This dish teams huitlacoche with poblano chiles, which fill the markets during the summer months and gradually go from dark green to red as the season progresses. By September, the majority have turned color and are significantly hotter. If a poblano makes your eyes water as you clean it, that’s a sure indication that it […]
Continue ReadingTwo years ago, along the road from Palenque to the Campeche, passing the small campechano town of Esmarga, we stopped at a roadside palapa restaurant – one of the small, thatched-roof eateries common in tropical parts of Mexico – where I tasted my first escabeche. The word escabeche is defined in most Spanish-English dictionaries as “pickled”, a meaning that does not apply in […]
Continue ReadingAt the El Callejon restaurant in Tequila, Jalisco, my questions about preparation and proportions led to an invitation to their large, open kitchen area, where there was always something appetizing sizzling on the grill. This is a good recipe for outdoor cooking, but may also be prepared in a skillet. Although the tequila was added […]
Continue ReadingAlong the Costa Alegre, numerous restaurants serve filets of whatever fish is freshest, stuffed with different combinations of seafood. Shrimp is nearly always used, along with squid or octopus. The almond sauce is a reflection of the Spanish influence on Mexico’s cuisine. Ingredients: For the sauce: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 6 cloves garlic, chopped 1 […]
Continue ReadingThis dish takes advantage of Veracruz’ abundant variety of seafood. It is quite adaptable, in that just about any other kind of seafood or fish can be added, including squid, shelled oysters, clams or mussels. The cazón, or baby shark, used in Veracruz can be substituted with any firm-fleshed white fish. Most fish markets in Mexico sell […]
Continue ReadingLeftovers are a saving grace in my house. I don’t usually have a lot of time during the week to cook so I take advantage of my weekends to prepare large amounts of certain things like beans, tortillas and meat which can then be converted into simple, tasty dishes later in the week with a […]
Continue ReadingThis was the first lentil soup I tasted in Mexico many years ago, and it seems to be the most popular version in the central region, where chorizo is used in everything from eggs to tacos. The addition of chipotle chile is also characteristic of this area. Ingredients ½ pound chorizo, crumbled 3 tomatoes, chopped […]
Continue ReadingIn Mexico, the word torta most often means a sandwich on a bolillo, or French roll. However, as in this case, it can also take on its original Spanish meaning of a flat, round cake or, figuratively, food shaped like that. Friar Geronimo most probably used a round cazuela to make this layered rice dish, thus calling it a torta. The original recipe […]
Continue ReadingThis goes particularly well with the hearty grilled beef dishes of northern Mexico. If there is no tequila on hand, substitute with an extra ¼ cup of beer. Ingredients: 1 mulato chile, seeded and deveined, soaked in hot water until soft, drained 3 pasilla chiles, seeded and deveined, soaked in hot water until soft, drained 3 large […]
Continue ReadingThe addition of poblano peppers to this seemingly simple soup turns it into a masterpiece. Ingredients: 1/2 kilo of carrots, washed, peeled and chopped 1/2 onion, cut in thin wedges 1 poblano pepper washed and cut in strips 1 C. cream 3 Tbsp. butter 2 tsp.. chicken broth Salt and pepper Crackers Watercress leaves […]
Continue Reading