Grilled chicken salad (or summer's here and we feel spicy)

Recipe: Grilled chicken salad with rustic guacamole and a roasted sweet potato

The weather's warming up and summer's here, at least for the moment here in northern California. Yay! When friends came over for an afternoon pre-concert dinner a few days ago (Willie Nelson at the UC's Greek Theatre, no less), I wanted to make something different - summery and maybe a little spicy. I went immediately to Rick Bayless' excellent cookbook, Mexican Everyday, and once more, Rick came to the rescue with a main-dish salad that zings with the tastes of Mexico..

This salad has no real precedent in traditional Mexican cooking, Rick says; nevertheless it takes the flavors and traditional ingredients and produces a deliciously rich and flavorful meal, with a little spice thrown in for fun. Healthy too! My family and guests really loved it, including one who had gluten and dairy dietary restrictions. As a matter of fact, she asked me for the recipe - a huge compliment in my book.

You can fire up the grill for this, but you don't need to. A stovetop grill pan, which is what I used, works just fine. This recipe serves 2. I just doubled it to serve 4.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Rustic Guacamole, Romaine, and a Roasted Sweet Potato

Adapted from a recipe in Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday

Sweet potato sounded good to me, so I added it to the menu. Wash one large orange-fleshed sweet potato, or 2 small ones, and stab it with the tip of a paring knife in several places so it won't explode in the oven. Talk about excitement you don't need! Then put it or them into a baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour (45 minutes if using small potatoes). While the potato is baking, make the salad.

For the dressing

• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus a little extra for grilling the onion
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• 1/2 jalapeno (or more if you want it quite spicy), seeded and halved
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley
• freshly ground black pepper
• sea salt

Heat the oil in a small skillet, add the garlic and chiles and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is soft and lightly browned, 2 minutes. Pour the oil, garlic, and chile into a blender or food processor. Add the lime juice, cilantro, black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Process until smooth.

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 small white onion, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 medium romaine heart, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide ribbons
• 1/4 cup grated Mexican queso anejo or Parmesan cheese (optional)

Put the chicken breasts in a bowl and pour one-third of the garlic dressing over them, spreading it evenly over both sides.

Make the guacamole
Heat the grill or grill pan over medium high heat until it is quite hot. Lightly brush the onion slices with oil and sprinkle them with salt. Lay the onion on the grill or grill pan and turn the slices over a couple of times, grilling until they are well browned, about 3 minutes each side. Take the onion off the grill and chop it roughly. Put the onion in a bowl. Pit the avocados and scoop the flesh in with the grilled onion. Add another one-third of the garlic dressing and coarsely mash everything together with a potato masher or a large fork. Taste and season with salt, about  1/4 teaspoon.

Grill the chicken
Now heat the grill or grill pan up again and put the chicken breasts on. Cook about 4 minutes on each side, until well seared. If the chicken breasts are exceptionally thick or thin, adjust the cooking time accordingly - 5 minutes each side for thick, 3 minutes each side for thin. Take the chicken off the heat and let it sit on a chopping block for 10 minutes to finish. Then cut each breast into cubes.

Assemble the salad
Put the sliced romaine into a large bowl. Drizzle the remaining garlic dressing over it and toss well. Divide the lettuce between two dinner plates. Scoop half of the guacamole into the center of the lettuce. Arrange the cubed chicken over the guacamole. Sprinkle the whole thing with grated cheese, if you wish, or serve it separately for individual use.

Cut the roasted sweet potato in half on the crosswise diagonal, just for show, and arrange it on the plate alongside the salad. It will be beautiful! Enjoy!

The payoff
In addition to great taste, this dish has the benefit of being gluten-free and dairy-free (if you don't use the optional cheese).

Avocado, which is native to Mexico and Central America, has more potassium than bananas and lots of fiber. High avocado intake has been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels. All good. And yummy.



A Super Bowl of chili (Go Team!)

Recipes: Chili con carne, Guacamole and chips

It's a big day in American football this weekend - Super Bowl Sunday! Even if your team isn't playing (drat, mine's not), you might still be having a Super Bowl party. Or you might be spending a nice peaceful Sunday afternoon at home, just you and yours, watching the big game on TV with a couple of beers and some good grub. Either way, Super Bowls of chili with guac and chips will be perfect for celebrating first downs and touchdowns in front of the tube.

Here's an easy recipe for two to four hearty partiers that can be expanded to serve eight by doubling. If you add other dishes, or if some of the fans won't be likely to have seconds, a doubled recipe will easily serve 10. Chili is good the next day too - something to keep in mind. And this recipe is so quick you can even whip up a second batch during halftime if demand is high (just be sure to have the ingredients handy, of course).

Chili con Carne

• 1 pound ground turkey (dark meat) or 1 pound uncooked chicken, turkey, or pork sausage meat, taken out of its casing. You can also use a combo of 1/2 pound ground beef and 1/2 pound ground pork.
• Half of a large onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 15-ounce can chopped tomatoes with juice
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup water
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 2 cans red kidney beans, washed and drained
• Sour cream and lime wedges for garnish

Heat the oil in a heavy Dutch oven and add the meat. Cook, chopping down and stirring with the side of a hevy metal kitchen spoon to break up the lumps.

Add the onions, bell pepper, celery, garlic, oregano, bay leaf, chili powder, and cumin. Stir to blend well.

Add the tomatoes, broth, water, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring often, about 20 minutes.

Add the beans and cook 10 minutes longer. Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream and a squeeze of lime.

Also good with tortilla or corn chips and/or grated sharp cheddar cheese crumbled over the top. Or use tortilla chips to scoop the chili like a dip.

Avocados just naturally go with a good bowl of chili. Serve this lucious dip with corn tortilla chips.

Guacamole and Chips

• 2 medium ripe avocados
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and put through a garlic press (or chopped fine)
• Sea salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon (or more) fresh lime juice
• 1/2 green jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

Cut the avocados in half and twist the halves in opposite directions to separate. Take the big seed out and discard. Run a paring knife around the inside of the skin and lift out the flesh. Put the avocado flesh in a bowl and mash it with a fork or potato masher.

Add all the other ingredients and mix well. If you are not serving the guacamole immediately, cover it with plastic film pressed directly on top of the guacamole and refrigerate. This keeps it from darkening. Even so, you should use the guacamole within a hour or two.

The Payoff

Red kidney beans help keep your cholesterol low because they are a high fiber all-star, and they also help detoxify sulfites, a common preservative in prepared foods.
Avocados contain the good fats that help maintain low cholesterol and have more potassium than bananas. Potassium is essential for nerve transmission and optimum heart health.

The recipes for Chile con Carne and Guacamole are Gluten-Free if served with corn tortillas that contain no wheat (read the package).



More starters (or chip me, dip me)

Recipes: Fresh tomato salsa, Guacamole, Hummus

Chips and dips. . . "man" enough for watching football on TV, fancy enough to trot out for guests, easy enough to be a regular in your summer repertoire, and, best of all, yet another excuse to savor the season's delicious delectable and oh-so-soon-just-a-memory tomatoes.

The easiest of these three dips is the Fresh Tomato Salsa. A little chopping, a swirl of olive oil, a squeeze of lime and you're there. Salsa is great with tortilla chips or potato chips. It's also wonderful spooned over grilled fish or virtually any other kind of simply grilled meat. It's amazing over eggs, as in spooned over a cheese omelette. Yum! Here's how to make it.

Fresh Tomato Salsa

• 2 or 3 large ripe tomatoes, any color, or 4 or 5 smaller ones, chopped into fairly small pieces
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped chile peppers. I use jalapeno (kind of spicy) or serrano (less spicy). You can use what you want, depending on how much heat you like.
• A handful of fresh cilantro, chopped. If you don't like cilantro, use fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped fine
• olive oil
• fresh lime
• sea salt

Combine the chopped tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, and onion in a medium bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil over it, and add a good pinch of salt. Squeeze half a lime over all and mix gently with a fork. Add a little more lime just before serving, if you like.

Colorful and gorgeous. How easy is that?!

How about another classic dipper for chips? Silky guacamole is a natural for tortilla chips, or even for raw veggies, if you'd like a healthy alternative. It's easy to make too - here's how.

Guacamole

Adapted from a recipe in Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday

• 1 medium ripe avocado. You know it's ripe when it gives slightly when squeezed. Don't squeeze hard. If it gives a lot, it's too ripe.
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• juice of 1/2 fresh lime
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh green chile. I use serrano or jalapeno.
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion, white or yellow
• 1 medium ripe tomato, chopped into small pieces
• sea salt

Cut the avocado in half, running your knife around the pit from stem to blossom end and back up again. Twist the halves in opposite directions to free the pit, and pull the halves apart. Dislodge the pit, then scoop the avocado flesh into a medium bowl.

Mash the avocado with a fork. Lumpy is fine - it doesn't have to be perfectly smooth. Stir in the garlic plus a good pinch of salt. Add all the other chopped ingredients and stir to combine. Taste and season with a little more salt if needed. That's it!

Guacamole should be used right away. If you need to hold it more than a few minutes, cover it with clingfilm so that the film lays right on the surface of the guacamole and put it in the fridge. This keeps the avocado from turning dark. Don't hold it more than an hour or two at most before serving.

Our final 'dipper of the day' is not so much for chips, although it could happen. It more about pita triangles, or once again, raw veggies. It's so easy to make, you'll never buy a tub in the supermarket again. Here's how to make hummus.

Hummus

• 2 large cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste). You can get tahini at health food stores and grocery stores that cater to vegetarian cuisine, like Whole Foods, or Middle Eastern cuisine. It lasts a long time in the fridge.
• freshly-squeezed juice from one whole lemon
• 1 14-oz can chickpeas, drained. Reserve the liquid.
• 1/2 cup gently packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 4 tablespoons chickpea liquid, or as needed

In a blender or food processor, whiz together the garlic, salt, tahini, and lemon juice until the garlic is finely chopped.

Add the chick peas, parsley, cumin, and 4 tablespoons of chick pea liquid, and pulse until smooth. Stop the machine a couple of times during blending and scrape down the sides to make sure everything gets well-incorporated.

Taste, and add more lemon juice or salt if desired, and more of the chick pea liquid if necessary until it reaches a thick, but spreadable consistency. You can make it as smooth, or as coarse, as you like.

Put in a bowl, or spread in the center of a large plate, and sprinkle with more cumin over it. When it's tomato season, I make a depression in the center of the hummus and fill it with chopped tomatoes or Fresh Tomato Salsa.

Serve with toasted pita chips, untoasted pita triangles, baguette slices, or whole wheat crackers.