Traditional Home entertaining and travel editor Carroll Stoner visited Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos, Mexico, right on the Pacific Ocean and truly one of the most beautiful and opulent travel destinations in North America. Her story focused on the excellent cooking school at Las Ventanas; here are some notable recipes she brought home with her from the cooking school.
GUACAMOLE
2 medium ripe avocados halved, seeded, peeled, and chopped
2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped, seeded tomato (1 small tomato)
2 tablespoons finely chopped sweet onion
4 teaspoons snipped fresh cilantro
1 to 2 fresh serrano peppers, seeded and finely chopped
Salt
Tortilla chips
Place about 1/3 of avocado in medium bowl; mash with a fork or mortar and pestle. Stir in remaining avocado pieces, and lime juice. Add tomato, onion, cilantro and pepper. Gently stir to combine. Season to taste with salt. Serve with tortilla chips.
Note: Gently slice the ripe (firm but with a slight give to the touch) avocado in half around the pit. Insert knife blade into pit, twist to remove, and discard. Score avocado flesh and spoon pieces into bowl. For the right texture, some avocado might need to be mashed, as described above. The outside of the fruit, just under the skin, is softer than the flesh closest to the pit, and this combination of firm and soft is what gives guacamole the best texture.
TUNA CEVICHE
12 ounces fresh tuna fillet
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 ripe avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
1 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Cut tuna into 1/4- to 1/2-inch cubes. Place in large bowl. Add lemon juice. Stir to coat. Let marinate for 5 minutes. Drain and discard lemon juice. In another bowl, combine avocado, onion, serrano pepper, mint, orange juice and soy sauce. Fold in marinated tuna. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 6 to 8 appetizer servings.
FRESH FISH CEVICHE
Be sure to use very fresh fish for this appetizer. Choose from sole, snapper, grouper, halibut, haddock, or talapia. Although the fish is not cooked with heat, the acid of the lime juice makes the fish appear firm and opaque.
12 ounces skinless, firm-textured white fish fillet
1/4 cup lime juice
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon honey
1 small tart, firm pear or apple, cut into 1⁄4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon snipped fresh cilantro
1 to 2 finely chopped green onions
Salt
Cut fish into 1/4-inch pieces. Place in medium bowl. Add lime juice. Stir to coat. Cover and chill for 2 to 4 hours or until fish pieces are firm and opaque, gently stirring occasionally. In separate bowl, combine jalapeno pepper, coconut milk, and honey. Drain fish, discarding lime juice. Add coconut milk mixture to fish; stir to combine. Stir in pear, cilantro, and green onion. Season to taste with salt. Makes 6 to 8 appetizer servings.
SHRIMP CEVICHE
12 ounces fresh large shrimp
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro
1 medium avocado, pitted, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon ketchup
1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Peel and devein shrimp; chop into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces. Place in large bowl. Add lemon juice. Stir to coat. Cover and chill for 4 to 6 hours or until shrimp pieces are firm and opaque. In separate bowl combine tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, onion, jalapeno pepper, orange juice, ketchup and olive oil. Add shrimp mixture; gently stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 6 to 8 appetizer servings.
NEW YORK STEAK WRAPPED IN BANANA LEAVES
2 dried Guajillo chili peppers, stemmed, seeded and crushed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 white onion, chopped
1 pound New York strip steak
Salt
Fresh hoja santa to taste, or 1 to 2 teaspoons dried hoja santa, crushed
1 banana leaf, flamed
Heat large skillet over medium high heat. Add crushed chili peppers, garlic and onion. Cook and stir until pepper is toasted and onion is tender. Cool mixture. Transfer to a food processor bowl. Cover and process to form a paste, or blend in mortar and pestle. Preheat oven to 400°F. Sprinkle steak with salt. In same skillet sear both sides of steak over medium high heat. Remove from skillet. Spread chili-onion mixture over both sides of the steak. Sprinkle with hoja santa, or layer fresh hoja santa leaves atop steak. Wrap in flamed banana leaf (or aluminum foil. Place in a shallow baking pan and bake for 10 minutes or until steak reaches 135°F. Let stand for 10 minutes. Open leaf and slice steak. Makes 4 servings.
Hoja Santa is an aromatic herb, with an aroma containing elements of nutmeg and black pepper, that grows 6 to 8 feet tall and is commonly used for seasoning Mexican food dishes and mole verde. The tender stem of this plant provides a flavor that is anise or sarsaparilla-like in taste. Because of the size of this herb, the leaf is often used as a food wrap for fish, poultry or tamales. Also known as sacred pepper, sacred leaf, root beer plant, eared pepper, yerba santa, hierba santa, acuyo, or Mexican pepper leaves. Tarragon can be substituted if necessary.
To flame banana leaf: Hold banana leaf with tongs and slowly pass the leaf over the flame of a gas stove to soften them. (If you don’t have a gas stove, place banana leaf in a steamer basket and steam for 20 minutes to soften.)
Oven Cooked Plantain with Vanilla Pod and Rum
4 ripe plantains*
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 whole vanilla beans, halved lengthwise or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup dark rum
8 12x9-inch pieces green banana leaves, flamed**
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 of a vanilla bean, halved lengthwise or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 to 3 tablespoons dark rum
Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut plantains (with skin) in half lengthwise. Sprinkle plantain pulp with 2/3 cup brown sugar. Top with half vanilla bean or drizzle with 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Drizzle with rum. Wrap each plantain in banana leaf piece. Arrange wrapped plantains in two shallow baking pans. Bake pans on separate racks at the same time for 15 to 20 minutes or until plantains are tender. Meanwhile, for rum sauce, melt butter in large skillet. Stir in brown sugar. If using 1/4 of a vanilla bean, scrape seeds into skillet and add bean halves to skillet. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until sauce is thick and syrupy, stirring frequently. Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons rum and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract if using.3. To serve, open banana leaves to expose plantains. Drizzle with rum sauce. Serve warm. Serves 8.
*Tip: Plantains should have completely black peels to be fully ripe.
**To flame banana leaves: Hold banana leaves with tongs and slowly pass the banana leaves over the flame of a gas stove to soften them. (If you don’t have a gas stove, place banana leaves in a steamer basket and steam for 20 minutes to soften.)
Tip: If you cannot find fresh banana leaves, use frozen banana leaves. Thaw leaves and cut into pieces about 12x9 inches. There is no need to flame the frozen leaves as they will be soft enough when thawed.
If you also cannot find frozen banana leaves, arrange plantain halves, cut sides up, in a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Top with brown sugar, vanilla bean and rum as directed in step 1. Cover dish and bake as directed above. Serve plaintain halves with rum sauce.
