Recipe: Pear and Prosciutto "Carpaccio" with Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

This refreshing salad is not only beautiful but so easy to prepare!

Pear and Prosciutto "Carpaccio" with Balsamic Vinegar Reduction
(Adapted from a recipe from Everyday Food by Martha Stewart)
Serves 2

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 red Bartlett pear, cored, halved, and thinly sliced
2 ounces very thinly sliced prosciutto
Mixed baby lettuces (I added fresh purslane leaves)
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

In a small saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil; cook, stirring occasionally, until syrupy and reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 5 minutes.

Place the lettuces and purslane on a serving platter or on individual plates. Top with pear slices and prociutto. Drizzle with balsamic syrup as desired, and season with pepper.

Cooking Class Photos

Chilled Yogurt-Cucumber-Avocado Soup with Basil-Salsa Garnish

Cooking Class Photos
by Victoria Challancin

Flavors of the Sun International Cooking School San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

A few more photos from recent classes...to honor my Mexican students...to show appreciation

Ratatouille Soup and Goat-Cheese Ravioli with Parsley Sauce from Martha Stewart

Parmesan Zucchini Sticks with Roasted Romesco Sauce

Pan-Roasted Fish with Roasted Red Pepper Harissa (Recipe for Harissa is on the March 7th post)

Mini-Flat Breads with Shrimp and Romesco Sauce from Food and Wine Magazine plus Curried Corn Soup

Roasted Vegetables with Italian Flavors

Fresh-Tasting, Deconstructed Chicken Cacciatore
Roasted Baby Potatoes with Aioli and Parmesan

Chicken Breasts with Gazpacho Sauce and Basil Oil from a recipe in The New Spanish Table by Anya von Bremzen

Individual Raspberry-Mango Trifles with Tiny Shortcakes and Amaretto Whipped Cream

Harissa: A Spicy North African Condiment

Purchased Harissa from Morocco

Harissa: A North African Condiment
by Victoria ChallancinHarissa, sold in the Marrakech souk
Olives sold pre-mixed with harissa in the Fés souk

Olives mixed with harissa

From the Marrakech souk: Olives and vegetables sold mixed with harissa

Harissa, a spicy North African sauce, is often considered to be native to Tunisia, but is popular in Libya, Algeria, and Morocco as well. It is usually served as a table condiment, much like pico de gallo or other hot sauces found in Mexico. Used as an ingredient in some recipes, it appears in modern interpretations on crostini with goat cheese, with yogurt as a dip, in aioli as a variation, on pizza, as a marinade or spice rub, in soup, in hummus, and in vinaigrettes. Sometimes recipes for harissa contain roasted dried chiles, citrus, dried mint, cinnamon, and even rose petals. But my favorite version is made from roasted red bell peppers, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, plus dried chiles to kick up the heat.

Harissa
Recipe by Victoria Challancin

1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 dried red chile such as chile de árbol or
dried chile flakes to taste
2 teaspoons sugar
Sea salt to taste
4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
4 large red bell peppers
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Toast coriander seeds, caraway seeds, cumin seeds, and the dried chile in a small skillet until fragrant, approximately 1 minute. Place in a spice grinder and pulverize until smooth. Place in a food processor with the sugar and salt.
Char peppers over an open flame or under a broiler until slightly blackened on all sides. Place in a plastic bag to sweat or in a bowl covered with a towel.

Meanwhile, place the unpeeled garlic cloves in a small dry skillet. Cook until slightly blackened and soft. When cool enough to handle, peel and add to the food processor with the spices.
Peel the peppers and remove the stem, seeds, and veins. Add to the food processor. With the motor running, add the oil through the feed tube. Add more oil if needed to have a smooth paste. Check and adjust seasoning to taste. Store covered in the refrigerator.

My homemade harissa, served in a salsero from Oaxaca, Mexico

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Moroccan Salads, Part II

A portion of the sixteen small appetizer plates served at a favorite Marrakech restaurant

Moroccan Salads, Part II
by Victoria Challancin

The concept of salad varies greatly from the East to the West. And nowhere is this more true than in Morocco, where salads play a big part in the cuisine. Served as appetizers, these small dishes are intended to sharpen the appetite and refresh the palate. They often appear on the table in small groups and are generally left there when the main dishes arrive.

In addition to the fresh, raw salads I wrote about in the last post, Moroccan salads also frequently appear on the table served in small portions to be eaten with bread. Almost dip-like in consistency, many of these salads showcase a variety of spices popularly used in Morocco: cumin, ginger, paprika, and cinnamon, to name but a few. Here are a few photos that I took on recent trips to Morocco, which reflect a variety of such salads served across the country.

Zalouk, a popular salad made from eggplant and tomato, which I prepared in a cooking class at La Maison Arabe in Marrakech

A slightly different selection of small salad plates from Fés

Again from Fés, a selection of salads to stimulate the appetite before an even larger meal

Tiny portions, served on saucers

Cooked salads from Chefchaouen served with handmade, olive wood spoons

A delicious, simple salad, partly cooked, partly raw, from the home of friends Youssef and Fatimah

Another view of the selection of salads from a fabulous restaurant in the heart of the old Fés medina

Composed and cooked, a melange of salads from Meknes

This photo, which shows the salads left on the table after main dishes are served, gives a bit of perspective on the actual size of the salad servings

Moroccan Salads, Part I

Moroccan Salads, Part I
by Victoria Challancin

Salads in Morocco are a culinary marvel. Served raw, sharpened with lemon juice and spices, or cooked into a mysterious exotic mix, these salads always reflect what is seasonal and fresh. Rarely are salads served on their own, but rather they appear on the table either as one large composed dish or on separate plates, always offered with the intention to whet the appetite for what is yet to come, always meant to be shared. The textures and flavors vary from savory to sweet, sharp to smooth, crunchy to puréed and they are usually served at room temperature.

For the last few years I have been lucky enough to take several small groups to Morocco. The following photos are from those trips.

At the home of a dear friend: Medfouna, often called "Berber Pizza," surrounded with small plates of Moroccan salads

Infrequently encountered: Couscous as salad, surrounded by hummus, baba ghanouj, olive paste, and raw tomato salad

Salads served with ground cumin, salt, and olive oil

In the bright sun of Essaouira, a simple salad olives, egg, tomato, and crusty bread with freshly-pressed olive oil

A salad before lunch at a roadside cafe

Occasionally the wonderful citrus mixes with lettuces in modern Moroccan restaurants

Simple, beautiful, composed--with a bit of cooked rice sprinkled with spices

Raw and sharply dressed with lemonA sophisticated salad with a vegetable terrine and balsamic vinegar reduction from Essaouira

Canned tuna and corn find their way into this simple salad
A perfect fruit salad served for breakfast at my favorite riad in the old medina in Fés

Seed-Encrusted Pork Tenderloin with Honey-Mustard Sauce

Two Ancient Spices, One Modern Recipe
by Victoria Challancin

In my class for Mexican cooks last week, we prepared Seed-Encrusted Pork Tenderloin with Honey-Mustard Sauce (click here for the recipe from Food and Wine Magazine), a simple recipe in which two ancient spices marry to create magic. Easy, fast, delicious—what’s not to love? There was even enough left-over sauce to use in sandwiches. Now that is a recipe to hang onto.

The dish came together quickly with the grinding of the seeds in a mortar and pestle taking up the bulk of the preparation time. It was equally delicious served cold the following day.

When I teach cooking classes, whether in English or Spanish, I always try to give a bit of history, a touch of ethnobotany, and a heavy sprinkle of food anthropology to help understand why and how we have come to prepare our foods. Here is a brief history on the two spices, the soft licorice-flavored fennel and the pungent mustard, which dominate this simple dish.


Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

All fennels are members of the Apiaceae (also Umbelliferae) botanical family, which includes dill, anise, chervil, coriander/cilantro, parsley, carrots, parsnips, and celery. Native to the Mediterranean, fennel has been used for both food and medicine for thousands of years. Early records from China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome testify to its early use. As a spice, its history is long indeed.

Medicinally, fennel is most often used today as a digestive and antiflatulent, just as it was centuries ago. Socrates mentions its benefits in the fifth century. The Romans chewed it to control obesity and in the 1st century, Pliny recommended it to soldiers to improve eyesight. In Europe, Anglo-Saxons hung it in doorways to ward off witches. In Medieval times it was considered to be a sacred herb used to treat all sorts of diseases, as well as a good-luck charm. Culpepper, the eminent 16th-century British herbalist, suggested that fennel would help dissolve kidney stones. American Puritans chewed seeds during periods of religious fasting to suppress the appetite. In Ayurvedic medicine, fennel is considered a cooling spice, and is offered after meals to be chewed as a digestive aid. In Chinese Herbal Medicine it is used for a variety of ailments, and specifically to soothe the liver, harmonize the stomach, and to treat indigestion. It also figures in a topical poultice used for snake bites. Here in Mexico, the fronds are steeped in boiling water for a diuretic tea. In my own family, my son always includes a bag of fennel seed for a soothing tea when he goes camping.

Historically, the seeds have been used as expectorants, breath fresheners, to help control asthma, and to increase milk flow in nursing mothers (though pregnant women should not consume them in large doses). Compresses of crushed seeds are said to be effective in the cure of conjunctivitis and the dried root is made into a diuretic tea.

Modern medicine tells us that fennel is a potent antioxidant, like many spices. Anethole, one of the volatile oils contained in fennel, has repeatedly been shown to reduce inflammation and help prevent the occurrence of cancer in animal studies. This oil has also been shown to protect the liver [of animals] from toxic chemical injury, hence a subject of studies as to its efficacy in preventing liver damage due to the toxicity of alcohol.

The fennel bulb itself is an excellent source of Vitamin C, the body’s primary water-soluble antioxidant, which can neutralize free radicals responsible for the cellular damage that can lead to joint deterioration and its accompanying pain. Fennel bulb is also a very good source of fiber, which helps lower cholesterol levels. It is also a good source of folate, a B vitamin that helps protect vascular walls. In addition it contains significant levels of potassium, which helps lower high blood pressure.

The ancient Romans used the seeds as a culinary spice and Florentines prepared the bulb as a favored vegetable. Today, in both Italy and France, fennel is eaten raw, in braises, in gratins, or paired with seafood. And although we may no longer stuff fennel in our keyholes to keep out ghosts, in today’s global market, we can easily enjoy fennel as a spice, as a vegetable, and in our herbal medicine chest.


Mustard (Brassica spp.)

This member of the Brassicaceae (also Cruciferae) family is a relative of cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, collards, kale, kohlrabi and radishes. There are three main species that are used for cooking:

1) White or yellow seeds (Brassica alba), are the mildest of the three and are used in American-style mustard, originated in the Mediterranean region.

2) Brown seeds (Brassica juncea), said to have originated in northwest India, are used in hot Chinese mustard, in Indian cuisine, in German, English and other hot-tasting mustards, and with black mustard seeds in the Dijon mustard of France.

3) Black seeds (Brassica nigra), native to the Middle East and Asia Minor, though used in Indian cuisine, are difficult to harvest commercially and thus not as frequently used.

Used as both spice and vegetable, the versatile mustard plant also has a long history. Mustard was probably first cultivated in India around 3000 B.C. and was mentioned in Sanskrit texts that date to over five thousand years ago. One account (www.thenibble.com) says that fossils of both the plant and the seeds have been found in Stone Age and Middle Age settlements. King Tut was buried with an ample supply to satisfy him in the afterlife. The Chinese knew it before the Europeans did. Pythagoras, in sixth century B.C. Greece, prescribed it for scorpion stings. A century later, Hippocrates also mentioned its usefulness as a medicinal herb. The ancient Romans, who were among the first to prepare mustard paste, took the seeds with them to Gaul where mustard later flourished and provided the basis for various preparation sold by monks in French monasteries in the ninth century. By the 13th century, sauce hawkers, who peddled their wares on the streets of Paris, offered it as one of their products. Throughout the Middle Ages, mustard was a common table condiment, testimony to its popularity. And not only is it mentioned a plant in the Bible, what Christian doesn’t metaphorically know that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains?

In terms of folklore, mustard seed has been used sprinkled on doorsteps for protection of the home and in red cloth bags to prevent catching colds.

In modern medicine, much has been made over the anti-cancer effects of all the Brassica plants. Mustard in particular is a very good source of selenium, a nutrient which has been shown to help reduce the severity of asthma and of magnesium, which, in addition to reducing the severity of asthma, also helps to lower high blood pressure, reduce the frequency of migraines, aids in addressing various symptoms of menopause, and to prevent heart attacks. Topical applications of mustard plasters have been used for centuries for chest congestion, perhaps a precursor to Vick’s Vapor Rub. Too much can cause vomiting, but taken internally in small doses, mustard stimulates the appetite and aids digestion.


Known to inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeast, and moulds, it is the source of on-going studies concerting its relevance in food preservation. One more slightly disturbing use of the mustard plant: the disabling and even lethal chemical weapon known as mustard gas is a synthetic copy based on the volatile nature of mustard oils.