Ingredients: 8 pieces of chicken (legs and thighs or breasts) boiled until completely cooked but still firm 12 plum tomatoes or 6 beefsteak tomatoes boiled or roasted, ground in a blender with salt to taste and strained 4 large potatoes, peeled, boiled and cut in large dice 6 dried chilacate peppers, seeds and veins removed […]
Continue ReadingPlantains, called plátano macho in Spanish, play an important role in the diet of southern Mexicans. They should not be used in cooking until ripe, at which point they will be nearly black all over. These tasty croquettes are filled with beans or cheese. Ingredients: 4 ripe plantains, skins left on, cut in half 4 tablespoons flour […]
Continue ReadingAlthough the Yucatan is hardly associated with cool weather, this stew, which contains chicken along with the meat, is one of its most popular dishes. Sundays in Merida call to mind music in all the plazas, and puchero specials in the restaurants. The stew is served with a salpicon, something like a relish, which is the typical accompaniment toYucatecan main dishes. […]
Continue ReadingThis Day of the Dead specialty dates back to pre-Hispanic times, when it was sweetened with either maguey sap or honey. It is found ready-made in Mexican mercados toward the end of October, as people begin preparations for their Muertos altars. However, it is much more fun to make it at home. We make it […]
Continue ReadingThis hearty stew gets its flavor from pork and a medley of vegetables. The best choice for the pork stew meat is shoulder. In Mexico, ask the butcher for espaldilla. Substitute güero chile for the xcatic chile, which is difficult to find outside the Yucatan. I’ve omitted the ham and chorizo that are usually included here, since I think the dish […]
Continue ReadingThis month, as the Equinox marks the start of spring, the idea of planting a garden begins to seem like more than a distant dream. Northerners look toward the return of warmer weather, and south-of-the-border farmers anticipate the advent of the rainy season. But, while the time for sowing seeds is still at least a […]
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One of my younger daughter’s most vivid food memories of Mexico was her first taste of tamarind candy. As a newly-arrived fourth grader, fascinated by the huge assortment of candies available nearly everywhere, from the dulcerías to the corner store, she seemed determined to try all of them. But the one that hooked her, with its tangy, […]
Continue ReadingPiggy cookies, as implied by their name, are cut into the shape of little pigs, but any cookie cutter can be used, making them adaptable for several holidays. They would make good “gingerbread” men, and their cinnamon-caramel flavor is a nice change from actual gingerbread. Ingredients: 3 ½ cups flour ½ teaspoon salt 1 ½ […]
Continue ReadingThe usual choice for steak grilled over charcoal in Mexico is arrachera, a choice cut of beef known as skirt steak in English. Flank steak could also be used, but would need to be marinated about twice as long. Ingredients 2 pounds skirt steak ¼ cup olive oil Juice from a 7-ounce can of pickled jalapeños ( jalapeños en escabeche) Reserve the jalapeños for […]
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Rosca is the name given to any ring-shaped bread or cookie. This sweet bread was once used by the friars to evangelize: a small doll, representing the Christ child, is baked right in the bread- “hidden”, to symbolize the hiding of the infant from King Herod’s troops on the day of Los Santos Inocentes, the Holy […]
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