Blog| Mexican Food Journal

Doña Estela Style

Scrambled egg tortas like Doña Estela sold in the San Juan park in front of our photographer’s elementary school in Cuernavaca, Morelos. A perfect quick breakfast full of memories.

The Story of the Tortas by Andrés Carnalla

They say that the tastes and smells from your childhood always stay with you. One of those smells is the smell of Doña Estela’s scrambled egg tortas.
Doña Estela was an important part of our childhood from Monday to Friday. She sold scrambled egg tortas, enchiladas and potato quesadillas in front of our school, La Escuela Evolución. The star ingredient was her salsa verde. To this day I can still taste it.
La Escuela Evolución was founded in Cuernavaca, Morelos in 1934 by a young teacher named Augustín Güemes. It was located in front of the San Juan park in the center of town.
The school was in a large old home without a patio to play in. The kids were free to go where they wanted. At snack time, the school opened its doors and we went running to the park across the street.
Three important people were always there. Doña Estela with her basket of tortas, enchiladas, and quesadillas. Don Lupe who sold candy and fruit with chili powder and lime, and Don Pancho who sold popsicles and ice cream.
Doña Estela arrived at 9:30am. She set up her bast and her blue porcelain pot where had her salsa verde.
At 10:00am the bell rang. We went to play and eat. All within a half an hour. We surrounded her and began to order. I preferred the egg tortas. What was in those four ingredients that former students still remember to this day?
I don’t know, but I invite you to prepare one of her egg tortas and then let me know.

How to Make

The ingredient list is simple:

4 eggs
4 fresh rolls (bolillos)
1 cup refried beans
1 cup salsa verde
4 ounces ranchero cheese.

Prepare the Egg

Crack the eggs into a small mixing bowl.

Beat the eggs.

Preparation is the same as an omelette. Pour in the beaten eggs and cook until they have just set, about 3 minutes.

Once set, flip the eggs. Cook for 2 more minutes.

Remove the omelette to a plate. Slice into 4 wedges.

Assemble the Torta

On the top half of the bread, spread ¼ cup refried beans. On the bottom half, place 1 slice of egg, ¼ cup salsa verde, and 1 ounce of ranchero cheese.

Cuernavaca Style Breakfast Scrambled Egg Torta

Enjoy a favorite Mexican torta!

A recipe from Andrés’ middle school years you might like is this one for rice and egg tacos with salsa verde.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Scrambled Egg Torta with Salsa Verde Recipe

Breakfast tortas prepared with scrambled eggs and salsa verde just like the ones like Doña Estela sold in the San Juan park in front of our photographer’s elementary school in Cuernavaca, Morelos. A perfect quick breakfast full of memories.

Cook Time15

Total Time15

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: breakfast, salsa verde, sandwich, scrambled eggs, torta

Servings: tortas

Calories: 252kcal

Author: Andrés carnalla

Ingredients

4 rolls telera, bolillo, or French
1 cup refried beans
4 large eggs
1 cup salsa verde

Instructions

Preparing the Eggs

Crack the eggs into a small mixing bowl.
Beat the eggs until fully mixed.
In a large frying pan, preheat 1 tbsp. Oil to medium.
Pour in the beaten eggs and cook until they have just set, about 3 minutes. Once set, flip the eggs. Cook for 2 more minutes.
Remove the omelette to a plate. Slice into 4 wedges.

Assembling the Torta

On the top half of the bread, spread ¼ cup refried beans.
On the bottom half, place 1 slice of egg, ¼ cup salsa verde, and 1 ounce of ranchero cheese.

Nutrition

More Sandwich & Torta Recipes

More Egg Recipes

Mexican Turkey Stuffing

Side Dishes

Relleno de Pavo de Carne Molida

Thanksgiving and Christmas mean turkey. And, turkey needs stuffing. This recipe for Mexican Style turkey stuffing comes from my wife’s family which is originally from Tamaulipas a state in Northeast Mexico.

Mexican turkey stuffing is usually made with ground beef and pork and without any breadcrumbs. This is a stovetop stuffing. You don’t cook it in the oven with the bird. You can make it a day ahead of time and it will taste even better. Just reheat and serve. Provecho!

How to Make

This recipe is labor-intensive but easy to make. Make sure that you have all of the ingredients on hand before starting.

You will need:

½ lb. ground beef
½ lb. ground pork
7 ounces bacon
3 hotdogs
1 cup pecans
1 cup almonds
1 cup raisins
1 cup pitted prunes
1 large white onion
4 celery stalks
2 red apples
1 cup sliced green olives
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. black pepper
1 ½ tsp. thyme
1 ½ tsp. salt + to taste
1 ½ cups white wine

Ingredients to Make Mexican Turkey Stuffing

Chop Everything First

First, you need to chop all of the ingredients as shown: Roughly chop the pecans, almonds, and prunes. Chop the onion, apple, and celery into ¼″ pieces. Chop the hotdogs and bacon into ¼″ pieces. Finely chop the garlic. Leave the raisins whole.

Ingredients to Make Mexican Turkey Dressing

Cooking

Over medium heat, fry the bacon until it starts to brown. (About 5 minutes)

Add the chopped onions. Cook until they just start to brown. (About 5 minutes)

Add the ground meats to the pan.

Break up the meat with a spatula.

Cook the meat until it is no longer pink then add the chopped hotdogs. In Northern Mexico, it is common to add chopped hotdogs. In other parts of the country, chorizo is preferred.

Mix and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the chopped celery and garlic.

Mix and cook for 5 minutes.

Add all of the remaining ingredients to the pan. Mix well.

Adding Turkey Stuffing Ingredients to Pan

Cover your pan with aluminum foil or a lid. Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat. Remove the foil but don’t discard. Mix the stuffing well. Add ¼ white wine or water if the stuffing is getting dry. Cover again with the lid or aluminum foil and cook for another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and check the salt. Add more salt if needed.

Looks good, doesn’t it?

Try this stuffing at your next holiday meal.

Homemade Mexican Turkey Stuffing Dressing

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Print Recipe

4.50 from 10 votes

Mexican Turkey Stuffing (Dressing)

Taumalipas style Mexican turkey stuffing made with ground beef, pork, bacon, and hotdogs. A really delicious stovetop stuffing to accompany your Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Total Time1 20

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: beef, pork, Thanksgiving, turkey dressing, turkey stuffing

Servings: servings

Calories: 426kcal

Author: Douglas Cullen

Ingredients

½ lb. ground beef
½ lb. ground pork
7 ozs. bacon
3 hotdogs
1 cup pecan halves
1 cup whole almonds
1 cup raisins
1 cup pitted prunes
1 large white onion
4 large celery stalks
2 large red apples
1 cup sliced green olives
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. black pepper
1 ½ tsp. thyme
1 ½ cups white wine
1 ½ tsp. salt + to taste

Instructions

Prepping the Ingredients

Roughly chop the pecans, almonds, and prunes.
Chop the onion, apple, and celery into ¼" pieces.
Chop the hotdogs and bacon into ¼" pieces.
Finely chop the garlic. Leave the raisins whole.

Cooking

Over medium heat, fry the bacon until it starts to brown. (About 5 minutes)
Add the chopped onions. Cook until the onions until they just start to brown. (About 5 minutes)
Add the ground meats to the pan. Break up the meat with a spatula.
Cook the meat until it is no longer pink then add the chopped hotdogs. Mix and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the chopped celery and garlic. Mix and cook for 5 minutes.
Add all of the remaining ingredients to the pan. Mix well.
Cover your pan with aluminum foil or a lid. Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat.
Remove the foil but don't discard. Mix the stuffing well. Add ¼ white wine or water if the stuffing is getting dry.
Cover again with the lid or aluminum foil and cook for another 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and check the salt. Add more salt if needed.

Notes

Equipment

Large frying pan or Dutch oven.

Substitutions

You can substitute 6 ounces of chorizo for the hotdogs.

Nutrition

Other Holiday Recipes

Banana Licuado

Licuado de Platano

Licuados are milk-based drinks that often serve as a quick nutritious breakfast at home or more commonly on the run where people stop for one at the abundant street stands.

Licuados are blended milk and fruit similar to smoothies but not as thick. They are also known as batidos.

Banana Liquado with Vanilla and Cinammon

How to Make

Making authentic licuados couldn’t be easier. Toss your ingredients into your blender and blend for 1 minute until frothy. Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. That’s it.

This licuado is a classic combination of banana, milk, cinnamon, and sugar. To make your licuado a little more substantial you can add a few tablespoons of rolled oats for extra energy.

If you want your licuado to be more smoothie-like, blend with a cup of ice.

Ingredients You’ll Need

ripe bananas
cold milk
sugar
real vanilla extract
ground cinnamon

Looks good, doesn’t it?

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

4 from 12 votes

Banana Licuado (Batido) Recipe

Classic Mexican licuado (batido) prepared with banana, milk, cinnamon, and sugar. Similar to a smoothie but not as thick. A quick nutritious breakfast at home or on the run. Super easy to make and less than 5 minutes of prep time.

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Drink

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Banana Batido Recipe, Banana Licuado Recipe, How to Make Banana Licuado

Servings: 10 oz. glasses

Calories: 302kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas
4 ½ cups cold milk
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. real vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 cinammon sticks for garnish optional

Instructions

Blend the banana, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon for 1 minute until frothy.
Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a cinnamon stick.

Notes

If you prefer a thicker licuado, blend with 1 cup of ice.
Optional: Add ¼ cup rolled oats when blending.
You can substitute the fruit of your choice for the banana and it will be great too.

Nutrition

More Mexican Drinks

Banana Recipes

Pan-fried Bananas with Lechera

Tequila & Mezcal – Mexico’s Beloved Spirits

By Rocio Carvajal

Food history writer, cook and author

With a certain degree of confidence, I can say that two of the most popular and internationally recognised Mexican drinks are tequila and mezcal, their role in the cultural construct about Mexican gastronomy has been key to the idea that fiery Mexican food must always be paired with throat burning liquors, after even Elvis Presley came and drank tequila shots and cocktails like a sailor during the golden years of Acapulco Bay when it was as the most exclusive resort for international movie stars who know maybe this was the curse and blessing that created a long-lasting cultural cliché.

The Consumption of Spirits in Mexico

The consumption of spirits in Mexico has a fascinating cultural history because they practically didn’t exist before the Spanish conquest in 1521 and the few alcoholic beverages that were available were part of highly controlled religious rituals and typically were neither sold nor consumed freely. But the Spaniards who hadn’t had a problem with abundant secular drinking made indigenous fermented drinks and newly added brewed spirits available to purchase and enjoy for anyone who could afford them, this had a deep impact in the new colonial society in which indigenous people had to go through a phase of adapting creating a new relationship with this situation, but they reached a middle ground in which they attributed mystical connections to drinks like tequila and mezcal, they began using them for spiritual cleanses, rituals, and as part of offers to saints, to this day these drinks have a place at many Day of the dead altars, because is already annoying to be dead no need to be deprived of some booze right? A popular saying exemplifies how distilled spirits mark all sorts of occasions: For all evil mezcal and for all good mezcal too! I’m sure many of you have heard, seen and even enjoyed tequila and mezcal on many occasions but do you know what’s difference between them? Is it the taste? the colour? The flavour?

Turns out that in Mexico Mezcal is name given name to the category of all agave-based spirits, this technically makes tequila a type of mezcal, the confusion begins with the fact that the word “mezcal” is also given to a specific spirit. There’s been a long ongoing debate about the origins of mezcales, specifically because the technology used to obtain them is commonly assumed to be a European import that was introduced after the conquest of Mexico, after all the use of metal alloys to build kettles, fermenting units, funnels and pipes were practically unheard of for pre-Columbian tribes.

Mexcalmetl

A beautifully illustrated document from the 16^th C. compiled by Fray Bernardino de Sahagun called the “Florentine codex” is one of the most compelling sources of information about life, culture, traditions, and even economy during the complex period of colonial Mexico, in one of the books that comprise this codex there are mentions of distilled mezcales in the western valleys of Mexico using European technology, the indigenous name for the type of agave that was used is “mexcalmetl” which is probably why the Spanish used a derived word to call the distilled drink mezcal, which is one of the many agroindustries that started in the 16^th century and still continues to thrive to this day.

There is a place where the earth seems as blue as the sky, and the air is thick with sweet and smoky notes of barbecued agave. In the dramatic western planes of Mexico, the state of Jalisco is home to the little romantic town of Tequila which is the undisputed capital of the nation’s most loved spirit, but this is just one of the five tequila producing regions, other states are Nayarit in the Pacific coast, Guanajuato, Michoacán and Tamaulipas, all of them grow the beautiful agave tequilana also known as Blue Agave, that thrives in hot sandy soils, the heart of the plant or pineapple as it is called can reach a weight between 40 and 90 kilos. Unlike the pulque production that requires a slow extraction and fermentation of the sap from other varieties of agave; mezcales such as tequila require cooking the actual heart of the plant and to do this, the sharp long branches are cut off by a professional known as Jimador who harvests and cleans the body or “pineapple” as it is traditionally called, then it is usually chopped and barbecued in rustic or industrial ovens, then comes the juicing of the cooked plant to extract the all the sap that has a strong, deep, herbal, bitter and smoky flavour which is quite undrinkable at this stage, next a long boiling process followed by fermenting, distilling and filtering. Although the final product is an extremely young tequila it can be consumed at your own peril and only recommended if you have a sailor’s throat, most types of tequila are aged before and after bottling.

Which Tequila is for You?

If you are wondering how to know which type of tequila is the right one for you, don’t worry here comes your survival guide to know your tequilas:

White tequila is the strongest, it is sharp and barely aged, has a strong whiplash after drinking it, it is practically crystal clear and is the most commonly used to prepare cocktails.
Añejos or aged are those that have been nicely resting from one to less than nine years, the deepness of the flavour becomes richer and has a less burning sensation on the mouth, the wooden and smokey notes intensify and the colour changes from golden honey to light amber and
Extra añejo or heritage tequilas that have been aged for more than nine years are not only alarmingly more expensive but they tend to become milder, with a softer taste and they can even develop sweet notes.

Although tequila is commonly paired with rich, piquant, and flavourful Mexican dishes, you can always experiment with your own pairings and of course, appreciate it on its own.

Now let’s pause for a second and dig deeper into the history of the use of these wonderful agaves in ancient Mexico, turns out that this highly versatile plant was used quite effectively by the indigenous people: the spines were often used as needles, the plant’s fibers provided strong threads to weave all sorts of bags and sacks, sandals and even clothes, the sap was used as a sweetening syrup, the pulp was used to make paper and the discarded parts of the plant were dried and used as fuel but it didn’t end there as the ashes which are an excellent antiseptic were used to treat exposed wounds and even clean their teeth.

Mezcal

And now a bit of Mezcal. The regions that produce mezcal are much bigger than those which produce tequila, there are nearly 40 different cultivars of agave mezcalero, and some states like Guanajuato share the production of both spirits, the arid deserts of Durango, famous for its many scorpions, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas and Puebla they all have a relatively small but appreciated production of artisan mezcales, but certainly Guerrero and Oaxaca are the most famous producers.

Mezcal has a more labour intensive artisan production than that of tequila, the hearts or pineapples from the agaves are harvested and cleaned in a similar way for making tequila, but they are cooked whole and often in hole barbecues covered with earth, then they are chopped and ground in a mule- powered mill, the rest of the process doesn’t differ much from tequila, which involves boiling, distilling and filtering. The many varieties of mezcal differ in the type of agave that it is used, cooking times for the pineapple, and the aging process, but mezcales have an important distinction from tequila and that is that they are often infused with different ingredients to add flavours, some, for example, have honey, orange peel, aniseed or cinnamon, and in the case of Oaxaca, there is a type of mezcal that is distilled with chicken or turkey breasts and is not uncommon to also add insects or animals to the mezcal when bottling it, these can be agave worms, scorpions, and even snakes.

Mezcal is often served with sweet orange wedges sprinkled with worm and chili salt while tequila, on the other hand, is served with lime and salt. There is a huge variety of recipes to prepare cocktails with tequila or mezcal but if you are curious to understand and learn to appreciate these drinks it is well worth trying them on their own, drink them slowly and let this grand spirits speak to you, Salud!

Pass the Chipotle Podcast

This story is featured on Episode 7 of Pass the Chipotle Podcast , a show dedicated to exploring the edible treasures of Mexico, written and produced by Rocio Carvajal.

Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher . www.passthechipotle.com

Mexican Drinks with Liqueurs and Spirits

Chia Lime Water

Michelada, a spicy beer cocktail.

Agua de Chia con Limón

Delicious, tart chia lime agua fresca, limeade (limonada) with chia seeds added. Whole limes are blended with water then strained which gives the drink a pronounced lime taste.

This method of preparation is common in the central part of the State of Chiapas. Prep time is only 5 minutes.

Our photographer’s mother prepared this for him regularly when he was a kid. This is a much healthier and tastier option than a soda to accompany your meal.

How to Make

You will need 2 Key limes + 2 more if you want to serve drinks with lime slices, 6 cups of water, ¼ cup sugar, and 1 heaping tablespoon of chia seeds.

Cut off both ends of the limes then cut into quarters and remove the seeds.

Blend the limes, water, and sugar for 30 seconds.

Strain the lime water into a pitcher.

Add the chia seeds to the lime water and let rest for 15 minutes. The chia seeds will absorb water, soften and turn into a gel.

Serve and enjoy!

Print Recipe

3.67 from 12 votes

Chia Lime Water Recipe

Delicious, tart chia lime agua fresca, limeade (limonada) with chia seeds added. Whole limes are blended with water then strained which gives the drink a pronounced lime taste. Andrés our photographer drank this regularly at home when he was growing up.

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Drink

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: agua fresca, chia, drink, lime

Servings: glasses

Calories: 127kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

6 cups water
1 heaping tablespoon chia seeds
2 key limes + 2 more if you want to garnish with lime slices
¼ cup sugar + to taste

Instructions

Wash the limes well with soap and water.
Cut the ends off the limes then cut into quarters and remove the seeds.
Blend the limes, water, and sugar for 30 seconds.
Strain liquid into a pitcher.
Add the chia seeds and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
Serve at room temperature or over ice.

Notes

The lime zest gives the drink a tarter more pronounced lime flavor. Add more sugar if you prefer.
If you find that is much to tart for you, you can prepare it with only the lime juice and not the whole limes.
Typically, this drink is served without ice.

Nutrition

More Aguas Frescas

How to Peel Jicama

Cooking Techniques

Video & Step-by-Step Photos

When you come across a recipe that calls for jicama, you might feel intimidated because you are not quite sure what to do with it. It’s really quite easy to clean and peel to use. Our quick tutorial will help. It will only take you a couple of minutes and there will be little waste.

Watch the Video

Photo Tutorial

Before starting, scrub your jicama well under running water with a vegetable brush to remove any loose dirt.

Cut the root end off.

Cut a couple of vertical notches in the skin starting where you cut the root off. Grab the skin and pull. It should peel off easily.

Continue peeling off the skin all the way around. Use a paring knife to remove any bits of skin that didn’t come off.

Your jicama is clean and ready to be sliced.

Let us know if you have any questions about cleaning jicama.

Recipes with Jicama

Spicy Mexican Fruit Salad

More Cooking Techniques

Restaurante Toribio

Places and Events

Meats Grilled over Hardwood Charcoal

When you are in San Miguel de Allende and you are in the mood for meat, Restaurante Toribio is your place. The restaurant specializes in meats grilled over hardwood charcoal. The inspiration comes from the childhood memories of co-owner Lourdes Rivera. She has imbued the restaurant with the memories of spending time on her grandmother’s ranch. Lourdes has worked with chef Eli Perez to ensure the flavor memories are in the dishes.

Lourdes Rivera

Lourdes artist and owner of Galeria Manuk in addition to being co-owner of Restaurante Toribio. Her artistic sensibility is felt in the restaurant and the dishes.

Chef Eli Perez

Eli Perez, who’s hometown is Moroleón, Guanajuato, is the chef and manager. Her love for cooking came from her mother and grandmothers. Her mother taught her to love preparing desserts, especially apple pie. She has fond memories of her grandmother’s cooking, the smell of arroz con leche, dulce de frijol, refried beans, and salsa prepared in the molcajete.

Eli studied gastronomy in Morelia, Michoacán. When she finished her studies she moved to Mexico City where she worked under some of the best-known chefs in Mexico, Yuri de Gortari and Ricardo Muñoz Zurita. Two years ago she moved to San Miguel de Allende to continue her culinary adventures.

The Food

Pictures are the best way to get to know the food of Toribio. Of course, eating is even better. Enjoy!

Start with the ribeye with charro beans, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

Pork ribs in BBQ sauce.

Grilled corn.

Steak and baked potato.

The taco platter with 3 salsas, charro beans, rice, onion, and mashed potatoes and gravy.

House salad with chicharron and vinagrette.

Tomato orange salad.

Tortilla soup.

Carrot soup.

Tequila cocktail.

Lime infused tres leches cake. See the Mexican Food Journal tres leches cake recipe.

Strawberries in yogurt.

Toribio is a special place to visit with friends and family. The food is fantastic. The prices are really reasonable. The service is sharp and relaxed at the same time.

Contact

Address: Libramiento a Dolores Hidalgo #11, San Miguel de Allende, 37732

Telephone: 01 415 121 0752

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Other Favorite Restaurants

Grilled Beef Dishes

Spicy Mexican Fruit Salad

Salads

Jicama, Pineapple, Watermelon, Tajín, and Chia Seeds

Crunchy, tart, sweet, and spicy and all kinds of tasty. A super easy spicy Mexican fruit salad you can prepare in 10 minutes.

We used jicama, pineapple, and watermelon for our salad but you can mix and match your favorite fruits and it will be great every time. The chia seeds add a nice extra crunch and some nutrition too.

If you have never tried eating fruit with chili powder and lime juice you are in for a treat. Sweet goes really well with spicy. We used Tajín brand chili powder. It’s our favorite and it’ really easy to find at most supermarkets.

People say that eating healthy isn’t tasty but this salad proves them wrong. This is better than eating candy. Really.

Let us know in the comments below what you think of the recipe. Provecho!

Print Recipe

4 from 6 votes

Spicy Mexican Fruit Salad with Tajin and Chia

Versatile Mexican fruit salad, ensalada de fruta, prepared with jicama, pineapple, watermelon, Tájin chili powder, and chia seeds. It's crunchy, tart, sweet, and spicy. Preparation time is only ten minutes.

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: chia, fruit salad, jicama, pineapple, salad, Tajin, watermelon

Servings: servings

Calories: 199kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

¼ watermelon
1 small pineapple
1 medium jicama 6” to 7” inches across
Juice from 1 ½ Key limes Mexican Limes
1 ½ tsp. Tajín chili powder
1 tbsp. chia seeds

Instructions

Remove the skin from the jicama and cut into 1 ½” x ½” pieces. (
How to peel)
Remove the skin from the pineapple and cut into 1” pieces.
Cut the watermelon into 1” pieces and remove the seeds.
Put the cut-up fruit into a serving bowl. Squeeze the juice of the limes over the fruit.
Sprinkle the Tajín then the chia seeds over the fruit.
Serve immediately.

Notes

The salad will keep for a day in the fridge if you don’t put the lime juice, chili powder and, chia on it. Sprinkle these ingredients on when you are ready to serve.
Orange, mango, and papaya are good options for a fruit salad.

Nutrition

More Mexican Salads

Chopped Pork Torta

Pork

Torta de Pierna

What is a torta? Well, if you love sandwiches, you will be blown away by tortas, the Mexican version of a sandwich. Trust us on this one. They’re amazing!

Just like sandwiches, tortas come with an infinite variety of fillings. This one is prepared with chopped pork leg, refried beans, shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapeños, and avocado.

In Mexico, you grab a torta when you want something quick, tasty, and filling at lunchtime. They are sold everywhere. On the street, in mini-markets and loncherías. They are almost as easy to find as tacos.

How to Make a Torta

Start by gathering your ingredients. You will need 4 rolls. In Mexico, the type of rolls used to make tortas are bolillos or teleras.

We used bolillos for this torta. If you can’t find either one of these rolls, French rolls are a good substitute. Like with a sandwich, the better the bread the better the sandwich.

Ingredients:

4 rolls (bolillos, teleras or French rolls)
1 ¼lb pork leg with a little fat. The fat keeps the meat moist and adds flavor.
1 ½ cups refried beans
1 cup mayonnaise
2 small white onions
3 or 4 small plum tomatoes
2 small avocados
7 oz. can of jalapeño chiles in vinegar
½ teaspoon sea salt

Preparing the Pork

Place the pork and ¼ white onion in a large pot and top with 2″ of water.

Bring to a boil and then cook for 1 hour 15 minutes until you can pull the meat apart with a fork. Add water if needed so the pot doesn’t go dry.

Now the pork is ready to prepare the filling.

Roughly chop the pork with a knife.

Use your fingers to pull the pork into bite-sized pieces.

Preheat 2 tablespoons cooking oil to medium-hot and add the shredded pork and ½ teaspoon salt.

Cook for about 5 minutes stirring frequently to brown the pork.

Set the pork aside while you prepare the roll.

Preparing the Torta

Start with your favorite roll.

Slice the roll in half and generously spread mayonnaise on both pieces.

Over medium heat, toast the bread with mayonnaise in the same pan that you browned the pork. The bread will pick up a really nice pork flavor.

This is how your toasted roll should look.

Now it’s time to add all of the ingredients to build your torta. First, spread refried beans on the bottom half of the bread.

Then, top with the browned pork.

Top the pork with shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, onion, and vinegar jalapeños.

On the top half of the bread add avocado slices. Use a spoon to scoop out slices of avocado.

This is much easier than peeling the avocado and slicing it with a knife.

Carefully place the top half of the roll onto the torta. Serve with a bowl of extra chiles on the side.

Enjoy a favorite Mexican torta!

A great article about the history of the torta. We’re not the only ones who love them. Provecho!

Print Recipe

4 from 4 votes

Pork Leg Torta Recipe

A great torta (a type of Mexican sandwich) prepared with chopped pork leg, refried beans, shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapeños, and avocado served on a toasted roll.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 30

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: pork, sandwich, torta

Servings: tortas

Calories: 1098kcal

Author: Douglas Cullen

Ingredients

4 rolls bolillos, teleras or French rolls
1 ¼ lb pork leg with a little fat
1 ½ cups refried beans
1 cup mayonnaise
2 small white onions
3 or 4 small plum tomatoes
2 small avocados
7 oz. can of jalapeño chiles in vinegar
½ tsp. sea salt

Instructions

Preparing the Pork Filling

Place the pork and ¼ white onion in a large pot and cover with 2" of water.
Bring to a boil and then cook for 1 hour 15 minutes until you can pull the meat apart with a fork. Add water if needed so the pot doesn't go dry.
Remove the pork from the cooking liquid. (Save the liquid for use in another dish. It’s packed with flavor.)
Roughly chop the pork with a knife.
Use your fingers to pull the pork into bite-sized pieces.
Preheat 2 tablespoons cooking oil to medium-hot and add the shredded pork and ½ teaspoon salt.
Cook for about 5 minutes stirring frequently to brown the pork.
Set the pork aside while you prepare the roll.

Assembling the Torta

Slice the roll in half and generously spread mayonnaise on both pieces.
Over medium heat, toast the bread with mayonnaise in the same pan that you browned the pork.
Spread refried beans on the bottom half of the bread.
Then, top with the browned pork.
Top the pork with shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, sliced onion, and vinegar jalapeños.
On the top half of the bread add avocado slices.
Carefully place the top half of the roll onto the torta.

Nutrition

What is your favorite type of torta? Let us know!

More Sandwich and Torta Recipes

More Pork Recipes

Mexican Kahlua Hot Chocolate

Chocolate Caliente con Kahlua

Interested in a hot chocolate for grownups? This one is prepared with earthy Mexican chocolate and Kahlua, a coffee-flavored liqueur for a little extra warmth on a chilly evening.

We first tried this drink at a gallery opening in San Miguel de Allende. They were serving it to the guests instead of the typical cheap white wine. A great decision in our book.

We were told that it is very popular in San Luis Potosí. We don’t know if that is true but it is very popular with us.

How to Make

You will need 3 cups of milk, 1 Mexican chocolate tablet, 3 ounces of Kahlua, and 2 cinnamon sticks. To froth the chocolate you will need a wooden molinillo or a wire whisk. The recipe makes two 12oz. cups but you can easily increase the recipe to serve at your next party.

The chocolate tablet contains piloncillo, a very rustic brown sugar, and cinnamon. If you have never tried Mexican chocolate, you should because it’s a real treat. The flavor is earthy and the texture is rustic.

Where to Buy

The most common Mexican chocolate brands are Abuelita and Ibarra brands. If you can’t find Mexican chocolate at your local supermarket, you can order artisanal chocolate made in Oaxaca through HERNÁN, specialists in premium Mexican food and kitchenware. (BUY)

Disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a small commission if you click through and purchase a product. We only recommend authentic products that we use and love.

Ingredients to Make Kahlua Hot Chocolate

Put the milk and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan and turn the heat to low.

When bubbles start appearing in the milk add the chocolate tablet.

Use the molinillo or wire whisk to froth the milk and dissolve the chocolate tablet.

Keep frothing until the chocolate has dissolved completely.

Add the Kahlua and froth for a few seconds.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy! You might be interested in our traditional Mexican hot chocolate recipe too.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Mexican Kahlua Hot Chocolate Recipe

Mexican hot chocolate prepared with Kahlua, a coffee-flavored liqueur for a little extra warmth on a chilly evening. This is the grownup version of hot chocolate. The warm fuzzies in a cup.

Cook Time15

Total Time15

Course: Drink

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: chocolate, drink, hot chocolate, Kahlua, winter

Servings: 12oz. cups

Calories: 462kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

3 cups whole milk
1 tablet Mexican chocolate 3oz. BUY
2 cinnamon sticks
3 ounces Kahlua or coffee liqueur

Instructions

Put the milk and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan and turn the heat to low. (Do not allow the milk to boil)
When bubbles start appearing in the milk add the chocolate tablet.
Use the
molinillo
or wire whisk to froth the milk and dissolve the chocolate tablet.
Keep frothing until the chocolate has dissolved completely.
Add the Kahlua and froth for a few seconds.
Serve immediately.

Notes

The prepared drink is a little bit coarse. Not all of the chocolate dissolves.
Serve with whipped cream or marshmallows if you like.

Nutrition

More Mexican Drinks

Mexican Spirits and Liqueurs

Chorizo and Egg Breakfast Burrito

A Great Start to Your Morning

Breakfast burritos are a great way to start your weekend morning. They are filling and tasty and not too complicated to prepare. We love breakfast burritos with prepared with scrambled eggs and chorizo but they are also great prepared with breakfast sausage.

If you have any burritos left over, which is unlikely, you can wrap them and freeze them to use later when you need a really quick hearty breakfast.

How to Make

To make Mexican breakfast burritos, you will need: 6 large eggs, 10 ozs. Mexican chorizo, 1 large white potato, ½ medium white onion, 1 small bunch spring onions, 6 ounces ranchero cheese (queso ranchero), 2 medium avocados, 4 large or 6 medium flour tortillas, 2 cups of your favorite salsa.

Prep the Chorizo

Cut the chorizo in half lengthwise.

Remove the casing and discard.

Break the chorizo into chunks.

Oaxaca Style Chorizo with Casing Removed

Cooking the Burrito Filling

Chop the onions and potatoes into ¼″ pieces. Over medium heat, cook the onions in 1 tsp. oil for 1 minute.

Add the potatoes and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until the potatoes start to brown.

Add the chorizo and cook for 12 minutes until the chorizo has given up most of it fat.

Beat the eggs and pour them into the pan.

Let the eggs set for one minute. Then turn. Cook until the eggs have just set and break up the eggs with your spatula. If needed, cook for couple more minutes until all of the egg has cooked.

Rolling the Burrito

Now comes the fun part, making your burrito.

Start by cutting the avocado into ¼” pieces. Slice the spring onion into very thin rings including the 2” of the green stem.

Heat the tortillas in a dry pan until they start to puff up and become pliable. Heat them for about 30 seconds per side.

On the warm tortillas, place the chorizo and eggs, then add about 1 oz. of crumbled cheese, a couple of tbsps. of diced avocado and 2 tbsps. of salsa.

Fold the bottom of the tortilla up about 1″ then fold the sides of the tortilla in about 1″.

Roll the burrito tightly tucking the sides of the tortilla in as you go.

It should form a tight cylinder with even ends.

Slice the burrito in half to serve.

Chorizo Egg Breakfast Burrito with Salsa Verde

Serve with extra salsa for dipping and some chopped avocado topped with crumbled cheese and sliced spring onion on the side as a garnish. A little sour cream or crema is great too.

Provecho!

Print Recipe

4.46 from 11 votes

Chorizo Egg Breakfast Burrito Recipe

Chorizo, egg, potato, and avocado breakfast burritos with ranchero cheese and salsa verde. Filling, tasty, and not too complicated. Just right for weekend mornings. Make ahead, great for freezer burritos. (Although, we prefer them freshly made. They're so good they never seem to make it to the freezer.)

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: breakfast burrito recipe, burrito, chorizo, how to make breakfast burritos, salsa verde, scrambled eggs

Servings: burritos

Calories: 889kcal

Author: Douglas Cullen

Ingredients

6 large eggs
10 ozs. Mexican chorizo spicy pork sausage
1 large white potato
1 medium white onion
1 small bunch spring onions
6 ounces ranchero cheese queso ranchero
2 medium avocados
4 large or 6 medium flour tortillas
2 cups of your favorite salsa try the salsa verde
½ tsp. salt

Instructions

Prep the Chorizo
Cut the chorizo in half.
Remove the casing with your fingers and discard.
Break the chorizo into chunks and set aside.
Cooking the Burrito Filling
Chop the onions and potatoes into ¼″ pieces. Over medium heat, cook the onions in 1 tsp. oil for 1 minute.
Add the potatoes and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until the potatoes start to brown.
Add the chorizo and cook for 12 minutes until the chorizo has given up most of it fat.
Beat the eggs with ½ tsp. salt and pour them into the pan with the chorizo, potato, and onion.
Let the eggs set for one minute. Then turn. Cook until the eggs have just set and break up the eggs with your spatula. Cook for couple more minutes until all of the egg has cooked through.
Rolling the Burrito
Cut the avocado into ¼” pieces. Slice the spring onion into very thin rings including the 2” of the green stem.
Heat the tortillas in a dry pan until they start to puff up and become pliable. Heat them for about 30 seconds per side. Don't let the tortilla become crispy which makes it difficult to roll.
On the warm tortillas, place the chorizo and eggs, then add about 1 oz. of crumbled cheese, a couple of tbsps. of diced avocado and 2 tbsps. of salsa.
Fold the bottom of the tortilla up about 1" then fold the sides of the tortilla in about 1”.
Roll the burrito tightly tucking the sides of the tortilla in as you go. It should form a tight cylinder with even ends.
Slice the burrito in half to serve.
Serve with extra salsa for dipping and some chopped avocado topped with crumbled cheese and sliced spring onion on the side as a garnish.

Notes

Yield

4 large burritos or 6 medium size burritos.

Substitutions

You can substitute breakfast sausage for the chorizo.
Spanish chorizo is tasty too.

Salsas

Try these salsa with your burritos.

Freezer Burritos

If you want to make freezer burritos, omit the avocado when you prepare them. Avocado doesn’t freeze well or reheat well.
To store them wrap them tightly in aluminum foil and then seal them in a zipper freezer bag.

How to Reheat Freezer Burritos

Frying pan or griddle method – leave the burritos in the aluminum foil. Place the wrapped burritos in your frying pan with no oil over very low heat. Cook for 4 minutes then turn the burritos and cook for 4 minutes. Cooking times will vary depending on the size of your burritos.
Microwave method – remove the aluminum foil from your burritos. Place and a plate. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Turn the burrito over and microwave on high for 1 minute. Cooking times will vary due to the size of the burritos and the power of your microwave.

Nutrition

Favorite Mexican Breakfast Dishes

Migas Norteñas

Fried Tortillas Strips, Scrambled Eggs, and Salsa

Are migas for breakfast or dinner? In my house, migas are for both. We have them for dinner once or twice a week and on weekend mornings. Never had migas? You should. They are fried corn tortilla strips mixed with scrambled eggs and coated with your favorite salsa. I would call them a cousin of chilaquiles.

Migas are economical home cooking at its best where you use up every last bit of what you have on hand to create something delicious. You always have the ingredients: a few stale tortillas, some eggs, some salsa, a bit of crumbly cheese and a hunk of onion.

The name migas means “crumbs” or perhaps “scraps.” You wouldn’t think that “scraps” could be so tasty but they are.

Variations

I learned to prepare migas in Northern Mexico where you mix the salsa with the migas in the pan. That’s why I call these Migas Norteñas. In Central Mexico, they prefer their add the salsa to their migas at the table. More than once, I have had a testy conversation about the proper way to prepare them. Of course, I am right ;)

Mexican migas tend to be less elaborate than Tex-Mex style migas which may have diced tomato, bell peppers, avocado, Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, and all kinds of other things. Tex-Mex migas are excellent but I prefer the simplicity of migas prepared Mexican style.

How to Make

Ingredients:

You will need to gather the following:

4 eggs
4 corn tortillas
½ cup salsa
¼ white onion
8 sprigs of cilantro
3 ounces ranchero cheese
1 ½ cups refried beans and a few corn chips.

Beat the eggs, pull the tortillas into short strips and chop the onion and cilantro.

Add the shredded tortillas to 3 tbsp. preheated oil.

Adding Tortilla Strips to Hot Oil in Pan

Cook stirring occasionally until the tortilla strips are golden and just reaching the point when they become crispy.

Pour the beaten eggs into the pan and turn the heat to medium-low.

Let the eggs set for 1 minute.

Turn and break up the eggs. Continue cooking until the eggs are just set.

Add ½ cup of your favorite salsa. You want enough salsa to coat the migas but not so much that the migas become soggy.

Stir well until the migas are thoroughly coated with salsa and cook for 1 minute.

Serving

Top your migas with crumbled ranchero cheese, chopped onion, and cilantro. Serve with refried beans and a few corn chips on the side.

How do you like your migas prepared?

Provecho!

Print Recipe

3.89 from 18 votes

Mexican Migas Recipe

Migas – fried corn tortilla strips mixed with scrambled eggs and coated with salsa. Economical Mexican home cooking at its best where you use up every last bit of what you have on hand to create something delicious.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Breakfast, Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: How to Make Migas, Migas Recipes

Servings: servings

Calories: 630kcal

Author: Douglas Culen

Ingredients

4 eggs
4 corn tortillas
½ cup salsa
¼ white onion
8 sprigs of cilantro
3 ounces ranchero cheese
1 ½ cups refried beans
6 corn chips

Instructions

Beat the eggs, pull the tortillas into short strips and chop the onion and cilantro.
Add the shredded tortillas to 3 tbsp. preheated oil.
Cook stirring occasionally until the tortilla strips are golden and just reaching the point when they become crispy.
Pour the beaten eggs into the pan.
Let the eggs set for 1 minute.
Turn and break up the eggs. Continue cooking until the eggs are just set.
Add ½ cup of your favorite salsa.
Stir well until the migas are thoroughly coated with salsa and cook for 1 minute.
Top your migas with crumbled ranchero cheese, chopped onion, and cilantro. Serve with refried beans and a few corn chips on the side.

Notes

Stale tortillas make better migas.
You can substitute tortilla chips for the fried tortillas.

Nutrition

More Mexican Breakfast Recipes

Ancho Chile

Chiles

A Mild, Slightly Sweet Dried Chile

If you are cooking Mexican, you will be using many types of chiles both fresh and dried. The ancho chile, a poblano chile that has been dried, is a staple in Mexican cooking. It serves as the base of an infinite variety of sauces and salsas. Ancho means wide. Therefore, in Spanish, it’s known as the “wide” chile.

Characteristics

The ancho is a slightly sweet mild dried Chile with a smell very similar to raisins. It has a lot of flesh which gives sauces and salsas good body. Sauces prepared with anchos have a rich deep red color which looks beautiful on the plate. Anchos add a lot of flavor to a dish but little heat. If you are new to cooking with dried chiles this is a good one to start with.

How to Choose

Where to Buy

Ancho chiles should be available in any supermarket that carries dried chiles. Markets that cater to Mexican shoppers will have the freshest chiles because there will be a high turnover. If you are unable to find them at your local store, you can order them online through MexGrocer or Amazon.

Recipes that Use Ancho Chiles

Other Dried Chiles

Guajillo Chile

Shredded Beef Tacos

Beef

Tacos de Carne Deshebrada

Taquería style shredded beef tacos on corn tortillas garnished with finely chopped onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salsa verde or your favorite homemade salsa.

How to Make

You will need 1 ¼lb of skirt steak, 1 large white onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 12 sprigs cilantro, 12 to 16 small tortillas (taqueria size), and 2 cups of your favorite salsa. We love them with salsa verde.

Cooking the Beef

Place the beef, onion, and garlic in a pot. Cover with 1″ of water.

Bring the water to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. The meat is ready when you can pull the meat apart with your fingers. It may take more than 1 hour. Test the meat after 1 hour if it needs more time to cook for another 15 minutes and check again. Repeat if necessary.

Boiled Skirt Steak to Make Shredded Beef

Shredding the Meat

Cut the beef into 2″ to 3″ inch strips then use your fingers to tear the meat into thin strips. This is a bit tedious but worth the effort.

Seasoning the Taco Meat

Heat 2 tbsp. of cooking oil to medium-hot. Add the shredded meat to the hot oil. Stir and cook for 2 minutes until the meat is just starting to brown.

Add 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce that adds a touch of sweetness and enhances the beef flavor. Don’t add more. You can have too much of a good thing. Too much Worcestershire sauce overpowers the flavor of the meat.

Add 1 /4 cup of the beef cooking broth and ¼ tsp. salt. Stir. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid has just evaporated. This makes tender nicely seasoned taco meat.

Garnish & Salsa

Remove the stems from the cilantro and discard. Very finely chop the cilantro. Very finely chop the remaining ½ white onion. Cut the limes into quarters.

Tacos are nothing without salsa. Everyone has their favorites. We recommend any of these: salsa verde, fresh tomatillo salsa verde, or the habanero salsa.

Serving

Heat the tortillas on a comma or griddle. Always serve your tacos with hot tortillas. Place 2 tbsp. shredded beef on each tortilla. Top with a sprinkle of chopped onion, cilantro, a squirt of lime and a spoonful of your favorite salsa.

Take care when you are plating the tacos. Presentation counts. There is an expression in Spanish, “de la vista nace el amor,” which means love starts at first sight. A beautiful taco is a tastier taco.

Are you hungry yet? Provecho!

Print Recipe

3.34 from 6 votes

Shredded Beef Tacos Recipe

Authentic taquería style shredded beef tacos on corn tortillas garnished with finely chopped onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salsa verde or your favorite homemade salsa.

Cook Time1 20

Total Time1 20

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Beef Tacos, How to Make Shredded Beef Tacos, Shredded Beef Tacos, Shredded Beef Tacos Recipe

Servings: tacos

Calories: 496kcal

Author: Douglas Cullen

Ingredients

1 ¼ lb. of skirt steak
1 large white onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
12 sprigs cilantro
12 to 16 small tortillas taqueria size
2 cups of your favorite salsa We like salsa verde

Instructions

Shredded Beef

Place the beef, ½ onion, and garlic in a pot. Cover with 1" of water.
Bring the water to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. The meat is ready when you can pull the meat apart with your fingers.
Cut the meat into 2” to 3 “ strips. Then use your fingers to pull the meat apart into thin strips.
Heat 2 tbsp. of cooking oil in a large frying pan then add the shredded beef to the hot oil. Stir the beef and fry for 2 minutes until the beef is just starting to brown.
Add 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce and 1 /4 cup of the beef cooking broth and stir. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid has just evaporated.

Garnish

Remove the stem from the cilantro and discard. Very finely chop the cilantro.
Very finely chop the remaining ½ white onion.
Cut the limes into quarters.

Serving

Heat the tortillas on a comal or griddle.
Place 2 tbsp. shredded beef on each tortilla.
Top with a sprinkle of chopped onion, cilantro, a squirt of lime and a spoonful of your favorite salsa.

Notes

Recommended Salsas

Substitutions

You can substitute Maggi sauce for the Worcestshiresauce sauce.
You can use flour tortillas instead of corn.

Storage

The meat will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator and 2 months in the freezer.
If you make a double batch, you can freeze half for later use. The shredded beef freezes well.

Nutrition

More Authentic Taco Recipes

Traditional Mexican Builder’s Lunch

Why we love Mexican builder’s lunches (And You Should, Too!)

By Rocio Carvajal

The all pleasant feeling of coming home and relaxing can certainly be too easily taken for granted, do we remember when we had no home to call our own? For those lucky to have built their own house, how often do you remember the very first night you spent there? Across every culture, securing a home constitutes a milestone in our lives as we will share countless days with our loved ones and share the good things in life, which is why in Mexico on May 3^rd we celebrate those hardworking men who work tirelessly to build our homes. The day of the Holy Cross is one of the most fascinating and less known social and religious rituals where food and gratitude bring everybody at the table.

A Hybrid Celebration

Mexico, like most Christian countries, has many traditions and festivities that date back to ancient “pagan” rites and celebrations, in pre Columbian Mexico the fifth month or metztli was dedicated to Tlaloc, the Nahuatl god of rain, these celebrations marked the beginning of growing season, however at the arrival of Christianism to Mexico, many friars and monks decided to get resourceful adapted an ancient celebration established by the emperor Constantine called the “feast of the cross” that used to take place on September 14^th but changed it to May the 3d.

Nowadays there’s many hybrid celebrations that take place during the whole month of May, for instance in the state of Puebla located in the central high-planes of Mexico special weather-shamans called tiemperos climb up the steep paths that lead to the Volcanoes of Popocatepetl and iztaccihuatl carrying crosses, flowers, candles and incense, once they reach the sacred streams and waterfalls they pray, sing and perform dances asking San Isidro patron of rains for his blessings and to the guardian spirits of the mountains to keep the crops safe from hail, droughts and plagues. I know you might be wondering where this story is going, but bear with me, as it turns out that Constantine’s mother St Helena who converted to Christianism started a quest to find the cross of Christ which she eventually found in 326. A huge site1 was excavated to find the cross and afterwards in that place she commissioned the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where the cross is still kept, but since this quest required the continuous hard work of builders, it was decided that after the consecration of this temple on September 13- 335 builders were also celebrated for having taken part in this great project.

As previously mentioned, the Spanish friars in Mexico saw convenient to adjust a catholic celebration to overlap the indigenous rites of May with the festivities of the holy cross. The Spanish word for a builder is Albañil and it actually comes from two Arab words, one is alarife and the other al banni both used to refer to masons and builders. I myself, am the daughter of two architects so I grew up enjoying the celebratory meals that builders, contractors, and homeowners used to prepare and eat together. These experiences certainly allowed me to learn and understand the importance of appreciating and giving recognition to the people that build the homes we live in, I learnt about their generosity, camaraderie and of course their favourite meals.

The Typical Menu

Let me walk you through the menu of a proper builder’s festive menu: The meals usually take place at the construction site, communal tables are prepared and everybody sits, share and enjoy as equals, it doesn’t matter what is served, it always has to be accompanied by tortillas to make as many tacos as you can handle, the dishes available are often presented in big earthenware pots or cazuelas the unmissable are: barbecued mutton, beefsteak with onions, fried cactus, chorizo with potatoes, pork scratchings in green sauce and Mexican rice. Sometimes mole and chicken consommé are also served. The preferred drinks to wash down all that delicious food are usually cold soft drinks, the classics flavours are tamarind, pineapple, grapefruit, strawberry, and lime, but cold beers are always welcomed too. In Mexico there are at least three occasions in which homeowners and architects offer builders a big meal, one is when the foundations of a house are finished, the second when the roof is built and the third when the house is completed, these three events are huge milestones and an excellent excuse to throw a meal. On every other day, albañiles often cook their own meals when building a house,

Three Occasions for a Builder’s Lunch

In Mexico there are at least three occasions in which homeowners and architects offer builders a big meal, one is when the foundations of a house are finished, the second when the roof is built and the third when the house is completed, these three events are huge milestones and an excellent excuse to throw a meal. On every other day albañiles often cook their own meals when building a house, usually they start by building open fires with timber leftovers, then they roast chicken, chorizo or beef steaks, chilies, onions and prepare or carry good salsa and plenty of tortillas. It really doesn’t require much to make a filling and delicious lunch. On may the 3^rd the day of the holy cross, builders traditionally make a cross, big or small, repurposing leftover materials from the construction sites and they attend a special service where the local priest or even a bishop would say a special mass for them and proceed to bless the crosses. Since the designs and creativity poured in the details is really impressive, many towns also make special contests and give power tools and other prizes to the lucky winners.

The way Christianism took shape in Mexico is full of intricate stories and ancient traditions that are as complex as fascinating, but in this case like in many others it ends with a happy and delicious meal, So, here’s a toast to all albañiles, whose hard work, cheerful spirit and generosity teach us great life lessons that of course are accompanied by scrumptious food.

You can listen to this and other delicious stories on Pass the Chipotle Podcast, written and produced by Rocio Carvajal. Food historian cook and author.

Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher

Sabor! Magazine Fall 2017

Celebrating Mexico’s Street Food

PUBLISHER: ROCIO CARVAJAL, FOOD RESEARCHER, COOK, AND AUTHOR.

Join me on a delicious journey exploring Mexico’s the fascinating gastronomy, its origins, recipes, and traditions.

Celebrate The Nation’s Rich and Ethnically Diverse Cooking Traditions

Day or night, the busy streets of Mexico’s towns and cities are constantly buzzing with music, people, and the delicious smells that emanate from an unimaginable and amazing range of foods, snacks, and drinks. The fall issue of SABOR! This is Mexican Food, celebrates the world famous Mexican street food, and the cultural value of the nation’s rich and ethnically diverse cooking traditions.

Life in the Streets is a Necessity

For the uninitiated, Mexico’s large metropolises can be a surreal, overwhelming and fascinating experience, but behind the apparent chaos there is both a cultural logic and an amazing, even inspiring, flow of energy that underpins them. A closer look of the Mexican metropolis reveals the unspoken acknowledgment that life in the streets is a necessity rather than a lifestyle, and everybody claims their own right to own it, and in their own way. And that includes how we eat.

Discover the extraordinary history of Mexico’s street food culture from pre-Columbian times, to the colonial period and the way mega cities cope to feed its inhabitants, this issue is for all adventurers like you who seek to challenge convention and embrace the exploration of other world cuisines as a life-enhancing experience.

A Daily Celebration

In Mexico, street food is a democratic daily celebration of the nation’s rich and ethnically diverse cooking traditions; humble street food stalls are not just a familiar part of the urban landscape but also symbolic spaces of socialization, an extension of a home’s kitchen where strangers briefly share a common moment before carrying on with their daily routines.

The variety of Mexican foods that can be enjoyed on the go is almost endless, but just as the colors, flavors, and ingredients are irresistible, so are the surprising, inspiring and often humbling cultural stories behind them. But discovering the origins and social dynamics that shaped the nation’s diverse street food scene is not just about interesting stories, it’s also an opportunity to understand their value and place in shaping Mexico’s culinary identity.

In This Issue

Enjoy more than 16 delicious traditional recipes, from pastor, Arab and Baja fish tacos, to tinga tostadas, pulque meringues and the irresistible tepache, a slow fermented and spiced refresher you can prepare at home. Get ready to start a wonderful journey, with delicious recipes and articles exploring the captivating stories of immigration, creativity, and amazing ingredients that have made Mexican street food absolutely irresistible!

About Rocio

Rocio is a good friend of the Mexican Food Journal who is always willing to share her knowledge of Mexican cuisine and we would love for you to support what she does.

Rocio has a degree in Communication, an MA in International Aid for Development and studies in cultural management and medieval history. She’s passionate about food studies and the gastronomic heritage and traditions of Mexico which she explores through her many projects whether they are editorial, academic, cultural or food-related.

You can reach Rocio at: www.passthechipotle.com | hello@passthechipotle.com | Twitter: @rocio_carvajalc and @chipotlepodcast | Instagram: @rocio.pinky

Previous Issue

Summer 2017

Roasted Jalapeño Salsa

Salsas & Sauces

Intensely Flavored and Hot

Looking for a bold salsa that packs some heat? Well then, our pan-roasted jalapeño salsa is what you are looking for. The peppery flavor of the jalapeños is front and center.

Unlike most salsas where the chile peppers are added to a base of tomatoes or tomatillos, jalapeño peppers are the base of this salsa which gives it its distinct taste and extra heat.

Pan Roasted Jalapeño Salsa in Serving Bowl

How to Make

Gather your ingredients. You will need the following: 9 large jalapeño peppers, ½ large white onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 limes, 12 sprigs of cilantro, 2 tablespoon cooking oil, and 1 tsp+ salt.

Ingredients to Make Roasted Jalapeño Salsa

The 1st step is to blacken the jalapeños, onion, and garlic. Blackening adds flavor.

You want to get the peppers really black. Pan roast them in a dry pan for about 20 minutes. Leave the husks on the garlic.

After you have blackened the pepper, onion, and garlic cut the stems off of the jalapeños and place them in your blender. Remove the garlic cloves from their husks and add to your blender. Add the onion, cilantro, juice of 2 limes, ¼ cup of water, and 1 tsp salt. Blend for 30 seconds. The salsa should have some texture and body.

The Magic Step – “Seasoning the Salsa”

Frying the salsa in hot oil deepens and intensifies the flavor.

Heat 2 tablespoon of cooking oil to medium-hot in the same pan that you roasted the jalapeños. Pour the blended salsa into the hot oil. This is called “seasoning” the salsa. After 1 minute, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

Allow the salsa to cool and serve. Try it with carne asada, chicken tostadas, or quesadillas.

Give it a try. Provecho!

Print Recipe

4.36 from 34 votes

Roasted Jalapeño Salsa Recipe

Intensely flavored pan-roasted jalapeño salsa which packs some heat. The peppery flavor of the jalapeños is front and center and enhanced by onion, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice. It's easy to make and a great addition to your salsa repertoire.

Prep Time5

Cook Time35

Total Time40

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: dip, jalapeño, salsa, spicy

Servings: cups

Calories: 43kcal

Author: Douglas Cullen

Ingredients

9 large jalapeño peppers
½ large white onion
3 cloves garlic
12 sprigs of cilantro
juice of 2 limes
1 tsp. salt + to taste salt
2 tbsp. cooking oil

Instructions

Roasting and Blending

Heat a dry pan to medium-hot and add the jalapeños, onion, and garlic.
Cook until the peppers are completely blackened, about 20 minutes. Remove from the pan.
Cut the stems off of the jalapeños and place them in your blender.
Remove the garlic cloves from their husks and add to your blender.
Add the onion and cilantro, ¼ cup of water, lime juice, and 1 tsp. salt.
Blend for 30 seconds.

“Seasoning the Salsa”

Heat 2 tablespoon of cooking oil to medium-hot in the same pan that you roasted the jalapeños.
Pour the blended salsa into the hot oil. This step is called "seasoning" the salsa.

Cooking the Salsa

After 1 minute in the hot oil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. This deepens and intensifies the flavor.
After 15 minutes, take and adjust the salt if needed.

Notes

Oven Roasting the Peppers

You can also oven roast the jalapeños. Place them on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and then cook them for approximately 30 minutes turning once.

Nutrition

More Mexican Salsa Recipes

Strawberry Chipotle Cream Cheese Dip

Cheese Recipes

A Spicy-Sweet Mexican Party Dip

Everybody loves cream cheese dip. This one has the added kick of chipotle peppers in adobo added to the sweetness of strawberry jam. Did you know that chipotles are just smoked jalapeños? Serve it the next time you need a quick appetizer for a get-together. It’s a guaranteed hit.

Strawberry Chipotle Cream Cheese Dip with Crackers

How to Make

Preparation is super simple. Blend the strawberry jam with 1 or 2 chipotle peppers and 3 tablespoons of water until the chipotle is fully incorporated into the jam. Place the cream cheese on a serving plate and pour the blended sauce over the cream cheese. Adorn with a sprig of parsley if you like. Serve with your favorite crackers or bread.

Strawberry Chipotle Cream Cheese Dip Ingredients

Cream Cheese Dip with Strawberry Chipotle Sauce

Print Recipe

3.80 from 5 votes

Strawberry Chipotle Cream Cheese Dip Recipe

An easy to make spicy-sweet Mexican party dip prepared with cream cheese, chipotle peppers in adobo and strawberry jam. Preparation time is less than 5 minutes.

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: chipotle, cream cheese, dip, strawberry

Servings:

Calories: 1612kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese
½ cup strawberry jam
1 or 2 chipotle peppers in adobo
3 tablespoon water
24 crackers
Parsley sprig for garnish optional

Instructions

Blend the strawberry jam with the chipotle pepper(s) and 3 tablespoons of water.
Place the cream cheese on a serving plate and pour the strawberry chipotle sauce over the cream cheese.
Serve with your favorite crackers.

Notes

1 chipotle pepper makes the dip moderately spicy. 2 makes it quite hot.

Nutrition

More Mexican Dips

Spicy Avocado Dip

Side Dishes

“Guacamole” Dip

Easy five-minute spicy avocado dip great served with corn chips, on crackers, toast, or a topping for nachos. Habanero hot sauce adds a noticeable kick.

How to Make

Ingredients:

Start by gathering the following:

1 ripe avocado
½ cup mayonnaise
1 garlic clove
6 sprigs of cilantro
2 key limes
1 tablespoon of habanero chile hot sauce or the hot sauce of your choice.

Finely chop the garlic clove.

Remove the cilantro leaves from the stem and chop.

Squeeze the juice from the limes into a mixing bowl. Remove the flesh from the avocados and add to the bowl. Then, add the remaining ingredients except for the salt.

Mash with a fork until you get the desired consistency. We like it a little chunky. You can also blend it in the blender if you prefer it creamy.

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2.17 from 6 votes

Spicy Avocado Dip Recipe

Easy five-minute spicy avocado dip great served with corn chips, on crackers, toast or a topping for nachos. Habanero hot sauce adds the spicy kick. Try different varieties of hot sauce for different flavors.

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: avocado, dip, Easy, party

Servings: cups

Calories: 218kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado
½ cup mayonnaise
1 garlic clove
6 sprigs of cilantro
2 key limes
1 tablespoon habanero chile hot sauce or the hot sauce of your choice
a pinch of salt if needed
corn chips crackers or toast for serving

Instructions

Finely chop the garlic clove.
Remove the cilantro leaves from the stem and chop.
Squeeze the juice from the limes into a mixing bowl.
Remove the flesh from the avocados and add to the bowl.
Then, place all of the ingredients in the mixing bowl except the salt.
Mash with a fork until you get the desired consistency. We like it a little chunky. You can also blend it in the blender if you prefer it creamy.
Check the salt and add as needed.
Serve in your favorite serving bowl for dipping. You can also use it as a topping for nachos.

Notes

Use 2 tablespoons of hot sauce if you want it really spicy.
You can serve the dip on toast as a tasty variation of avocado toast.
It will last for 1 day in the refrigerator. The lime juice will keep it from going brown.
It does not freeze well.

Nutrition

More Avocado Recipes

Chipotle Lime Yogurt Salsa

Salsas & Sauces

Spicy, Smoky, Creamy, Sweet

If you are looking for an out of the ordinary salsa, try this chipotle yogurt sauce. It combines plain yogurt, smoky chipotle in adobo, tart lime, and sweet honey.

It’s great for topping beef tacos, bistec or carne asada. Fantastic with fish tacos too. Or, use it as a vegetable dip or as a salad dressing. It’s very versatile.

How to Make

It’s a snap to make. You’ll need 1 cup of plain unsweetened yogurt, ½ cup real honey, 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, the juice of 1 lime, and 1 tsp+ of salt.

Place all of the ingredients except 1 tsp. of salt in your blender and blend until the chipotle pepper has evenly incorporated. Serve immediately or refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to concentrate.

The flavor is mildly hot. Add a second chipotle pepper if you want a hotter salsa. Another chipotle also gives it a nice red color.

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3.17 from 6 votes

Chipotle Lime Yogurt Salsa Recipe

Out of the ordinary yogurt salsa prepared with smoky chipotle in adobo, tart lime, and sweet honey. Perfect for fish tacos, carne asada, or bistec. Try as a vegetable dip or a spicy salad dressing.

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Salsa

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: chipotle, dip, salsa, Sauce, yogurt

Servings: cups

Calories: 83kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

1 cup plain yogurt without sugar added
½ cup honey
1 chipotle chile in adobo
juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon salt + more to taste

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients except 1 teaspoon of salt in your blender.
Blend until the chipotle pepper has evenly incorporated.
Serve immediately or refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to concentrate.

Notes

Add a second chipotle is you want a spicier salsa.
Reduce the honey by half if you prefer a less sweet salsa.

Nutrition

More Salsa Recipes

Cream Cheese Dip with Sesame Seeds and Soy Sauce

Cheese Recipes

Dip de Queso Crema con Ajonjoli y Salsa de Soya

In Mexico, cream cheese dips are very popular at parties and get-togethers. It’s not always salsa and chips for snacks which might surprise you. Did you know that dips are also called dips in Mexico?

Cream cheese is known as queso crema or “queso Filadelfia,” like one of the best-known brands. Enjoy this recipe for a super simple, and I mean super simple, super tasty cream cheese dip made with soy sauce and sesame seeds.

ingredients for cream cheese dip on table

How to Make

You will need 8 ozs of cream cheese, 2 teaspoon of sesame seeds, and 4 tsp of a good quality soy sauce.

Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl except for ½ teaspoon of the sesame seeds which you will reserve to sprinkle on top of the dip when you serve it.

Blend with a fork until the soy sauce and sesame seeds are fully incorporated.

Once the soy sauce is fully incorporated, the cream cheese will only be lightly tinted with the soy sauce. This still needs some mixing.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

Serving

To serve, place the dip in a serving dish, sprinkle with a few sesame seeds, and top with a couple of parsley leaves. Use it as a topping for your favorite bread or crackers

Cream Cheese Dip with Sesame and Soy Sauce

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5 from 1 vote

Cream Cheese Dip with Sesame Seeds and Soy Sauce Recipe

An easy cream cheese spread prepared with soy sauce and sesame seeds that you can make in 5 minutes. Serve with your favorite bread or crackers. Perfect for parties.

Prep Time5

Total Time35

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: cream cheese, dip, Easy, party, sesame

Servings: servings

Calories: 211kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

8 oz. cream cheese about 1 cup
4 tsp. good quality soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame seeds
Your favorite bread and crackers

Instructions

Preparation

Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl except for ½ teaspoon of the sesame seeds which you will reserve to sprinkle on top of the dip when you serve it.
Blend with a fork until the soy sauce and sesame seeds are fully incorporated.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

Serving

To serve, place the dip in a serving dish, sprinkle with a few sesame seeds, and top with a couple of parsley leaves.
Use it as a topping for your favorite bread or crackers.

Notes

Variations

Toasted sesame seeds add a nice touch of flavor. To toast the seeds, preheat a dry pan over medium heat then add the sesame seeds. Move the pan continually until the seeds are just starting to brown then remove from the heat. Allow them to cool for a minute or two before incorporating into the cream cheese.

Nutrition

More Mexican Dips

Tuna Salad

Salads

Ensalada de Atún

You may not think of tuna salad as a typically Mexican dish but it is very popular. You must serve it with crackers, usually saltines (galletas saladas), and a squirt of lime.

If you forget the crackers, you will get the indignant question, “b..b..but…, where are the crackers?” You must then present the crackers or no one will eat it.

The association between tuna salad and crackers is an unbreakable bond. Think baseball and apple pie or peanut butter and jelly.

This is our photographer’s preferred way to make tuna salad. You can add a bit of minced serrano chile or hot sauce if you want it piquante. You might also like our spicy tuna salad with avocado.

Provecho!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Tuna Salad Recipe

Recipe for Mexican style tuna salad with cilantro and lime. This is our photographer's recipe. Tuna salad served with saltine crackers is a very popular quick meal in Mexico.

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: how to make mexican tuna salad, mexican tuna salad recipe, tuna salad recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 310kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

2 cans water-packed tuna
½ medium white onion
8 sprigs cilantro
3 small carrots
3 stalks celery
½ head butter lettuce or lettuce of your choice
½ cup mayonnaise
4 limes
1 package saltine crackers or your preferred crackers
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preparation

Drain the tuna very well.
Peel and finely chop the carrot.
Finely chop the onion and celery.
Remove the stems from the cilantro and finely chop the leaves.
Place the tuna and the chopped ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the mayonnaise and stir well.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Wash and separate the lettuce leaves. Pat dry with a towel.

Serving

On each cracker, place a lettuce leaf and then top with a spoonful of tuna salad. Serve with a sliced lime on the side.
You can also use it as a filling for tuna salad sandwiches.

Notes

Add a bit of minced serrano chile or hot sauce if you want it piquante (hot).

Nutrition

More Salad Recipes

Cheese Enchiladas with Mole Sauce

Enchiladas and Enmoladas

Enmoladas de Queso

These enchiladas may be different from the ones you are used to making. First, they are covered in mole (pronounced mo-Lay) not salsa, and second, they are not baked in the oven. They are cheese-filled but not definitely not “melty.”

Enchiladas topped with mole are called enmoladas. Mole is a generic term for smooth sauces made from dried chiles and they come in countless regional variations.

The most famous is mole poblano from the city of Puebla which most people know as the “chocolate sauce” which is the one we used for this recipe. All moles will give excellent results. Use the mole of your choice. Changing the variety of mole varies the flavor of the dish.

How to Prepare

Start by gathering the ingredients. You will need 1 cup of mole paste, 4 cups chicken broth or water, 1 lb. of queso fresco or panela cheese, ½ cup Mexican cream, 1 red or white onion, 12 corn tortillas, and 1 cup cooking oil. If possible, use handmade tortillas for this dish. The flavor is superior.

Preparing the Mole

To make your enmoladas the first thing you need to do is prepare the mole. We used mole paste for this recipe. Follow full preparation instructions for mole paste.

You may also be able to find ready to use mole to save a little time. We prefer using the mole paste though, better flavor.

If you would like to try and make a mole sauce from scratch, try the red enchilada sauce.

You can see how a traditional black mole is made by hand using a metate in this video.

Preparing the Tortillas

You have to fry the corn tortillas in hot oil which serves 2 purposes.

One is to make them pliable so that you can roll the enchiladas without breaking the tortilla.

Two, frying the tortillas seals them so that they don’t absorb the sauce and become mushy.

Pour ¼″ of cooking oil (about 1 cup) into a frying pan and heat to medium-hot.

Gently lower a corn tortilla into the oil and cook for about 10 seconds until the tortilla starts to puff up. Turn the tortilla and cook for another 10 seconds.

Remove the tortilla from the oil. Let the oil drain off for a few seconds.

Place the tortillas on a plate covered in paper towels to drain the excess oil.

Rolling the Enchiladas

Bring the cheese to room temperature before rolling. Place 2 or 3 slices of cheese on a tortilla.

Roll the tortilla.

A rolled enchilada.

Place 4 rolled enchiladas on each plate to serve.

Serving the Enchiladas

Enmoladas are served warm not piping hot. Spoon the mole over the enchiladas. You will need about ¾ cup of mole sauce per plate.

Decorate with cream. Mexican cream is preferable to sour cream.

Top with 3 thinly sliced onion rings.

Enjoy!

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5 from 1 vote

Cheese Enchiladas with Mole Sauce Recipe

Panela cheese filled enchiladas topped with mole, a smooth sauce made from dried chiles, Mexican cream, and sliced red onion. Mole comes in many varieties. We used mole poblano for this dish. You substitute the mole of your choice.

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Total Time45

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: cheese, corn tortillas, enchiladas, mole sauce

Servings: servings

Calories: 985kcal

Author: Douglas Cullen

Ingredients

1 cup mole paste or 4 cups of prepared mole
4 cups chicken broth or water
1 lb. of queso fresco or panela cheese mild fresh Mexican cheeses
½ cup Mexican cream "crema"
1 red or white onion
12 corn tortillas
1 cup cooking oil

Instructions

Preparing the Mole

Follow the directions
here for preparing the mole paste. Once the mole is ready, move on to the next steps.

Preparing the Tortillas

Pour ¼" of cooking oil (about 1 cup) into a frying pan and heat to medium-hot.
Gently lower a corn tortilla into the oil and cook for about 10 seconds until the tortilla starts to puff up. Turn the tortilla and cook for another 10 seconds.
Remove the tortilla from the oil. Allow the oil drain off for a few seconds.
Place the tortillas on a plate covered in paper towels to drain the excess oil.
Rolling the Enchiladas
Bring the cheese to room temperature before rolling.
Place a corn tortilla on a plate then place 2 or 3 slices of cheese on the tortilla.
Roll the tortilla until it forms a nicely shaped tube.
Repeat until you have rolled all of the enchiladas.
Serving the Enchiladas
Spoon the mole over the enchiladas (about ¾ cup per plate).
Using a squirt bottle filled with Mexican cream, pipe 3 lines of cream across the enchiladas to decorate.
Garnish with 3 thinly sliced onion rings.
Serve immediately.

Notes

Substitutions

You can substitute sour cream for the Mexican cream called crema. Real crema is the best option for authentic taste.
You can substitute shredded chicken for the cheese.

Nutrition

More Enchilada Recipes

How to Use Mole Paste

Cooking Techniques

Mexico’s Most Famous Sauce

If you are lucky enough to live near a market where you can buy mole paste in bulk, you are in luck. You can take a culinary tour of Mexico without leaving home. Mole, a generic term for smooth sauces made from dried chiles, comes in countless regional variations.

The most famous is mole poblano from the city of Puebla which most people know as the “chocolate sauce.” A common misconception is that mole must contain chocolate. Most don’t.

There are red moles, yellow and black moles from the state of Oaxaca, green moles from Veracruz, and Querétaro. There are state moles like mole Michoacana from the state of Michoacán and mole Guanajuato from the state of Guanajuato. Try as many as you can.

Store-bought mole will save you a tremendous amount of time, although preparing mole from scratch is well worth the effort. Many mole pastes are imported from Mexico and have an authentic taste. If you are unable to find mole paste in bulk, you can also buy mole paste in a jar. Check the Hispanic section of your supermarket.

How Much Paste to Buy?

1 cup of mole paste will make about 4 cups of sauce once you have added liquid which is enough for 4 to 6 servings.

How to Prepare

Preparation is very simple. Start by adding the mole paste to your pot to reconstitute.

Pour in triple the amount of liquid, chicken broth, or water. If you have 1 cup of mole paste, you will add 3 cups of liquid. You will be adding the remaining liquid during the cooking process.

Break up the paste.

Stir continually. The paste will start absorbing the liquid.

Simmer for 20 minutes. Keep stirring. The mole will continue to absorb water. Add ¼ cup liquid as needed if the mole is becoming too thick. Mole should be on the thick side. It shouldn’t be runny.

How to Use Mole

Mole is commonly served with chicken in a dish called pollo en mole. It is also served with enmoladas which are enchiladas prepared with mole instead of salsa. It may sound strange, but you should try scrambled eggs with mole. You will be surprised by how good it is.

In the picture, we are preparing cheese enchiladas with mole poblano. Try making them with our red enchilada sauce.

Storing

Prepared mole will last for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. You can prepare it in advance to keep on hand.

Do you have a favorite mole? Let us know!

More Mexican Cooking Techniques

Arrachera (Skirt Steak) Tacos

Beef

Tacos de Arrachera

In Northern Mexico, beef is king and one of the most popular cuts is arrachera. It’s a beefy tasting cut best cooked quickly over high heat. Perfect for when you need great tacos and fast.

When you make these tacos the secret is salt and salsa. You want to salt the meat well and choose a bold salsa.

How to Make

Gather your ingredients. You only need 2 lbs. of arrachera, 12 corn tortillas, and salt for the tacos. You will need 1 bunch of spring onions for the garnish.

Slice the meat into ¾″ wide strips that are about 3″ long. The strips may look a little wide but they will shrink during cooking.

Preheat a thick bottomed pan to hot. Add 1 tbsp. of cooking oil and then place the meat in the pan and salt well.

The meat will give off a lot of liquid while cooking.

When the liquid has evaporated and the meat is nicely browned. It is ready to serve.

Serving

Place 2 or 3 strips of the cooked meat on a warm tortilla and serve with your favorite salsa, charred spring onions, and sliced limes. We served our tacos with this fresh tomatillo salsa verde, a hot tangy salsa that stands up to the bold flavor of the beef.

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3.60 from 5 votes

Arrachera (Skirt Steak) Tacos Recipe

Arrachera (skirt steak) tacos served with a fresh tomatillo verde salsa and charred spring onions on corn tortillas, just like they serve in Northern Mexico. An easy taco recipe you can have ready fast.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Tacos

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: beef, flank steak, skirt steak, tacos

Servings: tacos

Calories: 473kcal

Author: Douglas Cullen

Ingredients

2 lbs. arrachera skirt steak
12 corn tortillas
Salt
1 bunch of spring onions.
2 cups of your favorite salsa – We recommend this fresh salsa verde.
8 limes

Instructions

Cooking the Onions

Preheat a dry heavy-bottomed pan to medium-hot and place the spring onions in the pan.
When the onions have browned well on one side turn. Repeat until the onions are browned on all sides.
Set aside while you cook the meat.

Cooking the Arrachera

Slice the meat into ¾" wide strips that are about 3" long.
Preheat a thick bottomed pan to hot. Add 1 tbsp. of cooking oil and then place the meat in the pan and salt well.
The meat will give off a lot of liquid while cooking. Turn once a minute.
When the liquid has evaporated and the meat is nicely browned. It is ready to serve.

Serving

Place 2 or 3 strips of the cooked meat on a warm tortilla and serve with your favorite salsa, charred spring onions, and sliced limes.

Notes

The salsa we used for this recipe already includes onion and cilantro. If you use a different salsa, you can top with some finely chopped onion and cilantro which is a tasty addition.

Nutrition

More Mexican Beef Recipes

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Salsas & Sauces

Salsa Fresca de Tomatillo

If you like your salsa hot and sharp, you will enjoy this recipe for a fresh tomatillo salsa verde. Uncooked tomatillos are quite acidic and when you add 4 serrano chiles, seeds and all, your salsa is gonna pack some punch.

The flavor stands up well to grilled beef. Try it with some killer carne asada. Provecho!

How to Prepare

Since this is an uncooked salsa, you will only need a few minutes to prepare it. Start by removing the papery husks from the tomatillos. Then rinse the tomatillos under running water to remove the sticky film.

Finely chop the onion and cilantro. You can use the stems of the cilantro.

Blend the tomatillos, serrano chiles, garlic, water, and salt until smooth. Pour the blended tomatillos into a serving bowl. Add the chopped onion and cilantro and stir. Add more salt if needed.

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2.69 from 16 votes

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa Verde Recipe

If you like your salsa hot and sharp, you will enjoy this recipe for a fresh tomatillo salsa verde (green sauce). It is a very easy to make uncooked salsa. The uncooked tomatillos are quite acidic and when you add 4 serrano chiles, seeds and all, your salsa is gonna pack some punch. The flavor stands up well to grilled beef. We love this salsa with carne asada. It's also a great salsa for grilled chicken.

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Salsa

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Mexican food, Mexican recipe, salsa, salsa verde, tomatillos

Servings: cups

Calories: 28kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

1 lb. tomatillos
4 serrano chiles
2 cloves garlic
1 cup cilantro
1 cup water
½ white onion
1 tsp. salt + to taste

Instructions

Finely chop the onion and cilantro.
Blend the tomatillos, serrano chiles, garlic, water, and salt until smooth.
Pour the blended tomatillos into a serving bowl. Add the chopped onion and cilantro and stir.
Adjust the salt as needed.

Notes

Prefer a milder salsa?

This is a very hot salsa. Use 2 serrano chiles or even 1 instead of 4 if you prefer a milder salsa.

Let the Salsa Rest

If you have the time allow the salsa to rest for 30 minutes so that the flavors meld.

Nutrition

More Mexican Salsa Recipes

Bacon Potato Egg Breakfast Tacos

Tacos de Huevo Tocino y Papa

When I lived in California, I wasn’t really a fan of Mexican food, probably because it was too hot for my untrained taste buds, but these breakfast tacos I definitely could get into. Lots of egg, bacon, potato, avocado, and queso fresco heaped on a hot flour tortilla.

Back in the day, I topped them with a few drops of salsa. Now it’s with a few generous spoonfuls. Two tacos will hold you through to lunchtime. They’re really filling, and delish of course.

How to Make

Ingredients:

Start by gathering your ingredients. All are pantry staples.

8 eggs
8 strips of bacon
2 white potatoes
6 ounces of queso fresco
2 avocados
1 red onion
8 flour tortillas
your favorite salsa

Dice the bacon and fry it over medium heat until nicely browned. Once it is browned, remove and set aside.

Peel and dice the potatoes. Cook in the fat that remains in the pan from frying the bacon.

Once the potatoes have browned, add the bacon back into the pan.

Beat the eggs and pour them into the pan. When they start to set, turn the eggs until they are just cooked through. Break up the eggs with a spatula.

While the eggs are cooking. Heat the flour tortillas in a dry pan until they start to puff up and brown. Some people I know, heat their flour tortillas in the microwave which is not the ideal way to warm tortillas. Don’t do it.

You want to heat them in a pan. Lightly browning them makes the flavor authentic and the texture is far superior. Microwaving gives them a mushy chewy texture.

To Serve

Spoon the cooked potatoes, bacon and eggs onto a hot flour tortilla. Top with crumbled queso fresco, diced red onion, 2 or 3 slices of avocado, and a few spoonfuls of your favorite salsa. We recommend these: salsa verde, restaurant salsa, salsa roja, or the habanero salsa if you like it hot.

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4.80 from 5 votes

Bacon Egg Potato Breakfast Tacos Recipe

California breakfast tacos with egg, bacon, potato, avocado, queso fresco, and red onion on hot flour tortillas. Tasty, filling, and easy to prepare.

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: breakfast tacos, chorizo, salsa verde, tacos

Servings: tacos

Calories: 771kcal

Author: Douglas Cullen

Ingredients

8 eggs
8 strips bacon
2 white potatoes the waxy type
1 red onion
1 tsp. salt
6 ozs. queso fresco a mild fresh crumbly cheese
2 avocados
8 flour tortillas
2 cups of your favorite salsa

Instructions

Preparation

Dice the bacon and fry it over medium heat until nicely browned. Once it is browned, remove and set aside.
Peel and dice the potatoes. Cook in the fat that remains in the pan from frying the bacon.
Once the potatoes have browned, add the bacon back into the pan.
Beat the eggs and pour them into the pan. When they start to set, turn the eggs until they are just cooked through. Break up the eggs with a spatula.
While the eggs are cooking. Heat the flour tortillas in a pan until they start to puff up and brown.

Serving

Spoon the cooked potatoes, bacon and eggs onto a flour tortilla.
Top with crumbled queso fresco, diced red onion, 2 or 3 slices of avocado, and a few spoonfuls of your favorite salsa.

Notes

Substitutions

You can substitute 6 ounces of Mexican chorizo for the bacon.

Nutrition

More Mexican Breakfast Recipes

Traditional Sopa de Fideo

Soups

Mexican Noodle Soup

Homemade sopa de fideo (noodle soup) is one of my favorite dishes. This is Mexican lunchtime comfort food in the way that grilled cheese and tomato soup is in the U.S. Think warm fuzzies in a bowl. Every kid in Mexico grows up on it and everyone, young and old, still eats it regularly as part of the typical comida.

Bowl of Traditional Mexican Sopa de Fideo

How to Make Sopa de Fideo

Make it from scratch. It’s worth the small bit of extra effort for the authentic flavor. Many cooks take shortcuts – I’ll admit it. I do too at times – by using tomato and chicken bouillon or canned tomatoes instead of real chicken broth and pureed tomatoes.

Using powdered bouillon makes an acceptable version, but, it doesn’t make your heart happy in the same way as the real deal does. Make it from scratch and you’ll see what I mean.

Gather Your Ingredients

You’ll need an 8 oz. package of fideos, which are thin Mexican style noodles used to prepare this soup. You can substitute thin spaghetti, vermicelli noodles, or angel hair pasta broken into 1″ pieces if you are unable to find fideos.

You will also need

2 plum tomatoes
¼ white onion
1 clove of garlic
8 cups of homemade chicken broth
Vegetable oil
4 limes for garnish

Preparing the Soup

Cut the tomatoes in half and remove the seeds. Puree the tomatoes, onion, and garlic in your blender and set aside. This is what the pureed mixture will look like.

Fry the Fideo Noodles

Preheat 3 tbsp. of vegetable oil to medium-hot. Add the noodles and stir to coat with oil. Continue stirring until the fideo pasta has turned golden brown and a few strands have turned deep brown. Browning the noodles adds depth of flavor to the soup.

Assemble the Soup

Strain the pureed tomatoes, onion, and garlic into the browned noodles.

Pour in the chicken or vegetable broth and stir.

Bring the soup to a boil.

Cover and reduce to low heat. Cook for 10 minutes.

Your perfectly cooked sopa de fideo is now ready to serve. Be sure to adjust the salt to taste.

Serving Your Sopa

Serve your sopa with a couple of lime halves. A squirt of lime juice brings the flavors together. A spoonful of diced avocado or a pinch of queso fresco are nice touches to finish your fideo soup.

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3.74 from 127 votes

Traditional Mexican Sopa de Fideo Recipe

Homemade Sopa de Fideo (Mexican noodle soup) – Thin noodles in a tomato chicken broth served with a squirt of lime. Mexican lunchtime comfort food in the way that grilled cheese and tomato soup is, warm fuzzies in a bowl. It's an easy and quick Mexican soup that you will make again and again. Also called, Sopita de Fideo

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: noodles, soup, tomato

Servings: bowls

Calories: 469kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Equipment

Kitchen knife
Cutting board
High sided skillet or medium soup pot
Spatula
Kitchen spoon
Strainer
Blender

Ingredients

8 ounce package of “fideo” noodles thin spaghetti, vermicelli, or angel hair pasta work well
2 plum tomatoes Roma tomatoes
1 clove garlic
¼ medium white onion
¼ ground cumin optional to add to broth
½ tsp. Mexican oregano optional to add to broth
4 limes
1 ripe avocado sliced thin optional for garnish
8 cups homemade chicken broth
3 tbsp. vegetable oil or olive oil
Salt to taste about 1tsp. will be needed depending on the chicken broth you use

Instructions

Preparation

Cut the tomatoes in half and remove the seeds. Puree the tomatoes, onion, and garlic and set aside.
Preheat 3 tbsp. of vegetable oil to medium-hot. Add the noodles and stir to coat with oil. Continue stirring until the noodles have started to brown.
Strain the pureed tomatoes, onion, and garlic into the noodles. Notice the color of the noodles. Some of them should be very brown. The browned noodles add depth of flavor to the soup.
Add the chicken broth and stir.
Bring the soup to a boil. Cover and reduce to low heat. Cook for 10 minutes.
Check the salt and adjust to taste before serving.

Serving

Serve your soup with a couple of lime halves. A squirt of lime brings the flavors together. A little chopped avocado is a nice touch.

Notes

Substitutions

You can use thin spaghetti, vermicelli noodles, or angel hair pasta broken into 1″ pieces if you are unable to find “fideos”
Substitute canned low-sodium chicken broth if you don’t have homemade.
You can also use vegetable broth if you want a vegetarian / vegan soup.
You can make an even quicker version of this soup by using ½ cup tomato paste and 8 cups water instead of using the tomato and onion and chicken broth.

Extra Touches

You can 2 tablespoons of chopped avocado and a spoonful of queso fresco to each bowl as a nice garnish.

Nutrition

More Mexican Soup Recipes

Spinach Mushroom Goat Cheese Omelette

Omelette de Espinacas Hongos y Queso de Cabra

On a lazy weekend morning, when you have time to truly savor a good breakfast, try this hearty Mexican omelette. Mushroom and spinach lend an earthy flavor, goat cheese adds tang and your favorite salsa gives it some punch.

Mexican Spinach Mushroom Goat Cheese Omelette

How to Make

Ingredients

You will need:

3 eggs
a handful of spinach
4 button mushrooms
1 ½ ozs. of semi-soft goat cheese

We chose mature spinach for our omelette which lends a more pronounced spinach taste. Baby spinach will give it a more delicate taste.

Ingredients Spinach Mushroom Goat Cheese Omelette

Preparing Spinach and Mushroom Filling

Slice the mushrooms and remove the stems from the spinach.

Heat 1 tsp. of vegetable. oil over medium. Add the sliced mushrooms. Cook for 1 minute.

Add the spinach.

Cook until the liquid given off by the mushrooms has evaporated. Set the filling aside while you prepare the omelette.

Preparing the Omelette

Beat the eggs well.

Preheat the 2 tablespoons of oil to medium-hot. Pour in the beaten eggs.

When the eggs are nearly set, flip the omelette.

Add the sautéed mushrooms and spinach then the goat cheese. Fold the omelette over the filling and let cook for 30 seconds more to soften the goat cheese.

Making Spinach Goat Cheese Omelette in Pan

This is how your finished omelette will look on the inside. Looks delicious, doesn’t it?

Serving

Serve your omelette with some hearty bread or tortillas and your favorite salsa. Try one of these salsa recipes: cascabel salsa, restaurant salsa, or guajillo chile salsa. Provecho!

Mexican Spinach Goat Cheese Mushroom Omelette

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Spinach Mushroom Goat Cheese Omelette

Hearty Mexican omelette prepared with spinach, mushroom, and semi-soft goat cheese. Mushroom and spinach lend an earthy flavor, goat cheese adds tang and your favorite salsa gives it some punch. Perfect to savor on a lazy weekend morning.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: spinach omelette, spinach omelette recipe

Servings: omelette

Calories: 657kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

3 eggs
4 button mushrooms
1 handful spinach leaves about 1 cup loosely packed
1 ½ tbsp. semi-soft goat cheese
2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. vegetable oil
salt to taste
your favorite salsa

Instructions

Preparing the Filling

Clean the mushrooms.
Slice the mushrooms and remove the stems from the spinach.
Heat 1 tsp. of vegetable. oil over medium. Add the sliced mushrooms. Cook for 1 minute.
Add the spinach to the pan.
Cook until the liquid given off by the mushrooms has evaporated.
Set aside while you prepare the omelette.

Cooking the Omelette

Beat the eggs well.
Preheat the 2 tbsp. of oil to medium-hot. Pour in the beaten eggs.
When the eggs are nearly set, flip the omelette.
Add the sautéed mushrooms and spinach then the goat cheese. Fold the omelette over the filling and let cook for 30 seconds more to soften the goat cheese.

Serving

Serve your omelette with some hearty bread or tortillas and your favorite salsa.

Nutrition

More Mexican Breakfast Recipes

Pork Ribs in Salsa Roja

Pork

Costillas de Cerdo en Salsa Roja

One of the favorite chiles in central Mexico is the mild guajillo. They are used to perfection in this recipe for Aguascalientes style slow-simmered pork ribs in salsa roja.

Think of the sauce as a tangy chile based BBQ sauce. It tastes really familiar and a bit unique at the same time. Preparation is simple enough for a weeknight dinner.

How to Make Mexican Pork Ribs

In Spanish, the dish is called “costillas de cerdo en salsa roja” or “costillas de puerco en salsa roja.”

Gather Your Ingredients

You will need 2.5 lbs. pork ribs, 6 guajillo chiles, 3 tomatoes, ½ head of garlic, ¼ cup vinegar, ¼ sugar and 2 to 3 tsps. salt.

Ingredients Pork Ribs in Guajillo Salsa Roja

Making the Sauce

Remove the seeds and veins from the chiles.

Add the chiles, tomatoes, salt, vinegar, and 1 cup of water to your blender. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute.

Strain the salsa to remove the pulp.

Your salsa is now ready to cook the ribs.

Cooking the Ribs

Place your ribs in a large pot with just enough water to almost cover.

Add the garlic and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until all the water evaporates about 20 to 30 minutes.

After all the water has evaporated, remove the garlic. The ribs will continue cooking in the fat that was released while boiling.

Cook until nicely browned, stirring every couple of minutes.

Pour the salsa over the ribs. add the sugar. Stir to cover the ribs.

Before cooking the salsa is a bright red. After cooking it turns a deep rich red.

Cook until the salsa has reduced by half stirring every 5 minutes. It’s starting to look really good!

Provecho! Enjoy your plate of Mexican ribs!

Mexican Pork Ribs in a Guajillo Salsa Roja

Print Recipe

4 from 19 votes

Pork Ribs in Salsa Roja Recipe

Mexican style slow-simmered pork ribs in a mild guajillo salsa roja popular around Aguascalientes. The sauce is like a tangy chile based BBQ sauce, familiar and a bit exotic at the same time.

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Mexican Pork Ribs, Pork Ribs Recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 364kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

2.5 lbs. pork ribs
6 guajillo chiles
3 tomatoes
½ head of garlic
¼ cup vinegar
¼ sugar
1 cup water
2 to 3 tsps. salt

Instructions

Preparing the Guajillo Salsa

Remove the seeds and veins from the chiles.
Add the chiles, tomatoes, salt, vinegar, and 1 cup of water to your blender. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute.
Strain the salsa to remove the pulp.
Set aside until pork is browned.

Cooking the Ribs

Place your ribs in a large pot with just enough water to almost cover.
Add the ½ head of garlic and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until all the water evaporates, about 20 to 30 minutes.
After all the water has evaporated, remove the garlic. The ribs will continue cooking in the fat that was released while boiling.
Cook until nicely browned.
Pour the salsa over the ribs. Add the sugar. Stir to cover the ribs in salsa.
Cook until the salsa has reduced by half (about 20 minutes) stirring every 5 minutes.
Serve immediately.

Notes

Substitutions

You can substitute ancho chiles for the guajillo or use 3 anchos and 3 guajillos.

Bigger Batches

The recipe makes 4 medium-sized portions. If you are a bigger eater or are cooking for a larger crowd this recipe is easy to double or triple to suit your needs.

Nutrition

More Pork Recipes

More Guajillo Recipes

Mild Guajillo Salsa

Lemon Verbena Tea

Té de Cedrón

If you enjoy herbal teas, you will really enjoy this fragrant lemon verbena tea – té de cedrón – which can be enjoyed hot or over ice. In Mexico, people drink it as a sleep aid and to help reduce indigestion but we drink it because it has a bright delicious lemony flavor.

Our version is delicately flavored and lightly sweetened with real honey. You can also prepare it with agave nectar, stevia or sugar although it is great without any sweetener too.

In Mexico, it is common to find lemon verbena grown in pots in patio gardens. It is easy to grow and can be used to cook a wide variety of dishes in addition to preparing tea. Lemon verbena is especially good when used to add a delicate lemony fragrance to fish. Learn how to grow it here.

A few leaves are all you need to prepare your tea. You can double or triple the number if you prefer a stronger flavored tea or will be serving it iced.

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

3.38 from 24 votes

Lemon Verbena Tea Recipe

Recipe to prepare a delicate, fragrant Mexican lemon verbena tea (té de cedrón) which is lightly sweetened with natural honey. Delicious served hot or iced.

Prep Time1

Cook Time15

Total Time16

Course: Drink

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: cédron, herbal tea, lemon verbena, tea

Servings: cups

Calories: 22kcal

Author: Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

3 lemon verbena leaves
4 cups water
4 tsp. honey or sweetener of choice optional

Instructions

Place the 3 lemon verbena leaves in the 4 cups of water.
Boil for 15 minutes.
Serve hot or iced with a teaspoon of honey in each glass for sweetness.

Notes

Adjusting the Flavor

Our recipe makes a very delicately flavored tea. Chopping the leaves before boiling releases more flavor if you prefer a stronger tea.

Preparing Iced Tea

Double or triple the quantity of leaves if you are preparing iced lemon verbena tea.

Sweetener Options

You can use agave nectar, stevia or sugar to sweeten your tea instead of honey. It is also delicious unsweetened.

Plant Names

Lemon verbena is also known as lemon beebush. In Mexico, it is called cedrón.

Nutrition

Calories: 22kcal | Sodium: 5mg | Sugar: 6g

More Mexican Beverages to Enjoy

Cooking with the Students of the Waldorf School in San Miguel

Side Dishes

Oven Roasted Tomatoes with the 1st Graders

The Mexican Food Journal visited the Waldorf Árbol de Vida school in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico at the invitation of Luis Perez, the head of the school’s Permaculture project.

Luis works with the students in the school’s garden and kitchen to teach them an appreciation of where food comes from and how it is prepared to instill a love of food that he hopes they will always carry with them.

Luis Perez Teaching Cooking to 1st Grade Students

Building New Classrooms

The Waldorf Árbol de Vida school is currently fundraising for the construction of new classrooms and is requesting donations. It’s a wonderful school. If you would like information about the project you can get it on their fundraising page. Donations of any size are greatly appreciated.

Cooking Oven Roasted Tomatoes with Requesón and Almonds with the Students

Jitomates Micaelicos al Horno

Luis has shared with us a simple recipe roast tomato recipe that he cooked with the first-grade students in the school’s outdoor adobe oven. It’s a versatile dish easily prepared at home. If you have kids, try it with them.

1st Grade Students Getting Ready to Cook

The ingredients for the dish.

Ingredients for Oven Roasted Tomatoes with Requesón and Almonds

Prepping the tomatoes.

Each student got to prepare a tomato.

Getting the tomatoes ready for the oven.

Take a look at the adobe oven. I would love to have this in my backyard.

Toasting the almonds.

Preparing the requesón topping.

Preparing the Cheese Topping with Students

Roasting the tomatoes.

Putting the Seasoned Tomatoes in the Oven

Anticipation. Waiting for their creation to come out of the oven.

Serving the tomatoes.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Oven Roasted Tomatoes with Requesón and Almonds

Recipe for oven-roasted tomatoes with requesón and almonds shared with the Mexican Food Journal by Luis Perez, head of the Permaculture project at the Waldorf Árbol de Vida school in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. This is a simple recipe that he teaches to the younger students.

The recipe makes a party-sized portion. Cut the measurements in half or even ¼ to suit your needs. All of the measurements are approximate. Adjust them to your taste. It's a very flexible recipe.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: cheese, roasted, tomato, vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 189kcal

Author: Luis Perez

Ingredients

3 lbs. plum tomatoes
1 lb. requesón cheese
½ lb. almonds
½ cup olive oil
2 tbsp. dried Mexican oregano
1 tsp. fennel seeds
2 tsp. salt

Instructions

Toasted Almonds

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Place the almonds on a dry baking sheet then toast them in the oven for 10 minutes.
Remove the almonds from the oven. Allow them to cool then roughly chop.

Roasted Tomatoes

Grease a baking sheet with olive oil.
Slice the tomatoes in half and place the tomatoes on the baking sheet. Drizzle tomatoes with olive and sprinkle with dried oregano and salt.
Cook tomatoes for 15 minutes.
Remove the tomatoes from the oven.

Requesón Almond Topping

Put the requesón and chopped almonds on a plate. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the fennel seeds. Mash with a fork.

To Serve

Spoon a tablespoon of requesón topping on each tomato half. Serve the tomatoes warm not hot.

Notes

Requesón is a Mexican cheese similar to ricotta.
This is a good dish to serve as an appetizer for a party.

Nutrition

Spearmint Lime Cucumber Water

Agua de Pepino con Hierbabuena

Cucumber, lime, and spearmint is a really refreshing combination for an agua fresca. At the university where I work, they make a different agua every day in the cafeteria. This is one of my favorites. The funny thing is, I don’t really care for cucumber but I love this drink. I think you will too.

The translation for agua fresca is “fresh Water.” In Spanish this particular drink is called agua de pepino, or you guessed it, “cucumber water.” When you see a drink called “agua de…,” it is always an agua fresca. “agua de piña” (pineapple), “agua de jamaica” (hibiscus), “agua de sandia” (watermelon). You see where this is going :)

How to Make Lime Spearmint Cucumber Water

This is a very simple drink to prepare. You need one medium cucumber, 8 Mexican limes, eight spearmint leaves a cup of sugar, and ½ gallon of water.

Peel the Cucumber and cut it into 4 chunks. Juice the limes. Add the cucumber, lime juice, mint, and 2 cups of water to your blender. Blend for 1 minute. Pour the mixture into a ½ gallon pitcher add the sugar and water to fill the pitcher. Stir well and serve lightly chilled.

Aguas frescas of all types are enjoyed throughout Mexico and typically served with the comida, or mid-day meal. They are are a good alternative to drinking sodas. You can reduce the sugar by half if you are watching your sugar intake. The drink is still tasty just a bit more tart. You can also omit the spearmint.

What is your favorite agua fresca?

Print Recipe

3.04 from 32 votes

Spearmint Lime Cucumber Water Recipe

Mexican cucumber water (agua de pepino con hierbabuena) – a super refreshing agua fresca with cucumber, lime, and spearmint. It's simple and very quick to prepare and it's a great alternative to drinking soda with your meal.

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Beverage

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: agua fresca, drink, lime, spearmint

Servings: glasses

Calories: 112kcal

Author: Douglas Cullen

Ingredients

1 medium cucumber
8 Mexican limes
8 spearmint or mint leaves
1 cup of sugar
½ gallon water

Instructions

Peel the Cucumber and cut it into 4 chunks.
Juice the limes.
Add the cucumber, lime juice, mint, and 2 cups of water to your blender.
Blend for 1 minute.
Pour the mixture into a ½ gallon pitcher add the sugar and water to fill the pitcher.
Stir well.
Serve lightly chilled or over ice.
Garnish with a spearmint leaf.

Notes

Reduce the sugar by half if you prefer a tarter drink.
Lime and cucumber without the mint is also a great combination.
Pair it with the spicy tuna salad or cactus salad for a really great light lunch.

Nutrition

Serving: 8ounces | Calories: 112kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Sodium: 2mg | Sugar: 26g

More Aguas Frescas

SABOR! Magazine Summer 2017

Find out more about Sabor Magazine.

The Summer 2017 Issue is Out

The latest issue of SABOR! This is Mexican Food, a quarterly magazine dedicated to the exploration of Mexico’s gastronomic heritage and traditions is available now. It is a labor of love produced by our friend Rocio Carvajal from Pass the Chipotle. This is one of the best publications about Mexican cuisine you will find.

The Passion Behind the Magazine

Through my work, I want to change the way the world thinks about Mexican food, its culinary traditions, cooking, and eating.” Rocio Carvajal

In this issue:

WHEN MONEY GREW IN TREES Cocoa as currency in ancient Mexico.
CHOCOLATE TAMALES
MOLE The wonderful taste of cultural resistance.

CHOCOLATE RITUALS In ancient Mexico
AZTEC Chocolate
HEAVENLY SINS The religious controversies of chocolate drinking in colonial Mexico.

CHAMPURRADO Recipe
CHOCOLATE FONDANTS WITH PASSION FRUIT CUSTARD. Recipe
CHOCOLATE CALIENTE Hot drinking chocolate. Recipe

A Must Read

We encourage you to enjoy the incredible work behind the magazine.

More Issues

SABOR Fall 2017

Garlic Shrimp Tacos

Fish & Seafood, Tacos

Tacos de Camarones al Mojo de Ajo

These garlic shrimp tacos are a mashup of flavors which work really well together. Garlicky shrimp served on a bed of tangy vinegar slaw topped with a sharp arból chile salsa seasoned with a touch of Mexican oregano.

Great Tacos Deserve a Great Salsa

A nice sharp tomato and arból chile pepper salsa counterbalance the rich shrimp.

1. How to Make the Arból Chile Salsa

As we have prepared it, the salsa is very sharp and very hot from the number of chiles we have used. Reduce the number of chiles if you prefer a mild salsa. Try this salsa with our pan-fried fish tacos too.

Ingredients for the salsa: plum tomatoes, garlic, arból chile, and Mexican oregano.

Let’s start – Quarter the tomatoes and peel the garlic cloves.

Heat a large dry frying pan to medium-hot. Add the quartered tomatoes, garlic, and árbol chiles to toast.

Toast the chiles for 30 seconds on each side and then remove from the pan.

Toast the garlic for 2 more minutes then remove from the pan. Continue to toast the tomatoes until they blacken.

Add all of the ingredients except the oil to your blender and blend for 1 minute.

In the same frying pan that you toasted the tomatoes, garlic and chiles heat the 2 tablespoons of oil to high heat. Pour the blended salsa into the hot oil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer, then cook the salsa for 10 minutes.

2. How to Prepare the Cabbage Slaw Garnish

Pour 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into the bowl with the cabbage.

Add 1 teaspoon of salt.

Mix thoroughly so that all of the cabbage is coated with vinegar and salt. Set aside until you are ready to serve your tacos.

3. How to Prepare the Shrimp

If your shrimp come with the shells, remove the shells.

Devein the shrimp by making an incision lengthwise along the back of the shrimp and gently remove the black vein with the tip of a knife.

Finely chop the garlic. Preheat a large frying pan to medium-hot. Add the chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute stirring 3 times so that the garlic doesn’t burn.

Add the shrimp to the pan and stir to coat the shrimp with butter.

Frying Shrimp and Garlic for Shrimp Tacos

Cook the shrimp for about 6 minutes until just cooked through. Stir and turn the shrimp every minute. To check for doneness, cut a couple of shrimp in half. If the shrimp is a pinkish white throughout it is fully cooked. If there are still translucent spots the shrimp needs to be cooked more. Cook for 1 more minute and then check for doneness again.

4. How to Assemble the Tacos

This is the easiest and most fun part. On each corn tortilla, layer a bed of cabbage slaw, 3 shrimps and then a dollop of salsa on each shrimp.

Garlic Shrimp Taco with Arbol Chile Salsa

Serve 3 tacos per person, and then enjoy!

Provecho!

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Garlic Shrimp Tacos Recipe

These garlic shrimp tacos are a mashup of flavors that work really well together. Buttery, garlicky shrimp served on a bed of tangy vinegar slaw topped with a sharp arból chile salsa with a touch of Mexican oregano.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time20 20

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Mexican food, Mexican recipe, seafood, shrimp, taco recipe, tacos

Servings: tacos

Calories: 301kcal

Author: Douglas Cullen

Ingredients

Arbol Chile Salsa

3 plum tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
3 to 4 árbol chiles
½ teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon oil

Vinegar Cabbage Slaw

3 cups finely shredded cabbage
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

Garlic Shrimp

1 ¼ lb. of medium-sized shrimp
6 cloves garlic
3 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt

Other

12 corn tortillas

Instructions

Arból Chile Salsa

Quarter the tomatoes.
Peel the garlic cloves.
Heat a large dry frying pan to medium-hot. Add the quartered tomatoes, garlic, and árbol chiles to toast.
Toast the chiles for 30 seconds on each side and then remove from the pan.
Toast the garlic for 2 more minutes then remove from the pan.
Continue to toast the tomatoes until they blacken.
Add all of the ingredients except the oil to your blender and blend for 1 minute.
In the same frying pan that you toasted the tomatoes, garlic and chiles heat the 2 tablespoons of oil to high heat.
Pour the blended salsa into the hot oil.
Reduce the heat to a simmer, then cook the salsa for 10 minutes.

Vinegar Cabbage Slaw

Pour 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into the bowl with the cabbage.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt.
Mix thoroughly so that all of the cabbage is coated with vinegar and salt.
Set aside until you are ready to serve your tacos. Stir just before serving.

Garlic Shrimp

If your shrimp come with the shells, remove the shells and discard.
Devein the shrimp by making an incision lengthwise along the back of the shrimp and gently remove the black vein with the tip of a knife.
Finely chop the garlic.
Preheat a large frying pan to medium-hot. Add the chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute stirring 3 times so that the garlic doesn't burn.
Add the shrimp to the pan and stir to coat the shrimp with butter.
Cook the shrimp for about 6 minutes until just cooked through. Stir and turn the shrimp every minute. To check for doneness, cut a couple of shrimp in half. If the shrimp is a pinkish white throughout it is fully cooked. If there are still translucent spots the shrimp needs to be cooked more. Cook for 1 more minute and then check for doneness again.

Assembling the Tacos

Warm the tortillas on a comal or griddle.
On each corn tortilla, layer a bed of cabbage slaw, 3 shrimps and then a dollop of salsa on each shrimp.
Serve 3 tacos per person.

Nutrition

More Mexican Fish and Seafood Recipes

Chorizo and Eggs

Huevo con Chorizo

Scrambled eggs with chorizo (spiced Mexican pork sausage) served with a stack of hot tortillas and a great salsa is a favorite breakfast throughout Mexico. You can have it on the table in under 30 minutes. Our salsa verde and restaurant salsa are perfect accompaniments.

How to Make

Start by gathering your ingredients: Mexican chorizo, eggs, tomato, white onion, and garlic.

Ingredients to Make Scrambled Eggs and Chorizo

First, remove the membrane from the chorizo. Discard the membrane.

Next, finely chop the onion, tomato, and garlic.

Prepped Ingredients Scrambled Eggs and Chorizo

Preheat a large frying pan to medium-hot. Add the cooking oil and the onion to the frying pan and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomato and garlic.

Stir and cook for 1 minute.

Crumble the chorizo into the frying pan with the onion, tomato, and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes until most of the fat from the chorizo has cooked off.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and then beat with a fork for 30 seconds. Pour the beaten eggs into the chorizo, onion, tomato, garlic mixture. Let the eggs set for about 30 seconds then stir with a spoon.

Stir the eggs occasionally until the eggs are just cooked through. Don’t let the eggs brown.

Serving

Serve with a stack of hot corn or flour tortillas, refried beans, and the salsa of your choice. If you are a fan of flour tortillas, try making the Coahuila style whole wheat tortillas.

Print Recipe

3.93 from 38 votes

Chorizo and Eggs Recipe

Scrambled eggs with chorizo served with a stack of hot tortillas and a great salsa is a favorite breakfast throughout Mexico. It's really easy to prepare and you can have it on the table in under 30 minutes. We love it as a start to our Saturday or Sunday morning.

Prep Time10

Cook Time12

Total Time22

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Chorizo and Eggs Recipe, How to Make Chorizo and Eggs

Servings: servings

Calories: 796kcal

Author: Douglas Cullen

Ingredients

Eggs

8 eggs
12 ounces Mexican chorizo
1 small white onion
2 plum tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Salt to taste

Garnishes

12 to 16 corn or flour tortillas
2 cups refried beans
12 to tortilla chips
1 cup of your favorite salsa

Instructions

Cooking

Remove the membrane from the chorizo
Finely chop the onion, tomato, and garlic
Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and beat with a fork for 30 seconds
Preheat a large frying pan to medium
Add the cooking oil and the onion to the frying pan and cook for 1 minute
Add the tomato and garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute
Crumble the chorizo into the frying pan. Cook for about 5 minutes until most of the fat from the chorizo has cooked off
Pour the eggs into the chorizo, onion, tomato, garlic mixture. Let the eggs set for 1 minute then gently stir the mixture.
Cook, stirring occasionally until the eggs are just cooked
While the eggs are still cooking, heat the tortillas on your griddle or comal

Serving

Divide the scrambled eggs and chorizo into 4 portions
Serve with refried beans garnished with tortilla chips
Serve with 3 or 4 tortillas per person and your favorite salsa to make tacos
Try the
salsa verde or
restaurant salsa

Notes

Ingredients

Chorizo is a seasoned Mexican style pork sausage available in most supermarkets. It is spicy but not hot. Each brand has a different flavor. Try a few until you find your favorite.
You can substitute Soyrizo, a soy protein-based chorizo if you want to reduce the fat in the dish.

Cooking

If there is too much fat remaining after cooking the chorizo for about 5 minutes you can drain the fat before adding the eggs.
Mexican chorizo needs to be fully cooked before eating.

Serving

You can top your eggs with cheese if you’d like. Ranchero cheese is a good choice.

Nutrition

More Mexican Breakfast Recipes

SABOR! Mexican Food Magazine