Posted on

Your Cinco De Mayo Menu

The 5th of May has become a day of celebration in the United States and primarily in the City of Puebla. This is not Mexican Independence day but it was important in the history of our countries’ relationship. We can celebrate the local fresh ingredients the same way food plays a huge role in true Mexican culture. Try these tacos, slaws, rice, and so much more to experience the flavor and culture of some of those we share this continent with. Salud!

Beef Barbacoa Tacos

Chef Leah Burback
Slow cooker recipe that can pair with so many of your fresh garden veggies!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Optional: Marinating or Soaking 8 hours
Total Time 10 hours 15 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine American, Latin American, Mexican

Equipment

  • digital pressure cooker or slow cooker

Ingredients
  

Beef Barbacoa

  • 5 each garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1 whole yellow onion, quartered
  • 3 each dried chiles i.e. chipotles, anchos, guajillos, or pasillas
  • herbs mexican oregano, cilantro stems, thyme
  • 2 Tbsp cumin ground
  • 2 Tbsp Coriander whole
  • ¼ salt
  • 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
  • 4 lb beef round or chuck roast
  • 1 cup water or stock

Bean Salad

  • 1 cup dried bean medley indian woman yellow beans, flagolet, red/black calypso and many more options
  • ½ cup carrots, small diced
  • ½ cup onions, small diced
  • 1 cup orange basil garlic vinaigrette
  • ¼ cup salt
  • ½ cup fresh herbs, rough chopped

Radish Slaw

  • 1 cup spring radishes daikon, watermelon, breakfast, etc
  • 1 cup carrots
  • 2 cups cabbage
  • 1 cup dressing cilantro lime, basil garlic, or creamy citrus onion

Chimichurri

  • 1 cup cilantro
  • 1 cup parsley
  • ½ cup garlic cloves
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp each salt and pepper
  • ½ Tbsp red chili flake optional

Instructions
 

Beef Barbacoa

  • Sear all sides of the chuck roast until browned.
  • Place all remaining ingredients in the pot. For the pressure cooker, bring up to temperature on high pressure for 1 hour. For the slow cooker, turn on high until up to a simmer, reduce to low heat for a 6-8 hour cook, covered.
  • Once complete, remove the meat from the cooking liquid and shred.
  • Strain liquid and add some back to the meat to keep moist. Reserve for tacos.

Bean Salad

  • Soak dried beans overnight in cool filtered water. Drain off the soaking liquid and place the soaked beans in the cooking pot. Cover the beans with new cooking liquid, oil, and herbs. DO NOT SALT UNTIL COOKED, salt hardens the outer shells of the beans and prevents them from cooking through completely.
  • Cook beans in a pressure cooker for 15-20 minutes on high pressure. Test for doneness and strain off the pot liquor (bean cooking liquid). Toss in half of the dressing and place on a tray to cool completely.
  • Once cool add in the vegetables and the remaining dressing. Serve cold with tacos and so much more.

Radish Slaw

  • Toss julienned vegetables in the dressing and let marinade for at least 1 hour.

Chimichurri

  • Crush all ingredients together by mortar and pestle, pulsing in a blender or food processor, or chopping by hand while gradually adding small amounts of oil.
  • Test seasoning and chill until assembly.

Assembly

  • Toast 6" tortillas 1 minute per side. Hold in tortilla warmer or foil pouch until ready.
  • Fill the tortillas with ¼ cup of shredded barbacoa, top with 2 Tbsp of garden slaw, and 1-2 Tbsp of chimichurri to taste.
  • Also try garnishing with microgreens, cheese, sour cream, or pickled vegetables
  • Pair with the bean salad, spanish rice, grilled corn, or snap peas depending upon the season.
Keyword beef, braising, cabbage, carrots, taco
blank

Spanish Rice

Chef Leah Burback
Traditional pot rice with a no stir method using spring veggies, canned or overripe tomatoes with juice, onions and garlic. This makes the perfect accompaniment to any hispanic or latin american dish.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American, Latin American, Mexican, Peasant
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • heavy bottom soup pot with lid

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ cups long grain rice or try oat groats with increased time and water ratio
  • ¼ cup oil or ghee
  • 1½ cups english peas washed and shucked, or snap peas 1" pieces
  • 1½ cups carrots medium diced ½"
  • 2 cups yellow onion medium diced ½"
  • 3 cloves garlic rough chopped
  • 16 oz diced tomatoes with juice canned or overripe fresh tomatoes
  • 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock low sodium and/or homemade
  • 1 Tbsp salt

Instructions
 

  • Heat a pot at least 4 quarts to medium heat on the stove top. Add oil or ghee and rice. Toast rice until opaque and a toasty smell appears, not browned. Stirring frequently.
  • Add in Carrots and sweat. Add onions and garlic and sweat until translucent. Fold in peas and tomatoes until juice cooks down slightly from tomatoes.
  • Add in stock and bring back up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Season with salt, stir, cover, and leave to cook for approximately 22 minutes on low heat.
  • This is best done with a glass lidded pot if you are impatient, do not lift the lid to check the doneness until close to done. Every time the lid is lifted, liquid that should be absorbed into the rice is evaporated.
  • Check for doneness and fluff rice. Adjust seasoning if need be. Serve with tacos, steak, burritos or any of your other south of the border favorites.
Keyword 30 minute recipe, aromatic, rice
blank

Marinated Squash and Tomato Salad

Chef Leah Burback
Try this raw summer squash salad with a method that removes the excess moisture and replaces it will flavorful dressing!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine European, Latin American
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lb Fresh Squash Medley Zucchini, Summer Squash, Crookneck, Patty Pan, Sunburst, Young Luffa
  • 2 Tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes
  • ½ cup mustard vinaigrette
  • ½ cup fresh herbs oregano, basil, parsley, tarragon
  • 1 cup feta cheese chunks

Instructions
 

  • Cut the squash into quarter circle slices ½" thick. Toss in salt and place in a colander to drain for 15 minutes. This is called degorging, to remove excess water and soften the squash structure.
  • Toss the remaining ingredients in a large bowl together.
  • Rinse the degorged squash in running water, drain and pat dry. Add to the dressed ingredients and refrigerate, allowing to meld flavors together for at least 30 minutes.
  • Serve as a side dish or with grilled meat as a main course.
Keyword 30 minute recipe, appetizer, chopped salad, hearty vegetable, marinade, salad, squash, tomatoes, vinaigrette, zucchini
Posted on

Your St. Patrick’s Menu

blank

Try some Celtic-American favorites for this cheery March holiday! Learn about a bit of the history that brings this food meaning.

We have included some of our favorite recipes for a braised dish of Coddle, Irish Brown Bread, and Cottage Pie with Colcannon. Coddle in the Dublin style is a sausage, bacon, root vegetable, and cabbage slow braise that can be made ahead of time to enjoy after a hard day’s work. Brown bread is a lightly sweet molasses quick bread to help absorb all the rich broth or sauce from any good comfort food. Cottage Pie or Shepherd’s Pie is the most well-known Celtic style recipe that has been used and adapted by farmers, ranchers, shepherds of all kinds. The name of the pie is traditionally based on the meat protein used and who tends to these animals during the harsh March weather.

May you share these recipes with those you care about and send them out into the world with blessings of a warm hearth, a satisfied stomach, and nutrients to fuel their springtime travels.

blank

Dublin Coddle

Chef Leah Burback
Slow cooked irish braise with potatoes, cabbage, bacon/sausage, and onions. A nice one pot recipe to warm you and your family on the coldest early spring nights.
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Assembly 5 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Course Main Course, Soup, Stew
Cuisine American, Celtic, Irish, Peasant
Servings 6 people

Equipment

  • dutch oven or oven safe soup pot with lid

Ingredients
  

  • 10 strips Applewood smoked bacon cut into 1-inch pieces thick-cut about ½-¾ lb.
  • 1 ¾ pound about 5 quality pork sausages
  • 4 each small yellow onions sliced
  • 1 cup cabbage cut into 2" squares
  • 1 cup carrots large dice
  • 3 lb. russet potatoes roughly peeled and diced into large bite-size pieces
  • 2 Tbsp fresh parsley minced
  • to taste kosher salt and black pepper
  • 2 cups chicken stock low-sodium

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  • Place bacon into a 5-quart Dutch oven and heat over medium to medium-low until cooked and crispy, about 18-20 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate.
  • Sear sausages for 3 to 4 minutes on both sides. Transfer to a cutting board and slice into thirds.
  • Remove the pot from the burner and layer, onions with a pinch of salt and parsley, bacon, sausages, more parsley, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and then a few pinches of both salt and pepper and the remaining minced parsley.
  • Pour stock over top, cover and place back onto burner. Bring liquid up to a boil before covering and transferring pot to preheated oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Adjust seasoning to taste.
  • Remove and ladle into bowls with a little of the broth and serve immediately with sourdough or brown bread.
Keyword bacon, braising, cabbage, Dublin, potato, Sausage, Slow Cooked, Stew
blank

Irish Brown Bread

Chef Leah Burback
Try a traditional recipe with Wyoming grains from Wyoming Heritage Grains and GF Harvest.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Bread, Side Dish
Cuisine American, Celtic, Irish, Peasant
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups Red Spring Flour Wyoming Heritage Grains
  • 2 cups Gazelle Rye Flour Wyoming Heritage Grains
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup Rolled Oats GF Harvest
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 ¾ cups buttermilk
  • 2 Tbsp molasses

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 450°F.
  • In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients: both flours, oats, salt and baking soda. Mix thoroughly all the dry ingredients.
  • Whisk buttermilk and molasses. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the buttermilk mixture.
  • Using a fork or spatula, stir gradually until combined.
  • With floured hands, knead into a ball.
  • Shape the dough into a circle and place on a lined baking sheet. Press flat to about 2 inches thick. It will form a round loaf about 8 inches in diameter.
  • With a sharp knife cut a deep cross on top of the ball.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes at 450°F. Reduce the heat to 400°F then bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until the bottom of the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
Keyword ancient grains, baked, bread, oats, quick bread
blank

Cottage Pie with Colcannon

Chef Leah Burback
A combination of two traditional irish recipes. Try ground lamb for the shepherd's pie variation!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Assembly & Layering 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine American, Celtic, Irish, Peasant
Servings 1 9×13 casserole dish

Ingredients
  

Cottage Pie Meat Filling

  • 1½ pounds ground beef, lean ground lamb (shepherd's) or venison (hunter's)
  • ¼ cup diced onions
  • 2 each small diced carrots
  • ½ cup beets cleaned, trimmed and diced try a combination for increased flavor gold, red, chiogga
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic
  • ½ cup dry red wine
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme also add rosemary to increase herbaceous flavor
  • 2 each bay leaves
  • prepared colcannon recipe follows

Colcannon

  • 4 each potatoes 2 to 2 ½ pounds, peeled and cut into large chunks
  • Salt
  • 5-6 Tbsp unsalted irish butter with more butter for serving
  • 3 cups chopped kale, lightly packed cabbage, chard, or other leafy brassica greens
  • 3 each green onions including the green onion greens, minced (about ½ cup)
  • 1 cup milk or cream
  • 2 each eggs

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Meat Filling Directions

  • In a large skillet, brown the ground beef until no longer pink; then add the onions, carrots, beets, celery and garlic.
  • Allow the vegetables to soften for 2-3 minutes; deglaze the pan with the red wine to get all that lovely caramelization, let the alcohol cook off then add the tomato paste and stir in well.
  • Add the remaining meat filling ingredients. Mix well and allow to cook over medium heat until most of the liquid has been absorbed; approximately 15-20 minutes. Prepare colcannon while simmering.

Colcannon Directions

  • Put the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water by at least an inch. Add 2 tablespoons of salt, and bring to a boil.
  • Boil until the potatoes are fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain in a colander.
  • Return the pot to the stove and set over medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pot and once it’s hot, add the greens.
  • Cook the greens for 3-4 minutes, or until they are wilted and have given off some of their water.
  • Add the green onions and cook 1 minute more.
  • Pour in the milk or cream, mix well, and add the potatoes. Reduce the heat to medium.
  • Use a fork or potato masher and mash the potatoes, mixing them up with the greens. For a smoother texture use a paddle attachment on a stand mixer, this will increase the fluffiness as well.
  • Add salt to taste, allow to cool slightly and whip in a slightly beaten eggs if using for cottage pie topping.

Assembly and Baking Directions

  • Remove the thyme and bay leaves from the meat filling and place in an oven safe casserole dish, 9×13 or similar size;
  • Then top with prepared colcannon. this can be spread, scooped, or piped on top. If piping be sure to use a larger size star tip to reduce clogging from additions to mashed potato topping. Option to brush the top with egg wash as well for darkened color.
  • Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown on top and bubbly and thick underneath.
    blank
  • Serve with brown bread and your favorite irish stout beer!
Keyword beef, beetroot, beets, carrots, casserole, hearty vegetable, lamb, make ahead, peasant dish, potato