February 24, 2008 by Nathalie Herling.

Really easy to make and great with cocktails, particularly your favorite Margarita or serve as an appetizer to a tropical dinner. Fried Green Bananas, topped with Guacamole and dusted with Mexican Cheese.

For your Banana Boat bottom

2 Large Green Bananas

2 cloves of minced Garlic

Oil for Frying

Cut the ends of the Green bananas off. Then run a knife slice through on side of the banana peal. Just the peal. Green bananas can be a little hard to peal but try to keep the peal from getting into too small of pieces when you take it off the banana, we will use the peal later.

Slice the banana into one inch slices. Fry both sides of the banana slices in a light coating of oil for about 1 to 2 min to make them more tender. I used a La Chamba lipped plate or a baking pan would work. 

Once the banana started to soften, remove it from the pan and put it between 2 pieces of the on the inside of the banana peel and with the palm of your hand press down gently to flatten the banana slice to about 1/4 of an inch. You could use a wooden banana press for this too but I like using the peel the most. 

Add the garlic to your oil and You should be able to gently remove the little flattened banana “pancake” back to the oil for crisping. Make about 16 or 20 from your two bananas.

You now have a little banana chip as a base for your guacamole.

If you have the time and want to be a little fancy, take the banana chips right when they come out of the oil from crisping and with small muffin cups, gentle push on the banana chips to mold to the shape of the muffin cups to make little banana cups… or boats.

Make your favorite Guacamole blend or here is mine

1 large or 2 small avocados

A plum tomato chopped

half a jalapeno minced

1/4 of an onion minced

half to all of a lime juice

1/8 of a cup of minced cilantro

dash of cumin

2 teaspoons of my favorite hot sauce (not that much a fan of Tabasco but could work).

Salt and pepper to taste

Mash the avocado up and add all the rest mix.

Put a dollop of the Guacamole on the top of each Banana Chip and dust with Queso Cotijo Anejo. I find this cheese to taste the best and be an important topping to this appetizer with its salty almost parmesan like quality. Seems to bring all the topping and bottom together really well.

Serve immediately. Particularly if you have the Margaritas ready. Check out these Cranberry Margaritas.  Salud!

Posted in appetizers, vegetarian recipes, latin, recipes, la chamba cookware | 1 Comment »

February 17, 2008 by Nathalie Herling.

Mashed Roots, Jerusalem Artichokes, Celeriac and Potatoes

I am very fortunate to live near the Union Square Green Farmers Market in New York City. Every Satuday and Wednesday stalls of great fresh produce and local area food products are available. Being of the growers are featuring fabulous root vegetables.

This a highly recommended dish for anyone who likes mash potatoes but would like to take the complexity of mashed flavors to another level.

I selected Jerusalem artichokes, Celeriac and may different purple and white finger and round potatoes. A great tasty combo to steam and mash. This dish is high in iron, potassium, Magnesium, B6, Vitamin C and thiamine.

This also offered me an opportunity to test out my new

Emile Henry glazed ceramic pot from France. This company has been producing top quality ceramic cookware since 1850.

Peel a Celeriac root and slice. Steam for 9 min.

While that celeriac is steaming, peal (if desired)  and quarter your potatoes to med size piece. I used about 2 lbs of mixed kinds. Any creamy style potatoe will work. I love purple potatoes and finger potatoes for there rich buttery flavor. Place the cut potatoes on top of the steaming celeriac for another 10 min.

Peel about 1 lb of Jerusalem artichokes and cut into pieces put on top of the potatoes and steam another 10 min.

 Move the steamed roots to a bowl

Back in the now empty pan, steamer and water removed place a half a cup of milk gently warm and ad a stick of cut up butter, melt the butter.  Put the roots and vegetables back in with the warm milk and butter. Mash with a hand held masher.

Serve immediately. Or place in an ovenproof dish and put the warmed mixture in a low oven until ready to serve. Can be cooled and reheated in the oven before serving.

Enjoy!!!

Posted in European Clay Cookware, vegetarian recipes | 1 Comment »

February 16, 2008 by Nathalie Herling.

A quick an easy tasty potato recipes. Purple potatoes make an unusual and delicious hashbrowns. One of the earliest harvested potatoes were purple potatoes and are high in anti oxidants.

Three good size Purple Potatoes will make 2 ample servings.

Grade the 3 potatoes with a grader or in a food processor. I left the skins on or you can peel if you like.

Mince one clove of garlic.

1/4 of a small onion finely chopped or 3 scallions.

Season with Salt and Pepper.

Pat into potatoe pancakes.

Heat about 5 or 6 tablespoons in a clay skillet. Here are some La Chamba examples that I find perfect for making the pototoes.

When the oil is hot put in the potato cakes and “brown” oh that is not the right word here. They will get crunchy on each side. Drain on a paper towel and keep warm in the oven or serve up immediately.

For an egg recipe suggestion visit you could use the egg portion from this Egg Taco recipe http://creativeclaycooking.com/?p=86 or scramble some eggs with a goat cheese tomato and herbs mixture in my favorite La Chamba Chicken pot.

Posted in brunch, vegetarian recipes, la chamba cookware | 1 Comment »

December 2, 2007 by Nathalie Herling.

Roasting Garlic

5 bulbs of Garlic

1.5 T of Olive Oil

1/2 C of Water

A great ingredient to have handy is roasted garlic.  I recently had the opportunity to try the Superstone (a patented highly fired clay mixture) Garlic Baker by Sassafras. Roasted up the garlic perfectly. Simply cut off the top of the full garlic bulb and remove the papery part.  Dribble about 1.5 T of Olive Oil over the top, salt and pepper and put in a cool oven at 350 degrees. After 25 min add a 1/2 a cup of water and baste every 10 to 15 min until the garlic is tender in an hour. After it cools, remove the extra pulp from the bulbs and store in an air tight container for future use. The brick like surroundings cooked it perfect. Cleaned up beautifully. Recommended.

I made five bulbs at a time to have a good supply for lots of recipes for the week.

Posted in stoneware, european, vegetarian recipes, recipes | 2 Comments »

November 23, 2007 by Nathalie Herling.

Margarita Cranberry Pomegranate

Blue Agave Sauce / Relish

¼ C of Tequila

¼ C of Grand Marnier

1 lb Cranberries

1/8 C of Blue Agave

2 limes

2 oranges

2 small or 1 large pomegranates

In a clay pot or pan, grade the skin off the lime and orange. Try not to include too much of the pith. Juice the lime and orange, add the tequila and blue agave. Boil the cranberries 8 to 9 min. The clay pot will continue to cook the berries a little. Cool the mixture. When cool add the Grand Marnier. Add seeds from pomegranate and blend. Chill and serve.

Posted in vegetarian recipes, latin, Thanksgiving, recipes, la chamba cookware | 1 Comment »

November 19, 2007 by Nathalie Herling.

La Chamba Chili - Spicy Vegetarian Chipotle Chili Recipe

1 yellow chopped onion
1 red chopped onion
I green and red pepper chopped pretty fine.
2 carrots chopped pretty fine.
5 cloves of garlic sliced.
3 dried Chipotle peppers - canned can be used see below.
4 T of Chili Powder
2 T of Cumin
1 T of Paprika
2 Large Cans of Crushed Tomatoes
2 large Vegetarian Bouillon Cubes
1/2 C of Cilantro
2 t of black pepper
1 t to 1 T of salt depending on amount of sodium in Veg. Cubes
6 Cans of the beans of your choice.
1 crushed garlic clove
3 scallions chopped
1/4 a cup of cilantro leaves
Chopped fresh Jalapeño

Clay pot cooking is ideal for making a chili. Sautes and nurtures the flavors beautifully.
Sauté 1 red and 1 yellow chopped onion in about 3 T of olive oil. Until translucent. Add chopped peppers and carrots and sauté for an additional 4 to 5 min. Set onion, pepper, carrot mixture aside. Sauté 5 sliced cloves of garlic and 3 dried chipotle peppers in about 1.5 T of Olive Oil. Stir often. Cook the garlic until just about to look toasted and the pepper may puff up a little. If you are using canned chipotle, skip this roasting step of the peppers. Add 4 T of Chili Powder of your choice, 2 T of cumin, 1 T of paprika.  I make a blend of multiple chili powders. Some very hot finely ground with some more coarse deep burgundy colored chili powder peppers. Mainly to offer the richness of the chilies and try to control the heat. Beware of some cheaper chili powders… some add an amazing amount of salt to allegedly pure chile powders. Buy from a reputable spice company. Many fabulous ones out of Santa Fe I would highly recommend. Each chile powder will offer a unique tasting chili. Toast the spices in with the oil and garlic. Cook gently to make a rich paste. Clay pottery is fabulous for this. Seems to gently handle the chili powders without quickly going to a burn. Stir constantly. Add more oil if necessary. Toast until well mixed, a little heat/steam appearing. This is something you will get a real feel for as you roast your powder. Do not burn,  just saute right to the border of toasting. Kind of like a chile powder roux.
Add the sautéed onions, pepper mixture. Mix well. Add 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and two Vegetarian, vegetable bullion cubes. 1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro. Mostly Leaves and some stems. Chop the steams very fine. If you are using canned chipotle, this would be a good time to add 3 chopped Chipotle chilies with some of the chipotle sauce. Combine 6 cans of beans of your choice. I mix 3 cans of Dark Red Kidney Beans, 2 small red beans and 1 can of black beans. Rinse the canned beans well before adding them to the Chili Sauce. Add two or three whole dried peppers of your choice. I like Chile Guajillo and/or Chile Pasillo Ancho. Cook all together and bring to a boil. With a garlic press add 1 large clove of garlic and 2 t of pepper. Stir. At this point I taste and add salt if necessary. Maybe even some additional cumin and limited amount to chili powder if you feel it would enhance the flavor to your liking.  Serve hot with chopped scallions, fresh cilantro leaves and chopped Jalepenos. Some people like cheese and sour cream on the side. 
 
I cooked and served this chili out of a very large Columbian Blackware Round Cauldron like pot. I use a wonderful matching clay stand (intended for charcoal) with an area that fits a sterno can perfectly to keep the chili nice and hot at the buffet table. A very practical and impressive presentation.

Posted in vegetarian recipes, latin, recipes, la chamba cookware | 1 Comment »

October 9, 2007 by Nathalie Herling.

6 ripe tomatoes, cored - peeled if you like.

1 onion

1 jalepeno or habanero depending how hot you like your salso

juice of 3 limes

1 clove of garlic

1/2 C fresh cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

Throw all this in a food processor and let it do all the work. Pour in bowl, pull out the chips and enjoy.

Posted in vegetarian recipes, latin, recipes, la chamba cookware | 1 Comment »

October 9, 2007 by Nathalie Herling.

Egg Souffle

Separate 6 eggs. Put the egg whites in a mixing bowl and whip at high speed.
Add seasoning, salt, pepper and oregano to the yokes and whip until blended.
Fold in the yoke mixture into the whites.
Pour into a oven proof greased pan… blackware chicken in this case.
Heat on stove for about 3 min on low, then place in pre heated 350 degree oven for about 25 mins or until souffle rises and forms a crusty top.

I used my favorite La Chamba blackware clay Chicken pan. Makes a very pretty presentation for brunch and I found the souffle puffed right up and fit this pan very well. More about the Chicken Pan.

Serve immediately with your favorite cheese sauce

I used 1/2 stick of butter, 1/4 C whipping cream and 1/3 C Cabot Sharp Cheddar Cheese, melted in a double boiler… made one from a soup bowl purched over a clay oval pot.

Posted in brunch, vegetarian recipes, recipes, la chamba cookware | No Comments »

September 21, 2007 by Nathalie Herling.

This is one of three recipes on this blog, that involve the stuffing of fat and happy green peppers.
This recipe is a vegetatian version that satifies the taste buds need for some serious deep green peppers. I use classic rellenos peppers from Puebla. They are usually not really spicy hot. Poblano Peppers have a deep luscious green color and dense skins. Veggie and interior mexican food lovers will appreciate the fleashy intensity (sounds so meaty) of these peppers.

3 T Olive Oil
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 onion sliced
1 jalapeno chopped
1 large can of chopped or crushed tomatoes
3 T of fresh cilantro
1 t of Cumin
1.5 t of Chile Powder
1 t Paprika
1 t black pepper
8 ploblano peppers
6 oz of quezo fresco or blanco
6 oz of fresh mozzerella

Start with the sauce… using the same clay cassarole that you are going to be baking the peppers.  Saute the garlic slices in olive oil until toasty, then add chopped jalepenos, the sliced onions until golden and wilting and semi tender. Combine a large can of crushed or chopped tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, paprika, cilantro and pepper.  Add your favorite hot peppers. I am personally addicted to chipotle but it adds a very distinctive flavoring. While that is cooking cut a slit and a T down the peppers. Remove the seed and the core. I like to fill with 2 cheeses.. a nice smooth mozerella, fresh if available easily… and a mexican fresco cheese that is dry and salty.  Packaged mozzarella or quesa blanco works if you do not have many options….. its all yummy. I don’t usually use salt so these cheases and the canned tomatoes usually add all the salt you need. Avoid any tomatoes that use sugars. Kills the whole experience. Take your chosen cheese and cut is into slices or chunks. Ideal I mix a mexican cheese and a mozzerella, smooth and salty.. stuff each pepper and pour your tomatoe sauce over the stuffed cheese peppers. Cook 45 min to 1 hour get peppers melt tender.  Serve with rice or grain of your choice… cous cous or quinoa works for healther set.

Posted in vegetarian recipes, latin, recipes, la chamba cookware | 1 Comment »

September 20, 2007 by Nathalie Herling.

 This is the first in a series of recipes that are great for an Indigenous Thanksgiving gathering.  What qualifies as an Indigenous Thanksgiving food? Any recipe that primarily uses foods indigenous to the New World. A fabulous array of creative options for a delicious Thanksgiving spread.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Rum

Super easy to prepare. Ideal for cooking in clayware. One pot cooking and serving. Cooks the potato beautifully, heats the milk and stays nice and warm in the clay pottery… any Thanksgiving cook knows that keeping the food warm is a major plus as you bring a wide variety of dishes to the Thanksgiving table. Also this recipe is very easy to scale and almost impossible to mess up.

3 large yams, your choice garnet or orange

1.5 t of salt

1/3 cup of milk

1/2 stick of  unsalted butter

1/4 C of Dark Rum Your choice remove all or about half the skin from the Yams.  If it is for a less health conscious crowd I peal… if very aware just cut away the tougher parts. If you like cut an boil the potatoes also easy to peal after cooking. I like to peel the sweet potatos a little first to speed the mashing process while the potatos are just cooked.Peel a little, cut into about 10 pieces for a large yam… cook 20 to 30 min until tender in a generous amout of water with salt… Drain potatoes. Heat milk and butter in same drained clay pot. When the butter is almost melted add rum and sweet potatoes. Use a potatoe masher, mash the potatoes with the butter, milk, rum mixture. Season or add a little butter to the top. You can put the mashed yams in the oven on low to keep them hot. Black clayware is fabulous for keeping the potatos warm and to directly serve. I doubt if you will have any left overs!!!

Posted in vegetarian recipes, Thanksgiving, recipes, la chamba cookware | No Comments »