Too often, staying home to watch a game involves devouring microwave pizza and pretzels. This year, with the help of chef Juventino Avila of Bonita restaurants in Fort Greene and Williamsburg and Marc Elliot, chef at Williamsburg’s Elote, GO Brooklyn is bringing you easy-to-make gourmet recipes that will eliminate your need for that jar of onion dip. Well, almost.
Juventino Avila’s nachos
7 oz. tortilla chips
2 oz. cilantro
2 oz. red onion
4 oz. pinto beans
4 oz. grated cheddar cheese
Pickled jalepeno peppers to taste
Pre-heat broiler.
Place tortilla chips on a flat plate and sprinkle cilantro and diced red onion on top. Add jalapeno peppers to taste. Pour pinto beans all around, making sure to include enough liquid from the beans to prevent the chips from burning. Sprinkle grated cheddar cheese on top of the tortilla chips and beans, covering the entire dish. (If cheese is layered too thickly, cheese underneath will not melt.)
Place in broiler for 3 to 5 minutes. Check every few minutes to make sure the chips are not burning or the cheese has not over-melted and dried out.
Serve with a side of Mexican “crema fresca” or “creme fraiche.”
Avila’s guacamole
2 oz. diced red onion
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons diced jalepeno peppers
6 ripe Haas avocados
2 tablespoons of limejuice
Salt to taste
Place the diced red onion into a “molcajete” (mortar), and press with a “tejolote” (pestle). Add chopped cilantro, diced jalapeno peppers and salt and mash. Next, add avocados and continue to press with the “tejolote” until you’ve reached desired consistency. Add limejuice and mix well. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.
Serve with tortilla chips or warm, handmade tortillas.
Juventino Avila is the chef at Bonita restaurants [243 DeKalb Ave. at Vanderbilt Avenue in Fort Greene, (718) 622-5300 and 338 Bedford Ave. at South Third Street in Williamsburg.] For more information, call (718) 384-9500 or visit the Web site at www.bonitanyc.com.
Marc Elliot’s Cowboy Burners
18 jalepeno peppers
Half-pound of bacon
4 oz. cream cheese
3 tablespoons cilantro
Half-bunch of scallions
Salt
Render bacon until crispy and well done. Mash, or put into a food processor, with cream cheese, scallions and cilantro. Then, while wearing gloves, halve 18 peppers lengthwise and scoop out the ribs and seeds. Boil halved peppers in well-salted water for three minutes. Once peppers are cooled, stuff with cream cheese mixture and bake at 400 degrees for five minutes.
Marc Elliot is the chef at Elote [366 Union Ave. at Powers Street in Williamsburg]. For more information, call (718) 599-2655.
