Peruvian Aji Verde Sauce

When I worked in New York City I used to have lunch as much as possible at a place called Sophies. It's cheap, it's good, and it's different. The key to the whole restaurant was their slightly spicy green sauce they'd offer for most anything. There are a lot of people who have discussed this sauce on the internet. It's killer. I tried to make it many moons ago and failed miserably using green bell peppers. I tried it again today and came real close. It looks and is prepared like a pesto, though cilantro and peppers are the key. Normally I don't go lightly on things like garlic and onion, but too much of either will ruin this sauce. It needs just a touch. Put all these in the blender and puree it all. It's great with rice, chicken, pork or most anything.

3/4 cup of cilantro leaves

1/3 cup olive oil

one garlic clove

2 jalapeno peppers (stemmed and seeded to taste)

1/4 of one green onion

dash of lime juice

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

salt and pepper

I'm going to add Cotija Cheese next time. I think the Cotija is what made the Sophies' version slightly whiter in color. Cotija is salty, which is something to keep in mind.

Black beans and rice with mojo marinated onions

I'm not one normally for vegetarian meals, but this is one I like: black beans and rice with sliced raw onion marinated in mojo, which requires:

1/3 cup olive oil
1 orange
1 lime
1 lemon
4 garlic cloves chopped
ground cumin
oregano

To make the marinade, I heated up the olive oil over medium heat and cooked the garlic about 90 seconds. I wouldn't even call it cooking, just trying to extract some of the flavor. I then combined the oil with the juice of one orange, one lemon and one lime and mixed in the cumin and oregano and let the onions marinate in there a couple hours. The marinade takes some of the punch out of the raw onion aspect, and I then just topped them over some black beans and rice, and garnished with a fair bit of fresh cilantro. The extra marinade is good for pork chops as well, which I think work best grilled, and from experience I do not recommend marinating the chops excessively -- just a couple of hours.

Rice with cilantro and lime.

I tried Marascada for the third time and it was indeed the charm. I revised my recipe. It takes longer to make, but is no more difficult and completely rocks. I'm doing all kinds of cooking given that I have access to real ingredients for the first time in a while.

Chipotle is a fabulous Mexican chain restaurant out here. I inquired and got the simple scoop on how to make the delicous Mexican rice they serve.

Cook 1 cup basmatti rice according to directions.
Squeeze in juice from one lime
Add lots of cilantro
Stir.

That's it. Simple and good. There is a green hot sauce Cuban style I used to eat over rice and beans at a place called Sophies in New York that is my next project.