Blanch a batch of hoja santa (Piper auritum) leaves, and you’ll know where they picked up their English nickname—root beer leaves. My kitchen filled with the scent of A&W as I plunged the greens into a boiling pot of water. Used in Mexico, and especially in Veracruz, hoja santa—translation: sacred leaf—is often wrapped around fish and tamales to impart its herbal, anise flavor. It’s also a key ingredient in mole verde.

I chose the tamale route for my CSA-inspired hoja santa experiment and used a Food & Wine romaine-wrapped tamale as my guide. The Food  & Wine version, however, omitted any sort of cornmeal, which I couldn’t stand for. Without masa harina in the cupboard, I cooked a quick, thick batch of polenta, and spooned the pre-cooked cornmeal into the hoja santa leaves, along with queso blanco, onions and roasted poblanos. Post-blanching, the leaves are fairly delicate so after folding them over the filling, I wrapped the packages in aluminum foil before dropping them onto a hot grill pan.

After eight short minutes, the foil packets yielded steaming tamales with oozing cheese and soft polenta surrounded by veggies. The preparation is far from authentic, but it takes considerably less time (you’ll easily saves hours) than traditionally steamed tamales. You can play with the filling, too. Mushrooms would be a nice addition, as would a touch of meat.

I served the tamales with refried beans, chopped tomatoes and sour cream. And though some recipes say to toss the leaves (they may or may not be harmful to health in large quantities), we ate everything but the aluminum foil.

Quick Hoja Santa Tamales
1 1/2 cups water
6 tablespoons corn meal
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 poblano peppers, roasted, skins removed, and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
8 hoja santa leaves
12 ounces queso blanco, crumbled
Salt and pepper

Instructions
In a small sauce pan, whisk cornmeal into 1/2 cup water. When incorporated, add remaining water and stir to remove any lumps. Place pan onto the stove, and cook on medium-low heat until thick, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, poblano, and garlic, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until soft. Stir in salt and pepper to taste, along with oregano, and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salty water to a boil. Blanch hoja santa leaves in batches for 8 seconds. Unfurl the leaves and drain on paper towels.

On a clean work surface, take one hoja santa leaf, and depending on the size, place 2 tablespoons polenta, 1 heaping tablespoon onion-poblano mixture, and 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese in the center of the leaf. Fold the leaf over the filling, and wrap the package in aluminum foil. Repeat with remaining leaves.

Heat a grill pan on medium heat. Place the foil packages on the pan, and cook for four minutes on each side. Remove foil, and serve tamales.

Serves 4 (light main courses)

I enjoyed this fusiony quesadilla with oyster mushrooms, poblanos and brie when I served it last Tuesday (I have been so lazy with my posts. I apologize.), but I appreciated it even more after reading the Herald’s inspiring story about the gentleman who is helping Paradise Farms grow its delectable mushroom crop. If you haven’t read the article or need another reason to switch to local agriculture, check it out and prepare for a good dose of the warm fuzzies.

I served the rich, Mexican-inspired main dish with homemade pico de gallo (diced tomato, onion, jalapeno, lime juice, salt) and fresh corn on the cob for a simple weeknight meal. I also threw together a batch of Food for Thought’s black sapote ice cream, which took less than five minutes to mix together and 20 to churn in my ice cream maker. Although it would have benefitted from a larger proportion of sapote, it’s hard not to love homemade ice cream.

Oyster Mushroom, Poblano and Brie Quesadillas
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup finely diced onion
8 ounces oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 roasted poblano peppers, diced
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
4 10-inch flour tortillas
8 ounces brie, cut into 1/8-inch slices
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions
Preheat oven to 410°, and position top rack in the upper third of the oven.

Melt butter in a medium-sized frying pan. Add  onion, and sweat 3 to 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in roasted poblanos, cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook 2 to 3 minutes more until cream thickens. Remove pan from heat, and stir in cilantro.

Place one-quarter of the brie onto half of a tortilla. Top brie with one-quarter of the mushroom-poblano mixture, and fold the tortilla in half so all of the filling is covered. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Brush a large baking pan with half of the vegetable oil. Place quesadillas on top on the oiled pan, and brush the remaining oil on the top sides of the quesadillas. Bake quesadillas 12 minutes, until golden and crisp.

Serves 4

Ree Drummund is everywhere right now. And although I’ve visited her Pioneer Woman blog a few times, I had yet to make any of her recipes—until last week when she posted Lazy Chiles Rellenos. I like lazy. And I love poblanos and cheese, so I decided to give it a try.

Drummund uses canned peppers for her dish, but without a Southwestern-stocked grocery store, I had to opt for a little less lazy and roast the poblanos myself. After roasting the peppers (see preparation below), I placed them into an oiled baking dish, topped them with cheddar (rather than Drummund’s jack) and a milk-egg mixture. Just bake and then serve with warm tortillas and refried beans for a super simple dinner, breakfast or brunch.

The poblanos were a little spicy for William’s taste (maybe I left in too much of the peppers’ ribs and seeds), but I enjoyed the fruity, mildly throat-burning flavor. This isn’t  mind-blowing—lazy rarely is. But it makes a solid weeknight meal, and for leftovers, it works wonders with bacon in a bagel sandwich.

Roasted Poblano Peppers
On a baking sheet, roast peppers under the broiler, turning as skin begins to blacken. When all sides are blistered and darkened, remove from oven, and cool slightly. (I recommend wearing gloves for the last few steps.) Remove skins. Cut a lengthwise slit in the peppers. Remove seeds and stems.

This meal of rice and stuffed poblanos surprised me. It filled my every vegetarian yearning—with carbs, cheese, vegetables and protein all piled into a pretty heap on our plates.

For this initial preparation, I followed a recipe for green rice with stuffed poblanos from Madhur Jaffrey’s “World Vegetarian” cookbook. Although the green rice was bland, the idea of heating cheese-stuffed peppers over a simmering pot of rice has potential for a slew of meals.

Roast a few peppers (any large variety, really), stuff them with cheese (or other pre-cooked filling) and heat them on top of simmering (or baking) rice for seven to 10 minutes.

Here are a few ideas:

• Yellow rice with poblanos
• Spanish rice with poblanos or red peppers
• Herby pilaf with mozzarella-stuffed red peppers
• Raisin- and cinnamon-studded rice with feta-stuffed red peppers
• Pilau with paneer-stuffed peppers
• Garlic rice with pimento-cheese stuffed peppers

Throw in vegetables, beans, cooked meats, spices, etc. Possibilities abound. 

Here’s the basic (generic) preparation:
Roast peppers under the broiler, turning as skin begins to blacken. When all sides are blistered and darkened, remove from oven, and cool slightly. Remove skins.

Begin cooking rice according to recipe.

Meanwhile, cut a lengthwise slit in the peppers. Remove seeds and stems. Stuff peppers with cheese/filling, enclosing all of the filling inside. 

In the last 7 to 10 minutes of the rice’s cooking time, lay peppers atop the rice and heat through until cheese is melted.

Remove peppers from the pot. Serve rice topped with stuffed peppers.

There’s a lot to be said for the cheesy bastardization of Mexican food. Sure, there are days when I want authentic posole or mole or tacos but certainly others when I crave overstuffed burritos, five layer dip and Frito pie. 

This vegetarian Tex-Mex lasagna is my best attempt at commingling the trashier* aspects of Tex-Mex cuisine with thoughtful preparation and wholesome ingredients. Instead of Rotel, beef with taco seasoning and pre-shredded “Mexican” cheese, the recipe calls for fresh salsa, roasted poblanos and mushrooms and fresh herbs. 

All the fresh vegetable chopping and roasting took extra hands-on prep, but the results were worth it (except visually … this lasagna is not photogenic). I had the comfort factor of the Tex-Mex lasagna from my childhood with the flavors and nutrition I value as an adult.

Vegetarian Tex-Mex Lasagna
2 poblano peppers
3 large portobello mushroom caps, cut in half and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1 large tomato, seeded and quartered
2 small cloves garlic
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt 
6 corn tortillas, cut in half
1 cup cooked black beans
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Instructions
Preheat oven to a 500º broil with the top oven rack 5 inches from the heat source. Place poblanos on a baking sheet in a single layer. Slide baking sheet into oven, and turn poblanos every few minutes, until their skin has bubbled and begins to brown on all sides. Place poblanos in a bowl, and cover with a clean kitchen towel, until cool. Pull skin off peppers, using gloves to protect your skin. Split poblanos; remove seeds, and chop into 1/4-inch pieces. 

Reduce heat to 375º. Toss mushrooms, oregano, olive oil, and wine, and add to a rimmed baking dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove mushrooms from oven, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside. 

Meanwhile, combine tomato, garlic, water, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender, and puree until smooth. Season with salt. 

To assemble lasagna, spread a few tablespoons of salsa on the bottom of a 9×9″ baking dish. Place 4 tortilla halves atop the salsa. Layer 1/3 each of the remaining salsa, poblanos, mushrooms, black beans, and cheese. Repeat, building 2 additional layers. 

Bake lasagna for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cheese is golden and casserole heated through. 

Serves 4

* Trashy is not a derogatory term on Occasional Omnivore. It most often means low-brow delicious.

My taste buds have been in a Latin mood lately, and this week my cravings culminated into a vegan posole verde. Posole is a traditional Mexican stew, generally of pork and hominy (a dried corn product). I adapted this vegan version from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian cookbook. This dish just happens to be vegan—that doesn’t mean it lacks any substance or flavor—so don’t be turned off by the moniker. 

This dish is a labor of love. It stretched across my Sunday, starting with a morning trip to Redland Market Village and Bargain Town in Homestead (at SW 244th St. and Dixie Hwy.). This Mexican-centric marketplace has a huge produce section with inexpensive cheap fruits, vegetables, spices, dried chiles, etc. Publix would have had everything on my list, but my bill would have been doubly expensive and the trip not nearly as exciting. Bargain Town is one of the many spots in Miami where you feel like you’ve wondered into a foreign country (especially as a redhead), and it was a refreshing break from the suburban sprawl I inhabit. 

Back at home, I cooked the beans. Watched some HGTV. Roasted the poblanos. Vacuumed. Chopped the remaining veggies. Went to Mass. Came home and got serious about making dinner.

Twelve hours after I first woke and started my culinary adventure, my posole was ready, torillas fried, and fresh Key lime margarita waiting for me on the rocks. It’s never a day wasted that’s devoted to posole. 

Vegan Posole Verde
1 cup dried, or 3 cups cooked, hominy
1 cup dried, or 3 cups cooked, navy beans or other white bean variety
4 large poblano peppers
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 medium tomatillos, husked, washed, and diced
3 medium spring onions or 6 scallions, with tender green shoots
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
12 medium cremini mushrooms, quartered
3 cups vegetable stock, preferably homemade
1 tablepoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
5 teaspoons salt, divided

Accompaniments
2 avocados, diced
1 medium cucumber, diced
5 small radishes, peeled and diced
Lime wedges
Fried corn tortilla wedges

Instructions
For hominy and beans*:  Soak each overnight in separate bowls, and rinse each in a colander. In one pot, add hominy and 5 cups water; bring to a boil and add a teaspoon salt. Cover and simmer for an hour and a half. Hominy will be tender and the liquid with be starchy and gummy. Drain hominy, reserving liquid (if any). Set hominy aside. Meanwhile, add beans and 3 cups water to another pot; bring to a boil and add a teaspoon salt. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Drain beans, reserving liquid. Set beans aside. 

For poblanos: Preheat oven to a 500º broil with the top oven rack 5 inches from the heat source. Wash and place poblanos on a baking sheet in a single layer. Slide baking sheet into oven, and turn poblanos every few minutes, until their skin has bubbled and begins to brown on all sides. Place poblanos in a bowl, and cover with a clean kitchen towel, until cool. Pull skin off peppers (with gloves if your skin is sensitive like mine). Split poblanos; remove seeds, and chop into 1/4-inch pieces. 

For posole: Heat oil in a large pot over medium high, and add garlic. When garlic begins to turn golden, add tomatillos, spring onions, and jalapeno. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in cumin and mushrooms, and cook 2 minutes more. Add poblanos, and cook 1 minute. Add hominy, beans, herbs, vegetable stock and 2 cups reserved bean/hominy cooking liquid. Bring to a boil and taste for salt (if you’re using canned stock, you may need less than called for). Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Serve with garnishes. Lime wedges and avocado are a must!

Serves 6 hearty portions

*Following the common sense of Mark Bittman’s New York Times article from last week, I went ahead and prepared a full pound of hominy and navy beans to freeze and reserve for another use.