July 29,2011
Chef Randy Evans from Haven, A Seasonal Kitchen, shows food radio talk show host Cleverley Stone, how to make perfect scrambled eggs. What is Randy’s secret ingredient? You’ll have to watch the video to find out. Scrambled eggs are an ingredient in migas, a dish Evans is serving for brunch every Saturday in August during Houston Restaurant Weeks. Haven will donate $3 from every special HRW $20 brunch and lunch and $5 from every special $35 HRW dinner sold, to the Houston Food Bank be August 1-31,2011. For more information and to view Haven’s entire HRW menu, visit the Houston Restaurant Weeks website.
Brunch at Haven, A Seasonal Kitchen for Houston Restaurant Weeks: MyFoxHOUSTON.com
For more information about food, wine and dining in Houston, listen to Cleverley’s radio show Saturdays at Noon on Talk 650 AM. (By the way, she gives out prizes on every radio show!)
Chateau Loin of Beef with Migas and Mole
Makes 6 servings
Chef Randy Evans
Haven, A Seasonal Kitchen
Ingredients
6 each beef chuck clod tender (6 ounce portion)
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 recipe migas
1 recipe mole
1 recipe pico de gallo
Ingredients for Migas
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or unsalted butter
12 eggs, slightly beaten
Salt and black pepper to taste
6 tablespoons chopped tomato
3 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
2 tablespoons Mexican style sour cream (crema)
2 cups corn tortilla chips, broken into bite size pieces
Ingredients for Mole: Makes ¾ gallon
10 ounces (5 each) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
¾ cup (3 ounces) sesame seeds
1 cup vegetable oil
6 ounces (12 each) dried mulato chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn
3 ounces (6 each) dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn
3 ounces ( 10 each) dried pasilla chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup (4 ounces) raw almonds
1 cup (4 ounces) raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon anise
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 ripe plantain, peeled and chopped
2 ounces (about 2/3 of a 3.3-ounce tablet) Mexican chocolate, roughly chopped
3 quarts chicken broth
Salt to taste
1/3 sugar
Ingredients for Pico de Gallo: Makes 1½ cups
2 medium Roma tomatoes, chopped
½ cup finely chopped yellow onion
½ jalapeño, minced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and black pepper to taste
Directions for the Migas
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add eggs, salt and pepper; stir.
2. Fold in tomato, onion and sour cream; cook until eggs are almost set, yet creamy.
3. Toss in tortilla chips and reserve.
Directions for the Mole
1. On a baking sheet, roast the tomatillos until splotchy black and soft. Place in a large bowl.
2. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds, stirringly constantly, until golden, about 5 minutes. Combine with the tomatillos.
3. Brown other mole ingredients, in a very large soup pot, heat the oil over medium. When hot, fry the chiles, three or four pieces at a time,
flipping them constantly with tongs until their interior side has changed to a lighter color, about 20 or 30 seconds total frying time. As they
are done, remove them to a separate large bowl, being careful to drain as much fat as possible back into the pot.
4. Cover the toasted chiles with hot tap water and let re-hydrate 30 minutes, stirring frequently to ensure even soaking.
5. Remove any stray chile seeds left in the fat. With the pot still over medium heat, fry the garlic and almonds, stirring regularly, until browned
(the garlic should be soft), about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove to the tomatillo bowl, draining as much fat as possible back into the pot.
6. Add the raisins to the hot pot. Stir for 20 or 30 seconds, until they’ve puffed and browned slightly. Scoop them out, draining as much fat as
possible back into the pot, and add to the tomatillos. Set the pan aside.
7. To the tomatillo mixture, add the cinnamon, black pepper, anise, cloves, plantain and chocolate. Add 2 cups water and stir to combine.
8. Taste the chile soaking liquid: if it’s not bitter, discard all abut 6 cups of the liquid. (if you’re short, add water to make up the shortfall).
If bitter, use 6 cups water. Scoop half of the chiles into a blender jar, pour in half of the soaking liquid (or water) and blend to a smooth puree.
9. Press through a medium-mesh strainer into a large bowl; discard the bits of skin and seeds that don’t pass through the strainer. Repeat with the remaining chiles.
10. Return the soup pot to medium heat. When hot, pour in the chile puree—it should sizzle sharply and, if the pan is sufficiently hot, the mixture should never stop boiling.
Stir every couple of minutes until the chile puree has darkened and reduced to the consistency of tomato paste, about a half hour.
11. In two batches, blend the tomatillo mixture as smoothly as possible (add water if needed), then strain it in to the large bowl that contained the chiles.
When the chile paste has reduced, add the tomatillo mixture to the pot and cook, stirring every few minutes until considerably darker and thicker, 15 to 20 minutes. Simmer.
12. Add the broth to the pot and briskly simmer the mixture over medium to medium-low heat for about 2 hours for all the flavors to come together and mellow.
13. Taste and season with salt.
Directions for the Pico de Gallo
1. Combine ingredients and reserve.
To serve:
1. Season meat with salt and pepper, in a large sauté pan add oil, and sear meat over high heat for two minutes on each side.
Finish in 450° oven until desired doneness. Remove from the oven and allowing to rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve with migas
and mole garnish with pico de gallo.
