Discover and re-discover Mexico’s cuisine, culture and history through the recipes, backyard stories and other interesting findings of an expatriate in Canada
To finish this leap-year February and Black History Month, I chose a traditional stew from the Mexican state of Guerrero, which has clear North-western African influences, with the use of dry fruit, spices and plantain, and New World mestizo notes from the use of tomatoes, potatoes, pickled peppers, and pineapple ... click on title for more
Although this preparation is called relleno (literally, stuffing), and is traditional during the Christmas season in the Mexican state of Guerrero, this delicious pork dish stands on its own as a main dish any time of the year. Guerrerenses often enjoy it on Sundays, after church, or while watching a sports game, popularly stuffed in a crusty bun (hence the name), topped with a piece of crispy skin from the pork, and pickled jalapeños ... click on title for more
"Asado" translates from Spanish as "roasted"; this dish probably got that denomination from being cooked traditionally over an open wood fire. Now also cooked over the stove, it could receive a promotion to stew, with its generous chunks of pork, in a rich red sauce (as the name indicates, by rojo). Several of Mexico's Northern states have their own versions; this recipe is based on the state of Durango's seasonings, which include a variety of dried red peppers, spices, and an acidic accent, traditionally achieved by adding orange juice or vinegar ... click on title for more
The word gordita means “chubby”, a very appropriate name for this dough patty, since it is formed into a nice, round shape, often stuffed generously. It is safe to say that every region in Mexico has its own gordita recipes; in Northern Mexico, it is traditional to grill plain corn masa patties, which are then opened and stuffed with a variety of dishes or stews, called guisados ... click on title for more
Malanga is an edible corm, similar to eddo (satoimo) and taro; while the last two are originally from Asia, malanga is native to South America and naturalized in the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico, where it is known as macal. One recipe for macal from that region is torta de macal, a sweet creamy cake; since I had some eddo (satoimo) from my garden, I simply used them instead ... click on title for more
My Slice of Mexico 