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 a homemade applesauce, an unexpected and surprisingly good complement. Ingredients: 24 jumbo shrimp, peeled, leaving the tail and first segment of […]
Continue ReadingLast month’s column focused on the gastronomy of the Estado de Mexico, the state that nearly surrounds Mexico’s capital. This month, we’ll take a look at the myriad dining experiences to be had in the capital itself, Mexico City, commonly known as “el D.F.”, short for Distrito Federal. The city has been a center of migration […]
Continue ReadingA 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 originated in Campeche, is eaten all over the Yucatan peninsula, especially around Christmas and the New Year, when there is an abundance of leftover holiday turkey. It is a nice change from […]
Continue ReadingIn recent years, immigration has become a topic of intense focus, not only in the United States and Mexico, but worldwide. Although generally seen as a political question, there is no doubt that the movement of immigrants also falls into the cultural realm, of which cuisine is a significant part. Much of the history of […]
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Mexico presents a different face to each person that meets her. Traveling through the country is an experience unique to the individual, even to people on the same journey, whether they be tourists spending a week at an ultra-modern beach resort or ethnologists visiting remote indigenous villages. Each of us has a personal framework through […]
Continue ReadingWhen we first came to Mexico many years ago, a trip to the market was cause for both excitement and apprehension for my then ten-year-old younger daughter. There were beautiful things, like fragrant flowers and bundles of bright green herbs, as well as “yucky” things, like the heads of freshly slaughtered pigs. But one thing […]
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I recently watched a video of women in the lush, green Papaloapan region of Oaxaca making yucca tamales. As is quite often the case with tamales of all kinds, it was a group effort. The labor-intensive culinary ritual involved in their preparation seemed a lot easier with the conversation and camaraderie that went on with […]
Continue ReadingPossibly no other country in the world has as many festivals, fairs and feast days as Mexico. National holidays, religious holidays and people’s santos (saints’ days) are all celebrated with gusto, as are the observances of the patron saints of virtually every city, town and pueblito. The santoral, or calendar of saints’ days, is so crowded with names […]
Continue ReadingJust as corn was called “the gift of the gods” in ancient Mesoamerica, the same phrase was used for rice in what is now Southeast Asia. In several Asian languages, the word for rice and food is the same, and rice was part of the creation myth of many Asian cultures, as corn was in […]
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Spring is the season of renewal, evident in the green buds poking up through the warming earth and, here in Mexico, symbolized by the wheat sprouts that adorn altars during Easter week. For many people, this time of year brings with it the urge to plant a garden. As the nitrogen-rich April showers begin preparing […]
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