Pacific Cod with Chorizo and Tomatoes

Pacific Cod with Chorizo and Tomatoes

With my parents visiting from Texas to celebrate various milestones in my family (including an 18th birthday and high school graduation), we’d been eating out a lot or ordering some pretty heavy take-out food. I decided it was time to cook a bit lighter fare last night before we send them back to the Lone Star State tomorrow (but not after a big feast of Texas Brisket tonight!).

Here are my parents enjoying their meal

This is an elegant and definitely guest-worthy meal that comes together quickly. The small amount of spicy chorizo and the bright taste of lemon thyme pairs perfectly with the sweet red peppers and fresh tomatoes. Do serve this with copious amounts of crusty bread for sopping up the tasty sauce. I chose to serve the fish and tomato sauce over pan-seared polenta slices with a side of steamed asparagus.

Pacific Cod with Chorizo and Tomatoes
Adapted from Roasted Cod with Linguica,
by Steven Lee Meyers on Food52

1 tablespoon olive oil
5 ounces Mexican chorizo
3 cloves garlic, sliced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded and blended with 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
Leaves from 3 sprigs lemon thyme, plus more for garnish
1.5 to 2 pounds Pacific cod, or other firm white fish
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium and brown the chorizo, about 10 minutes. Add the sliced garlic and saute until fragrant. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes, then deglaze the pan with the white wine.

Add the pureed red pepper, chopped tomatoes, and lemon thyme. (If you don’t have lemon thyme, you can use regular thyme and squeeze in a small amount of fresh lemon juice.) Simmer the sauce until the tomatoes break down, about 15 minutes. You want it a bit soupy to hold the fish.

While the sauce is simmering, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly sprinkle the cod with salt, then nestle the pieces into the tomato sauce. Carefully place the hot skillet into the oven and roast until fish is done, about 7 to 10 minutes. The fish should flake easily with a fork.

Remove from oven and serve fish over polenta cakes, spooning the sauce over and around it.  Garnish with lemon thyme sprigs.

 

p.s. I’m starting to get the hang of running my food cart and the day-to-day tasks needed. We won’t talk about the day I forgot to bring the cheese or the other day I forgot the salsas, OK? But really, I’m having a blast with it and have also been contacted to be a vendor at a dog rescue fundraising event in August. I’ve also started applying to have the cart at various summer festivals and other events. Some are already booked for this year, but I’m getting a good list for next year in the process!

 

 

Chorizo and Beef Enchiladas with Cheesy Hatch Chile Sauce

Chorizo and Beef Enchiladas with Cheesy Hatch Chile Sauce

I had a hankering for Tex-Mex last weekend, and when I get a hankering for something there is no stopping me! Of course I wanted to use some of my roasted Hatch chiles and Mexican chorizo sausage from the freezer, and lots of ooey-gooey cheese.

The supermarket has started carrying “artisan-style” tortillas in a variety of flavors, so I picked up some whole wheat/corn blend in a “New Size!” I wonder what the old size was as I had never even seen them before. The new size turned out to be 8 inches, which made it tricky fitting them into my existing casserole dishes, and I wasn’t planning on making a huge batch for a 9 x 13 dish. Placing them length-wise in my 2-quart casserole did the trick!

Rolled Enchiladas

I ended up with 5 rather large enchiladas, which was almost a perfect amount for the three of us.

One thing to note: These did not seem to reheat well the next day (too dry), so plan on adjusting the amounts or eating the entire dish! If I weren’t trying to cut my calorie intake recently I certainly could have eaten more than I did. I got thumbs up all the way around from the fam for this, and my hankering was well-satisfied. The flavors were just fantastic and the perfect blend of spices, chiles, and cheese.

Chorizo and Beef Enchiladas with Cheesy Hatch Chile Sauce

3/4 pound (12 ounces) ground beef
2 to 4 ounces Mexican chorizo
1 teaspoon oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped mushrooms
3 roasted Hatch chiles, diced and divided (or 6-ounce can diced green chiles)
1 3/4 cups of low-salt beef or chicken broth, preferably homemade, divided
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5 to 8 corn and/or flour tortillas
Vegetable oil, as needed for tortillas
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
Sliced avocado and cilantro, for garnish

Enchilada Ingredients

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet over medium heat, add the ground beef and Mexican chorizo and brown.

Sausage, Beef and Veggie Mixture

Add the mushrooms, onions and chile peppers into the mixture. Add the smoked paprika, then salt and black pepper to taste. Cook for about 5 more minutes, then add 1/2 cup of broth. Simmer for a minute or two more until the broth reduces, but don’t let the mixture dry out. Turn off heat and set aside.

Heating a Tortilla

In a cast iron or other skillet, heat up a small amount of oil over medium-high heat. One at a time, heat each side of a tortilla until pliable and just starting to brown. Don’t overcook or the tortilla will be difficult to roll. Place on paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining tortillas, adding a small amount of oil as necessary.

Filling a Tortilla

Spoon the meat mixture into a tortilla, then roll up, placing seam-side-down in the in a lightly oil-sprayed casserole dish. Repeat until mixture is gone.

Melting Butter in Same Skillet

In the same skillet the meat mixture was in, melt the butter over medium heat. You don’t need to wipe out the pan first. Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter, whisking continuously until the mixture is light golden brown.

Chiles in White Sauce

Add the remaining broth and whisk until starting to thicken. Add the rest of the chopped green chiles, stirring to incorporate.

Adding the Cheese to the Chile Sauce

Reduce the heat and mix in the sour cream, then add the cheese to the sauce. Stir until combined and melted.

Cheesy Enchiladas Ready to Bake

Pour the sauce evenly over the rolled tortillas.

Bake the enchiladas at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes, until bubbling. Remove and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve enchiladas garnished with avocado and cilantro.

Garnished Enchiladas

 

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