Oaxacan black mole: Mole negro oaxaqueño

The most famous of Oaxaca’s many moles, this sauce can be served with turkey, chicken, or pork; however, turkey is the meat of choice for festive occasions. In Mexico, the ingredients for large batches of mole are usually taken to a molino – mill – to eliminate the laborious process of grinding on the metate. The following recipe is quite manageable using a […]

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Frijoles borracho

Cooking with cerveza: Mexican beer flavors autumn dishes

The phrase “Mexican beer” can bring to mind sipping an ice cold Corona on the beach, enjoying a michelada cocktail on a leafy plaza, or sharing the seasonal Noche Buena brew with friends during the winter holidays. In any case, the quality of Mexican beer is recognized and appreciated throughout the world. Fermented beverages have been made […]

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Yucatecan style quail: Codorniz a la yucateca

Yucatecan style quail, typical of the Mexican state of Yucatan, uses a recado, one of the spice pastes that distinguish the region’s cuisine. This recipe can also be used with chicken or turkey, increasing proportions according to the weight of the bird. Ingredients For the recado: 3 peppercorns 1 teaspoon allspice berries 2 whole cloves ½ teaspoon coriander […]

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Pomegranate. Credit: Tony Burton.

Pomegranates: September’s Gift To Mexican Cuisine

In Mexico, September is called el mes de la patria, the time when Independence is observed with a month-long celebration of Mexican identity, a significant part of which is the food. One of the most popular national dishes is chiles en nogada, a tri-colored culinary tribute to Mexico’s flag: green chiles, white walnut sauce and red pomegranate seeds. Invented […]

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Mexican blessed beet salad: Ensalada de betabel bendito

In her introduction to this Mexican blessed beet salad recipe, Chef Susana Trilling explains that it got its name from that fact that she got the beets from a religious festival float that was decorated with a tower of the village’s largest fruits and vegetables, on Palm Sunday in San Antonio Castillo Velasco, near the important market […]

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Immigrant cooking in Mexico: The Afromestizos of Veracruz

This month we’ll continue to take a look at the cooking of the immigrants who contributed to the modern Mexican culinary repertoire. Unlike other groups discussed previously — including the Mennonites of Chihuahua, the Italians of Chipilo and the Lebanese of Puebla — this group undoubtedly did not come willingly. Their arrival was a product […]

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