Red Chile-Honey Glazed Salmon with Black Bean Sauce and Jalapeno Crema

I just bought Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook (explosive flavors from the southwestern kitchen). The first recipe I decided to try was Red Chile-Honey Glazed Salmon with Black Bean Sauce and Jalapeno Crema on page 116-117. The recipe is a Mesa Grill classic. If you like salmon and spicy delicious food this is the recipe for you!


Bobby’s recipes are full of flavor, flavor that comes from spices and fresh ingredients rather than unhealthy fats. Some of the ingredients he uses are a little difficult to find so buy them before you start.

The heat in this recipe comes from three sources; jalapeños, chipotle in adobo and ancho chili powder. The jalapeños and chipotle in adobo are easy to find in most supermarkets. The ancho chili powder might be a bit of a challenge. Ancho Chili Powder is mild…low heat and high sweetness. It’s is the most versatile of the hot peppers. If you can’t find ancho chili powder you can use any mild red chili powder.

You  need to soak the black beans overnight so plan ahead.

There is nothing difficult about this recipe. Just follow the steps.
Make the Black bean sauce first and then make the Jalapeno Crema. Finally make the glaze for the salmon.

(The finished black bean sauce)
 

 

(The glaze for the salmon)
 
 

 
 
 

Red Chile-Honey Glazed Salmon with Black Bean Sauce and Jalapeno Crema

(Serves 4)




Black Bean Sauce

1-1/2 cups dry black beans, picked over

1 small red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic

2 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Water

Salt

1.  Pick over the beans and discard any stones.Put beans in a container, cover with water and let soak overnight.

2.  Drain the beans and combine with the  onion, garlic, chipotles and cumin in a medium saucepan and add just enough cold water to cover by an inch; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.(adding more water if the beans appear dry.)

3. Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender with a slotted spoon and add 1 cup of the cooking liquid and process until almost smooth, sauce should be a little chunk. Season with salt. If the sauce is too thick, thin with more of the cooking liquid.




Jalapeno Crema

1/2 cup crema (or sour cream or crème fraiche)

1 large or 2 small roasted jalapeno, chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped. ( Brush with olive oil, and place in a preheated 375 degree oven on a baking sheet.Rotate until charred on all sides. Remove from oven, place in a covered bowl and let cool for 15 minutes. Then peel, half and seed.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place crema and jalapeno in a food processor and process until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.





Ancho Glaze Salmon

1/3 cup honey

1 tablespoon ancho chile powder

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 salmon fillets, 8-ounces each

2 tablespoons canola oil



1. Whisk together honey, ancho and mustard in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.

2. Preheat grill pan or nonstick sauté pan over high heat. Brush salmon with oil on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Place salmon in the pan, skin side down and cook until golden brown and a crust has form, 2-3 minutes. Brush the top of the salmon with some of the glaze, flip over and continue cooking until a crust has formed and the salmon is cooked to medium doneness, 2 minutes longer.


3. Remove from the grill, glazed-sized up and brush with more of the glaze. Spoon some of the black bean sauce onto a plate, drizzle with some of the jalapeno crema and set the salmon in the center, glaze-side up.

Shrimp with Salsa

(adapted from a recipe by Eric Treuille)

I love shrimp and I love spicy food. So when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it. I wasn't disappointed ….delicious! This is a recipe I will make again and again.



Salsa:

Seed and dice about 4 to 6 tomatoes. I used four large organic Jersey tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes in half or quarters if they‘re large and then give them a little squeeze to expose the seeds and scoop the seeds out with your fingers or the edge of a knife.

To the tomatoes add the onion, garlic, chili, lime juice, and cilantro. Let stand for 30 minutes.

4 large or 6 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 red onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic crushed

2 jalapeño peppers chopped, and seeded *

Juice of one lime

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Salt and pepper

*We love spicy food so I left about 1/3 of the seeds in the peppers. (Adjust according to your taste.)

 
 
 
 
 

Shrimp:


1 pound of cleaned and deveined shrimp

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons sour cream

Salt ,pepper and tobacco (optional)

1 large bag, lightly salted tortilla chips



Heat the salsa over high heat. When the salsa is hot and bubbling add the shrimp and stir until cooked about two minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and sour cream. Add salt, pepper and tobacco if desired. Serve with additional chips.



 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 

Grilled Lamb Chops with Garlic and Rosemary

You can cook these  lamb chops with or without the bone.   Trim the excess fat from the chop and then cut around the bone to remove it. Once the bone is removed pull the chop into a round shape and use a rosemary sprig  as a skewer. Remove the leaves from most of the rosemary sprig leaving some leaves on the end. I used my instant read meat thermometer to make a hole in the chop and then inserted the sprig through the hole.

8 sprigs of rosemary
8 loin lamb chops
2 teaspoons pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balamic vinegar

Bone and skewer chops as described above.

Combine the salt, pepper, oil, vinegar and garlic and apply to both sides of the chops. Grill 3-5 minutes a side.