"Baja Cooking on the Edge" by Deborah M. Schneider

Some recipes from a Baja-style restaurant in Newport Beach. She also has a book:

Link


---------------
Fisherman's Sashimi with Chipotle Salsa
Yield: 6 to 8 servings



1 pound extremely fresh, sashimi-grade saltwater fish, filleted, such as yellowtail, grouper or mackerel
1/4 cup Japanese soy sauce
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 small bunch cilantro, stemmed
3 Italian parsley sprigs, stemmed
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 to 2 fresh Serrano chilies, sliced crosswise into paper-thin slices

For serving: Chipotle Sauce, recipe follows
For serving: Tortilla chips

Procedure:

1. Chill a large serving platter. With a very sharp, thin knife, cut fish into slices roughly 2-inches long, 1-inch wide and 1/4-inch thick. Arrange slices on chilled platter.

2. Combine soy sauce and lime juice. Chop cilantro and parsley. Pour soy mixture over fish. Scatter herbs and green onions on top. Serve with chilies and sauce in small dishes on the side.

Nutrition information (per serving without Chipotle Sauce or tortilla chips): 165 calories, 33 percent of calories from fat, 5.7 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 4 g carbohydrates, 25g protein, 43 mg sodium, 0 g fiber

Source: "Baja Cooking on the Edge" by Deborah M. Schneider (Rodale, $27.95)


--------------------------
Schneider's Baja-Style Fish Tacos
Yield: 24 tacos

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried whole Mexican oregano, crumbled to a powder; see cook's notes
Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
12 ounces (1 bottle) cold beer, plus more if needed to thin batter
2 pounds firm, meaty fish, such as farmed catfish, skinned, boned
Freshly squeezed lime juice, preferably from Mexican limes or key limes
Vegetable oil for deep frying

For serving:

Corn tortillas, warmed
Diced avocado
Lime wedges, preferably Mexican limes or key limes
Secret Sauce (mayonnaise-based sauce), see recipe
Salsa de Chiles de Arbol or store-bought bottled hot sauce
Pico de Gallo, homemade or store-bought fresh salsa
Finely shredded green cabbage
Cilantro
Optional: chopped white onion

Cook's notes: Dried Mexican oregano is sold at Latin American markets and some supermarkets in the Mexican specialty section. A ingenious Mexican pan called a "disca" can be used for frying the fish. Schneider writes that it "looks like a car hubcap with a very wide rim. You fry in the deep well and drain the pieces of fish on the trim, which also keeps everything nice and warm." If you don't have a disca, use a large, deep skillet. If tortillas are thin, use two for each taco.

Procedure:

1. Prepare batter: Whisk together flour, baking powder, garlic, cayenne, mustard, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper until well blended. Stir in beer until there are no lumps. Batter may be made several hours ahead and refrigerated.

2. Cut fish into pieces the size and shape of your index finger. Sprinkle with few drops of fresh lime juice and a little salt. Pour oil into deep, wide pan to depth of 2 inches and heat over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. Use a deep-fry thermometer to test temperature or test heat by dropping a little batter into oil. It should bounce to surface almost immediately and be surrounded by little bubbles.

3. Pat fish dry with paper towels. Check thickness of batter by dipping in one piece of fish. Batter should be consistency of medium-thick pancake batter, coating fish easily but dripping very little. Add a little beer if batter seems too thick.

4. Add fish to batter. Using tongs or wooden chopsticks, swish each piece to make sure it is thoroughly coated, then lift it out of batter, let it drip once and place fish gently into hot oil. Cook a few pieces at a time until they float and batter is set but still very light in color. Note that if a piece sticks to bottom, leave it alone and it will release itself.

5. Remove fish to rack set on a rimmed baking sheet to drain; reserve frying oil. Fish can be prepared ahead to this point, cooled on rack and refrigerated uncovered up to 24 hours. Cool oil and reserve.

6. When ready to serve, reheat oil to 350-360 degrees. Refry fish, a few pieces at a time until crisp and golden brown.

7. To serve, hold a warm tortilla in your hand and drizzle a small amount of avocado sauce. Top with fish, squeezing lime on top. Drizzle with Secret Sauce and a few drops of arbol sauce or store-bought hot sauce. Top with pico de gallo and shredded cabbage. Top with cilantro and, if desired, some extra-white onions.

Nutritional information (per taco): Calories 170 (52 percent from fat), protein 5.1 g, carbohydrates 15.2 g, fat 9.8 g (saturated 3.0 g), cholesterol 80 mg, sodium 210 mg, fiber 2.1 g

Secret Sauce
Yield: about 2/3 cup

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 to 2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons water or milk

Procedure:

1. Place mayonnaise in bowl and slowly add vinegar to taste, stirring constantly with a fork. Add water or milk, stirring constantly with fork. Mixture should be consistency of thick cream. Add just a little bit to each fish taco.

Nutritional information (per 1/2 teaspoon): Calories 30 (78 percent from fat), protein 0.7 g, carbohydrates1.1 g, fat 2.6 g (saturated 1.5 g), cholesterol 15 mg, sodium 35 mg, fiber 0 g

Source: adapted from "Baja – Cooking on the Edge" by Deborah Schneider


-------------------
Panuchos
Yield: about 12

1 pound fresh masa for tortillas (not tamales), about 2 cups, see cook's notes
1/2 jalapeno, seeded, minced
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
6 ounces Oaxaca cheese, grated
6 ounces Cotija cheese, crumbled
About 1 1/4 cups zucchini flowers and stems, patted dry, roughly chopped
Vegetable oil for frying

Toppings: warm black beans, fresh salsa, sour cream or crema Mexicana, shredded iceberg lettuce, crumbled Cotija cheese.

Cook's notes: Fresh masa for tortillas (masa preparada) is sold at many Mexican markets and takeouts, such as El Toro (1340 W. First St., Santa Ana) or El Gallo Giro (1442 S. Bristol St., Santa Ana). Zucchini flowers are available at some farmers markets, or can often be special ordered at supermarkets with large produce sections. Even without the flowers, this is a delectable dish. Crema Mexicana is sold in jars in the ethnic refrigerated deli of many supermarkets; if you can't find it substitute sour cream.

Schneider uses a tortilla press, but if you don't own one, you can use a rolling pin. I like to use a large-size zipper-style plastic bag. I cut off 3 sides of the bag, leaving one side still attached, and open it like a book. Then I put the dough in the center of one side of bag and cover with the other half. Then I roll out the dough to a 4- to 4 1/2-inch circle. Before filling, I flip the disk over twice, pulling the plastic away from the dough and using the plastic for lifting; this ensures that the dough isn't sticking to the plastic.

Procedure:

1. Stir jalapeno, salt and oil into masa.

2. Prepare filling: Combine cheeses and zucchini flowers in medium bowl.

3. Divide masa into golf ball size spheres. Cut 2 squares of medium-heavy plastic to cover the plates of your tortilla press (see cook's notes). Between 2 sheets of plastic, use tortilla press to press one ball of dough into circle about 4 inches in diameter, 1/8-inch thick. Pull off top sheet of plastic. Place 1 to 2 tablespoons filling in center. Slip your hands under plastic beneath dough, paralleling strip of filling. Fold in half and press to seal edges. Remove from plastic and repeat with remaining dough and filling.

4. Heat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in large, deep skillet on medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add panuchos in single layer (you will probably need to work in batches). Cook on both sides until crispy at the edges and cheese melts. Serve topped with warm black beans, fresh salsa, sour cream or crema Mexicana, shredded iceberg lettuce, crumbled Cotija cheese

Nutrition information (per serving): 105 calories, 52 percent of calories from fat, 6 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 10 g carbohydrates, 3 .5g protein, 440 mg sodium, 1 g fiber

Source: Deborah M. Schneider, SOL Cocina, Newport Beach

---------------------------
Chipotle Sauce
Yield: about 1/2 cup

Chipotles are ripe jalapenos that have been slowly dried over wood smoke. They may be purchased in many supermarkets in small cans; canned chipotles are surrounded with adobo, a tomato-based sauce.


1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons finely chopped chipotles in adobo
1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lime juice, or more to taste

Cook's notes: If you plan to serve the sauce from a squeeze bottle, puree the sauce in a blender and add 1 teaspoon water to thin. Variation: add 1 or 2 cloves fresh peeled, finely minced garlic.

Procedure:

1. Combine all ingredients. Store, well-sealed, in refrigerator.

Nutrition information (per 1/2 teaspoon): 50 calories, 90 percent of calories from fat, 5 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 1.2g carbohydrates, 0.8 g protein, 42 mg sodium, 0 g fiber

Source: Deborah Schneider, SOL Cocina, Newport Beach

--------------------------

Baja made fresh
Deborah Schneider brings a bright new voice to authentic Baja cuisine, both in her cookbooks and her restaurant, SOL Cocina in Newport Beach.
By CATHY THOMAS
Special to the Register


Prepare to be dazzled with fresh ingredients, vibrant flavors and alluring textures. Whether you sample the dishes in her restaurant, or prepare them at home using one of her award-winning cookbooks, the cuisine is irresistible.

Deborah Schneider, author and Executive Chef-Partner of the recently opened SOL Cocina Restaurant in Newport Beach, wouldn't have it any other way.

"I think of our food as authentic Baja style, everything is fresh and there's lots of seafood," Schneider says. "Instead of being typical American Mexican choices, our stuff is the way it is served in Mexico. There are no big pans of premade enchiladas that are ready to sling out.

"When you eat in Mexico, the flavors are clean. It is fresh and light, not laden with grease or heavy sauce. We make everything fresh to order."

Once those made-to-order dishes are plated, she stands guard to make sure servers immediately deliver them to guests. Tacos, she says, are like ice cubes. You don't want them sitting around, or they lose some of their magic. As with sushi, she says, they should be served and eaten immediately.

Make. Serve. Eat.

Tacos such as Ensenada-style beer-battered fish tacos, or vegetarian beauties stuffed with strips of roasted poblano chilies, salsa quemada and grilled corn topped with queso fresco and Cotija cheese.

Schneider uses made-daily white corn tortillas from El Metate, the Santa Ana market that's been a local institution for more than 20 years. And instead of greeting guests with the traditional chips and salsa, she serves tostadas and black bean dip.

The tostadas, whole crisp-fried tortillas, are topped with a smidgen of coarsely-ground guajillo and ancho chilies, plus some minced toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and kosher salt. Guests break them into mouth-size pieces and use them to scoop up the pepita-topped black bean puree; it's a mixture that is made with equal parts salsa and black beans cooked with beer, soy bacon, epazote (a fragrant fresh herb), charred tomatoes, garlic and dried guajillo chilies.

Her street-style corn on the cob is made with a stunning scarlet heirloom variety of corn. The bright pink-red corn is baked in the husks, then shucked and grilled. Divided into manageable thirds, the mini-cobs are topped with a little butter and sprinkled with finely crumbled Cotija Anejo cheese plus a little guajillo chili powder. It's a sweet-clean taste, perfectly balanced with the alluring saltiness of the cheese.

A fisherman's sashimi (called "Crudo" on the menu), relies on raw, super-fresh saltwater fish. Accompanying the thin slivers of sashimi-grade yellowtail or grouper is a plate of paper-thin sliced fresh jalapeno, sprigs of cilantro and a mayonnaise-based Chipotle Salsa. Piled onto a wedge of crisp tostada, the combination of sweet-spicy flavors is delectable. Diners can build their own to suit their taste buds.

And I just can't leave out the panuchos, little fried empanadas made with corn masa and stuffed with Oaxaca cheese, Cotija cheese and roughly chopped zucchini flowers.

Mmmm. The cheese is oozy-goozey and the masa is golden crisp. These precious bundles are topped with salsa fresca, crema Mexicana, a pinch of shredded lettuce and crumbled Cotija.

No wonder folks are forming lines at the door.