cooking pot over low heat until frothy. Continue cooking until the milk “rises.” Do not let the milk boil. Milk temperature will be about 180°.
– Remove the steamed milk from heat and allow it to cool to 115° to 120°. One way to cool the milk a bit more quickly is to pour it into a bowl. Cooling takes longer than you might expect.
– In a small bowl, combine yogurt with 1 cup warmed milk to equalize the temperature.
– Add yogurt mixture to remaining warm milk and stir until incorporated.
– Cover the pot or bowl with a lid or plate, then wrap with a towel to hold in the warmth, and place in a warm, draft-free spot. Jack places his yogurt on top of his O’Keefe and Merritt stove, where the burners are warmed by a pilot light. Jack’s mother, Mary, just wraps her yogurt in a towel and places it in the oven. There is no pilot light to maintain warmth, but it is draft-free. I use a simple yogurt maker, which is basically a single-temperature slow cooker. In this case, the milk and yogurt mixture is transferred to the bowl of the yogurt maker.
– Yogurt is ready in 4 hours; longer if you prefer a bit more tang.
– Reserve ½ cup yogurt to start your next batch. It will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
TRY THIS: Jack suggests a number of ways to enjoy yogurt. Add a dollop on a puréed soup for tang and presentation. Prepare a simple salad by dicing a half dozen Persian cucumbers and adding a tablespoon or so of yogurt, a minced garlic clove, a pinch or two of dried, crumbled mint leaves, and salt to taste. Or use your homemade yogurt as a base for fruit lassis and smoothies.
FOOD SOURCES: Garni Meat Market has excellent homemade yogurt, which could be used as a superior starter. Cookbook, Culture Club 101, Sprouts Farmers Market, and many farmers’ markets sell high-quality milk and yogurt products.
PESTO THREE WAYS
Pesto is one of the most flexible of recipes, relying on a combination of nuts or seeds, oil, fresh herbs, salt, and garlic. Classic and Country-Style Pesto are delicious on sliced tomatoes, on buttered pasta, spread on crostini, or as a flavorful addition to a sandwich.
Each recipe makes about 1½ cups
CLASSIC PESTO
INGREDIENTS
1 cup pine nuts (taste to make sure they are fresh)
¼ cup good-quality olive oil
2 generous bunches basil leaves, about 1 ½ cups (remove the stems, as they are bitter)
1 large clove garlic, pressed
Kosher salt, to taste
METHOD
– Blend the first 4 ingredients in a food processor or blender. Add a scant teaspoon of kosher salt and taste, adding more if necessary. Blend again until the pesto is very smooth.
– Pesto keeps up to 2 days, covered, in the refrigerator.
COUNTRY-STYLE PESTO
Substitute walnuts for pine nuts. Blend all ingredients until coarsely chopped.
CILANTRO PESTO
I like to serve this as an appetizer with tostados, or mixed into hot, buttered soba noodles.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups chopped cilantro, leaves only for a smoother texture
⅓ cup safflower or vegetable oil
⅓ cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic
¼ teaspoon salt (the cotija cheese is salty already, so you may choose to omit the salt)
2 jalapeños, with or without seeds, depending on desired heat level (optional)
2 to 4 tablespoons grated cotija cheese
METHOD
– Combine all ingredients but the cheese in a food processor. Add 2 tablespoons cheese and blend. Add up to 2 tablespoons more cheese, depending on your preference.
FOOD SOURCES: Pesto will taste good only if the ingredients are high quality and fresh. Try Aladdin Nuthouse for nuts; farmers’ markets for herbs and olive oil; Nicole’s Market & Café for olive oil; La Mayordomia Market, Super A Foods, and Vallarta Supermarkets for pepita seeds, cheese, and tostados.
MARIO MAKES SALSA
I think it must be all of the faux salsas I have been exposed to in my life that made Mario Rodriguez’s version a revelation. Please don’t chuckle, those of you who grew up eating the real deal. Its simplicity and versatility is the genius of this salsa. (See Mario’s profile on page 103.)
Makes about 1 cup
INGREDIENTS
6 jalapeños, whole
2 medium cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 medium tomato, whole
1 teaspoon, or more salt to taste
METHOD
– On a comal or in a medium, heavy-bottomed frying pan—cast-iron works well—roast jalapeños, garlic, and tomato over medium high heat. Turn the vegetables occasionally until softened and blackened in a few places. This takes a bit of time but little attention.
– Remove the vegetables from the pan; place them in a plastic or paper bag and close the bag.
– When the vegetables have cooled, remove them from the bag and peel them. Wear gloves, as the capsaicin oil in the jalapeños can burn.
– Though Mario’s mom, Lupe, taught him to peel the vegetables, you can also leave them as is, without peeling—with the exception of the garlic, which is always peeled.
– For the traditional method of blending, add the peeled garlic cloves to a mortar and pestle, or molcajete, and mash until they turn into a paste.
– Add the tomatoes and continue mashing; then add 1 jalapeño at a time until all of the vegetables are incorporated.
– Add salt and mix with a spoon. Taste, and add more salt if desired.
– For a smoother texture, use a blender in place of a mortar and pestle, and blend until smooth. Mario uses a blender to save time when making a large amount of salsa.
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