Marco Zapien

Chef Marco Zapien demonstrates why his Salsa Grill and Taqueria in Pico Rivera, California, was recently rated number one on Fox Television’s Hot List as Southern California’s BEST Mexican restaurant. The chef puts an interesting twist on the usual “surf ‘n turf” that he presents in two tasty dishes, using quite a diverse selection of fruit and vegetables from the fresh harvests of March. Long before culinary school, Chef Marco’s training really began in his mother’s kitchen, as well as the kitchens of both sets of grandparents. The restaurant’s menu combines generations of traditional recipes, all accented with Marco’s flair for being able to capture in every dish that familiar home-cooked flavor that is difficult to replicate even in the best of restaurant kitchens.

Chef Marco’s “surf” makes use of three exotic fresh items (blood orange, prickly pear and cactus leaf) to create a lusciously flavorful shrimp salad with a south of the border flair. This recipe can be prepared as a luncheon main dish, or served as a first course introduction to his equally unique “turf” entrée. 

The chef’s main course, Chorizo Stuffed Filet Mignon with Guajillo Butter, is an experience unto itself. This hearty meat combination, accented with a great chile butter, is supported with a lightly grilled vegetable mixture as well as a tasty collision of cultures involving Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes and blended Chipotle Peppers. All in all, a symphony of some of early Spring’s most distinctive flavors, playing off each other to the delight of the audience sharing your table.

Being the chef owner of the Salsa Grill, in partnership with his father Jess, is not enough to keep this energetic professional busy. Chef Marco also represents Melissa’s in servicing the kitchens of many of the major sports arenas and large entertainment venues in the Southern California region such as The Staples Center, The Honda Center, both Angel and Dodger Stadiums as well as The Home Depot Center to name a few. In fact Marco was gearing up for the culinary needs of the upcoming Grammy Awards night during our collaboration for this feature.

He spent six years in the sports and entertainment food service industry as an executive chef for a company that provides food services to stadiums and sports arenas across the country. When Marco decided to join his father at the Salsa Grill, his familiarity with the backstage workings and personnel of Southern California’s many stadiums, theaters and sporting arenas was the basis for the relationship with Melissa’s. He has been an invaluable conduit between Melissa’s Food Service division and the Executive Chefs of these venues, whose challenge it is to flex with the intermittent schedule of a home team’s stadium kitchen or the months of preparation that goes into a huge one night gala like the Academy Awards.

Besides working full time with Melissa’s and full time at his own restaurant, Chef Marco also manages a catering business spin-off from the restaurant that should get an award for its name: Black Tie and Blue Jeans Catering. In addition to this busy schedule, Marco is currently working on opening a second restaurant by the end of this year; not to mention finding the time to keep up his golf game and respond to requests for Guest Chef recipes!  “I love what I do,” reflected the chef, “Each day is filled with fascinating culinary challenges and interesting people so none of it feels like work to me.”  For Marco, that’s the perfect combination of ingredients for professional satisfaction and personal happiness.

To learn more about the Nopales (cactus leaf) and Prickly Pear used in Chef Marco’s shrimp salad recipe, see the PRODUCE CORNER feature in this same edition.

 

GRILLED CACTUS LEAVES (NOPALES) AND GARLIC SHRIMP SALAD WITH BLOOD ORANGE VINAIGRETTE

Serves 8

GRILLED  CACTUS  LEAVES  AND  GARLIC  SHRIMP  SALAD

Ingredients
4     each   Melissa's Cactus Leaves
1     lb.       shrimp 16-20's (peeled, shelled and deveined)
1/4  cup     olive oil
2     Tbsp.  Melissa's Chopped Garlic
1-2  heads   Melissa's Butter Lettuce (You will need 8 nice leaves for cups)
4     ea.       Melissa's Prickly Pears (diced)
1/2  cup      Melissa's Pine Nuts (toasted)
1/4  cup      Melissa's Cilantro (chopped)
1/2  cup      queso fresco, to be used in plating
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation
Toss the shrimp with the garlic, half of the olive oil, salt and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate for 1/2 hour.  Heat a sauté pan and cook shrimp until just firm.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Trim cactus leaves around the outside edge and scrape the thorns from both sides with a potato peeler.  (Melissa's are virtually  thorn-less).  Rinse under cold water to remove any excess “gooey stuff” (obviously a restaurant term).  Rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill for about 2 minutes on each side, remove from heat and let cool.  Cut into julienne pieces and rinse again to remove the remaining “gooey stuff”.  Toss the shrimp, cactus, prickly pears, pine nuts, and cilantro together and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. 

BLOOD ORANGE  VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients
1/2   cup     juice from Melissa's Blood Oranges
1/2   cup     rice wine vinegar
1      tsp.     Melissa's Chopped Garlic
2      Tbsp.    honey
1      Tbsp.    Dijon mustard
2      cups   salad oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation
In a blender, blend all ingredients except the salad oil.  Slowly drizzle in the salad oil to emulsify.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Plating Instructions
Arrange the lettuce cups on the salad plate and fill with the cactus and shrimp mixture.  Crumble the queso fresco over each salad and drizzle with the vinaigrette.