taste and add more dressing until you are happy with the balance. Serve!

Chilaquiles Paleo Style

Chilaquiles Paleo Style

What Do You Mean… Paleo Chilaquiles?

One of my favorite Sunday brunch foods is Chilaquiles. Since the main ingredient for these babies is tortilla chips, it is 100% not an item you can eat when you are living that paleo life. However, since the wonderful people at Siete Foods developed a DELICIOUS corn free tortilla chip, these babies are BACK in my life. I’m so excited to share my paleo chilaquiles with you!

Fundamentally Chilaquiles are the MOST basic, simple food. It is creative repurposing of leftovers at its best. Tortilla chips bathed in warm salsa. That’s really all there is too it. I love the version using tomatillo salsa, but you can do this with any salsa you like. You need good salsa verde and you need chips. My version has wandered pretty far away from the classic with these paleo chilaquiles.

I was inspired by the wonderful Latin Deli here in Dallas, and decided I wanted to make my own spin on them. My version is topped with fried eggs, pollo pibil, sliced avocado, cilantro and even some pomegranate seeds. I am in deep, deep love with pomegranate right now, so of course I had to toss some on top for a bright sweet touch. Ya’ll, LOVE. It’s been fun developing this Paleo Chilaquiles Recipe. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Pollo Pibil

The chicken for my paleo chilaquiles was inspired by my trip to Tulum, where you can find pollo pibil at pretty much all the local taco shops and chicken stands. I think I am most inspired by the food of the Yucatan Peninsula. As a matter of fact I flip, through David Sterling’s gigantic cookbook on the topic and dream of Mexico all the time.

The food in this part of the Mexico revolves around seasoning pastes called recados. One of the most common is Recado Rojo. If you visit a market during your trip to Mexico you are sure to discover a stall selling recados in all colors of the rainbow, red, black, green. Many of these recados are hard to find here in the US, but recado rojo can be found pretty easily. This achiote paste can be purchased at your local specialty grocer, your local latin grocer or online. While you are at it, go ahead and buy some banana leaves. You will end up with WAAAAY more banana leaves than you need, but don’t worry the whole darn bag is less than $2.00

While you don’t HAVE to have these, I think cooking the chicken in in the banana leaves gives a lovely flavor that can’t be replicated. Very much like the Honduran Skirt Steak, this marinade traditionally calls for naranja agria (sour orange). Since this particular ingredient is EXTREMELY difficult to find here in the US, we are using a combination of orange, lime and grapefruit juice to bring that lovely sour, sweet citrus flavor to the party. This might seem exotic and hard but, it is actually very simple to make. Don’t let the unfamiliar ingredients scare you away from make it!

Tomatillo Salsa

You can’t make chilaquiles of any kind, nevermind paleo chilaquiles without salsa. My preference for these paleo chilaquiles is a tomatillo salsa.This is one of my all time favorite salsas. Given a choice between green and red salsa I will almost always for for the green. This recipe is simple to make and not very hot at all. In the Yucatan this would include some habanero, but I prefer this version with serranos instead. If you have never made your own salsa, let me reassure you. You are basically chucking everything into a sauce pan to simmer and then you are chucking it all in the blender. It does not get much easier than this. I know its pretty easy to buy a jar, but this fresh version is tastier and as a bonus, you get to skip all the nasty preservatives they usually add to keep it shelf stable.

Cashew Crema

Along with the tangy tomatillos you will need something creamy to balance the paleo chilaquiles’ flavors out. If you are like me and passing on most things dairy I think you will appreciate this lovely creamy addition! I like creamy things… but dairy makes me stuffy as all get out. When I have dairy in my life to any significant degree I end up with a stuffy nose, and generally feel a little bloated, so I have been working to limit my dairy intake to really special cheeses and replace all the rest with something plant-based.

My dairy replacements vary by usage. For crema, I might use coconut cream with salt and lime, but it can add a level of sweetness that I don’t always want. In the case of my paleo chilaquiles I really want to add pomegranate to the party. Instead of the coconut sour cream, I use this cashew crema. It’s only a few steps and you can make it ahead so it’s ready to use when you need it. Do try and use it all up within seven days though. It won’t hold longer than that,

Perfect Fried Eggs

This is not a recipe, if you think fried eggs are challenging, rest assured, they are simple. You need either a non-stick skillet or a well seasoned cast iron skillet. For the sake of this post, lets assume you are cooking your eggs in cast iron. First things first though…. crack your eggs into a little bowl and pre-season them with salt and pepper.

Heat that beautiful cast iron skillet up, seriously get it hot… then add olive oil to the skillet and turn it down to medium. Add your eggs to the hot pan, and cover. Let them cook covered for 2 minutes and check them. You want the whites to be set and the yolks to be runny. (ok, well that’s what I want, if you agree do this) If it looks like the whites need a little more setting you can do one of two things. Spoon hot oil from the pan onto the whites that need finishing or put the lid back on for a little longer.

The amount of time this takes 100% depends on the heat of your stove and your preferences with regard to your eggs so play with it, pay attention to your eggs watch for the moment they are how you like them. These are quick so give them your undivided attention for the 5 or 6 minutes it takes to get them right.

Assembling Your Chilaquiles

To assemble your Paleo Chilaquiles layer your platter with your chips, pour hot tomatillo salsa over the chips, top with shredded chicken, fried eggs, and sliced avocado. Then add sprinkle chopped cilantro and pomegranate seeds all over the top and drizzle with the cashew crema.

ENJOY!

Recommendations

My Mexico

Yucatan

Achiote Paste

I will earn a small commision on some of the products on this page if you purchase through my link. I have only recommended products I know and love. I have not recieved anything from these companies for free.

Pollo Pibil

Pollo Pibil

This bright red chicken, is simple to make! Enjoy in your tacos. salads or on your chilaquiles!

Ingredients

  • 8 Chicken Thighs, Bone in, skin on
  • 1 cup Orange juice
  • 1/2 cup Lime juice
  • 1/4 cup Grapefruit juice
  • 8 tbs Achiote Paste
  • salt, Kosher
  • 2-3 Banana Leaves

Instructions

  1. Two days before you are ready to cook salt your chicken liberally and refridgerate overnight
  2. One day before you are ready to cook. Combine your juices, achiote paste and salt and puree untill all the achiote paste is completly integrated into the liquid. Taste and add more salt if needed.
  3. In a large container with a lid or a zip top bag, add your chicken and pour in the marinde. Refrigerate 4-24 hours.
  4. Day you are ready to eat! In a dutch oven, place a layer of banana leaves in the bottom of the pan, with the leaves coming up the sides of the pot. Pour in your chicken and the marinade and top with banana leaves. 
  5. Put on the lid and bring the liquid to a boil. Once it begins to boil reduce heat to med-low and simmer the chicken 30-45 minutes until chicken is cooked through and shredable.
  6. Allow to cool, and shred chicken

Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillo Salsa

I love a green salsa. If I get to choose between red and green… I go for green everytime. I love the tart, herby, spiciness of them. Don’t get me wrong I love a tomato based salsa as much as the next girl, but tomatillo salsa… well that has my heart!  You can’t make chilaquiles of any kind, nevermind paleo chilaquiles without salsa. My preference is a  smooth tomatillo salsa made in the simplest way possible, just simmer and blend! This recipe is simple to make and not very hot at all (depending on your peppers of course!). In the Yucatan this would include some habanero, but I prefer this version with serranos instead.

If you have never made your own salsa, let me reassure you. You are basically chucking everything into a sauce pan to simmer and then you are chucking it all in the blender. It does not get much easier than this. I know its pretty easy to buy a jar of tomatillo salsa, but this fresh version is tastier and as a bonus, you get to skip all the nasty preservatives they usually add to keep it shelf stable.

Tomatillos and Serranos for Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillo Salsa

A simple and easy tomatillo salsa. Perfect for chilaquiles!

Ingredients

  • 4-6 Tomatillos
  • 1 Serrano pepper
  • 1 clove Garlic
  • 1 Bunch Cilantro
  • 1/2 Onion, white or yellow
  • 2 tbs Avocado oil
  • Salt, Kosher

Instructions

  1. Remove the husk from your tomatillos and rinse to remove the sticky film
  2. Place the tomatillos, whole serrano, and garlic clove in a sauce pan full of water and simmer on low heat until the tomatillos and serrano are soft.

Once they are soft, add 1/3 cup of the water (reserve the rest for now) to the blender along with the peppers, tomatillos and garlic.

  1. Roughly chop onion and add to blender
  2. Add cilantro to blender, stems and all
  3. Put the cover of the blender on but leave the cap in the middle off, cover with a kitchen towel and blend until smooth. Be careful here, the ingredients are hot. Add more liquid if needed to get the consistency you want in the salsa.
  4. Taste and add salt until flavor is balanced
  5. Heat the avocado oil in a skillet and then add mixture from the blender into the pan and cook 5-10 minutes until the flavor of the salsa becomes less raw and more rounded. Add salt to taste if needed.

Pollo Pibil

Pollo Pibil

Pollo Pibil

The chicken for my paleo chilaquiles was inspired by my trip to Tulum, where you can find pollo pibil at pretty much all the local taco shops and chicken stands. I think I am most inspired by the food of the Yucatan Peninsula. As a matter of fact I flip, through David Sterling’s gigantic cookbook on the topic and dream of Mexico all the time.

What are Recados?

The food in this part of the Mexico revolves around seasoning pastes called recados. One of the most common is Recado Rojo. If you visit a market during your trip to Mexico you are sure to discover a stall selling recados in all colors of the rainbow, red, black, green. Many of these recados are hard to find here in the US, but recado rojo can be found pretty easily.

Recado Rojo is an achiote paste mixed with spices can be purchased at any local specialty grocer, local latin grocer or online. If you buy your achiote paste at a latin grocery store go ahead and buy some banana leaves. You will end up with WAAAAY more banana leaves than you need, but don’t worry the whole darn bag is less than $2.00

Banana Leaves and Sour Orange

You don’t HAVE to use banana leaves but I think cooking the chicken in in the banana leaves gives a lovely flavor that can’t be replicated. Very much like the Honduran Skirt Steak, this marinade traditionally calls for naranja agria (sour orange). However, this particular ingredient is EXTREMELY difficult to find here in the US. So, we are using a combination of orange, lime and grapefruit juice to bring that lovely sour, sweet citrus flavor to the party. Naranja Agria might seem exotic and hard but, it is actually very simple to make. Don’t let the unfamiliar ingredients scare you away from make it!

Once you have made the pollo pibil you can use it all kinds of ways! Crisp it up in a pan and use it on tacos, in the morning with eggs, in a fitatta, buritto, a mexican inspired soup. There is no limit to what you can do… if it sounds good; try it!

My Recommendations

My Mexico

Yucatan

Achiote Paste

I will earn a small commision on some of the products on this page if you purchase through my link. I have only recommended products I know and love. I have not recieved anything from these companies for free.

Pollo Pibil

Pollo Pibil

This bright red chicken, is simple to make! Enjoy in your tacos. salads or on your chilaquiles!

Ingredients

  • 8 Chicken Thighs, Bone in, skin on
  • 1 cup Orange juice
  • 1/2 cup Lime juice
  • 1/4 cup Grapefruit juice
  • 8 tbs Achiote Paste
  • salt, Kosher
  • 2-3 Banana Leaves

Instructions

  1. Two days before you are ready to cook salt your chicken liberally and refridgerate overnight
  2. One day before you are ready to cook. Combine your juices, achiote paste and salt and puree untill all the achiote paste is completly integrated into the liquid. Taste and add more salt if needed.
  3. In a large container with a lid or a zip top bag, add your chicken and pour in the marinde. Refrigerate 4-24 hours.
  4. Day you are ready to eat! In a dutch oven, place a layer of banana leaves in the bottom of the pan, with the leaves coming up the sides of the pot. Pour in your chicken and the marinade and top with banana leaves. 
  5. Put on the lid and bring the liquid to a boil. Once it begins to boil reduce heat to med-low and simmer the chicken 30-45 minutes until chicken is cooked through and shredable.
  6. Allow to cool, and shred chicken

 

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