Showing posts with label Mexican. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mexican. Show all posts

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Tomatoes on Toast

I'll let you in on my newest breakfast addiction... Sauteed tomatoes on toast. Now this probably sounds pretty boring, simple, and standard, but every time I make this I like to play around and try different twists on the flavour combination.

My first introduction to this was through a friend who made this for brunch one day in the summer, when tomatoes were at their best! His style was classic truss tomato, garlic, fresh basil, salt, pepper, olive oil, and sourdough toast, and I was amazed at how something so simple could be so flavourful! I was hooked. Since that time I've made this about 10 times, sometimes the classic way, sometimes a bit different.
The basic recipe is as follows.

~2 Medium-sized Tomatoes per person, chopped to your preferred size
1-2 Garlic cloves, smashed and finely chopped up. Use more or less depending on how garlicky you like it!
1-2 Tablespoons of good quality Olive Oil
Handful of Fresh Basil, torn up into shreds (you can do this by hand or quickly with a knife)
Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper to taste.

1. Heat oil in a frying pan or sauce pan
2. Add garlic and saute until fragrant
3. Add tomatoes and stir so they don't stick to the bottom
4. Fry gently for a few minutes until they are heated through and some of the liquid has evaporated
5. Add basil, stir through, and take off the heat while you salt & pepper to taste!
6. Serve over toast

Here are some ideas for those of you interested in trying this awesomely easy and tasty brekky:

Switch up your tomatoes - This is fun especially in summer, when you can find heirloom tomatoes of all colours, shapes, and sizes at the fresh grocers (or your backyard!). For a burst of colour, try this breakfast with Black Russian tomatoes, or maybe Green Zebras... It also works with Cherry Tomatoes and if they're small enough you don't even need to chop them up!

Switch up your bread - Try Wholemeal, Sourdough, Multigrain, Rye, Olive, Gluten Free, or any other interesting bread you can find! Even Naan works great when you spice the tomatoes in an Indian style. Which leads me to...

Switch up your spices - Generous lashings of salt and pepper are a must in my opinion, but after that it's up to you to play around. Here are some I like:

-Indian style- Try Curry Powder on the tomatoes and stir in some fresh Coriander just before serving over Naan bread (garlic, herb, or regular).
-Or for a Mexican morning, maybe some taco seasoning/chili powder/chipotle powder in your tomatoes, also with fresh coriander. Serve on toast smeared with avocado!
-Feeling the need for protein? Stir through some cannellini/white beans or butter beans, with lots of fresh basil. Or top your toast with baked beans before adding the tomatoes over them.
-No fresh basil around? Stir some pesto through your tomatoes (I use homemade, or just frozen chopped basil that I discovered at Aldi), and top your tomatoes with toasted pinenuts.
-Sprinkle Nutritional Yeast over any of these combinations for a slightly cheesy taste!

Enjoy! 

Friday, January 20, 2012

La Cena en Los Amates

     While T & I are vegan most of the time, evvverry once in a while we break our veganism for particular exceptions that we deem very worth while. For us it's been part of how transitioning to a diet free of animal products has been a bit more doable. Different things work for different people, and allowing ourselves these occasional "cheats" has made the whole thing seem a bit less extreme and easier to keep up with during the other 99% of our lives.
     I bring this up because our most recent cheat was at Los Amates, a Mexican restaurant in Fitzroy. Los Amates is probably my favourite Mexi place in Melbourne- to me it seems the most authentic, both food and decor wise. Almost every other attempt at Mexican food I've tried in Australia (with the exception of another favourite, Trippy Taco) has been something with beans covered in tasty cheese and jalapenos, and seems to be based on some weird Australian speculation of what Mexican food might be like. Los Amates, on the other hand, makes their own authentic salsas (including Molé sauce!), uses ingredients like nopales (cactus) and black beans in dishes, and overall is usually on par with the food quality and taste that I've experienced in Mexico and the US. Also there is a Latin American grocery across the street that sells lots of authentic, imported ingredients for your home experimentation!
     Anyway, I digress. We met our friends C & J who were visiting from Brisbane here for the first sitting at 6:30pm. Upon arrival we were told that we needed to be finished by 8pm, which was a bit of a surprise as they had said 8:30pm over the phone. Understanding that most restaurants do hold two sittings and knowing that they fit our booking in at the last minute, we said we'd try our best (secretly knowing there wasn't much of a chance of dinner happening that quickly). We ordered a jug of sangria to sip on while we caught up with C & J, took in the brightly decorated surrounds, and decided what we wanted for dinner. Luckily, a few minutes after bringing our drinks, the host told us to no longer worry about the time limit, which was good news and definitely made the experience more enjoyable! 
     One glass of sangria in and T & I still couldn't figure out what to order, so we ended up splitting the indecisive person's dream, the vegetarian combination  platter for two ($36). It was incredible! On the plate was a great array of little bits of their best stuff including sopes, quesadillas, molletes, empanadas, and bean taquitos. I got my fill of my favourites (those nopales and black beans I mentioned before!) and was perfectly full by the end of the meal. We washed dinner down with yet another jug of sangria and left very happy campers. I love this place and can't wait to go back- I think next time we'll see what they can make vegan. 

LOS AMATES (click for website & menu)
Address: 34 Johnston St, Fitzroy VIC 3065 
Ph: 03 9417 0441

PROS: great fresh authentic Mexican food, morish sangria, fun atmosphere, wait & kitchen staff that actually speaks Spanish, oh and that amazing MOLÉ sauce!! Also they sell their salsas in jars if you can't get enough while you're there.
CONS: Mexican beers that are overpriced as compared to some other restaurants, Occasional long wait for food (although not on this occasion), slight confusion over the sitting time lengths
Los Amates on Urbanspoon