This stew, a product of Mexico’s cattle ranches, originally utilized just about any part of the cow that was available, including the udders. It is a simple, tasty one-pot meal that reflects the lifestyle of the hard-working vaqueros, who often had to prepare their meals over a campfire. Ingredients 3 1/2 lbs. beef chuck, cut into 1″ […]
Continue ReadingThis Mexican pasta salad with jalapeño vinaigrette is a great side dish to serve with grilled meat, chicken or fish. It’s quick and easy to put together at the last minute, or it can be made up to one day ahead and refrigerated. If making it ahead of time, don’t add the avocado until you […]
Continue ReadingWe first saw this in a restaurant in Chipilo. If you like lasagna with white sauces, this one is a delicious change from the usual. The filling is the very Pueblan rajas con crema, poblano chile strips in cream, in this case thickened to form a béchamel sauce. If you use the no-boil lasagna noodles, a good […]
Continue ReadingThis recipe is from the late Doctora Lorena Otero, good friend and “foodie” par excellence. I have seen several other versions of this dish, but this one is both the easiest and the best I have tried. Ingredients 3 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 2 tablespoons finely minced garlic 2 tablespoons seeded, finely chopped […]
Continue ReadingIf you can never find ways to use an entire bunch of cilantro before it wilts in the refrigerator, search no further. Fresh cilantro is the perfect foil for the guajillo chiles in olive oil and garlic. If you can’t find guajillos, dried red California chiles are a good substitute. In the restaurant where I first tried this, it was adorned with thin […]
Continue ReadingTomato-based noodle soup is one of the most common of all meal starters. This version goes a step beyond, incorporating Swiss chard for an added dimension of taste, texture and nutrition. Ingredients: 1 quart good chicken stock 2 roma tomatoes, roasted and peeled 1/2 white onion, peeled and chopped 2 cloves garlic, peeled 2 tablespoons […]
Continue ReadingSquash blossoms, in season at the same time, go well with poblano chiles. When removing the blossoms from the stems, be sure to remove the pistil as well. Ingredients 1 pound spaghetti 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped 1/2 medium white onion, peeled and finely chopped 2 poblano chiles, […]
Continue ReadingA chunky sauce like this is best served with a shorter pasta shape, such as penne, shells, or rigatoni, which will “hold” the sauce, rather than spaghetti, from which the ingredients will slide to the bottom of the plate. Like all of the following recipes, this one can easily be doubled, tripled, etc., using the […]
Continue ReadingHere, the dried chiles are soaked with the other ingredients, rather than in water or vinegar, as is normally the case. Seville orange juice, which I learned to cook with in the Yucatan, is a great substitute for vinegar in sauces and vinaigrettes.This is a no-cook sauce, but the ingredients must be combined at least […]
Continue ReadingA chunky sauce like this is best served with a shorter pasta shape, such as penne, shells, or rigatoni, which will “hold” the sauce, rather than spaghetti, from which the ingredients will slide to the bottom of the plate. Like all of the following recipes, this one can easily be doubled, tripled, etc., using the […]
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