What is the first recipe of your own you'd still make?
I remember the first recipe I wrote that I was proud to serve. It was for Mango Salsa—very much of its time (the early nineties) and place (Northern California). Not that Mango Salsa was particularly innovative, but this version was mine. I’d serve it with grilled asparagus marinated in lemon and soy, portobello mushrooms marinated in a dark soy with sesame oil and a little honey, and parboiled potatoes grilled with green onions, peanut oil and curry powder.
This recipe came up at my brother’s wedding, when a good friend of my parents happened to remark that he still made that salsa from time to time. I haven’t made it in years, maybe even ten years. Looking over the recipe, there are some things I’d change—the cumin doesn’t seem quite right (and too many chiles by far)—but it is basically a good recipe. But still, it isn’t how I cook any more. It also, sadly I think sometimes, is not where or when I cook.
So many elements of the recipe are dependent on that original context. I don’t have as many opportunities to grill as I used to, my cooking has become much more European and less Asian, and fish in general is a declining resource, one much more expensive than it used to be (and for good reason).
Still, I think I will try to make the salsa some time in the next couple weeks. Maybe with fish on a grill pan, not a grill, maybe not with asparagus, but definitely following the recipe as I wrote it then (halving the chiles), not as I would now.
This is the recipe as originally written. I have not made it in years and make no promises.
Mango Salsa
This salsa is flavored with ginger and sesame oil, giving it an Asian feel. Excellent with grilled fish or chicken, or just by itself with some chips.
2 small-1 large mango, peeled and diced finely
2-4 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 Bermuda onion, finely diced
2-6 serrano chiles, minced, and seeded (optional)
1-3 jalapeno chiles, minced, and seeded (optional)
2 tablespoons minced cilantro
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon (or more) rice vinegar
juice from one lime
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon roasted cumin
dash soy sauce, dash salt
Mix ingredients together. Adjust seasonings. Let sit for one hour before serving.
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That's a really good recipe, Frank. Yeah, that's a lot of chiles. I don't know, I think the cumin is a nice touch, but I wonder about the sesame oil and soy.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I think an early recipe I'd remake is glove-boned quail stuffed with roasted garlic, parsley, sage, pancetta, orange zest and black olives, deglazed with cognac or whatever. It was the glove-boning that made me try it, to learn the technique. Which I would now happily leave to a professional. With age comes wisdom.
ReplyDeleteYes, the soy and sesame do seem a bit heavy.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure exactly what glove-boning is, but I imagine it is a very intricate and careful deboning of the quail. I understand exactly why you did it and why you will probably never do it again.
I had no idea there was a second edition. I've made this any number of times, long before encountering the now-semi-common mango-allergic. Still, an anti-histamine and we were good. For me, it's all tied up with the early 90s, mexicans on off-ramps, and cocktail parties before their time.
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