What's Cooking (Take Three!)

However from afar it seems like Turkish and Mexican are so different they might as well be different herbs, so I did order some from Penzeys recently.

They are different herbs. Turkish oregano is Origanum vulgare--common European oregano that happens to come from Turkey. It's what's sold as "oregano" on the supermarket spice rack.

Mexican oregano is Lippia graviolens, a different plant entirely.

I have always used common oregano and have never been able to find Mexican oregano on the shelves of local markets. I ran out of oregano recently and while shopping at Lull Farm in Hollis NH I discovered--side by side on the shelf--Turkish and Mexican oregano, packed by the same spice company. I bought a bottle of each. The two spices look and smell quite different.

Any particular recipes out there that showcase Mexican oregano?

-Paul W.

Paul, I use it when making tacos, fajitas, some soups with a Spanish flair, scrambled eggs when I make them with Hatch Chiles, burritos, and even on short ribs sometimes,

Tonight I'm making stir-fried bacon with Sichuan bean sauces (chao larou). This is the same dish as twice-cooked pork except with bacon instead of fresh pork belly. Also, the bacon is stir-fried as an initial step rather than boiled.

Traditionally this dish is made with fresh garlic leaves, but since these are hard to find both Fuchsia Dunlop and Taylor Holliday use baby leeks instead. I found some fresh sprouted garlic leaves at Lull Farm and so I'm going to make the dish with them for the first time.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

There are a lot of different oreganos and I do find some of them harsh. The only one I grow is golden oregano. In fact, my original plant was killed off by a harsh winter three years ago and I only just replaced it--wasn't easy finding a starter. It has a very floral scent and is somewhat citrussy. I absolutely love it pureed into a salad dressing. Though it's called oregano, it bears no resemblance to oregano as I otherwise know it--it's very much it's own thing.

Many years ago we ordered a plain cheese pizza in a very nice Italian restaurant. To my surprise (and delight!) it came with fresh oregano strewn over the top, probably added late in the bake. It was absolutely fantastic. Should be done all the time, but I've otherwise never known it to be.

Many years ago we ordered a plain cheese pizza in a very nice Italian restaurant. To my surprise (and delight!) it came with fresh oregano strewn over the top, probably added late in the bake. It was absolutely fantastic. Should be done all the time, but I've otherwise never known it to be.

Sounds good. I have no problem cooking with fresh oregano or marjoram. Love the flavor, when handled properly.

The stir-fried bacon with Sichuan bean sauces was definitely better using garlic scapes rather than baby leeks.

-Paul W.

Funny, I find fresh oregano kinda bland; dried suits me better (of the various kinds). Whereas I love the mysterious flowery note in marjoram.

Jeff, you are the first person I have heard say something about the flowery note from Marjoram. As I said in a post above, I love it in tomato, and bread salads.

[Jenise]

Paul, to introduce you to Mexican oregano I would highly recommend a dish I know you'd love: chile verde, aka pork and green chile stew. Recipes abound--choose any--and load in the Mexican oregano. I make my own but don't use a recipe so can't even exactly share my version with you. But simply, let's say you were going to cook 2 lbs of meat: cut pork shoulder into manageble large bite sized pieces, season with salt, toss with flour, brown in a dutch oven. Add chopped garlic. To the pot then add meat broth to cover (half and half chicken and beef broth makes a perfect broth for pork undetectable from the original), a generous amount of Mexican oregano (about 2 tsp, crush in hand), ground cumin (maybe 1 tsp) and Hatch type green chiles, canned (some good ones come in jars these days) or fresh (pre roasted). Simmer for about an hour. Use a slurry of flour and broth to thicken to desired consistency, serve over rice cooked with garlic slivers and olive oil. For extra points, get some poblano (same as pasilla) chiles, char them over a hob on your gas stove, throw in a plastic bag to steam. Now peel the chiles but reserve the charred skin. Chop the skin and add that to your stew, then sliver the chile flesh, sans seeds, and lightly marinate them with olive oil, vinegar, salt and oregano.

To serve, put rice in the bottom of a bowl, scoop over the stew, then top with the marinated chiles. I promise you'll love this.

[Jenise]

Last night's homemade sushi was outf--ing standing. The frozen sashimi salmon I bought at Costco to try wasn't so great (it had the texture of previously-frozen, which I hate) all by itself, but my rice was perfect, my dipping sauce dazzling, and with the addition of red shiso leaf it was a "why don't I do this all the time?" kind of dinner. Perfect for sitting outside on a lovely evening where a breeze came in and blew all the smoke back to Canada.

Tonight: lamb flank steak. I kid you not, found some at the local co-op. Tiny little things, about 2" by 5", there are four in the package I bought weighing just over half a pound. Will probably marinate then load on skewers for grilling, but I haven't decided my best approach yet.

Jeff, you are the first person I have heard say something about the flowery note from Marjoram. As I said in a post above, I love it in tomato, and bread salads.

I had never used it, until recently, because it was always described to me as 'basically like oregano'. I was also told it was more a European thing than an American thing, for what that's worth. Anyway, I finally gave it a try!

I had a similar experience with savory. You only ever see it in soup and it is also described as 'basically like oregano'. And that is moderately true but there's a bit of sage-iness in there that keeps it interesting.

Is that Summer Savory? I grew that once and as I recall it did not survive the winter. I put it in the cavity of roast chicken and used it in lamb meatballs. Some soups too. I should try it again.

Thanks for the recipe outline, Jenise. That's enough for me to go on. Fresh Hatch chiles aren't available in the supermarkets around here. I've never shopped for jarred or canned chiles before; perhaps they are available locally in that form. I see that there are online sources for them that ship to NH.

Hatch also is a brand name for a company that sells a wide variety of chile-based products. What you're talking about, I'm sure, is the chiles grown in the Hatch Valley of New Mexico.

Chef Carey's Chef on Fire has a recipe similar to yours, except that he prepares the meat separately (as carnitas, shredded) and combines that with achile verde sauce at the end.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Jars of pretty green Hatch (or Hatch type) chiles are now widely available, even markets up here carry them and we're as much an outpost as New Hampshire is, it's something new in the last couple years since green chiles have become so popular. They may have shown up and you just haven't seen them. (But then again....) And they're better than the Ortega anaheim chiles in a can or the Hatch brand.

Funny, after mentioning this to you I went off to do errands and got flagged down by a neighbor--did I want some poblano chiles they'd grown? SURE! Only four, but wow did they fill my car with intoxicating green chile aromas in the 30 minutes I drove them around. Now I must have chile verde soon, too.

[Jenise]

Tonight: Ukrainian style Chicken Kiev made from ground chicken.

Is that Summer Savory? I grew that once and as I recall it did not survive the winter. I put it in the cavity of roast chicken and used it in lamb meatballs. Some soups too. I should try it again.

Yes. It stands up to medium-long cooking and is classic with bean soups particularly.

[Jenise]

Didn't make the Chicken Kiev as planned, started too late to allow time for freezing. So instead we had Cacio y Pepe, using parmesan only, tri-color spaghetti and finishing each plate with black garlic. Divine!

I just bought a 1 lb jar of Roasted Hatch Chiles chopped. The reviews were great. Got direct from Hatch Co. as Amazon wanted over $14 for the jar, and I paid $9.00. They had lots of other interesting offerings, as well. I used to buy about 10 lbs every year and hubby would grill them and I'd freeze them. Since it is only me now, I do not want to go through all that anymore. So am hoping that the jared ones are decent.
https://ziahatchchileco.com/

I found some jars of roasted Hatch chiles at Whole Paycheck. I'll try making chile verde as soon as I finish the current batch of leftovers.

-Paul W.

Did you open a jar and have a taste? I usually cannot wait to do that!

A Greek Pasta Salad tonight with Conchiglie pasta, cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, cucumber, onion, garlic, parsley, feta cheese, and a dressing made with olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh lemon, oregano, dill, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, pepper, and served at room temp. A flank steak will go on the grill pan, after marinating since yesterday morning in orange muscat champagne vinegar, soy sauce, garlic salt, and bold black pepper. My usual sheet pan of roasted veggies has Brussels Sprouts, cauliflower, shallots, purple bell pepper, and whole garlic cloves, all seasoned with rosemary sea salt, shallot pepper, and olive oil. I will drizzle with fresh lime juice after it comes out of the oven.

Corned Beef and Cabbage tonight. I was having a craving for this and decided to brine a brisket and cook up the fixins. My brother and his wife are on their way to help me eat it.

[Jenise]

Dan, that sounds perfect. Although I hate to see summer go, I'm actually looking forward to cooler fall days and the kind of cooking that is my favorite season. Food like corned beef and cabbage fits right in. And I'm impressed that you brine your own.

And I'm impressed that you brine your own.

I've been doing that for many years now. It isn't hard, it just takes planning.