It's been 13 years since Pasqual's executive chef and founder Katharine Kagel published
Café Pasqual's Cookbook
, the volume that gave us the secrets to Pasqual's
huevos motuleños
, Mexican hot chocolate and
pollo pibil
with saffron rice. For her second book, Kagel chose to do something more meaningful than a straightforward cookbook. "I really wanted to show people the inside of Pasqual's and all the people who make it work," she tells SFR. Kagel isn't one of those cooks who slaves in solitude over her stove; she can't be. The restaurant's 51 employees all have to
work their hardest to cook and serve breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week.
It is the cooks at Pasqual's, past and present, who get much-deserved credit here, as Kagel shows off the recipes they've perfected at the restaurant. The present crew of mostly New Mexican, Mexican and Central American guys can be seen beaming from the pages of this 176-page book that is full of beautiful photos.
Chef Kagel's new book,
Cooking with Café Pasqual's
($29.95, hardcover, Ten Speed Press) will be in stores soon. In the meantime, you can enjoy these two cool summer recipes, then order the book straight from the source at
.
Andalusian White Gazpacho
This white gazpacho can surprise the uninitiated who think that a gazpacho must have tomatoes to qualify for the title. The word gazpacho means "soaked bread," which serves as the thickener for this version. Andalusia is located in the south of Spain, which is blazing hot in the summer. This recipe, when well chilled, provides the perfect antidote.
Serves 6
7 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic
2 ounces blanched almonds, plus additional toasted almonds, for garnish
1 cup bread pieces, crusts removed
3 tablespoons manzanilla sherry or dry white wine
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup ice cubes
¼ pound green seedless grapes, washed, plus ¼ pound, cut in half, for garnish
1 teaspoon salt
Edible flowers, for garnish (optional)
1) Place all ingredients, except the garnishes, into the container of a blender and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust for garlic or salt additions.
2) Chill until cold and serve garnished with toasted almonds, cut seedless grapes and edible flowers.
Shrimp Boats with Guacamole and Chips
These cleverly designed little banana leaf pleated boats of shrimp, guacamole and chips come
from chef Napoleon Lopez, who cooked evenings at the Café for more than 15 years. He brought this marvelous recipe from his hometown in El Salvador. These are terrific individual starter tastes, mixing the sweetness of shrimp and guacamole with the smoky heat of chipotle and chile powder.
Serves 6
2 chipotle chiles en adobo
½ cup water
¼ cup medium-hot ground red chile powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
½ teaspoon kosher salt
18 large shrimp, peeled (tails intact) and deveined
2 cups vegetable oil
12 fresh corn tortillas, cut into quarters
1 pinch sea salt
6 banana leaves, thawed and cut into 5-inch by 11-inch rectangles
3 cups guacamole
1) Place the chiles en adobo, water, chile powder, olive oil, lime juice and kosher salt into a blender and puree until smooth. Put the shrimp into a nonreactive medium-sized bowl and pour the marinade over them. Stir to coat the shrimp evenly, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.
2) Place the vegetable oil into a deep, straight-sided large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the oil to 360° F. Fry the cut tortillas until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with sea salt and set aside.
3) Preheat a charcoal or gas grill. Start preparing the banana leaf boats by cutting 1 dozen ½-inch by 5-inch strips for tying the ends of the banana leaf boats. Place the 5-inch by 11-inch cut leaves the long way in front of you. Take one end of the leaf and pleat it lengthwise. Gather the end nearest you and tie it by wrapping the tie strip twice around the end of the "canoe," then make a knot. Turn the other end toward you and repeat. Open up the pleated leaf to make a canoe-shaped boat. Repeat to make the fleet.
4) Remove the shrimp from the marinade and grill over high heat, turning once with tongs, until the shrimp are bright pink and no longer translucent in appearance. Do not overcook, because they will dry out and be tough. Let cool.
5) Place ½ cup of guacamole into each boat and poke in 3 shrimp tails so they stand upright. Place 4 fried corn tortillas between the shrimp and put each boat on individual serving plates. Serve immediately with a scattering of the remaining chips alongside the canoes.
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.
