One of my happiest dining memories is the first time I tried Arroz a la Tumbada at the King of Carnival restaurant in the city of Veracruz, where it is prepared to order for each diner and served in individual clay cazuelas. Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons corn oil 1 cup medium grain rice, washed and dried […]
Continue ReadingPopular at fairs and fiestas, these enchiladas are flavored with a creamy poblano chile and tomato sauce. They contain no meat in the filling, and this recipe uses vegetable oil instead of lard, making them a good choice for a vegetarian meal. Ingredients: For the sauce: 6 poblano chiles, roasted, seeded and peeled 3 tomatoes, […]
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GastroNomad in Mexico Published or Updated 2009 by Daniel Wheeler © 2009
Continue ReadingChile de árbol is a long, thin, red pepper commonly referred to in the U.S.A. as a Szechuan pepper. It is very spicy so a little goes a long way. Enfrijoladas make a wonderful breakfast or light supper. Ingredients: 2 C. cooked beans 1/3 C. bean broth or water 1/4 C. oil 8 corn tortillas […]
Continue ReadingFrom tatemar, a Hispanic version of what the Diccionario Mexicano alternately gives as tlatemar, a Nahuatl term for putting something on or in the fire, this dish is cooked in a clay pot. If you do not have a Mexican cazuela, use any heavy-bottomed, lidded casserole or Dutch oven. Any mild vinegar is a fine substitute for the coconut palm vinegar […]
Continue ReadingCodillo, sometimes called chamorro, is the lower part of the pork leg, here cut crosswise into rounds, including the central bone. Nopales (paddle cactus) and verdolagas (purslane) are two of the most common plants found in Central Mexico. Because of their versatility and high nutritional value, they are used in a variety of dishes. Purslane, […]
Continue ReadingSquash blossoms, in season at the same time, go well with poblano chiles. When removing the blossoms from the stems, be sure to remove the pistil as well. Ingredients 1 pound spaghetti 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped 1/2 medium white onion, peeled and finely chopped 2 poblano chiles, […]
Continue ReadingA chunky sauce like this is best served with a shorter pasta shape, such as penne, shells, or rigatoni, which will “hold” the sauce, rather than spaghetti, from which the ingredients will slide to the bottom of the plate. Like all of the following recipes, this one can easily be doubled, tripled, etc., using the […]
Continue ReadingHere, the dried chiles are soaked with the other ingredients, rather than in water or vinegar, as is normally the case. Seville orange juice, which I learned to cook with in the Yucatan, is a great substitute for vinegar in sauces and vinaigrettes.This is a no-cook sauce, but the ingredients must be combined at least […]
Continue ReadingMany years ago, before I began traveling around Mexico working with regional chefs and cooking teachers, I was a newly arrived greenhorn, both fascinated and confused by the country’s markets and their contents. One of the first sources of enlightenment for me on this subject was the writing of Vicki Cowal, who produced informative pieces […]
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