Fun in the sun – Amaranth fish tacos with mango sauce

Posted on March 31, 2015 by petitedecadence

It’s already been 8 days since spring officially started, and oddly enough I spent most of my weekend curled up with a book and a glass of wine, reading by the window because there was hardly any sun, and it poured cats and dogs most of saturday and all of sunday. Not that I’m complaining, rainy weather is my favourite kind. In my opinion, summer is a month (or two) too long here in Mexico. But spring is my second favorite. Because spring means seafood, rosé and sunny terraces. And light dresses and a friendly sun, not a scorching-I-feel-menopausic-one. And that’s exactly why I prepared this recipe for the weekend, because it’s the perfect meal to enjoy on this time of the year. It’s fresh, mexican, delicious, and healthy.
I’ve raved about amaranth as a substitute for breading before, right here, and this time I won’t do it again. Instead I’ll rave about the colourful, yummy combination that’s purple cabbage, with avocado, cilantro and different favoured tortillas. But as if all of those together weren’t enough, why not top it off with a scrumptious spicy mango sauce? Still not enough? Then a second, creamy labneh and cilantro dressing will make absolutely everyone happy. You can dress your tacos with either of the sauces, or as one of naughty guests did, mix them both in the same taco! However you eat them, make sure you have plenty of tortillas, because you’ll probably end up having one too many tacos. (As is usually the case with tacos, of any kind)
Recipe after the jump.

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For a lack of summer – Octopus and green tomato carpaccio

Posted on June 10, 2014 by petitedecadence

As I have stated many times before, one of my favorite things to do is sit on nice, sunny terrasses, sharing a few glasses of wine on a sunny afternoon along with some seafood, in good company. Mexico city has plenty of these kind of places, and the weather is usually mild and sunny and all around perfect for it. But this year we had about two weeks of this… the rest has been intermittently rainy (and don’t get me wrong, I do love rainy weather, but nothing spoils a good carpaccio like having it flooded) and sparingly cold. So those sunny afternoons have been quite scarce… and so has been the time spent in the kitchen making ceviche or salads. But nevertheless, I’ll share with you this delicious recipe; an octopus and green tomato carpaccio, with a delicious avocado and spearmint purée. If you can’t have it outside, with a glass of rosé (as would be ideal) it’s still delicious, fresh, and light. A perfect hors d’oeuvre, or a good entrée. It’s an original dish, and the purple and green ingredients look striking together. And the best part, it takes about 15 minutes to have it ready! And you can keep it in the fridge if you make it ahead of time. Tempted? Read more for the recipe! Continue reading →

Get your healthy on – Cherry tomato and cottage cheese tartines

Posted on June 18, 2013 by petitedecadence

This isn’t an actual recipe..I think. At least I don’t think something as easy to make as this can be called a recipe…it’s more of a putting together of ingredients. But since it’s something I eat almost twice a week, every week, and it’s beyond delicious, I thought I might as well share it with the rest of the world (I’ve shared it with my friends and they’ve also gotten on the twice a week wagon). The reasons for its greatness are as follows:
1) It’s incredibly healthy: cottage cheese, tons of proteins for when you don’t really want to have egg whites for breakfast again. Low in fat and high in calcium.
2) It’s delicious: sweet cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, strong olive oil, pepper and crusty bread. Feeling mediterranean yet?
3) Couldn’t be easier or quicker to make: Just pile everything on top of each other.
See?
And if you happen to have a cherry tomato plant in full production (as I do…yay! ) then you’ll want to make this even more. Especially when basil at the supermarket costs about 40 cents (or 6 pesos) for a huge, fresh, aromatic, bunch. So go on and get your delicious healthy on!

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ñam ñam ñam – Tilapia ceviche with clementine juice

Posted on April 25, 2012 by petitedecadence

I could write this post by telling you about how much I love ceviche. About how it’s incredibly light, delicious, and healthy. About how there’s no type of ceviche I won’t eat (ok…if it’s got bellpeppers I won’t, but shhh), and about how I’ve been making tons of different ones due to the endless possibilities when it comes to ingredient mixing. But I won’t do that. Instead, I’ll tell you about how I find incredibly soothing and satisfying the process of actually making the ceviche. My sister and I have this saying “anguish, anxiety, desperation” which we use to describe that feeling when you need to be doing something different, you just don’t know what. You know the feeling, the one that usually strikes on sunday? (happens to everyone ….right?) Anyway, I’ve found that the best cure for that feeling, in my case, is making ceviche. There’s just something about the dicing and chopping and waiting for it to be ready that’s mysteriously relaxing. It’s a way of making a great dish without stressing over anything. I don’t know…it’s just zen. Maybe that’s the way sushi chefs feel all the time! If that’s true…then I certainly need to look into that. But back to the actual ceviche recipe, this one is the result of a lonely leftover clementine (from me making clementine pound cakes almost every day this week) and a present from my sister; a lovely unidentified chile plant, which I suspect is a type of habanero. Feel free to substitute with any other available kind, such as serrano or de arbol. Just be sparing, if it’s too spicy it’ll overpower the fish and citrus. Read more for the recipe.

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