Bayless' latest Mexican foray is beachy Baja

Chicago chef Rick Bayless, this country's best-known interpreter of Mexican cuisine - winner of numerous James Beard Awards and cookbook honors, plus the very first Top Chef Masters title - is fresh off a Baja project and ready to share his enthusiasm for beachy dishes and cocktails.

We caught up with him on a busy afternoon. Here is an edited version of that chat.

Question: Any new projects? Have you been to Mexico recently?

Answer: Yes, I just finished a new series for public TV, the eighth season of Mexico: One Plate at a Time. I will be focusing entirely on the Baja Peninsula. It is really a remarkable place both from a cultural standpoint and the flora, fauna, and aquatic life. I think everyone has to go to Ensenada to eat the seafood!

Q: With the opening of your Los Angeles restaurant, you are getting tantalizingly close to the San Francisco Bay area. How's Red O going, and can we expect you to open something in the Bay area soon?

A: Right now I've got my plate kind of full. But Red O is going very well. People think differently about Mexican food in Los Angeles. People in Chicago are open to a wide variety of dishes. They are a bit more timid in L.A. - I think it's because there's such a tradition of California-Mexican food. In Chicago (because of the more recent waves of immigration), food is from one region of Mexico or another, and it's not very Americanized. In Chicago, mole dishes are in every Mexican restaurant. Even ceviches. But once people eat the food at Red O, they get really excited about it.

Q: For readers who can't get to Chicago to eat at Topolobampo or Frontera Grill, or even to L.A., which of your home products comes closest to one of your restaurant recipes?

A: In our Frontera salsa line, our roasted Tomatillo Salsa. There's no other one on the market. I'm super-proud of it. It took years to find someone who could make this product for us. It's wildly successful and tastes authentic.

Q: A lot of home cooks don't feel comfortable working with fresh or dried chiles. What advice do you have for them? Is it worth the hassle?

A: Yes, absolutely. I'm so wild about chiles as the base of sauces and salsas. Like any other aspect of cooking, once you've done it one time, it goes like clockwork. It's like baking bread or making pie crust. Make it five or six times and you will start to get the rhythm of it.

Q: Is there any regional cuisine of Mexico that you have yet to explore?

A: No, I've been to every single state in the republic. And I've cooked with cooks in all of them. My heart is really in the heart of Mexico, with its complex, hearty cuisine.

Q: What is your second-favorite cuisine?

A: Well, I tend to like complex spicing. I have never met a cuisine I didn't like.

Q: When you're not making Mexican?

A: I tend to cook Southeast Asian food.

Q: Last question. What are you going to have for dinner tonight?

A: I usually sit down with my wife in Topolobampo at the end of the week and share one of the tasting menus. I got into this business because I really love to eat. Some chefs never eat in their own restaurants. So my wife and I make that commitment once a week and have the full experience as a guest.

Makes 4-6 servings

EndTextStartText

6 chicken breast halves, with bone and skin

3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

28-ounce can diced tomatoes (preferably fire-roasted)

10 yellow chiles such as Hungarian wax or banana (hot or mild), roasted, peeled, seeded, and sliced into 1/4-inch strips

1/8 teaspoon cloves, preferably freshly ground

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, preferably freshly ground

1/2 cup pitted, coarsely chopped green olives, preferably manzanillas

1/3 cup drained, coarsely chopped large capers, plus 1 tablespoon of their brine

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

EndTextStartText

1. Dry the chicken with paper towels. In a large (8- to 9-quart) Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high. Brown chicken on all sides; remove.

2. Reduce heat to medium, add the onions, and cook, stirring regularly, until nicely golden, about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chiles, cover, and cook 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until reduced and thickened to consistency of tomato paste. Add the spices, olives, capers, brine, raisins, and 3 cups water.

3. When the mixture returns to a boil, nestle in the breasts, partially cover, and cook 20 minutes, until the meat is cooked clear to the bone. Taste and season with salt, spoon everything into a warm, deep serving platter, sprinkle with a few extra olives and capers, and serve.

Per serving (based on 6): 494 calories, 72 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams sugar, 15 grams fat, 193 milligrams cholesterol, 711 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber.

EndText

Makes 6 to 8 servings

EndTextStartText

1 pound peeled, cooked small (71 to 90 per pound) shrimp

3/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup Mexican hot sauce (such as Valentina or Tamazula)

1/2 cup (loosely packed) chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 small white onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

3/4 cup clam juice, shellfish stock, or water

Salt

1 ripe avocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin, and sliced

2 to 3 dozen saltine crackers (or 8 to 12 ounces of tortilla chips)

2 limes, cut into wedges

 EndTextStartText

1. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, ketchup, hot sauce, cilantro, lime juice, and onion. Stir in the clam juice, stock, or water. Season with salt to taste. Refrigerate until you're ready to serve.

2. Serve the cocktail in small bowls topped with slices of avocado, accompanied by saltine crackers (for a very authentic touch) or tortilla chips and lime wedges.

Per serving (based on 8): 258 calories, 16 grams protein, 32 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams sugar, 8 grams fat, 111 milligrams cholesterol, 957 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber.

Makes 6 generous appetizer servings

EndTextStartText

8 ounces sea scallops, cut crosswise into thin slices (or use small bay scallops, cut in half)

1 cup fresh grapefruit juice

1 large Oaxacan pasilla chile, stemmed (or 1-2 canned chipotle chiles en adobo)

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled

2 tablespoons chopped piloncillo (or brown sugar)

Salt

2 cups diced mango, Mexican papaya and pineapple

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup peeled, diced jicama

EndTextStartText

1. Marinate the scallops: In a small glass, stainless steel, or similar nonreactive bowl, combine the sliced (or cut) scallops and the grapefruit juice. Cover and refrigerate for about 45 minutes while you're putting together the remaining ingredients.

2. If using the Oaxacan pasilla chile, toast it on both sides in a small ungreased skillet over medium heat until the kitchen fills with its smoky aroma. Cover with hot tap water and allow to rehydrate for about 20 minutes. If using canned chipotle chiles, simply remove them from their canning liquid and place in a blender.

3. In a small skillet over medium heat, roast the garlic, turning regularly, until soft and blotchy black in spots, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool and peel.

4. Drain the scallops; measure 2/3 cup of the juice and discard the rest.

5. Drain the Oaxacan pasilla chile and place in the blender, along with the garlic, piloncillo (or brown sugar), reserved grapefruit juice marinade, and 1 teaspoon salt. Blend until smooth. Pour in a bowl.

6. Add the fruit, onion, and optional jicama. Stir in the scallops. Taste and season with salt, about 1/2 teaspoon. You can refrigerate your ceviche for an hour or so before serving, or scoop it into small dishes or martini glasses and enjoy right away.

Per serving: 107 calories, 7 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrates, 15 grams sugar, trace fat, 12 milligrams cholesterol, 64 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber.