Choose the very smallest white or red potatoes you can find. Sometimes in Cholula, I find potatoes as small as marbles. This recipe is adapted from Larousse de la Cocina Mexicana by Alicia Gironella D’Angeli and Giorgio D’Angeli. Ingredients 1 ½ pounds baby new potatoes, as small as possible 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 garlic cloves, minced […]
Continue ReadingFish and seafood get a wonderful flavor boost from tamarind. The addition of chipotle chiles and honey make this a good marinade for chicken and pork, too. When using wooden skewers to grill food, remember to soak them first to avoid charring. 1 ½ pounds medium shrimp, peeled 3 ounces tamarind pulp 2 tablespoons […]
Continue ReadingBeginning in mid-October, and lasting for a month, a five-hundred-year-old ritual encompassing history, tradition and cuisine takes place in the valley of Tehuacan, in the Mixteca Poblana region of southern Puebla. Traveling through this rocky, hardscrabble land, one wonders how the inhabitants have sustained themselves for thousands of years and marvels at the fact that […]
Continue ReadingThis salsa retains the fresh, green taste of tomatillos that have not been boiled. It can be made ahead, except for the avocado, which should be added right before serving. Just about everyone who tastes this, served as a dip with totopos (corn chips), asks for the recipe. Ingredients: 12 tomatillos, husks peeled 1 small white onion, […]
Continue ReadingThis dish, and other similiar chicken and amaranth combinations, is also called mole de amaranto and tinga de pollo con amaranto, depending on the part of the country where it is found. Despite its different regional names, the dish always contains chipotle chiles. Ingredients 4 boneless chicken breast halves, salted to taste 2 tablespoons corn oil 2 large […]
Continue ReadingThis is another Yucatecan favorite that makes use of leftovers from the day before. Chayas fritas from the afternoon meal are repurposed for breakfast the next day in this quick yet nourishing dish. Scramble the quantity of eggs desired, adding chayas fritas just as the eggs are beginning to set. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper […]
Continue ReadingA specialty of the Puebla mountain town of Zacapoaxtla, this Mexican dish uses allspice leaves as well as berries in a savory chicken stew. If you can’t get allspice leaves, fresh bay leaves work well. In fact, allspice leaves are sometimes called “Jamaican bay leaves.” Ingredients 1 chicken, cut into serving pieces 1medium onion, cut […]
Continue ReadingThe mild taste of chayote is a perfect foil for the robust, spicy flavor of chorizo. Be sure to use fresh Mexican chorizo, and not Spanish chorizo, which is usually cured. Ingredients 1 ½ pounds (about 3 medium) chayotes 1 medium white onion, finely chopped ¾ pound chorizo, casings removed 2 cloves garlic, peeled and […]
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Flavored with smoky chipotles, this recipe for salpicon de pollo is adapted from one by Vicki Cowal, who had adapted it herself, from Margaret Poore’s 1,000 Mexican Recipes. Here in Cholula, the regional specialty called chipocludos — sweet and tart pickled chipotles — is sold in the market and frequently prepared at home. I have given a recipe for […]
Continue ReadingMilpa means “cornfield,” and this soup incorporates not only corn, but a medley of other Tlaxcalan produce abundant at this time of year. Although fresh nopales are preferable, they are available canned in north-of-the-border supermarkets. This can be served as a first course at dinner, or makes an ideal autumn lunch or light supper, accompanied by a salad […]
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