Manuel Zago putting the cheese in molds. © Joseph Sorrentino, 2023

Chipilo, Puebla: an Italian town with the best Italian food in Mexico

Chipilo, Puebla is different from other Mexican pueblos. Very different. That’s because it is an Italian pueblo, settled in 1882 by Italians from Veneto, in northern Italy. In the late 1880s, the Mexican government wanted to modernize its agricultural sector and recruited Europeans. Seventy-nine families arrived in Chipilo, worked hard and eventually succeeded in establishing […]

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Fried cutlet torta: Torta de milanesa

While a torta can be filled with any kind of savory sandwich filling, the beans, avocado and tomato are always present. Leave out the onion if you are not a fan, or substitute mayonnaise for the crema; some torterías use melted butter instead of crema. The milanesa is probably the most popular filling, and part of its appeal is the crunch of […]

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Grilled marinated chicken breasts: Pollo atlixquense

“Melting pot” cooking has given rise to innumerable ethnic grocery stores in the United States, and for people who enjoy cooking authentic Mexican food, this means that ingredients are easily available. Dried avocado leaves, essential to several Mixteca recipes, are sold in just about any Mexican grocery store. These are from the native Mexican avocado, Peresea […]

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Mushrooms in vinaigrette: Hongos en escabeche

Wild mushrooms are found in abundance in the states of Puebla, Tlaxcala and Estado de Mexico during and after the rainy season, and used in soups, quesadillas and vegetable dishes. Although the comadre used escobetas (coral mushrooms) the following recipe may be successfully prepared using fresh cultivated mushrooms. Ingredients 2 pounds fresh mushrooms (if using button mushrooms, […]

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"Pepper Pail" By Linda Paul

The comadre and her sixteen children, or how I started cooking Mexican food

I first met the comadre through a colleague of mine at the University of Puebla, Mexico. I was in the habit of bringing meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and other “gringo food” that the professor’s elderly American father missed, to his house in Cholula, the small town where we both lived, and where the comadre worked as his housekeeper. She […]

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Mexican trout with sesame seeds in parchment paper: Trucha empapelada con ajonjoli

The Mexican trout farms in the mountains outside Atlixco have open air restaurants that are crowded with families getting out of the city on weekends. The menus feature trucha empapelada, or en papillote, with a variety of seasonings. This version of Mexican trout with sesame seeds in parchment paper is delicious and unusual. Ingredients 4 whole small […]

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