Marinated Pork Strips (Cecina enchilada)
In Spanish and Mexican cooking, cecina can refer to many jerky-like or salt-cured meats. In Oaxaca it usually means long, thin pork strips almost like ribbons of meat, allowed to air-dry for a few hours before being pan-broiled. Sometimes cecina is seasoned just with...
Grill-Smoked Meat (Carne de chango)
Carne de chango or carne de mono literally means “monkey meat.” Some say that at one time this famous smoked specialty of the Catemaco area was made from local monkeys. That’s as may be –- the only monkeys now left in the region are a colony of Asian macaques imported...
Slow-cooked Pork Yucatán-style (Cochinita pibil)
My fondest memory of this dish comes from a course on Regional Mexican Food at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone when they invited Silvio Campos, an indigenous Mayan that stood at most 4′ 9″. He prepared this in a specially dug pit and served...
Chiles in Walnut Sauce (Chiles en nogada)
I just bought my first pomegranates of the year so it’s time to trot out my fabulous recipe for chiles en nogada, which I will be serving for my dinner tonight. There is no doubt that chiles en nogada are one of the crowning glories of Mexican cuisine. They are...
Roast Pork Sandwiches Jalisco-style (Tortas ahogadas)
Tortas are not only “cakes” or things in the shape of round cakes, but sandwiches. These wonderful open-faced sandwiches are traditional in Jalisco state. I have not seen them elsewhere. I became addicted to them after I persuaded my parents to transfer me from the...
The many lives of Zarela Martínez
Culinary legend Zarela Martínez introduced finely tuned, highly researched regional Mexican cuisine to a national stage, and has continued to blaze trails for more than three decades.