COOKING IN CABO | travel + food

My husband and I celebrated our 5^th wedding anniversary by spending five glorious days in Los Cabos, Mexico at the Las Ventanas al Paraiso resort.  For our last day in paradise, my husband booked the Saturday morning cooking class conducted by the resort’s executive chef, Fabrice Guisset.

We stumbled out of our room and walked the short 2-mintue walk to the open-air demonstration kitchen located in the property’s beautiful and fragrant herb garden where we were greeted by a very pleasant sous chef who offered us chilled champagne (my kind of cooking class).

Chef Fabrice Guisset, who as the name would suggest, is originally from Avignon France but has spent over a decade in Mexico absorbing the culture and becoming one of the most celebrated chefs in the country.  He found his way to Las Ventanas in January of 2007.  Chef Guisset was charming and witty.  He engaged us as sun kissed travelers, cooking students, and food lovers in a way that was disarming and which created a wonderful energy.  The whole experience confirmed my long held belief that stepping just a bit out of your normal “vacation routine” always makes for the very best memories.

As I watched Chef Guisset walk around the garden smelling and picking the peppers and herbs for the dishes he was making with us, I was reminded that the most important part of cooking is to keep it simple… use whatever fresh ingredients you have right in front of you.

Needless to say, everything was absolutely delicious.  Last week, the husband and I whipped out our notes from our cooking class, cracked open a couple of cervezas, and did our best to reconstruct the memories and fantastic meal we had with Chef Guisset.  Bon Appetit!

Menu

Yucatan Sea Bass Ceviche

Fresh Guacamole

Chipotle Chicken Soft Tacos

Yucatan Sea Bass Ceviche (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1.25 lb fresh sea bass fillet

1/4 red onion

2 ripe roma tomatoes

1 cucumber

6 oz fresh squeezed lime juice

1 habanero chili

1 bunch of cilantro

1 oz virgin olive Oil

salt to taste

 

Prep:

1. Cut sea bass into small cubes (half inch square) and marinate in the fresh squeezed lime juice for 45 minutes to 1 hour

2. Chop the cilantro and set aside

3. Dice the habanero chili and set aside (be careful, these little guys are very hot so you may want to start with just half.  Also, Chef Guisset recommended wearing gloves when handling the habanero)

4. Dice all remaining vegetables the same size

5. Take the sea bass out from the lime juice and drain off liquid using a colander

6. Mix all ingredients (fish, veggies, habanero and cilantro) in large mixing bowl

7. Drizzle olive oil over the top

8. Season with salt to taste

9. Serve in a desert dish with thick and crispy tortilla chips on the side

 

Fresh Guacamole (serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 avocados

1 medium sized white onion

1 ripe tomato

1 bunch of cilantro

2 chile serranos

1 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

salt to taste

Prep:

1. Cut the avocados in half and remove the seeds

2. Slice into big cubes (bite sized)

3. Chop the onion, tomato chili and cilantro

4. Mix all ingredients together and season with salt and the lime juice

5. Serve with thick and crispy tortilla chips

 

It seems simple, right?  Other than using all fresh ingredients, especially avocados, here’s the trick… do not over work the avocado.  According to Chef Guisset, the secret to his guacamole is the combination of whole pieces of avocado plus slightly mashed avocado and other fresh ingredients.  Every bite should have a slightly different taste and texture.  Basically, the avocado is the star of the show and everything else is there to add layers of freshness and flavor.

Chipotle Chicken Tacos (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts

2 large yellow onions

2 chorizo links

1 chipotle pepper

2 oz adobo sauce

1 can refried black beans

8 small corn tortillas

1 head romaine lettuce

olive oil

sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

 

Prep:

1. Clean and cook chicken breasts.  I like to use the slow cooker with cumin, salt, pepper and some Corona beer for at least 4 hours.  Shred and set aside

2. After chicken is done, slice onions into fajita style strips and cook in Olive Oil over medium heat in a large skillet until translucent and tender

3. While the onions cook, remove the meat from the chorizo sausage casings and cook thoroughly in small skillet

4. Add shredded (pulled) chicken and chorizo to the onions in the large skillet

5. Chop up the chipotle pepper and add to the skillet

6. Stir in Adobo sauce until all ingredients are mixed thoroughly together

7. Add salt and pepper to taste

8. Shred romaine lettuce to use as a garnish

9. Heat black beans in a small pot

10. Serve chicken mixture on warm small corn tortillas with a thin layer of the black beans on the bottom.  Top with some shredded lettuce and a dollop of sour cream plus a side of fresh guacamole

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{lime photo sourced from Wikimedia Commons | ceviche photo sourced from Las Ventanas al Paraiso}

 

 

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