The climate is near-perfect;
warm and dry with some showers in winter and warm with very low
humidity in summer as Rancho La Puerta is only about 25 miles from
the Pacific Ocean.
The
menus have the freshest-of-the-fresh seafood from the port of Ensenada,
Baja California, from a
fishermen’s market where the local boats come in daily, allowing the
Ranch chefs to prepare spectacular seafood dishes five times week.
Their new school, La Cocina
Que Canta (The Kitchen That
Sings), opens in early summer, 2007.
Classrooms and kitchen have a wonderful outlook onto patios and cantera-stone
fountains, and carpets of brilliant geraniums and wisteria blossoms.
Hands-on classes will be followed by delicious meals and the school will
offer
an à la carte program of
shorter, individual classes.
Rancho La Puerta’s culinary learning
traditions go back 66 years. Guests in the early days spent an obligatory
day or two helping in the kitchen. Vegetables needed preparation. Sprouted
grains were ground for the spa’s special crackers that were baked in the
sun. Deborah Szekely their founder was there throughout the many decades, often teaching
classes herself on how to “de-calorize” favorite recipes from home.
Today, Deborah and her daughter Sarah Livia
Brightwood, two true spa visionaries, have drawn from their knowledge
of the great hacienda kitchens of Mexico and Latin America to create La
Cocina.
Recent trips to World Heritage Sites in Oaxaca, Michoacan, and
the famous village of San Miguel de Allende north of Mexico City, have
inspired the school’s pastiche of sun-washed walls, hand-hewn open-beam
ceilings, ancient doors, hand-painted tiles, and well-fitted stonework.
Sarah Livia has designed the building and grounds so that windows and
doors will gather breathtaking views of the surrounding garden, and the
scents of lavender, rosemary and lemon verbena will be a visitor’s
constant reminder that the riches and spirit of the earth should be a
central part of every life and the food that sustains it.
And, of course, the best-of-the-best culinary
equipment will facilitate hands-on demonstrations and cooking sessions
where everyone learns the techniques behind a great
“Mexican-Mediterranean” meal before sitting down to their
fresh-from-the-garden feast.
La
Cocina Que Canta’s
new lead Teaching Chef is Jesús González. Their
famous guacamole, a wonderful Mexican Papaya Salad on Baby Greens with Pepitas
and Roasted Cumin Orange Dressing, enjoy their Ranch Reuben Sandwich with Portobello Mushrooms.
Can guamole be delicious and low-fat? Yes if it's made according to
this 'secret' recipe from the famed spa "Rancho La Puerta"
in Mexico.
RANCHO LA
PUERTA'S AZTEC GUACAMOLE
True guacamole has no
thickeners and no
blending, just chunky mashed avocados (perfectly ripe of course!) with a
dash of lime juice (preferably the Mexican limon that looks like a hard
round green golf ball), sea salt and perhaps some chopped onion and
jalapeño.
It is high-calorie, but the 'good' calories. This valuable fruit with
its natural oils is a welcome part of any nutritionally balanced
meal.
The secret
to make low calorie is to simply add vegetables
such as broccoli, asparagus or edamame mashed with avocadoes. The texture is perfect!
While tomatoes, cilantro, onion and jalapeño
peppers add a depth of flavor.
10
ounces broccoli flowers
1
medium avocado, pit removed, scooped out and chopped
1
lime, juiced
sea salt
½
cup cilantro, chopped
½
ripe tomato, seeded and diced
½
small yellow onion, finely diced
½
small jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely diced
(Makes
2 cups)
Parboil broccoli flowers for 7 minutes and then drain under running cold
water. In a food processor bowl fitted with a sharp blade, combine broccoli and avocado. Pulse very briefly. Add lime juice and
a pinch ofsalt and pulse again to blend, keeping as chunky as desired (authenticity
requires some chunkiness!). Add cilantro, tomato, onion and jalapeño and pulse about 3 times.
Do not over-process the guacamole.
Variations:
Instead of broccoli, you may use 10 ounces of edamame 'beans' or asparagus spears (parboiled 3-5 minutes and then
drained under running cold water).
MEXICAN
PAPAYA SALAD ON BABY GREENS WITH PEPITAS AND ROASTED CUMING ORANGE
DRESSING
For the
salad:
4 cups mixed baby greens
2 cups papaya slices
2 navel oranges, peeled and cut in
wedges
3 tbsp pepitas (pumpkin
seeds), toasted
red onion rings, 3 separated rings
per plate
cilantro sprigs for garnish
Roasted
Cumin Orange Dressing:
2 tsp cumin seed, roasted
and ground
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 medium shallot, minced
¼ cup red wine vinegar or sherry
vinegar
1 tbsp agave syrup
3 tbsp extra virgin olive
oil
3 tbsp chopped cilantro
sea salt and freshly ground black
pepper
½ Jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
(Serves 6)
In a blender cup or processor bowl
combine all ingredients for the dressing. Blend until smooth.
Makes 1 ½ cup salad dressing. Can
be refrigerated for 3 or 4 days.
To assemble the salad:
Toss the baby greens with 1/3 cup
of the dressing. Arrange the papaya, oranges,
pepitas and onion over the greens. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of dressing
over the fruit and garnish with a few cilantro sprigs.
RANCH
REUBEN SANDWICH WITH PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM
2 slices whole grain
bread
½ ounce Swiss cheese, about 2
slices
1 portobello mushroom, stem and
gills removed
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp water
½ tsp olive oil
1/3 cup sauerkraut
2 ounces tofu or tempeh
4 slices tomato (optional)
(Serves 1)
In a small sauté pan, braise the portabello in the vinegar, water and
olive oil. Cover and cook on low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Keep
warm. Lightly toast
the bread. Place a slice of cheese on each side of the bread and place it
under the broiler until melted. Place cooked mushroom on one piece of toast and top with
tofu or tempeh. Return to the broiler briefly to
heat the tempeh. Spread the sauerkraut over the tempeh or tofu and top
with tomato and remaining piece of toast.
