Thin asparagus always makes an elegant side dish. Sprinkled with a hint of red pepper flakes, the presentation is quite impressive. This dish is lovely served with a fish main course.
Start this two days in advance to allow time to soak the fish.
This baked green rice casserole is adapted from a 1967 edition of "The Joy of Cooking." Instead of the original white rice called for, use brown. In place of parsley, add plenty of fresh spinach. Frozen, thawed spinach works just as well; in either case, thoroughly dry the spinach before using it (a salad spinner for fresh spinach and a sieve for thawed). With brown rice, there are few shortcuts. It takes 40 minutes to cook it until tender, and after you add spinach, eggs, milk, and cheese, the casserole bakes for up to an hour, so plan accordingly.
Serve this easy and tasty baked tilapia dish with a rice pilaf or baked potatoes.
Good flour tortillas are made locally by Maria and Ricardo's tortilla company; they're at Harvest Co-op Markets and Whole Foods Markets. Or use the flour tortillas from Trader Joe's. For the hot sauce, Cholula is commonly available and a nice addition here.
This dish gets a robust and piquant character from the combination of spicy chili powder, acidic tomatoes, earthy mushrooms, and the malted flavor of the beer.
In the western Yunnan province around Lake Erhai, the Bai people make this dish with fresh fava beans, write Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, who prefer to use soybeans.
