Raine's Nachos with Chorizo, Refried Beans, and Raw Cheese

By one of the Boise Co-op's favorite members, Raine Saunders, who generously offered to let us re-post it from her awesome website Agriculture Society. Please check it out: It's a goldmine of great info. 

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever stop trying to top myself with the most irresistible healthy fast-food. I haven’t really eaten fast food in years, but I used to eat it a lot when I was a young adult.

I couldn’t help myself…I’d been craving chorizo all day and when I got to the store tonight, I was on a mission to find some good, local fare. I scored a nice package of it from the butcher counter and kept thinking of the frozen lamb and chicken I had at home, which was going to have to wait for another night since it wouldn’t be thawed out in time for dinner (I was thinking Paella).

But I had to do something amazing with that chorizo. So I went home and looked around on the Internet for inspiration. I thought about frying it up with some butter and garlic and some onions and bell peppers, maybe some home-made red sauce. That sounded good…but that wasn’t quite what I craved. Then I found this great recipe by Emeril for chorizo nachos. Oh my gosh, yes…that was it!

These were amazing and they disappeared fast…here’s our version of this recipe…it was SO worth it!

Ingredients:

• 3 Chorizos, pan fried in garlic and cumin
• 2-3 cloves of Garlic
• Sprouted Corn Tortillas, cut into fourths and fried in coconut oil or tallow (we used about 10)
• 1-2 cups of soaked and cooked Beans of your choice, then refried in 2-3 tablespoons of bacon drippings, Salt to taste
• 2 cups of Monterey Jack Cheese (we used raw cheese)
• Sliced yellow or white Onion
• Sour Cream
• Salsa (we used local salsa), or fresh Tomatoes or homemade Pico de Gallo (those weren’t in season for us)
• Salt
• Cumin
• Chili Powder
• Butter

For recipes like this, I don’t really measure, I just add spices and seasonings until I like the way it tastes. This made just enough for two adults and one child.

  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large pan or skillet, heat some butter and add minced garlic to sautee. Cook the chorizo with garlic and add cumin, stirring and turning periodically, over medium-high heat until the sausage is browned and the fat is rendered.

3. While chorizo is cooking, in another pan melt coconut oil on medium heat. Place the quartered tortillas in the pan and allow them to fry about 1 minute on each side, turning with tongs. Take out of the pan with tongs and place on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the extra oil. Set chips aside when done frying.

 4. Heat beans up in a pan on medium-low heat and add bacon drippings (we store ours in the refrigerator, so they are hardened). Allow them to melt a bit by stirring them. Add chili powder and a bit of cumin into the beans (I just added to taste).

5. When the drippings have melted into the beans, mash them into the beans and mix them thoroughly. Add a bit of water if beans are thickening, as you will want to be able to pour them easily on the nachos when they are ready to go in the oven. Turn down to low heat.

6. Grate the cheese and slice up the onions and set aside.

7. Remove chorizo from pan when cooked through and drain on paper towels. Cut chorizo into small bits to top on nachos.

8. Get an oven plate or large oven-safe dish and place chips on the bottom. Add layers of beans, chorizo, and cheese. You can also alternate layers of chips, beans, chips, chorizo, cheese. I think they cook better with the main ingredients on top. Add sliced onions after cheese. Place in oven and heat until cheese melts – approximately 10 minutes.

9. Serve and enjoy!

Drew's Freestyle Ham

Drew Case from our Tech Department is famous for his Freestyle Ham recipe-- and for good reason. Deceptive in its simplicity, Drew's Freestyle Ham requires just one ingredient. Drew refuses to disclose the temperature and timing required to bake his ham, as he feels that imposing such restrictions would remove the "freestyle" element for which this recipe is renowned. However, please feel free to email him with any and all questions you might have about his Freestyle Ham, or any other topic in the entire world that you'd like to discuss. He can be reached at drew_c@boisecoop.com.

Drew's Freestyle Ham

Ingredients:

Ham

Instructions:

1. Buy Ham (at the Boise Co-op)

2. Bake Ham

3. Eat Ham


Thank you, Drew, for the effort you put forth in compiling this information, and the willingness to share it with the world.

Stuffed Tenderloin with Wine Sauce

A Note from Sylvie:
There are so many ways to simply cook beef tenderloin, but I think a delicious stuffed version will bring it right onto the holiday table. Your guests are sure to enjoy this version. Even though the recipe looks complicated and lengthy, it is not difficult and is actually quite quick to prepare. The port wine sauce adds a richness and is a great flavor complement for the beef.

Serves 6-8
1 (3 to 4 pound) Organic Beef Tenderloin, center cut
1 (10-ounce) package Frozen Spinach, thawed
8 ounces Soft Goat Cheese, room temperature
1 tsp chopped Rosemary
1 tsp chopped fresh Thyme
1 (12 ounce) jar Roasted Red Peppers, drained
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
1 Bunch fresh Basil Leaves
2 tsp Olive Oil
2 Shallots, minced
½ cup Port Wine
1¼  cup Beef Stock
1 tsp Cornstarch
1/3 cup Tomato Paste
1 tsp fresh Rosemary
¼ cup more Beef Stock
1 Tbsp butter, cold, cut into pieces

Butterfly the beef tenderloin by cutting the meat lengthwise down the center about two-thirds of the way through the beef. Open the beef tenderloin. Use a meat mallet to pound the meat to 3/4-inch thickness.

Place the spinach in a colander and squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible. Mix together the spinach, goat cheese, fresh rosemary, and thyme in a large bowl.

To stuff and roll the beef tenderloin, season the flattened beef with salt and freshly ground pepper. Place the red peppers on top of the beef leaving a 1-inch border. Place the fresh basil leaves on top of the red peppers.

Spread the cheese mixture on one end of the peppers and basil. The cheese will be at the center of the rolled beef. Roll the beef around the cheese end in a tight cylinder shape. Continue rolling jelly roll fashion, Use butcher string or bamboo skewers to secure beef roll. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large roasting pan over medium high heat. Add the beef tenderloin roll to the pan and quickly brown on all sides. Place the tenderloin on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in ¼  cup beef stock and set aside. Cook the shallots over medium high heat in the pan used to brown the beef. Cook until just soft. Add the port wine to the pan and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the remaining 1 cup beef stock and bring to a boil. Add the dissolved cornstarch and stir until thickened. Add the tomato paste and fresh rosemary. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the stuffed beef tenderloin from the pan and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes.

Remove the rack from the roasting pan. Place the roasting pan over medium high heat. Add ¼ cup of beef stock to the roasting pan to deglaze. Stir to loosen the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the port wine sauce to the roasting pan. Simmer for 2 minutes, Reduce the heat. Stir in the cold butter until just combined.

Cut the stuffed beef tenderloin into 1-inch slices. Pour the port wine sauce onto a dinner plate. Place a slice of beef on top of the sauce. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Adapted from homecooking.about.com