The sugar cookies called polvorones are sometimes known as “Mexican wedding cookies” in English, although I’ve never seen them served at a wedding here in Central Mexico. They are a common bakery item throughout the year, but the version made with fresh orange juice and zest is associated with the Christmas season, possibly because oranges are an abundant winter […]
Continue ReadingThis is the soup that my children still ask for whenever they visit, probably because it combines the delicious, characteristic flavors of Mexico with the ultimate comfort food, homemade broth. Whether you use chicken, beef or vegetables as a base, do use a homemade stock; its nourishing qualities combined with the healing properties of garlic […]
Continue ReadingHere the chaya, a leafy green used throughout the Yucatan, is incorporated right into the corn dough, a common technique in this region. The chopped hard boiled egg filling is complemented by the chile-laced tomato salsa, integral to this dish. Chard or spinach can be substituted for the chaya. The salsa that tops these chaya empanadas […]
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Many of Mexico’s holiday dishes are inspired combinations of seasonally available ingredients. Just as the chiles en nogada prepared for Independence Day celebrations combine the best of the late summer harvest, ponche navideño, the traditional Christmas punch, uses the fruit of late fall. Various combinations of apples, pears, tamarind, and tejocote (hawthorne fruit) come together in a drink flavored with sugar […]
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Often served for Noche Buena, his Mexican Christmas Eve salad is open to individual interpretation, with the only constants being the beets and the lettuce. Pineapple and bananas are frequently added in tropical climates, apples and jicama in cooler regions. The ingredients should be artfully arranged on a large platter and tossed after it has reached the […]
Continue ReadingThis classic Mexican flan is adapted from Essential Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy, who based it on a recipe by Josefina Velazquez de Leon, who collected recipes from all over Mexico and wrote several cookbooks from the 1940s through the 1960s. Ingredients 1 cup sugar 1 quart whole milk 1 2-inch piece of vanilla bean Pinch […]
Continue ReadingIf preparing this with Mexican rice, thoroughly rinse and drain beforehand, to eliminate the excess starch. In the United States, rice is milled differently, so the rinsing is not necessary. Ingredients 1 ½ cups rice 4 large, fresh poblano chiles, roasted, seeded and peeled 2 lettuce leaves 2 sprigs fresh parsley 2 sprigs fresh cilantro […]
Continue ReadingAfter tasting this table salsa in a restaurant in Orizaba, my husband and I went to the market to look for the area’s famous comapeño chiles. We decided to split up and go searching in different directions, and he was the one who finally found them at a booth piled high with several kinds of dried chiles. Comapeños are […]
Continue ReadingMexican coffee flan comes from the Coatepec region of Veracruz. Instant espresso powder is a boon to the dessert maker, since it dissolves easily and has an intense flavor. Ingredients For the caramel: ¾ cup sugar For the flan: 2 ½ tablespoons instant espresso powder ½ cup boiling water ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon […]
Continue ReadingWhen we lived in Oaxaca, I liked to go the food stands that were right outside the university faculties downtown, especially the school of architecture, which was right next to a small park, with plenty of room for the food vendors to set up their ingredients and comales. Students are usually on limited budgets and know how […]
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