Several years ago the NY Times published a recipe by Alain Ducasse, in which he explained the process of making pasta using the technique for risotto (couldn’t find the link). Cooking pasta in stock in an uncovered pot really concentrates the flavors of the stock and produces a light but creamy sauce. I’ve used Ducasse’s recipe as a base many times to throw together an easy midweek meal using ingredients that I have on hand. Last night it was penne pasta with potatoes, sausage, and sage, served with the 2006 Flaherty. You can’t go wrong with potatoes and sage.

A note on leeks: I used to get so frustrated when a recipe called for just the white part of the leeks. That is often only about an inch at the base! I use the greens for stock, but it still seems like such a waste to not use the bulk of the stalk in the recipe. I have thus taken to including a lot of the pale green section of the leek along with the white part, and I have never had a problem with the end result. (My pictures are rather dark today. We moved our clocks back a week…

Merquén (or merkén) is a spice powder that has become popular in Chilean cooking in the last several years. It is a traditional ingredient in Mapuche cooking, but has only recently debuted on the broader Chilean food scene. It is made from the dried, smoked cacho de cabra pepper, which is quite hot. Cacho de cabra means goat’s horn, and the pepper is, indeed, long and curved, like a goat’s horn. Note that the word cacho is slang for another part of the anatomy in the Caribbean, which leads to some interesting mistranslations of the pepper’s name.

Merquén is usually a blend of the smoked pepper, oregano, cumin, and salt, but the rich smoky flavor and spicy hot (picante) pepper dominate. It is available at some Whole Foods stores and also online. If you can’t find it, you might try substituting chipotle powder, which is also smoked but has a different flavor profile.

For the tartar sauce, I start with a blender mayonnaise, season with merquén, and then add capers, pickle, and green onion.

I fried the fish in caper oil and garnished with fried capers. This is a trick I learned from John Ash—frying takes the bite out of the capers and leaves a nicely…

Saturday is fish day at our house, as that’s the day our local fishmonger has fresh fish. We don’t get a huge variety here, but there is usually a choice of Chilean salmon (farmed—ugh—so we’re off that), corvina (not, as many believe, Chilean sea bass; it’s actually a local variety officially know as—wait for it—corvina), giant squid (I really don’t get this—there are always slabs of squid in the market. Why?), merluza (hake), and my favorite, reineta (pomfret). Pomfret (in case you aren’t familiar with it) is a flounder-like flat fish, except the eyes don’t migrate. It is absolutely wonderful to cook with— a good sweet flavor, very forgiving if you overcook it, firm fleshed so it stays together, and generally amenable to everything but grilling. We eat a lot of reineta.

My kids are still in that pesky phase when all sauces are suspect. More than suspect, they’re scary. So I usually either poach or pan fry the fish very simply, and then serve some sort of sauce or condiment for Ed and I.

This cilantro pesto is a favorite. It is very strongly flavored with garlic, green olives, pickles, and vinegar, which provide a good tangy complement to the subtle…

One thing that took some getting used to is celebrating Christmas in summer. It just isn’t the same–and for years I would get homesick in June, when I wanted to see Christmas lights to brighten the oncoming winter. We’ve gotten used to celebrating despite the weather, but our family traditions are, well, a little untraditional.  Our Christmas tree is always a little thin (this just is not the climate for spruces). We serve dinner outside on the terrace. And for dessert, it’s peppermint chip ice cream. Santa is always kind enough to leave lots of candy canes, as we can’t buy them here in Chile. The flat side of a meat tenderizer quickly turns them into chips, and into the ice cream they go. Here’s the full recipe. The base is from Ben and Jerry.

Peppermint chip ice cream

2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup candy cane chips (from 5 or 6 medium-sized candy canes–the kind that are sold 12 to a box)

Whisk the eggs for one minute. Add the sugar and whisk for two more minutes, until the eggs turn light yellow in color. Add the cream, milk, and extract. Pour into an…

Avocados are a staple in Chile. We call them paltas, and they are sold by variety. Haas and Edranol are large, export-quality fruit, but we also get the local (and cheaper) de la Cruz (a smooth black skin, often stringy flesh) and Fuerte (so-called because it’s the most resistant to frost). My favorite is the Florentina, an elongated black-skinned variety that is only available for a short season in late winter (August).

Chileans put avocado on everything, including hotdogs. A hotdog with palta, tomato, and mayo (yes, mayo on a hotdog—it takes some getting used to) is called an Italiano, since it replicates the colors of the Italian flag. A completo comes with palta, tomato, mayo, and ketchup. Complete, indeed.

Paltas are also a popular condiment for hamburgers, and I must say, it is a treat. It’s become a Flaherty family tradition—a hamburger just isn’t a hamburger without mashed avocado.

Since I always have avocados in the fridge, at varying degrees of ripeness, I recently put together an avocado relish that really works nicely with just about everything—grilled chicken or steak, fish, burritos. The key is to use green avocados that are firm to the touch but not rock hard. If the avocado…

I’ve been mildly obsessed with Asian salads for a couple of months now. Temperatures are rising as spring segues into summer, and I really needed to branch out from my usual leftover-grilled-chicken salad.  So I started experimenting with Asian flavors—cilantro, ginger, fish sauce. This current version makes a lovely midweek meal: it’s light but satisfying, quick but flavorful. The kids get an abbreviated version, with the rice noodles dressed in soy braising liquid (always in my fridge), plain beef slices, and peas. The dressing is from Asian Wraps by Nina Simmonds (I love Nina Simmonds!), minus the sesame seeds.

For the beef, I use leftover grilled beef. Ed often grills a whole tri-tip or tenderloin on the weekend, which leaves us plenty for a second meal. I don’t specify an amount in the recipe, as I vary it depending on how much we have leftover. A good handful of sliced beef per salad is about right for a light meal. As for wine pairings, this salad is pretty forgiving, despite the strong flavors. The photo shows a 2007 Falernia Sauvignon Blanc, which complemented the Asian flavors nicely. On previous occasions, I’ve served this salad with a slightly chilled 2006 Flaherty, which worked…

Sra. Juana is our nana. She’s been with us since 1996, and she is a wonderful part of our family. She loves the kids (and they love her), she enjoys helping out in the garden, and she holds her own in the kitchen. If we have cilantro and ají (chili pepper) in the refrigerator, a pebre will likely materialize.

Pebre is the Chilean salsa (and in Chile, salsa refers to any sauce, not a Mexican-style salsa). It is used as a condiment for meats or a topping for bread (never chips—except when gringos are around). It’s different from Mexican salsa, in that the ingredients are slightly different, and it isn’t as chunky (though I suppose not all Mexican salsas are chunky…).

Chile’s ají cristal is a fairly mild pepper, so Juana usually adds two to the pebre. It has a very clean, green flavor with a bit of heat. Serrano would probably be a good substitute, but you’ll need to adjust the quantity to taste. Juana chops everything by hand and then combines it, but when I make it I just throw everything in the food processor.

Sra. Juana’s pebre

1 bunch cilantro, minced (about a cup)
2 ají cristal, minced
1 small tomato, peeled, seeded, and…

I’ve always enjoyed cooking (I was the designated salad chef in the family from about 12 on), but I never really had much motivation to pursue it seriously. After graduating from college, I moved to Sonoma County, California—a food lover’s paradise. It was so easy to, say, stop off at the local pasta shop on the way home from work, picking up fresh pasta and a gourmet sauce to throw together for an easy meal. Weekends were frequently dedicated to sampling the local restaurants, ranging from the lowly (but scrumptious) taco truck to the haughtiest of haute cuisine. Why cook?

Moving to Chile changed all that. My biggest initial hurdle was that I was a vegetarian.  On my first outing to a restaurant I ordered a celery and avocado salad, envisioning a bed of greens with a variety of toppings among which were featured celery and avocado. What arrived at the table was a plate of celery strips topped with half an avocado, served with lemon, vegetable oil, and salt on the side for dressing. Not much of a lunch. On my second trip to a restaurant, I ordered an ensalada chilena, thinking the national salad must surely be more elaborate…