To leave or not to leave; that is the question every single time I leave on a work trip. And I’m not looking for pity or words of encouragement... that burning feeling in my heart is unfixable. Even though there’s the whole “you’re doing it for them” theory, it doesn’t make it any easier. But, if you’ve been along with me for the ride throughout the years, you know I’ve always expressed this lifelong yearning to go off the grid and move to the south of France with Philip and the kids.
Can you imagine? I’d teach Mexican cooking classes in an old chateau all decorated in my Euro-Mexican style and Philip would work with one of the big European soccer teams (he, like, hangs out with Neymar and stuff). Fau would develop his skills as an artist (he’s a wonderful painter and writer). David would start soccer training on arrival and we’d wait and see what Anna wanted to do. She could help me milk goats for cajeta in the meantime.
When I mention this to people, most of them think I’m insane for expressing any desire to leave #CasaMarcela and all the cool things that I get to do for my job but, in my heart of hearts, I don’t need anything except these humans around me, plus maybe some good cheese and a nice Bordeaux. What's funny is that Philip doesn’t help - after a couple of glasses of wine, we start actually talking about how we would make it happen... where we would go... how we would live...
We imagine the kids speaking French and English and Spanish and Italian (as he does so beautifully) and combining our culinary skills (he’s got plenty) with the ingredients of the French countryside. We’ve talked about the restaurant. The possible bed and breakfast. How my sister would have to send us care packages with chipotles and ground corn for masa. And you know what’s scary? I know us. It’ll happen. Maybe in ten years, maybe in ten days. Okay, maybe not so soon, but it’ll happen. And as much as I want to burn my phone, I realize I’m attached to it 24 hours a day, so I can’t look for a place with no wifi. Anyway, I’d certainly like to document the experience and share it with you, so I suppose only-semi-off-the-grid is okay, too. But man, I really want that life for my kids.
Did I mention that, in this dream, I am also very good friends with Mimi Thorisson and I teach a class at her chateau? Then the whole thing would be tooperfect! Hmmm... what would I teach them first? Chiles Rellenos? Maybe my Buñuelos with Lavender Piloncillo so it seems a little familiar, you know... lavender… Provence…? I mean, Mimi would certainly approve! Nah, I’ll go wild and go with my Salmon Gobernador Tacos. Yep, that’s it…
So in the meantime, I’ll keep dreaming and planning. And you? You can start cooking… here you go!
Salmon Gobernador Tacos10 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small white onion, finely chopped
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 2 tomatoes, chopped and cored
- 1 red bell pepper, stemmed,seeded and finely diced
- 1 chile poblano, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced
- 1 pound salmon
- 2 1/2 cups HERDEZ® Guacamole Salsa
- 3 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 10 corn tortillas
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Lime wedges, for serving
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a baking dish place salmon, season with salt and pepper and add HERDEZ® Guacamole salsa. Cover salmon and allow for it to marinate for about 2 to more hours. Remove form refrigerator and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Do not over cook salmon, it will continue to cook later as our taco filling. When salmon has cooled down, grab a fork and begin to shred salmon into small pieces. Set aside.
In a large heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, bell pepper and poblano and cook for about 4 minutes. Add shredded salmon, tomato puree, oregano, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cook for about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside. Remove the bay leaf and discard.
Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Lay 2 tortillas, flat on the bottom of the pan, side by side. Put a small mound of cheese on 1 side of each tortilla. Wait until the cheese melts slightly, about 1 minute, and then add about 3 tablespoons of the salmon mixture to each tortilla. Fold the tortillas over into half-moon shapes and cook to melt the cheese completely, another 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a platter and keep warm.Repeat with the remaining tortillas, cheese, and salmon mixture. Arrange the tacos on a serving platter and serve with lime wedges and drizzle with HERDEZ® Guacamole Salsa, and enjoy!
