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Maricel E. Presilla’s Cuban Avocado, Watercress and Pineapple Salad with Spicy Goan Shrimp

May 8, 2013 by Mary Frances 14 Comments

I’ve been wanting to tell you about the small dinner party I had a few weeks ago where I served the Vegetable Lasagna with No Pasta as a first course. You see, it all started with me wanting to make this salad I found on Food 52 – Amanda Hesser’s (formally of The New York Times fame) blog. It’s broiled pineapple, avocado and watercress with a cumin dressing. Doesn’t that just sound so unusual and so good?

Well, it was! And it was beautiful too!Grilled pineapple, avocado, and watercress salad with sliced shallots and a cumin vinaigrette dressing on a white platter.

The author’s note says that this salad is great served alongside spicy shrimp or slow cooked pork and black beans and rice. A Cuban meal!

Since it was our main course, that meant I couldn’t start with a salad. And with the weather finally getting warmer, soup was not appealing and the tomatoes are not ripe enough for a gazpacho. So that is how I came to the idea of starting the meal with the vegetable lasagna.

The whole dinner was amazing, as my husband and guests told me. I served the salad with some spicy Goan shrimp and Jasmine rice and black beans.Jasmine white rice with black beans in a square bowl.

We finished with fantastic homemade lemon bars with a buttery rich crust studded with pine nuts. That recipe to come. But I forgot to take a picture of the shrimp – sorry.

MARICEL E. PRESILLA’S CUBAN AVOCADO, WATERCRESS, and PINEAPPLE SALAD – serves 6

2 bunches watercress
One 2 1/2 pound pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into four 1-inch thick slices
1 tbs. sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbs. fresh lime juice
1/8 tsp.+ ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Haas avocados
1 small red onion (5 ounces), thinly slivered lengthwise (I used a shallot – I couldn’t find the red onion I bought!)

Wash the watercress well in large bowls of cold water to remove the grit or sand. Discard any yellowing leaves and remove the tough stems; for this salad, you want only the leaves and tender stems. Spin dry in a lettuce spinner and refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Heat the broiler. Place the pineapple slices on a baking pan and sprinkle sugar evenly on top of them. Broil about 4 inches from the heat source, turning once, for 5 to 10 minutes on each side, until golden brown. (You can line your pan with aluminum foil for easier cleanup, but not parchment — it may catch fire.) Let cool, then cut into 1-inch cubes. Set aside.

For the dressing, mash the minced garlic with the salt on a cutting board. Place the mashed salted garlic, lime juice, cumin, and pepper in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Taste for seasoning. Set aside. I added a pinch more cumin.

Cut the avocados lengthwise in half around the pit and remove the pit. Take a small paring knife and cut 1/2″ strips lengthwise and crosswise but do not cut through the skin. Take a large tablespoon and scoop it all out in nice cubes. Alternatively, place the avocado halves cut side down on the work surface and slice lengthwise into 1/2″ wide wedges. Peel each segment by hand or with a paring knife, and cut into 1/2″ cubes.

Assemble the salad: Place the watercress in a medium bowl and toss with half the dressing. Arrange on a large platter. Add the pineapple and avocado to the same bowl and toss with the rest of the dressing. Mound the pineapple and avocado over the bed of watercress. Garnish with slivers of red onion and serve immediately.

SPICY GOAN SHRIMP – adapted from Michael Romano
– serves 4 – 5

6 dried red Thai chiles
12 whole black peppercorns
8 whole cloves
One 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
One 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
6 garlic cloves
2 tbs. Champagne vinegar
1 tsp. brown sugar
Sea salt
1.5 lbs. shelled and deveined raw shrimp, tails left on, thoroughly washed and patted dry
1.5 tbs. olive oil
Lime wedges, for serving

Grind the chiles, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon and cumin in a spice grinder. Add the ginger, garlic, vinegar, brown sugar and salt and blend until smooth. Rub this paste over the shrimp and let marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the shrimp and sauté over high heat until golden and just opaque throughout, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter, garnish with lime wedges and serve.

STEVE’S SUGGESTED WINE PAIRINGS:

White Wine:  2011 Eroica Riesling from Columbia Valley, WA, by Chateau Ste. Michelle & Dr. Loosen

Red Wine:  2010 Villa Mt. Eden Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

Both are $20 or less and represent very good values.  Trade up in these type of wines if you are not budget-constrained.

Filed Under: Dinner, Fish Tagged With: Amanda Hesser, avocado, Food 52, grilled pineapple, Jasmine rice and black beans, Michael Romano, sliced shallots, spicy Goan shrimp, watercress

Traveling

October 30, 2011 by Mary Frances 3 Comments

Last night we were supposed to go out to dinner but with the major snowstorm upstate, we chose not to travel, built a fire and stayed put. Instead we traveled to Greece with a French side trip!

We started with store bought hummus – Sabra brand with roasted garlic. Now what I always do, and I think this makes it just a little more special, is drizzle high quality, extra virgin (of course) olive oil on top and then sprinkle on some ground cumin. I served it with whole grain pita chips and some fresh red pepper strips. Fast, easy and delicious!

I then made Melissa Clark’s recipe for Moussaka that was in the NY Times Dining section this past week. It was called “Greece on a Speedboat” – which was supposed to mean that this was the speedy, sort of short-cut version of moussaka. Well, it still took 2 1/2 hours! And it was good but it wasn’t great. To me, when you spend that much time on something, it should be great. And I guess to make the authentic version takes even longer! We have been to Greece several times. I love Greece, even Athens, and Santorini used to be our special place but now it’s too crowded. The Greeks are lovely laid back people yet all their traditional dishes are very labor intensive. Ever make Baklava or watch someone make it? All those separate sheets of thin pastry, each one buttered, layer upon layer. Yikes!

But let me tell you about the salad I made. It was a Jacques Pepin recipe also from the Times the week before this last. He wants you to make it with frisee but my little local market doesn’t even sell that. I guess it’s too expensive and they don’t have a calling for it. So I substituted a bunch of watercress and a sliced endive. I figured these two combined could substitute the slightly bitter frisee bite he was looking for. It was delicious – I’m thinking it may have even been better! You tell me.

Here’s the recipe. I love his way of making the croutons rather than roasting in the oven. You must constantly toss them but you have more control and can achieve beautifully colored croutons with just the perfect crunch and this uses much less oil than oven roasting which equals less calories. Yay! The dressing is more mustardy – very French and very delicious.

FRISEE WITH CROUTONS AND SPICY OLIVES
Adapted from “Essential Pépin” by Jacques Pépin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011)

Serves 4

1 1/2 cups 1-inch bread cubes
1 tablespoon olive, canola or peanut oil (I used olive oil)
1 tablespoon spicy mustard
1 teaspoon crushed and finely chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large or 2 small heads frisée, cut into 2-inch pieces (5 to 6 cups)  or one bunch of watercress, large stems removed and one endive sliced in rounds
1/4 cup pitted spicy green olives, cut in half
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained, each cut in half or thirds

Drop bread cubes into a skillet and sprinkle oil over them. Toss gently and cook over high heat, tossing constantly, until cubes are browned on all sides. Remove from skillet.

Mix mustard, garlic, salt, pepper and vinegar in a large serving bowl. Whisk in oil.

Add the frisée or watercress and endive, olives and sun-dried tomatoes to the bowl and toss thoroughly. Divide among 4 salad plates and sprinkle the croutons on top.

Filed Under: First Course, Salads Tagged With: croutons, endive, first course, frisee, garlic, Jacques Pepin, Melissa Clark, mustard, Pepin, salad, Santorini, spicy olives, watercress

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Mary Frances

Mary Frances

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