Slim Pickings Yield Delicious Results

Last week, our pantry and fridge stock had grown a little low, but I did have some amazing local carrots, and some yummy yellow currant tomatoes from my own garden. Earlier that day at lunch, my friend had some fantastic looking black bean soup, so I decided to try to make a local organic version. I was pleasantly surprised at the tasty the results!

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1 Onion, Diced (I used Vidalia for extra sweetness.)
2 Carrots, Diced
2 Cans of Black Beans
3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1/2 Cup of Currant Tomatoes (Or chopped regular tomatoes if you don't have the currant variety)
2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Teaspoons of Ground Cumin
1-1/2 Cup of Water
1 Chili Pepper, Minced (Optional)
Sour Cream for Topping
Cilantro for Garnish

Cooking:
In a Dutch Oven, pour in the olive oil and toss in the garlic, cumin, carrots, chili pepper and onion. Saute until the onion is translucent. Add the black beans, water and tomatoes. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for approximately 15 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a bit of chopped cilantro.

Cinco de Mayo!

My deep love of Mexican food has been mentioned before, but I have been inspired this week by Cinco de Mayo to make some really great tostadas. Here's the recipe:

Chorizo and Potato Tostadas with Guacamole

Ingredients:

2 Links of Chorizo
3 Small Potatoes
1/2 Red Onion
3 Cloves of Garlic
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
4 Pitas
1 Avocado
Juice of 1 Lime
1/2 Cup of Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt
1 Cup of Cilantro
1 Jalapeno
1/2 Cucumber
Salt and Pepper

Cooking:

Slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices and place them in salted boiling water. Remove the potatoes after 5 minutes and strain. Heat the oil on medium-high heat, and saute the chorizo until it's cooked through. Remove the chorizo from the pan and set aside. Finely dice the garlic cloves, onion, jalapeno and cilantro. Add 1/2 the onion, all of the garlic and 1/2 of the jalapeno to the pan in which the chorizo was cooked. Saute on medium heat. While sauteing, dice the chorizo and potatoes then add to the onions, garlic and peppers. Cook until the onions are tender.
To prepare the guacamole, remove the skin and pit from the avocado and chop into cubes. In a mixing bowl, combine the avocado with 1/2 of the lime juice, 1/2 of the cilantro, the rest of the onion and jalapeno, with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
For a cooling element, mix the rest of the lime juice, and cilantro with the sour cream and a pinch of salt.
Warm your pita bread in the oven, then top with the chorizo-potato mixture, a spoonful of guacamole, and a dollop of the sour cream. Enjoy!

Unusual, But Delicious Quesadillas

One of my new favorite neighborhood joints is Pure Taqueria. The Inman Park location isn't the original, but it's pretty new, and the food is fantastic. In my eyes, it's hard to beat your local cheap Mexican restaurant. It is the quintessential comfort food; hot and spicy, flavorful and delicious. And while Pure is a little pricier than the local cheap place, the fresh ingredients and original dishes make it easier to rationalize the extra costs.
The margaritas at Pure are great, I like the house margarita as much as the specialty mixes. On the appetizer menu, the fish ceviche is fantastic. The citrus is almost effervescent, and combined with celery for a zesty, crunchy combination. My favorite entree is the chicken quesadilla. At a lot of restaurants, the quesadillas can be a major let-down, they are soggy and unappetizing, but at Pure, it's more like an empanada, with crispy fried dough, then it's piled high with salsa verde and sour cream. It's completely worth every calorie.
If you are in Inman Park next weekend, for the annual Inman Park festival, and feel like some delicious Mexican food, stop by Pure. Just ignore the super loud clubby music they play at night, the food should make up for the auditory discomfort, or better yet, stop for lunch, before they crank it up!