I don’t know anything more truly Mexican, or more baffling to foreigners, than atoles. It’s a concept that we who grew up with them have trouble describing in English. I’ve tried calling them “gruels” and seen otherwise broadminded Anglos look pained at the thought. Obviously we have an image problem here. Diners in this country just don’t get the idea of something that is food and drink together, a kind of velvety liquid porridge bound with corn masa and flavored with anything from chile peppers to mangoes. Maybe someone should hold a well publicized contest for the catchiest English name. Meanwhile I call them “atoles” and invite you to sample this especially delicious version made with blackberries. I had it at a hill-country coffee estate that is the home of María Esther Hernández Palacios, the ex-director of the Veracruz State Cultural Institute.
This blackberry atole was part of a lovely breakfast prepared by María Esther’s cook of many years, Clementina Leal. Atoles are very much beloved for breakfast, though they are also quite super with supper. We had the atole de mora, a sort of combination hot cereal, hot beverage, and fruit juice — with Clementina’s excellent picadas (filled tortillas crimped into tartlet shapes). I was not surprised when María Esther confided that she’d rather have guests for Sunday breakfast — the perfect occasion for Clementina’s best dishes — than any other meal.
Blackberry Atole (Atole de mora)
Ingredients
- 1 pint fresh blackberries, picked over and rinsed, or 14-16 ounces frozen blackberries
- One golfball-sized lump of fresh masa or ½ cup masa harina mixed with ¼ cup cold water
- ½ cup sugar or to taste
- A pinch of salt optional
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil.
- While the water is heating, purée the blackberries in a blender with the masa and 1 cup cold water.
- With a wooden spoon or pusher, force the purée through a mesh sieve into the boiling water. Stir in ½ cup sugar; taste for sweetness and add more if desired. Reduce the heat to maintain a low rolling boil and cook for 30 minutes, or until thickened to the consistency of thin cream soup. If the mixture is lumpy, strain through a sieve into a heatproof pitcher.
- Serve hot, in mugs or breakfast cups, and caution people not to scald themselves! (Atoles retain the heat much longer than you expect.)
