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.



 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 

Johnny Garlic's Cedar Plank Salmon

This is Guy Fieri's recipe and it's one of my favorite ways to prepare salmon. It's certainly wonderful just as written. If however, you just want an delicious, easy meal or don't have a cedar plank you can just bake the salmon and then apply the warm sauce immediately before serving. I bake it at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes and then apply the sauce.


4ea - 6oz Salmon Filet, skinned and deboned

2 t Sea Salt

1 t Pepper, black fresh

4ea - Rosemary sprig, 3” fresh

2ea - Jalapeno, seeded, diced

1 T Garlic, minced

1 c Apricot preserves

1/2 c White wine

3 T Mustard, whole grain

4 pc Parchment paper, 4X4

4 pc Cedar plank, food service quality

1 Lemon, for zesting



Preheat oven to 400 degrees.



In a small sauté pan over medium heat add oil, when oil is hot add jalapenos and sauté until caramelized. Add garlic, before it begins to brown, deglaze pan with white wine. Next add mustard and apricot preserves, simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Let cool.



Place parchment paper on planks, add salmon, lightly salt and pepper, place rosemary sprig on filet, and liberally apply cooled apricot mixture.



Place cedar plank on gas burner and begin to set wood on fire. When plank has begun to smoke, place in oven.

Cook salmon until medium rare, remove from oven and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes before serving, Garnish with lemon zest.

Yum!

Tuna with Sundried Tomatoes and Nicoise Olives

I've been making this tuna for years. It takes almost no time to make so it’s perfect for a rushed weeknight meal and yet it’s special enough for entertaining. You can make as much or as little of the sundried tomato mixture as you like and you can finely chop the ingredients or leave them a little larger as I've done here.

It’s best cooked on an outdoor grill.

3/4 cup oil packed sun dried tomatoes, chopped

3/4 cup pitted Nicoise olives- cut in half

A handful of fresh mint, chopped

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 tuna filets

Fresh ground black pepper

Olive oil



Preheat a broiler or grill.

In a bowl stir together the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, mint, garlic and pepper. Add two tablespoons of oil from the sundried tomatoes. 

Brush the tuna with a little olive oil and grill or broil about 2 – 3 minutes per side (do not overcook) .

Plate the tuna and spoon the sundried tomato mixture over the filets.

Enjoy.