This summer I will take my middle school students to San Miguel de Allende and already the menu of what they'll eat dances in my head. It should be authentic but not too exotic, healthy, but appealing to even the least adventurous 13-year-old. Some things are just going to look mysterious to them, but they will not leave Mexico without tasting mole in the Oaxacan style. The experience at the table is another facet of the culture, another dimension of the country and its people. Hence, missing out on the gastronomic opportunities is a total loss, no matter how many hours of Spanish you offer students.
Showing posts with label quesadillas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quesadillas. Show all posts
Monday, February 18, 2013
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Tacos de Huitlacoche
This past Columbus Day (also known as Día de la Raza in Latin America and Indigeneous People's Day in the United States) weekend I was back in San Miguel de Allende visiting friends and taking advantage of the long weekend. The weather was delicious with nightly rains quenching the hillsides and leaving the cobblestones glistening in the morning sun. The rains are also responsible for the abundance of huitlacoche, a corn fungus that Mexicans consider a delicacy.
In Mexico, huitlacoche enjoys the same culinary standing as truffles do in Europe, though it doesn't grow underground and isn't as costly. The high regard for huitlacohe is an ancient sentiment. The Aztecs revered all forms of maize, especially huitlacoche, a Nahuatl word some linguists decipher as meaning "ravens' excrement." It is true that huitlacoche is not exactly pretty; the deformed, irridescent, and spongy kernels are powdered with black spores and look a little like, well, bird droppings.
Fresh huitlacoche is not hard to find in Mexico. I saw a young woman selling it right on the cobb but often I buy it from Josefina, my elderly friend from the sierra, who removes it from the cobb and sells it packaged in baggies.
Huitlacoche's taste is difficult to describe; the flavor is not quite like porcini or truffles, but there is some similarity. Fresh is better though difficult to find in the United States. Canned huitlacoche is more readily available, which requires a longer cook time to dry out the liquid.
This recipe belongs to Doña Beatriz, a legendary cook from Casa Carmen in San Miguel de Allende. She doesn't put cheese in her tacos but to add cheese, cut thin slices of a soft cheese like queso de Oaxaca or Monterrey Jack and warm it on a corn tortilla, topping the quesadilla with cooked huitlacoche.
In Mexico, huitlacoche enjoys the same culinary standing as truffles do in Europe, though it doesn't grow underground and isn't as costly. The high regard for huitlacohe is an ancient sentiment. The Aztecs revered all forms of maize, especially huitlacoche, a Nahuatl word some linguists decipher as meaning "ravens' excrement." It is true that huitlacoche is not exactly pretty; the deformed, irridescent, and spongy kernels are powdered with black spores and look a little like, well, bird droppings.
Fresh huitlacoche is not hard to find in Mexico. I saw a young woman selling it right on the cobb but often I buy it from Josefina, my elderly friend from the sierra, who removes it from the cobb and sells it packaged in baggies.
Huitlacoche's taste is difficult to describe; the flavor is not quite like porcini or truffles, but there is some similarity. Fresh is better though difficult to find in the United States. Canned huitlacoche is more readily available, which requires a longer cook time to dry out the liquid.
 |
| Doña Beatriz |
This recipe belongs to Doña Beatriz, a legendary cook from Casa Carmen in San Miguel de Allende. She doesn't put cheese in her tacos but to add cheese, cut thin slices of a soft cheese like queso de Oaxaca or Monterrey Jack and warm it on a corn tortilla, topping the quesadilla with cooked huitlacoche.
 |
| Photos of tacos courtesy of Kelly Castellanos-Evans |
| Doña Beatriz's Tacos de Huitlacoche |
Recipe Type: Appetiser
Author:
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 5 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 2 to 4
Ingredients
- Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups of huitlacoche
- 2 roma tomatoes
- 1 small onion
- 1 clove chopped garlic
- 1/2 cup canola oil (approximately)
- Fresh cilantro
- Salt to taste
- Corn tortillas
Instructions
- Clean the huitlacoche by removing the tiny stems or feet (la patita) from where it is attached to the cobb (these have a slightly bitter taste).
- Cook the onion first until it is soft, then add the roma tomato; cook until it dissolves, then add the huitlacoche.
- Cook this mixture for about 10 minutes, until it is all softened, add salt to taste.
- Warm your corn tortillas on both sides on a comal.
- Place a spoonful of the mixture, garnish with a slice of fresh tomato or a slice of avocado and chopped cilantro and serve with your favorite salsa.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
A Quesadilla Commentary
I can't figure out why restaurants offer quesadillas on their menus so different from those found closer to the border and in Mexico proper. I am not opposed to new twists on traditional foods or even so-called fusion foods (unlike La Madrina, who is much more of a traditionalist than I am), but why mess with a good thing?
Dear American Restauranteurs, a quesadilla is not baked in an oven like a pizza. It is not cheddar and monterrey jack and mozzarella cheeses layered between two flour tortillas and grilled like a panini. It is not even a prodigious serving of cheese, chicken and onions stuffed in a flour tortilla. And it is most definitely not goopy, make-believe cheese (read: nacho cheese sauce) in a cripsy flour tortilla and deep-fried.
Quesadillas are quintessentially uncomplicated, which is why it seems almost absurd to include a recipe here. Of course, in Mexico some variations are found, perhaps the addition of huitlacoche, a corn fungus and delicacy, for example. The essence of the quesadilla remains the same, however: simple and savory.
As a parent, quesadillas, are my go-to food. They are easy to prepare and children really do love them. But I usually make them with corn, not flour, tortillas and just a sliver—not mounds—of cheese, either Mexican asadero or queso fresco when I can find it. This is the way my mother and grandmother made them, always with a spill of salsa or a heap of aguacate (avocado) on the side. For my kids, I skip lo picante (the spice) but serve with avocado or fruit instead.
| Mexican Quesadillas |
Recipe Type: Appetizer, Snack
Author:
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 5 mins
Total time: 10 mins
Serves: 1 - 2
Ingredients
- Corn tortillas
- 3 slices of cheese, preferably Mexican asadero or queso fresco.
Instructions
- Heat the tortillas on a comal or in heavy skillet over a medium flame.
- Place a slice of cheese on one half of the tortilla.
- When the cheese begins to melt, fold the tortilla over.
- Flip the tortilla to the other side.
- The quesadilla is done when the cheese is melted.
Notes
There is no need to use oil in this recipe.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)