July 2, 2015
The Chef’s Recipe
Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza
The Barrio Cafe, Phoenix Arizona
I’ve made the Scottsdale/Phoenix area one of my regular mini-vacation spots in the past few years. Spring Training baseball for my beloved Giants and A’s. An off the hook Bike Week in the eclectic town of Cave Creek, and, of course, another opportunity to torture my ego on one of the many challenging and beautiful golf courses.
So you know my Modus Operandi by now, after playtime, I’m on the hunt for the best regional chow. While in Phoenix I’m not going to be looking for pizza and a pinot. No no, it’s gotta be Southwest cuisine or down-home Mexican fare and some distilled 100% Blue Agave Juice no matter what. This is serious business.
During a trip a couple of years ago while researching my next, post-playtime food gig, I stumbled on The Barrio Café. I had not heard of Chef Silvana nor her highly acclaimed Barrio Café. Talk about an epiphany, I was a loyal fan as soon as the appetizer hit the table, or rather, was prepared tableside. Guacamole is garnished with pomegranate seeds. It was like finding out there really is a Santa Claus, she’s a woman, and she’s a four-time James Beard Award Nominee. Who’s idea was it to prepare guacamole at your table, in a funky little building decorated in “Arte del Barrio,” in a part of town that, well, won’t have many other Zagat ratings? Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza.
Oh yes, the artwork; it’s everywhere, from the walls of the building inside and out to the tattoos that adorn the Chef and Owner herself. Showcasing incredible, vibrant depictions of “Arte de la Calle del Barrio” or Street Art from the Neighborhood.
As I left the restaurant that first time, I still hadn’t come to a complete understanding of what I had been exposed to until it dawned on me weeks later. Two words, technique, and soul. The ability to expertly recreate the flavors and cuisine of her heritage, using classic French techniques, and present them in a diner-friendly format is the very embodiment of soul. Her soul, the soul of her Barrio.
I knew at some point after the launch of my modest website that Chef Silvana and her restaurant would make an intriguing blog. What I didn’t know was the scope of her body of work and achievements. Multiple successful restaurants, including the original Barrio Café Phoenix, Barrio Café at SkyHarbor Airport in Phoenix, Barrio Urbano, and the following accolades;
“Inducted into the Arizona Culinary Hall of Fame in 2004. Nominated for the prestigious James Beard award in 2010, 11, 12 & 14. Best Mexican Restaurant by the Arizona Republic consecutively from 2002 to 2010. Awarded a scholarship from the exclusive IACP for study in Mexico. Named one of the Top Latino Chefs in the country by Latino Magazine. Named Top 9 Mexican Chefs by MSNBC Latino. Named Best New Restaurants by Esquire Magazine 2012. Winner of the inaugural RIPE Award 2013. Named Women Who Move the Valley by Foothills Magazine 2013. Named Dynamic Women in Business 2014.”
Features on Local and Nationally televised shows like Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-in’s and Dives” and a fierce devotion to her craft have catapulted Chef Silvana to some well-deserved celebrity, even if she doesn’t covet it.
So to say I was mildly intimidated when I decided to contact Chef Silvana would be like saying it gets a little warm in Phoenix in July. But within a few hours of sending Chef a message she responded graciously. Agreeing without hesitation to provide me with the recipe for the first meal I’d had at her flagship restaurant, The Barrio Café; Pato en Tamarindo (Duck in Tamarind Sauce). The dish struck a chord with me. I’m a fan of using cross-cultural techniques and flavors. The pan-seared duck breast paired perfectly with the French-inspired tamarind sauce containing red wine, thyme, and shallots. Just not a plate you would expect in a “Barrio Cafe”.
The Chef and I have not yet had the chance to meet, so I relied on research from the websites listed below for much of the information and a few photos. Since my website is generally recipe and travel driven, I tend to keep my blogs short. So take a few minutes and check out the following to find out more about Chef Silvana, her restaurants, food, art, and family. You’ll be glad you did.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barrio-Cafe-by-chef-Silvana-Salcido-Esparza/62547845052
https://www.zomato.com/phoenix/barrio-cafe-phoenix/photos
So finally, here is the recipe for Plato en Tamarindo as provided to me by the Chef. I cut the Tamarind base recipe in half when I prepared it but used the sauce recipe in its entirety. Also, see my notes about buying and using Tamarind.
These are Chef Silvana’s words, her recipe, her soul, and a touch of humor.
“For the duck, it’s easy, I use a boneless duck breast; fat side seasoned with a heavy hand of salt and coarse grind pepper. I heat the sauté pan then add duck fat, bacon fat, or a high-temperature oil. Place skin/fat side down and reduce heat. The idea is to obtain a hard sear and cook the fat on the duck slowly. Once the fat is crisp, turn over for a quick flash in the pan. Duck should be pulled at medium and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into 4 pieces.
For the Tamarind Base
1 tsp olive oil
1 lb tamarind, remove skin*
½ btl red wine, drink the other ½
2 cups onion, rough diced
½ cup carrots, rough sliced
½ cup celery, rough sliced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 sprig thyme, fresh
1 can tomato paste
1 qt water
salt, kosher
black pepper, coarse grind
In a stockpot, sweat onions, carrots, and celery until onions are translucent. Add garlic, tamarind pods, thyme sprig, and tomato paste and continue to sauté until the tomato paste starts to turn darker in color. Add salt and pepper to taste then top off with red wine and water. Bring to boil and then reduce to a simmer until liquid has reduced by half by volume. Remove from heat and let sit until cool. Once cooled puree all ingredients in a high-speed blender. Run tamarind blend through a sieve. You should have a thick base.
For the sauce
1/8 cup shallots, minced
One tsp garlic, minced
1 sprig thyme, fresh
1 cup Porto
1/8 cup Tamarind base
In a sauté pan, sweat shallots, garlic, and fresh thyme in olive oil. Once shallots are translucent, add port wine and tamarind base. Reduce wine by half, season with salt and pepper to taste.”
Here is a photo of my rendition of Pato en Tamarindo served on a bed of pan-fried polenta. Maybe not as good as the Chef Silvana’s, but delicious all the same. Crispy skin, the tart, slightly sweet sauce accents the richness of the duck. This is a recipe your duck-loving friends will beg you to repeat.
Thank you, Chef Silvana.
Enjoy-RTK
*Tamarind can be found in several ways. In the picture below you see clockwise from left to right; Tamarind pods whole, from a local Mexican market, Tamarind paste found in Middle Eastern markets and some supermarkets, and “wet” pulp found at a local Asian Market. I made the recipe two ways using “whole Tamarindo” and “wet”. I liked the “wet” as it didn’t require peeling and the taste is the same. Use the same quantity as listed in the recipe.
Photos of Chef Silvana, The Barrio Cafe, Guacamole courtesy of others.
