In this video from MSNBC, Chef Andres shares 3 recipes using canned ingredients, a  White Asparagus Gazpacho, Chickpea and Tuna Salad, and Artichokes with Clams and Jamon Serrano, a dry-cured Spanish ham.

PS:  We asked the chef what the best or his favorite brand of canned tuna was, and he said that he always uses Bonito Del Norte tuna packed in Spanish olive oil. For garbanzo beans, aka chickpeas, he prefers the Goya Brand.

Read on for the recipes

Chickpea and Tuna Salad
Serves 2

• 1 medium ripe plum tomato
• 1 14-ounce can of cooked chickpeas, drained
• .5 ounce shallot, peeled and minced
• 2 medium ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 quarter green bell pepper, seeded and cut into small cubes
• Half cucumber, peeled and cut into small cubes
• Sea salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil plus extra for garnish
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 9.15-ounce can of atun claro (tuna packed in olive oil)
DIRECTIONS
Grate one tomato to create a tomato puree. Set aside. In a bowl, combine the chickpeas, shallots, tomato, pepper, cucumber, olive oil and vinegar. Toss. Season with the sea salt. Spread grated tomato on the base of each plate. Top with the chickpea mixture. Remove chunks of the tuna from the can and place over top of the salad. Drizzle with olive oil. Serve.

Artichokes with Clams and Jamon Serrano
Serves 2

• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons of minced shallot
• 1 14-ounce can of artichokes
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon of minced parsley
• 12 clams
• 2 ounces jamon Serrano, diced
• Juice of quarter lemon
• Salt to taste
• More minced parsley to garnish
• Olive oil to drizzle over top
DIRECTIONS
Drain the artichokes and reserve the liquid. Add enough water to create one cup of liquid. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and shallots and cook for a minute. Add the artichokes and saute until the artichokes get a little color. Add the reserved artichoke water, the white wine and parsley. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Add the clams and cook for 2-3 minutes until the clams begin to open. Add the lemon juice. Salt to taste. Remove from the heat and place on platter. Sprinkle with diced ham and minced parsley. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Serve.

White Asparagus Gazpacho
Serves 4

• 2 8.8-ounce cans of premium white asparagus
• 1/2 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• Tips of the canned white asparagus
• Fresh white asparagus
• Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
• Maldon sea salt
• Fresh Spanish tarragon

DIRECTIONS
Drain the asparagus from the cans and reserve the liquid. Reserve the empty cans. Cut the tips off the asparagus and reserve.
Combine the asparagus, the liquid from the can, the olive oil, the vinegar and the salt in the blender. Puree until smooth. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Strain the mixture and place in the refrigerator to chill at least an hour.
Peel the fresh white asparagus and snap off the woody stems. Slice thinly using a mandolin.
Divide the asparagus tips amongst the four soup bowls and stand them up on the base of bowl. Divide the asparagus slices among the four bowls and place along the tips. Drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with Maldon salt and Spanish tarragon. Place the soup in a glass pitcher and pour table side.

In today’s chef recipe, she shares with us an a dessert recipe for Mexican Chocolate and Banana Empanadas, featuring Nestle’s delicious Abuelita Mexican chocolate.  Abuelita, if you haven’t tried it, is a yummy Mexican chocolate infused with cinnamon.  We found it in the Hispanic food section of our regular grocery store.

Mexican Chocolate and Banana Empanadas
Chef Lorena Garcia

12 (one 11.6-ounce package) frozen store-bought empanada dough discs, defrosted (These you should be able to find in most grocery stores, if not a Mexican grocer should have them. We used Goya brand.)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablets (90 grams each) NESTLÉ ABUELITA Chocolate, broken into pieces
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
3 small ripe bananas, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease a large baking sheet.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; reserve.
Heat the Abuelita chocolate and cream in small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is completely melted and smooth; remove from heat.  Beat cream cheese and melted Abuelita chocolate until mixed well.  Fold in chopped bananas.
Place 2 heaping tablespoons Abuelita mixture in center of each pastry disc. Wet edges with water; fold in half and crimp edges with fork. Place empanadas on prepared baking sheets; brush lightly with oil and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Serve warm with whipped cream.

If you partake in Twitter, you need to follow  Top Chef Master Rick Bayless aka @Rick_Bayless.   Why?  Because unlike several celebrity chefs, Rick actually “gets” social media.   It’s really Rick behind the tweets, not an underpaid PR intern simply spitting out nightly restaurant specials.  Bayless interacts and engages, answers follower questions, and often tweets restaurant recipes, despite the 140 character limitation.  The trouble with Twitter recipes is that they are uber short and can often lead to confusion.   Here are some general tips, 3/2 means one and a half, and a big T means tbsp, while little t in lower case means tsp (usually).  If in doubt, ask the chef, he may just help out.  In this case we’ll save you the trouble of the tricky interpretation and give you our best shot via translation.   Here are a few short and simple  recipes via Rick Bayless recently, and be sure to bookmark this post, as we are updating it monthly.  Enjoy!

Green chile chimichurri:  blend smooth 6 cloves of roasted garlic, 3 roasted serranos, 2 bunches of cilantro, 1/2c oil, 2tsp salt.  Add fresh lime when ready to serve.  Stores for weeks in the fridge with a film of oil in covered container.  Use in dressings, on pasta, pizza, ceviche, soup.  (When asked about the inclusion of cilantro stems, he tweeted that he cuts of the tough lower parts of the stems. )

Raw tomatillo salsa: coarsely puree 4 medium tomatillos, 1 clove of garlic, 2 serranos, a handful of cilantro, 4 tbsp of water, add salt. Use shortly after making.

Chipotle salsa: blend 1/2 # of roasted tomatillos, 3-4 cloves of roasted garlic, 2-3 canned chipotle peppers, and salt, add a little water. Can add onion(raw or roasted), cilantro.

Roasted tomatillo salsa:  coarsely blend 4 medium roasted tomatillos, 2 cloves of roasted garlic, 2 roasted serrano peppers, and a handful of cilantro. Stir in salt, 1/2 of a chopped small onion, and 4 tbsp of water.

Simple Guajillo Salsa:  toast 2 cleaned guajillos in medium heat oil for 20-30 seconds.   Blend with 4 roasted tomatillos, 3 cloves of roasted garlic, and 1/2 cup of water.  Add salt.

Guacamole with almonds and apricots from Topolo restaurant: mash avocados with roasted garlic , chopped cilantro, chopped serrano, lime. Stir in almond butter and chopped apricots.

Guacamole tip:  use white onions rather than red for a crisper, brighter flavor.

Pesto, in the food processor: 1/4 cup of toasted pinenuts, 3 blanched cloves of garlic, 2 cups of basil, 1/3 cup of olive oil, 1/4 cup of fresh goat cheese, 1 Tbsp of lime juice, 1/2 tsp of salt. Add 1/2 cups of the water that you boiled the pasta in, and 3/4 cup of Parmesan. This recipe is for 1 lb pasta portion.

Slow Cooker Black Beans: In slow-cooker: add beans, onion, garlic, bacon if desired, and water; don’t soak the beans beforehand; simmer til tender; add salt at the end.

Hickory House BBQ Sauce: 1 cup Heinz ketchup, 3/4 cup of water, 1 Tbsp vinegar, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 2 Tbsp Worchestire sauce, 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1-2 tsp of bbq spice, 1/4 tsp of black pepper; simmer for 1 hour.

ChocoFlan: First of all what is this? A classic Mexican dessert with flan and chocolate cake, smothered in caramel.  It took Rick three tweets to broadcast this recipe:

You will need a 10″ cake pan 3″ deep! First cover the bottom of the pan completely with 1 cup of cajeta. Beat 5 oz of butter, 1 cup + 2 Tbsp of sugar, 1 egg + 3 Tbsp of ground espresso; sift 1 and 2/3 cups of flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, 1/2 tsp of baking soda, 6 Tbsp of cocoa and add, alternating with 1 cup + 2 Tbsp of buttermilk.  Spread over cajeta. Blend 12 oz of evaporated milk, 14 oz sweetened condensed milk, 4 eggs, and 1 tsp of vanilla. Gently pour over cake. Bake in water bath for approximately 50 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  Cool and unmold.

Summer Margarita recipe:  muddle 4 thin cucumber slices. Add cilantro sprig, 1 1/2 oz blanco tequilla, 1 oz lime, 1 oz simple syrup.  Add ice and shake.

Sizzling Mojito: First make the simple syrup. Simmer 1 and 1/2 cups of water, 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 Tbsp of lime juice, 1 tsp of chopped ginger, add 1/2 of a habanero (if desired); cool, and strain. Muddle mint sprigs + 2 slices of ginger. Add 3 Tbsp of simple syrup, 3 Tbsp of lime juice, and 2 oz blanco tequila; stir. Add ice and a splash of soda.

New Favorite Michelada:  2 oz yuzu purée (available on line), 1 1/2 oz of lime juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup, 12 oz wheat beer,  add ice.

Basic Yucca Recipe: “I always boil, then saute with garlic oil or mash with potatoes.”

Curious as to what Rick Bayless’s favorite knife brands are?  “Santoku, and Shun for high end”. His outdoor grill? It’s from Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet.

Rick has a favorite Mole sauce, a classic red, from his cookbook “One Plate at a Time“.

And here’s a tasty tip from the Twitterverse: Rick’s favorite Mexican beer available for purchase in the States?  “Bohemia”.

Rick Bayless has many detailed authentic Mexican recipes on his site, we especially love this creamy chicken enchilada recipe, which we just devoured blissfully tonight.

Also be sure to watch Rick discuss his restaurant rooftop garden, as well as his video recipe for Grilled Catfish with Chipotle Salsa.  ¡Buen apetito amigos!

In this video from our friends at Great Chefs, Rick prepares marinated and grilled catfish steaks with a chipotle tomatillo avocado salsa, garnished with cilantro sprigs. This recipe will involve some prep time, as Bayless recommends marinating the fish for several hours before grilling if possible, or, you may marinade the fish and make the salsa a day ahead of time. If you are not a catfish fan, he states that tuna, swordfish, or shark work can be used, and that skewered scallops are an excellent substitute as well.

Quick trivia regarding this dish:  What is a chipotle pepper exactly?  Nothing more than a smoked jalapeño, traditionally dry smoked over a wood fire. If you can’t find them, you may substitute canned chipotle chiles found in most grocery stores.

And here’s is the Spanish name for this recipe fyi:  “Bagre Asado con Salsa de Aguacate Enchipotlado”, although if your Spanish is poor you may want to bypass announcing that to your guests!

Chipotle Salsa with Pan Roasted Tomatillos
Chef Rick Bayless

* 3 garlic cloves, peeled
* 4 medium (about 8 ounces total) tomatillos, husked, rinsed and cut in half
* 2 canned chipotle chiles en adobo (or more, if you like really spicy salsa), stemmed
* Salt

Set a large (10-inch) non-stick skillet over medium-high heat (if a non-stick skillet is unavailable, lay in a piece of foil). Lay in the garlic and tomatillos (cut side down). When the tomatillos are well browned, 3 or 4 minutes, turn everything over and brown the other side. (The tomatillos should be completely soft.)

Scoop the garlic and tomatillos into a blender jar or food processor with the chiles and 1/4 cup water. Process to a coarse puree. Pour into a salsa dish and cool.

Thin with a little additional water if necessary to give the salsa an easily spoonable consistency. Taste and season with salt, usually a generous 1/2 teaspoon.

Rick adds diced avocado to this salsa and marinates his fish steaks in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours before grilling. He sears both sides of the catfish steaks on the grill, and serves them with the remaining salsa, garnished with cilantro.

“Riffs on Chipotle Salsa: You can replace the tomatillos with roasted tomatoes (two 4-ounce plum tomatoes roasted like the tomatillos or ½ drained 15-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes), but keep in mind that the tomato will tip the flavor toward sweet rather than tangy. A little cilantro, fresh thyme or parsley is always welcome, as is green or white onion—especially if it’s grilled. A splash of mescal (or the less-smoky tequila) makes a borracha (drunken) salsa that’s dynamite. Instead of pureeing the chiles, you can finely chop them and add them to the pureed (green) base; they’ll show up as little red flecks, and the salsa will be less smoky.” – Rick Bayless

On Twitter?   Follow Rick Bayless at @Rick_Bayless for delicious updates and an occasional short recipe. We’ve gathered several of his twitter recipes here.

For Cinco de Mayo, we’ve been hunting down an authentic mexican recipe for you, and Monica came through!  This video features Chef Patrico Sandoval of Mercadito Grove restaurant in the West Village of NYC.  He prepares a Tampiquena plate.   What is it?   In Mexico City in the 1930′s and 40′s, a legendary restaurant called the Tampico Club founded by Jose Luis Loredo from Tampico served a signature dish that became famous. Tampiqueña (pronounced tam-pee-cane-ya) has many permutations and culinary interpretations today, but the original plate consisted of carne asada, enchiladas, rajas (spiced roasted chiles), salsa, and charra beans. Patrico’s version of the recipe here includes a skirt steak carne asada, corn salsa, and marinated rajas.  Click the “read more” for the video!  Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

* Juice of 1 lemon
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 tbsp. Tabasco
* 1/2 lb. 20 / 30 size sea scallops
* 1/2 lb. 16-20 size shrimp, peeled, deveined, cut in half lengthwise
* 1/2 med. Tomato, diced
* 1 jalapeno chile, chopped, seeded
* 1 tsp. Aji Amarillo
* 1 tbsp. chopped chives
* 1 tbsp. chopped cilantro
* 1 cup mango nectar or orange juice
* Juice of 1 lime
* 1 tsp. salt

Bring to boil medium pot of water. Add lemon juice, bay leaves, salt, submerge sea scallops for 5 minutes, add shrimp. Cook 30 seconds. Remove from boiling water into ice bath. Drain seafood. Cool. Combine remaining ingredients. Add to seafood.

Feel free to also visit our Shrimp and Scallop Ceviche video and recipe.

Chef Paul’s Quesadillas
Yield: six quesadillas

Ingredients:
1/4 c. fresh garlic, chopped fine
1/4 c. lime juice, fresh squeezed
1/4 c. salad oil
1/4 c. fresh chopped cilantro
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 lb. chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, butterflied
2 c. green bell pepper, cut into thin strips, cooked until tender
2 c. Spanish onions cut into thin strips, cooked until tender
1/2 c. red bell pepper. cut into thin strips, cooked until tender
12 each flour tortillas
1 c. ripe tomatoes cut into medium dice
3 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 c. fresh hot peppers, seeded and fine chopped

Procedure:
Combine the garlic, lime juice, oil, salt, pepper and sugar. Divide into two bowls and add the chicken, tossing until the chicken is coated. Marinate for at least 4 hours or for up to three days.

Sauté or grill the chicken until it is thoroughly cooked. Cut into thin strips and use immediately, or refrigerate and reheat when ready to serve.

Place a tortilla in the bottom of a no-stick frying pan over medium heat. Sprinkle with cheese, sliced chicken, onions, peppers, tomatoes and hot peppers, if desired. When the cheese begins to melt, fold over the tortilla gently so that the meat and vegetables stay inside. The quesadilla is done when it is lightly browned on both sides.

Cut into quarters and serve as an appetizer or lunch entree with your favorite salsa and Mexican condiments.

Vegan Enchiladas
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 c. cornmeal
1 each 10.5 oz. package Mori-Nu Silken Tofu
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 c. fresh arugula, chopped
2 tsp. garlic salt
to taste ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. sweet basil
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 c. red bell pepper, chopped
1 c. white onion, chopped
1/2 c. chives, chopped
1/2 c. black olives, pitted and sliced
6 each 10″ corn tortillas
as needed oil for frying
1/2 c. pinto beans, cooked
1/2 c. black beans, cooked
1 each can enchilada sauce

Procedure:
Boil the water in a small saucepot, and whisk in the cornmeal, cooking for about 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth and thickened. Cool.
Blend cornmeal and tofu, until smooth, in a food processor.
Add the parsley, arugula, garlic salt, herbs, and continue processing until they are just blended.
Mix the pepper, onions, chives and olives together. Reserve half of this mixture for garnishing the finished dish.
Prepare each tortilla for the enchilada by frying it in oil until soft and then draining it on absorbent paper.
Spread each tortilla with some corn and tofu mixture and top with vegetables, beans and a little enchilada sauce. Fold over and place into a 13” x 9” baking dish.

When all the enchiladas have been stuffed and placed in the pan, top with the remaining corn/tofu mixture, beans, vegetables and enchilada sauce. Bake them at 350° for about 30 to 45 minutes, or until the dish is bubbly, browned and crispy on top.

Pork Tex Mex Asado
Yield: four portions

Ingredients:
Chili Sauce
1 c. red, dried hot chilies, stems and seeds removed, seeds saved for later use
as needed water

Pork
2 lb. pork butt, cubed
1 tsp. garlic
1/4 c. fresh oregano, chopper
1 c. water
1/4 c. salad oil
1/4 c. flour, optional
as needed salt and pepper

Chili Sauce:
Place red chili pieces and garlic clove in small pot with enough water to cover and boil until they are soft and tender. Pour chili, garlic, and boiling water into blender and puree until a smooth sauce is formed. Set aside for later use.

Pork:
Combine cubed pork butt, garlic, oregano and water in heavy saucepot. Bring to a boil and continue cooking over medium heat, letting the water reduce for about 1 hour until only fat is left sizzling in the pot.

If the pork has extra liquid or fat in the bottom when it is tender, add the flour to the pork and stir until it is combined. Add the pureed chili sauce and the oregano to the meat and then simmer over medium-low heat for an additional 20 minutes to let the chili flavors marry with the pork.

Add salt and pepper to taste. The finished cooked pork should be very soft and tender (shredding as it is stirred is fine).

Enjoy with homemade tortillas, beans and Mexican rice.