Mexican turkey in a dark spice sauce: Chilmole from the Yucatan
A traditional and delicious Mexican dish, chilmole — sometimes called relleno negro — is made from one of the classic recados, or seasoning combinations. This dish, said to have orig...
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Mexican-style rabbit in red pipian with wild mushrooms: Pipian rojo con conejo y hongos silvestres
This colorful alabrije rabbit by Jacobo Angeles races across the Mexican mountain meadows.
© Alvin Starkman, 2008
I taught this in a cooking class I gave last summer in Cuetzalan, Puebla, where I ...
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Mexican chicken and allspice stew: Chilpozontle
A 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....
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Smoked pork chops with orange and Mexican maguey sauce: Chuletas ahumadas con salsa de naranja y miel de maguey
Pork and citrus are a good combination, and the miel de maguey adds a dimension of sweetness without overwhelming the bright flavor of the orange. Smoked pork chops are popular in Mexico, but unsmoked ...
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Coconut shrimp: Camarones al coco
One of the signature dishes of Campeche cuisine, this combines the best of local shellfish with what might be the quintessential flavor of the tropics, coconut. At La Pigua, it is served accompanied by...
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Baked coconut shrimp with mango sauce: Camarones con coco y mango al horno
This is a tasty, low fat way of making coconut shrimp. Mango puree is used instead of batter, and baking instead of frying. Mango puree can be made in a blender with fresh mangoes or found in the froze...
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Mexican beef brisket tacos: Tacos de carne deshebrada
Mexican potato patties: Tortitas de papa
Potato, onion, garlic and eggs are essential for tortitas de papa.
© Daniel Wheeler, 2010
Crispy outside, soft inside, these are lightly flavored with cheese and onion. The addition of greens make...
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Meat and vegetable stew: Mole de olla de res
Ancho, pasilla and guajillo chiles give this stew its deep color and rich flavor. If using the Mexican field corn most often sold in the mercados, cook the corn with the meat. If using sweet corn, cook...
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Sonora style beef stew: Guisado de res sonorense
Cooks in Sonora often cut the beef for this guisado into strips, so that it can be rolled into burritos once cooked. This way, the recipe yields a vegetable stew plus beef burritos. In Mexico, ground a...
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Stewed beef shanks with vegetables: Guisado de chambarete
This is an easy and delicious one-pot meal that can be made ahead and reheated. For a less picante taste, remove the chipotle before blending the cooked ingredients. The weight given for the meat refle...
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Mexican Spanish style beef and vegetable stew: Chambarete español
Although classified under "soups," this is really a stew, served as a main course. A reflection of the European heritage of Aguascalientes, it is similar to the Spanish caldo gallego, which is also m...
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Codfish with tomatoes, olives and chiles: Bacalao a la vizcaina
The Spanish made the most of the New World ingredients they found in Mexico, using potatoes, tomatoes and chiles in this dish, in addition to the olives they imported from Europe and the salted, dried ...
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Stuffed roasted turkey roulade: Rollo de pavo relleno
This traditional Mexican meat stuffing for turkey is reminiscent of Spanish picadillo. Since only the breast — which tends to have less flavor than dark meat — is used in this recipe, the richness ...
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Baked chilaquiles: Chilaquiles al horno
We usually make chilaquiles right on the stovetop and gobble them up immediately, but in this recipe, they are baked in the oven, which means that all work can be done before guests arrive. Leave out t...
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Cheese stuffed chayotes au gratin: Chayote relleno con queso gratinado
This can be served as a luncheon dish, as a side dish, or as a vegetarian main course with a green salad and good quality French bread.
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds (3 medium) chayotes
2 cups g...
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Chorizo stuffed chayote: Chayote relleno con chorizo
The 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 poun...
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Fish quesadillas: Pescadillas
These could probably be called empanadas, except that the dough is thinner, and if cheese-stuffed masa is called quesadillas, there is some logic to calling fish-stuffed masa pescadillas. Nomenclature ...
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Grilled tuna steak in ginger chile marinade: Atun con marinada de chile y jengibre
This marinade is great for thick pieces of fish or fish kebobs destined for the grill. For a far superior flavor, try to use wood charcoal instead of "briquettes."
Ingredients
4 8-ounce tuna s...
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Preparing Mexico's classic chiles rellenos: Step by step
One of the most comforting and traditional dishes in this country is chiles rellenos, literally translated as "stuffed chiles" — a dish that originated in the colonial city of Puebla and that evolved into an uncountable amount of varieties and versions. The original and most simple one is the chile relleno stuffed with cheese.
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Shrimp with macadamia cilantro pesto: Camarones con pesto de macadamia y cilantro
This is meant to be tossed with pasta, but the pesto can be served over grilled or roasted fish, or rolled inside chicken cutlets. Macadamia and cilantro have an affinity for one another, although this...
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Trout in macadamia sauce: Trucha en macadamia
The taste of fresh trout is a good foil for the richness of this sauce. The recipe, which uses macadamias as both a sauce ingredient and a garnish, is adapted from the University of Michoacan's regiona...
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Mexican grilled chicken in lime marinade: Pollo a la parilla con marinada de limon
This is an easy, tasty way to prepare chicken, especially during warm months when a lot of cooking moves outdoors. I buy ancho chile powder from a chile and spice vendor in the mercado, but it can also...
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Mexican huazontle croquettes: Tortitas de huazontle
Flour, eggs and huazontle become delicious tortitas
© Daniel Wheeler, 2010
I had these for the first time at Las Cazuelas de Tlaxcala, a restaurant in Tlaxcala with really authentic Central Mexica...
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Avocado soup with tequila: Sopa de aguacate con tequila
This cream of avocado soup uses tequila in place of the traditional sherry. It is a refreshing first course or, served with a salad, a light spring or summer lunch. The ingredients should be well-chilled before the soup is blended.
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