Holy Guaca Mole, Among Many Other Things!

By this time you all must think that I’m totally obsessed with the cuisine of our neighbors down south, but please, you can’t resist those warm, colorful, comfort foods that Latin America has brought to us in one form or another. I remember a period of my life where Mexican food was a once a week outing. I just couldn’t get enough of those tamales, house-made chips and salsa, and mole all over the place.

This month, when I opened Louisville’s Food and Dining magazine, I found a serious spread on a new area restaurant called Guaca Mole, and I’ll just tell you now that they deserved all of the praise in that article. The food is presented beautifully, as the vibrant works of art that nature’s edible media should be. The flavor combinations in their cocktails as well as their appetizers and main courses employ new and fresh ideas (at least to the Louisville scene). Finally, the ambiance of the place is awesome! I loved the colors, the Dia de los Muertos painted skeletons, and especially the different service dishes that complimented the shape and intention of each course.

Poblano-Berry Margarita

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? My friend and I put our name on the waiting list (expected) and made our way to the packed bar for some entertainment whilst waiting. The drink list is perfect: they don’t have an unnecessarily large quanitity of cocktails, but they have just enough that you want to read up on them all to make sure you made the right choice. That night I went for the Poblano-Berry Margarita and my accomplice for the evening chose the Morena. The Poblano-Berry Margarita was absolutely wonderful; the combination of blueberries and poblano peppers is choice, and I am tempted to try it in my own recipe (posible con chilaquiles?). The Morena was a tamarind-based cocktail, which lends its own sweet-earthy tones to its tastiness. It is not often you find blueberries, poblano peppers, and tamarind on a drink menu, so that was the first delightful discovery of the evening.

Not too long after that we were led to our table (it certainly didn’t take the 45 minutes that we originally agreed to). Then the excitement went full throttle…the menu arrived in all its glory. I was so overwhelmed we had to get an appetizer to buy some more time for menu-viewing. When the awesomely sassy waitress came back with our Guacamole (I know, we had to do it), we asked for yet another appetizer, the smoked fish tacos, because we still weren’t sure about our main course…so many potential delectibilities. Finally, we settled on the Camarones a la Diabla (She-devil shrimp) and the Carnitas (slow-roasted pork).

Guacamole

The guacamole was a sight to encounter. It came out in a gorgeous lava-stone mortar filled with creamy guacamole and tortilla chips. It was garnished with ruby-red tomatoes and red onion, and served atop a banana leaf (probably to make cleaning that mortar a little easier). It was worthy of having its name on the front of the building—I think that’s all the description it needs.

Smoked Fish Tacos

The Smoked Fish Taquitos appetizer was to die for. It changed my opinion of fish tacos completely—whereas before it was something to avoid, now it is definitely on the top of my list. The fish had a deep smoky flavor, one that I haven’t had in a very long time, if ever, and the beautiful sweet and spicy peppers they sliced on top (jalapeños and serranos in lime juice, if I’m not mistaken) with the cooling grated jicama was the best combination of anything I have ever tasted in a taco. The taquitos were also the most adorable things I have ever seen: they were about as big as the palm of your hand and they could be eaten in two bites…two glorious bites. The serving platter was a special vessel with individual slats made to hold these mini-taquitos, so you could tell that it was a house specialty from the food to the plate.

Carnitas

Then the main event arrived when our Camarones a la Diabla and the Carnitas made their entrance. Both dishes were served with refried black beans (score!) and white rice, a combination that I absolutely adore. The Carnitas were succulent and just fell apart with a nudge of the fork, but at the same time they didn’t lose their texture (because mushy carnitas are a no no) they were joined by a glorious tomatillo salsa verde, pickled red onions, and crema mexicana—pure happiness is an understatement for that meal.

Camarones a la Diabla

The Camarones a la Diabla were stunning. The shrimp were fresh with the taste of the sea, and they were cooked perfectly. The sauce that the shrimp were slathered in was the real star of the show though, bringing depth and spice with its estimated 15 ingredients (my personal guess). This dish was also served with julienned jicama, which balances well with the spice and adds that wonderful texture of super water-based fruits and vegetables (think celery and watermelon).

In the end, hunger was duefully defeated, barely leaving room for words. My experience at Guaca Mole was a great one. I only post good reviews on my blog because I want you all to know what I think is the best of Louisville. It also helps a lot that I share my meals with wonderful people, and as many of you would agree, that makes a lot of difference.

Gracias a los Maestros de la Cocina: Fernando y Yaniel Martínez...the geniuses behind Guaca Mole.
¡Que aproveches! Eat up Louisville!

Guaca Mole

9921 Ormbsy Station Rd

Louisville, KY

Phone: 502-365-4822

Email: guaca.mole@aol.com

Find them on Facebook: Guaca Mole Louisville

Fresh Catch of the Day? How about Ceviche?

This post is going to come off bittersweet. I normally just talk about food and my memories associated with preparing/consuming delicious food, but today gets a little personal. Louisville Lady Gourmet Abroad is heading home, albeit against her will. I ran into a wall with the Spanish bureaucratic system and it is too expensive and time-consuming of a problem to alleviate at the moment with my resources--so it is back to the drawing board. This also means that I have to go back to my home, Louisville, where my heart certainly is if you can't already tell. I have very supportive friends and family waiting for me, and I can't wait to dive back into the always exciting Derby City life.

I will be leaving behind a very loving family in Spain, and the Handsome Spaniard and I will have to do some work before we can figure out our next step. It is funny how these long-distance things work out--I feel like we've been met by so many challenges crossing oceans, countries, governments, and we always end up together. I am happy to have had the experiences I have for chasing love, and I look forward to the new adventures that come to us. For now, we have to see what comes along! Now I am the Louisville Lady Gourmet Abroad At Home.

Okay, now let's get back to FOOD!

For my final week in the Mediterranean, we have decided to seize the fruits of the land and create all of the fresh-deliciousness that we possibly can. The first on the list is not necessarily a Mediterranean recipe, but rather it has Latino roots--Ceviche. We started off by going to our favorite fishmonger in our neighborhood fresh market, and let me tell you--she is amazing! There were so many different fish and at sushi-grade quality, which is helpful because this involves raw fish. The first thing that caught our eye was the ruby-red colored Mediterranean tuna. I will admit my naïvete at never thinking that tuna was in the Mediterranean Sea, but you learn something new everyday (even when you're a know-it-all like me >.>), and I am so glad we learned this! We bought 150g of tuna and we bought another whole fish (the species of which I forget, but it was delicious too) for a ridiculously low price, but such is life next to a plentiful body of water.

In addition to the fish purchase, we also bought limes and avocados, which were not so fairly priced due to import pricing, but it was totally worth it. I opened with guacamole and tortilla chips (I actually found stone-ground tortilla chips in Europe!!!!) and we reserved some of the avocado to mix with fresh tomatoes. This is the bed for the Ceviche. Because we are using tuna, this is more traditional of the Mexican Ceviche. The Peruvian Ceviche uses white fish like Mahi. After my first attempt, I would say throw any kind of super fresh fish into some citrus juices and you will thoroughly enjoy the outcome! Let's get started:

Guacamole Dip

1-2 Very ripe avocados

Juice of 1 lime

1 tsp Cilantro (be careful not to overdo it with this)

Salt

Guacamole is the simplest and most rewarding of appetizers. It could be used as butter, as in you can eat it on anything. I made a killer toast appetizer the other day with guacamole, queso fresco, chili pepper, and a tiny bit of olive oil <<life changing>>. Anyways, here is the basic idea:
Scoop out the avocado from its shell and mash with a fork. Finely chop a few leaves of cilantro and sprinkle them in, throw the lime juice in, add salt and....the most important part, TASTE. Guacamole is a taste as you go recipe. I recommend that you start with a little cilantro and a little lime juice and adjust as you go--if you add too much cilantro, you can't go back, and that is a crying shame for the beautiful, happy avocado. When you've finished tasting (if there is anything left) you are ready to serve! Easy as can be! Serve with hearty tortilla chips.

Ceviche

Raw tuna, skinned, and cubed into 1/2 inch or 1 inch cubes (the size will determine how they "cook")

1T Minced onion

Fresh lime juice (enough to cover the tuna in whatever container you will be marinating them in)

2 Tomatoes, diced

1 Very ripe avocado, mashed

Fresh cilantro

Salt

This Ceviche is a 3-step process: fish prep, base prep, assembly. First, grab a bowl and throw in your cubed ruby-red tuna, then add the onion and lime juice until the pieces of tuna are covered. The citrus juice will "cook" the tuna, or any fish you try this with. It is not actually cooking the meat, but rather it changes the firmness, so it is absolutely important that you use very fresh fish (sushi-grade if you can find it). The longer you keep the tuna in the juice, the more firm it will become. I prefer my fish to be on the raw side, so we kept it in there for 15 minutes. You can marinate the tuna up to a half hour depending on the doneness you desire. The size of the cubes will also affect the time necessary to marinate the fish--the smaller the cubes, the faster they will firm up, the bigger the cubes, the more you can control texture and doneness.

Tuna marinade with lime juice and minced onion.

While the tuna is marinating you can prepare the bed. Mash up the avocado like you are going to make guacamole, then add the diced tomato, a little salt, and cilantro. Resist the urge to eat it all with your leftover tortilla chips.

Now that all of your parts are ready, it is time for assembly! You can neatly spoon the avocado-tomato mixture onto a plate, or if you want to get fancy, you can oil a round or square cookie cutter and spoon the avocado mixture inside, it will hold the shape and you can gently lift the cookie cutter off. Top the avocado-tomato base with the marinated tuna and a little of the lime juice--don't go crazy with it, a drizzle will do. Garnish with lime and cilantro. And you're all set! You are ready to dive into a beautiful dish from the southern hemisphere. The fish is delicately flavored and has a wonderful texture--you do NOT detect "fishiness" of any kind, and I guarantee satisfaction if you're up to the challenge!

I hope that you enjoy, let me know if you try any other flavor combinations. Other citrus juices like lemon or orange could work out as well--I think the high acidity is preferred to cook the fish.

Stay tuned for some more dishes before I set sail! For all those in L'ville, see you soon!