Fantastic food and entertaining reading
“Some Like it hot” by Clifford A. Wright is simply a fantastic book.
Commonly we find cook books with obscure ingredients and few recipes that sound appealing. This is not one of those books. Some of the ingredients may not be available at your local grocery. However, he lists numerous substitutes and resources for obtaining the desired ingredients for those items that may be harder to find locally. The book is structured primarily by main ingredients or courses and also includes heat level indicators on each recipe heading.
Simply put, a book with approachable recipes that will put the zing back in your meals.
As a special treat, the author has given us permission to share one of our favorite recipes from the book.
Red Kidney Bean and Quinoa Salad (makes 4 servings), by permission of the author.
This Peruvian salad, called ensalada de quinua y frejoles rojos, uses the famous plant of the Incas, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), an annual herb native to Andean Peru and Bolivia whose seeds are made into bread or cooked as a grain as in this dish. It is a member of the goosefoot family, as is spinach, and its leaves are often used in the same way. Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wa) is also used in the making of the local chicha beer. This salad makes a nice accompaniment to many dishes and is also excellent as an appetizer.
Ingredients
1 cup (about 1/2 pound) dried red kidney beans
1 teaspoon salt, or more to your taste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fresh corn kernels
3/4 cup (about 6 ounces) quinoa
1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped fresh yellow chiles (aji amarillo) or yellow guero chiles or 2 teaspoons very finely chopped habanero chiles
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
3 tablespoons finely chopped celery
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1. Place the red kidney beans in a medium-size saucepan and cover water by several inches. Bring to a boil, salt well, then cook until tender, about 1 1/4 hours. Drain and transfer to a large bowl while still hot and toss with the vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper.
2. Bring another medium-size saucepan of water to a boil and cook the corn until tender. Drain, cool, and toss with the beans.
3. Place the quinoa in a strainer and rinse it well. Bring a medium-size sauce pan of salted water to a boil, then cook the quinoa for 10 minutes. Drain through a strainer and rinse. Place the strainer over a saucepan of boiling water, making sure the quinoa doesn’t touch the water. Cover the quinoa with a kitchen towel, place a large lid over the towel, and steam for 10 minutes. Remove from the saucepan and let it cool.
4. Transfer the quinoa to the bowl with the beans and corn and toss with the red pepper, chiles, coriander, celery, lemon juice, olive oil, and cumin. Taste and add more salt if desired. Serve at room temperature.