Harvest cornpatch soup: Sopa de milpa

Milpa 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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Veracruz-style stuffed chiles: Cuaresmeños jarochos

Some of our favorite ways to eat seafood in Veracruz are the cold salads and cocktails featuring shrimp, crab and other local seafood. This recipe for cuaresmeños – large jalapeños – stuffed with crab meat can be made a day ahead and kept in the refrigerator, then served either cold or at room temperature as hors d’ouevres, appetizers or […]

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Chicken in sesame seed, pumpkin seed and chile sauce: Tlatonile de pollo

This sauce originated in Huatusco, in north central Veracruz. Comapeños are very small, dried red chiles abundant in this region. You can substitute chiles de arbol for the comapeños, but I recommend using less, since I find the arbol chiles to be hotter. If you do any traveling around Mexico, look for comapeño chiles in the markets of Orizaba and Cordoba, Veracruz. This recipe is […]

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This colorful alabrije rabbit by Jacobo Angeles races across the Mexican mountain meadows. © Alvin Starkman, 2008

Mexican-style rabbit in red pipian with wild mushrooms: Pipian rojo con conejo y hongos silvestres

I taught this in a cooking class I gave last summer in Cuetzalan, Puebla, where I tried to incorporate two of the area’s signature ingredients, allspice and wild mushrooms, with rabbit, commonly eaten in Central Mexico since pre-Hispanic times. This Mexican-style dish combines the meat with wild mushrooms and a red pipian sauce based on […]

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Aztec soup - sopa azteca

Sopa Azteca

Ingredientes: 2 dientes de ajo finamente picados 2 tazas de cebolla picada 4 tazas de jitomate chico (saladet) picada 4 cucharaditas de margarina 1 taza de su salsa de jitomate favorita 8 tazas de caldo de pollo 2 cucharaditas de salsa inglesa 1/2 cucharadita de pimienta blanca 1 cucharadita de azúcar 24 tortillas de maíz […]

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Mexican shrimp, avocado and papaya salad © Lorraine Russo, 2004

Mexican shrimp, avocado and papaya salad: Ensalada de camaron, aguacate y papaya

This refreshing Mexican salad combines shrimp, avocado, papaya and red bell pepper. Perfect for hot weather, it is a healthy and delicious choice. Ingredients 4 ripe avocados cubed 1/4 med. sized ripe papaya cubed 1 lb. shelled, deveined & cooked small shrimp 1 large red bell pepper thinly sliced julienne style 1/2 cup sunflower seeds 1/2 red […]

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Coffee chocolate after dinner drink: Copacabana

I first tasted this at the Café Enamorada in Cholula. It’s a no-fuss dessert choice, because it’s coffee and dessert in one. Use the best quality chocolate available and whipped heavy cream. Ingredients For each serving: ½ ounce bittersweet chocolate (sold as chocolate semi amargo in Mexico) 1 ½ ounces rum 1 cup freshly brewed coffee ¼ […]

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