Black bean tacos with lime slaw
Proof that a meat-free taco night can be the best one. The beans are mashed with chipotle and cumin so they hold together in the tortilla, and a quick lime slaw adds crunch.
Mexican
by KrazyBadal 2 views
Vegetarian Mexican recipes
Tacos, enchiladas, beans and salsas without meat or fish. (211 recipes)
Chipotles en adoboSmoked jalapenos in adobo sauce
Chipotles are ripe jalapeños smoked slowly over wood until leathery; in Puebla and Veracruz the reddish, plump mora type is the everyday one, and the tan, leathery meco is prized for its deeper smoke. Simmered in a sweet-sour adobo of tomato, onion, garlic, vinegar and piloncillo, they become the soft, glossy chillies that go into tinga poblana, albóndigas en chipotle, bean soups and a quick chipotle mayonnaise. Homemade, they are smokier and less sugary than the tinned kind, with sauce that is brick red, tangy and thick enough to coat a spoon. Common mistake: toasting the dried chillies too long; a few seconds a side is enough, because scorched chillies make the whole jar bitter. This is a low-acid chilli preserve, so it is kept in the fridge or freezer, never canned in a water bath. It is ready when the chipotles are plump and soft enough to crush with a spoon and the adobo has reduced to a glossy sauce. Chef's tip: blend one or two chillies with their sauce and freeze it in an ice-cube tray, so you can add a single cube to a pot.
by KrazyBadal 1 views
Salsa de chile pasilla oaxaqueñoSmoky dried chilli salsa
The pasilla mixe is a small, wrinkled, red-brown chilli smoked in the Sierra Mixe mountains east of Oaxaca City, and it tastes of campfire, tobacco and dried fruit. Ground in a molcajete with roasted tomato and garlic, it becomes the salsa that sits on every table in Oaxacan fondas, spooned over memelas, eggs, beans and grilled vegetables. It keeps a week in the fridge and improves after a day. If you cannot find pasilla mixe, use chipotle mora plus one ancho. Chef's tip: grind the garlic and salt first, then the chillies, then the tomato; working in that order gives a rough, clinging texture rather than a watery purée.
by KrazyBadal 1 views
TejuinoFermented corn drink
On hot afternoons in Guadalajara, vendors ladle tejuino from big clay pots into plastic bags or glasses with ice, a squeeze of lime, a pinch of salt and often a scoop of lime sorbet. It is made from corn masa cooked with piloncillo and left for two or three days to ferment a little, which gives it a tangy, slightly sour taste. The fermentation is light and the drink is sold as non-alcoholic, but a trace of alcohol can form, so keep the fermentation to 2 days and serve it well chilled. Skip the fermenting stage entirely for children: drink it fresh as a sweet atole-style cooler. Chef's tip: taste it each day; take it to the fridge as soon as it tastes pleasantly sour, like a mild yoghurt.
by KrazyBadal 1 views
MarquesitasCheese and cajeta crepes
Evening in Mérida's Plaza Grande means the smell of marquesitas: thin batter pressed in hot hinged irons until crisp, then rolled like a cigar around grated Edam cheese and a sweet filling such as cajeta, chocolate-hazelnut spread or jam. Edam came to the Yucatán through the port trade with the Netherlands and became part of the local cooking, and the salty-sweet combination is the whole point. At home you can cook them in a thin, wide frying pan. Edam is usually made with animal rennet, so check the label or use a vegetarian Gouda-style cheese. Chef's tip: roll while the crêpe is still in the pan and hot; within seconds it hardens and will crack.
by KrazyBadal 1 views
Hot chilli burritos
Soft wheat and maize flatbreads rolled around a spicy kidney bean and potato filling, baked in a fiery tomato and red chilli sauce and topped with sour cream and cheese. Serve with extra hot sauce, sour cream, spring onions or salad.
by KrazyBadal 1 views
Salsa sauce
A smooth, tangy tomato salsa of blanched tomatoes, sautéed onion, garlic, chilli and plenty of oregano, with a touch of cumin and coriander seed. Serve it with nacho triangles, tacos, quesadillas or as a dip for any snack.
by KrazyBadal 1 views
Tomato and avocado salad
Sliced tomatoes, creamy avocado and spring onions in a honey, mustard and red wine vinegar dressing, with tortilla chips stirred in at the end for crunch. It is a quick, Mexican-style side for parties and barbecues. Add the chips just before serving and eat it straight away, before they soften.
by KrazyBadal 1 views
Avocado dip
A guacamole-style dip of ripe avocado mashed with tomato, onion, green chillies, coriander, a little sour cream, Tabasco and lemon. Make it smooth or chunky, as you like. Chill it and serve with nacho triangles.
by KrazyBadal 1 views
Nacho chips & sour cream
Crisp nacho triangles layered with a garlicky sour cream, jalapeño chillies and cheddar, baked for just 5 minutes until the cheese melts. Serve straight away with hot salsa. You can also serve the sour cream and salsa separately as dips.
by KrazyBadal 1 views
Duraznos en almíbar (Mexican peaches in piloncillo syrup)
Across Mexico, from the orchards of Zacatecas and Puebla to every abuela's pantry, duraznos en almíbar are how the summer peach crop is kept, and a bowl of them chilled from the fridge is a classic Sunday dessert. Peeled peach halves are poached in a syrup of piloncillo, the cone-shaped raw cane sugar, with cinnamon and cloves, so they turn tender and glossy and soak up a warm, molasses-like sweetness. Serve them cold in their syrup, on their own, or with a spoon of crema or thick yoghurt. Nothing needs setting and no egg is involved: the fruit simply poaches in the sugar syrup, which thickens lightly as it cools. Chef's tip: choose ripe but firm peaches and poach them gently; the common mistake is boiling the syrup hard, which turns the halves ragged and stringy.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Sopa de nopalesCactus paddle soup
In Mexico City, Puebla and the towns of central Mexico, sopa de nopales is cooked at home during Lent and on any warm day when tender cactus paddles are cheap in the market. Diced nopales simmer in a light tomato and chilli broth with onion and coriander, giving a soup that is tangy, fresh and a little green-tasting, like green beans crossed with okra. It is very light, with about 3 g of protein per bowl; add a can of pinto beans or crumble fresh cheese on top for more. The most common mistake is putting raw nopales straight into the soup, which turns it slimy: boil them separately first and rinse them. Chef's tip: add a few tomatillo husks or a pinch of bicarbonate to the boiling water for the nopales; it helps set the slime so it rinses away.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Quelites guisadosSautéed wild greens
Quelites is the Nahuatl-rooted word for the edible wild greens of central Mexico, such as quintoniles (amaranth), verdolagas (purslane) and huauzontle, and in the markets of Mexico City, Puebla and Tlaxcala they are sold by the bunch in the rainy season and cooked this way for everyday lunches. The greens are blanched, then sautéed with onion, garlic, tomato and serrano chilli until soft and savoury, and piled into hot corn tortillas with salsa and, if you like, crumbled fresh cheese. Without cheese it is vegan, with about 6 g of protein per portion including two tortillas. The common mistake is leaving the greens wet: they steam and turn watery instead of frying. Spinach, chard or amaranth leaves work if you can't find quelites. Chef's tip: cut the serrano in half lengthways and fry it with the onion; it flavours the oil gently and you can lift it out if it's too hot.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Raspados (Mexican shaved ice with fruit syrups)
In Guadalajara and the towns of Sinaloa, raspados are sold from carts and little shops from noon until late on hot days: a paper cup of finely shaved ice soaked in bright homemade syrups like tamarind, mango, strawberry and deep-red hibiscus, sometimes with fresh fruit and a squeeze of lime. They are the cheapest way to cool down, and children and adults line up alike. They are naturally egg-free and plant-based: there is nothing to set or bind, just fruit and sugar cooked into syrups thick enough to cling to the ice. The hibiscus is tart and floral, the mango sweet and thick, and the two side by side make a striking cup. Make the syrups and cool them quickly over iced water. Chef's tip: shave the ice as fine as you can and pour the syrup slowly; the common mistake is using coarse crushed ice, which lets the syrup run straight to the bottom.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
ChileatoleCorn and green chilli soup
Chileatole is a thick, savoury atole made in Puebla and Tlaxcala during the rainy-season corn harvest from July to September, sold steaming from big pots at markets in the evening and made at home when fresh corn is everywhere. Fresh corn kernels and pieces of cob simmer in a broth thickened with masa harina and tinted green with blended chilli and epazote. It is comforting and corny, with a gentle heat, and about 6 g of protein per bowl from the corn and masa. The most common mistake is adding the masa dry, which makes lumps: always dissolve it in cold water first. Chef's tip: simmer the stripped cobs in the water before you start, for a sweeter, deeper corn broth.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
HojarascasCinnamon sugar crumble cookies
At weddings, quinceañeras and Christmas gatherings in Nuevo León and Coahuila, someone always brings a platter of hojarascas, the name meaning 'fallen leaves' because they crumble as lightly as dry leaves underfoot. The cookies are short and sandy, spiced with cinnamon, and rolled while warm in more cinnamon sugar so they look frosted. Monterrey families serve them with café de olla or hot champurrado. They are traditionally made with lard; this version uses vegetable shortening, which gives the same tender crumb and makes them vegan, or you can use butter for a richer taste. Overworking the dough once the flour is in is the classic mistake, because it develops gluten and makes them tough. Chef's tip: steep a cinnamon stick in the water first and use that tea to bind the dough, which doubles the spice flavour without bitterness.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Papas a la mexicanaPotatoes with tomato and chile
Papas a la mexicana carry the colours of the flag, red tomato, white onion and green chile, and they are cooked in kitchens all over Mexico as a taco filling, a breakfast side or a cheap supper with beans and tortillas. The potatoes are fried until golden at the edges, then folded with a quick sofrito so they soak up the fresh, spicy juices. The usual mistake is adding the tomato before the potatoes are cooked through, which leaves them hard in the middle and stewing rather than frying. Chef's tip: parboil the diced potatoes for 4 minutes first; they fry to a crisp edge in half the time.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Pay de quesoCreamy cheesecake
Mexican cafés, school bake sales and Sunday family lunches all have a pay de queso, the country's own take on cheesecake. Cream cheese, condensed milk and evaporated milk are whizzed in a blender with eggs and vanilla, poured onto a crust of crushed plain tea biscuits and baked into a dense, creamy slice with a caramel note from the condensed milk. Serve it chilled with coffee, or with strawberries or a spoon of cajeta on top for a party. The usual mistake is blending at full speed for too long, which whips in air and makes the top rise and crack. Chef's tip: blend on low just until smooth, then tap the filled tin on the worktop a few times to bring big bubbles to the surface.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Huevos al albañil (bricklayer's eggs)
Huevos al albañil, 'bricklayer's eggs', come from the fondas and food stalls of central Mexico that feed builders a filling breakfast before the sun gets hot: scrambled eggs cooked gently and then bathed in a spicy salsa of charred tomato and serrano chile. They are eaten with warm corn tortillas and refried beans, and they make an equally good quick dinner. The mistake is cooking the eggs fully before they meet the salsa; they keep cooking in it and end up dry and rubbery. Chef's tip: char the tomatoes and chiles until properly blackened in spots, which gives the salsa its smoky depth.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
CampechanasFlaky sweet pastries with sugar top
Campechanas take their name from the port of Campeche, but now they shatter all over the coffee tables of Mexico City and Veracruz: oval, paper-thin layers of dough with a glossy, caramelised sugar crust that cracks as you bite. Mexicans buy them in the evening from the panadería, along with conchas, to dunk in café de olla or hot chocolate. They are traditionally made with lard; this version uses vegetable shortening, which gives the same light flakiness and keeps them vegan. Butter also works but browns faster. The trap is a timid oven: below full heat the sugar stays grainy and white instead of turning to glass. Chef's tip: press the sugar firmly into the top before baking so it melts into an even shiny layer.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Caldo de queso sonorense (Sonoran cheese soup)
In Hermosillo and across Sonora, caldo de queso is the soup cooked on cool desert evenings: a light tomato broth with potato and strips of roasted green Anaheim chile, poured over cubes of fresh cheese that soften into chewy, milky pieces in the bowl. It is eaten with flour tortillas, Sonora's own, and a squeeze of lime. The common mistake is boiling the cheese in the pot, where it melts into strings and sticks to the bottom; add it at the end, off the boil. Queso fresco and Oaxaca cheese are often made with animal rennet, so look for a vegetarian queso fresco, or use paneer, which keeps its shape the same way. Chef's tip: blister the chiles in a dry pan until black, then sweat them in a bowl under a plate for 5 minutes and the skins slip off.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Tortitas de calabacita (courgette and cheese fritters)
Tortitas de calabacita are a Lenten and everyday favourite in Mexican homes from Puebla to Jalisco: grated courgette, crumbled cheese and egg fried into soft little cakes, then served with a warm, thin tomato salsa spooned over, plus rice and beans. They make a meatless Friday dinner that children happily eat. The mistake is crowding the pan, which drops the oil temperature and leaves the fritters greasy and pale; fry in batches. The fresh cheeses often used are made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian queso fresco or a vegetarian mild Cheddar. Chef's tip: let the batter rest 2 minutes after adding the flour so it thickens and holds together in the pan.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
CoricosCornmeal cinnamon ring cookies
Coricos come from Sonora in Mexico's northwest, where maize has always been ground for more than tortillas. They are rings of sweet corn dough flavoured with cinnamon, baked until golden: firm and a little crunchy on the outside, with the slightly gritty, toasty taste of corn inside. Families make them by the dozen for coffee in the afternoon and for visitors, and Sonoran panaderías sell them in plastic bags by the counter. They are traditionally made with lard; this recipe uses butter (vegetable shortening works too), so they are vegetarian. A little wheat flour keeps the rings from cracking. Chef's tip: if the ropes split when you join them into rings, the dough is too dry; work in milk a teaspoon at a time until it bends without breaking.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Espagueti blanco (creamy white spaghetti)
At Mexican children's birthday parties and family gatherings, a big tray of espagueti blanco usually sits next to the chicken and the salads: soft spaghetti in a mild, silky sauce of cream, cream cheese and butter, sometimes with a little onion and garlic blended in. Some families add diced ham; this version keeps it vegetarian with sweetcorn. It contains milk and gluten. Chef's tip: blend the sauce while it is warm so it is perfectly smooth, then toss it with the pasta off the heat so it stays creamy.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Huevo con papa toddler tacos
Huevo con papa is a breakfast and supper standby in kitchens all over Mexico: small cubes of potato fried until tender, then scrambled with egg and rolled into warm tortillas. Mild, soft and easy to hold, it is a favourite for toddlers from a year old, and the grown-ups add salsa to their own. It contains egg; made with 100% corn tortillas it has no gluten, and it has no milk, nuts, soya, sesame or fish. Chef's tip: cut the potato into small 1 cm cubes and cover the pan for the first few minutes, so it steams tender before it browns.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Bean broth for babies (caldito de frijol)
Mexican families nearly always have a pot of frijoles de la olla on the stove, and before the salt goes in a cup of caldito is set aside for the baby. Black or pinto beans are cooked slowly with a piece of onion until they collapse; the broth is offered first on its own and, a week or two later, thickened with the sieved bean flesh into a smooth, earthy purée. Families from Oaxaca to Monterrey give it at midday, the time of the main meal. It has none of the common allergens (milk, egg, gluten, peanut, tree nuts, soya, sesame, fish). Chef's tip: soak the beans overnight and change the water; they cook more evenly and are easier on small tummies.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Pan de yemaEgg yolk bread with sesame
Sesame-flecked and burnished almost to mahogany, Oaxaca's pan de yema is made for dunking. Bakeries in the city and in the bread town of San Antonio de la Cal turn it out daily, but it is most loved around Día de Muertos, when it sits on the family altar with marigolds and a painted dough face, and is broken into bowls of frothy Oaxacan hot chocolate made with water or milk. The crumb is dense, yellow and close, with a gentle orange note. Some bakers use lard; butter and vegetable shortening are used here so it stays vegetarian. A pale loaf is the giveaway of skipping the second yolk wash: brush twice for that deep, shiny crust. Chef's tip: the dough is heavy and sticky with yolks, so knead it by machine and resist adding flour; it firms up as it develops.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Rice atole for babies (atole de arroz)
Atole is the warm, thick drink Mexicans have sipped since before the conquest, and in many homes the first version a baby tastes is atole de arroz, ground rice cooked with a stick of true cinnamon. For grown-ups it is sweetened with piloncillo and drunk at breakfast or on cold evenings around Día de Muertos; for babies the sugar stays out and it is thickened enough to eat from a spoon. It contains milk; there is no egg, gluten, nuts, soya, sesame or fish. Chef's tip: grind the rice yourself in a spice grinder; shop-bought rice flour works, but freshly ground rice tastes sweeter.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Bean and cheese burrito
In Sonora and the rest of northern Mexico, where wheat tortillas are an everyday bread, a burrito of refried beans and cheese is one of the simplest things to wrap in foil for a child's school lunch or an after-school snack. The beans are fried with a little onion and cumin until thick and creamy, then rolled up with cheese and toasted so it melts. It contains milk and gluten (wheat tortillas). Chef's tip: warm the tortillas before filling them; cold ones crack when you roll them.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Sopa de letras (Mexican alphabet soup)
Sopa de letras is the soup almost every Mexican child grows up on, served as the 'sopa aguada' course at the midday meal: tiny letter-shaped pasta, toasted golden in oil, then simmered in a broth of blended tomato, onion and garlic with soft diced carrot. For toddlers it is made with a no-salt vegetable stock, so the sweetness of the tomato comes through. It contains gluten (wheat); it has no milk, egg, nuts, soya, sesame or fish. Chef's tip: toast the pasta until it smells nutty and turns light gold; that is where the flavour comes from.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
TelerasSoft two-groove sandwich rolls
Without teleras there would be no torta, Mexico City's great lunchtime sandwich. These wide, flattish oval rolls, marked with two long grooves, have a thin, tender crust and a soft, close crumb that holds refried beans, avocado, queso and pickled jalapeños without falling apart. Every neighbourhood panadería piles them on metal trays next to the crustier bolillos, and street stalls toast them on a griddle before filling. Some bakers add a spoonful of lard to the dough; vegetable shortening gives the same softness and keeps these vegan. Pressing the grooves too gently is the usual mistake, because they puff closed in the oven and you lose the three-part shape. Chef's tip: for a proper torta, split the roll, pull out a little of the crumb and toast the cut sides on a hot comal with a smear of oil or butter.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Gorditas de nataSweet cream griddle cakes
In central Mexico, from Mexico City markets to kitchens in Hidalgo and Puebla, gorditas de nata were traditionally made with the thick skin of cream (nata) skimmed from boiled milk, and grandmothers still cook them on the comal for an afternoon merienda with hot chocolate or milky coffee. They are soft and cakey inside with a lightly crisp, golden face, somewhere between a scone and a pancake. Double cream stands in for nata here. They contain gluten, milk and egg. Chef's tip: keep the comal on a low-medium heat; these brown quickly because of the cream and sugar.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Salsa taquera de chile de árbolChile de árbol taco salsa
Late at night outside Mexico City's taquerías, the squeeze bottle of rust-red salsa is what regulars reach for to wake up tacos de suadero and al pastor. It is thin, very hot and a little sour from vinegar, with the toasty, nutty heat of chile de árbol balanced by cooked tomatillo. Small amounts go a long way, and it keeps two weeks in the fridge. Chef's tip: toast the chiles only until they darken and smell nutty, about 30 seconds; a minute too long and the whole batch turns bitter.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Chiles en escabechePickled jalapeños
Every Mexican home and fonda keeps a jar of pickled jalapeños for tortas, tacos, rice and a plate of beans, and the homemade kind is crisper and more fragrant than anything in a tin. Whole or sliced chiles are briefly fried with carrot coins, onion and garlic, then simmered in a herb-scented vinegar brine with bay, thyme and Mexican oregano. They are ready the next day and keep a month in the fridge. Chef's tip: wear gloves when slicing the chiles and keep your hands away from your eyes.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Agua de melónCantaloupe drink
Mexican market juice stalls make agua de melón with the ripest, most fragrant cantaloupes, and many cooks blend in the seeds and the soft pulp around them, which adds a creamy body and a nutty flavour. It's served in tall glasses on hot afternoons from Guanajuato to Veracruz and is a favourite with kids. Chef's tip: smell the stalk end of the melon before you buy it; if it smells sweet, the drink will too.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Paletas de cocoCoconut ice pops
Coconut pops are a classic of the paleterías of Michoacán and of the beach carts of Acapulco and Veracruz, where fresh coconuts are cracked open to order. They are milky, sweet and chewy with shreds of coconut, more like frozen coconut cream than ice. It contains dairy. Chef's tip: toast a third of the coconut lightly before using, which brings out a deeper flavour without changing the snowy colour much.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Sopa de milpaCorn and squash soup
A milpa is the traditional Mexican field where corn, beans and squash grow side by side, and this soup puts the summer harvest from that field into one pot. A light tomato broth carries chunks of corn, courgette, roasted poblano strips, a handful of black beans and squash blossoms, with epazote for its earthy, herbal note. In Central Mexico it's a healthy everyday lunch in the rainy season. Top it with cubes of panela cheese, which is usually made with animal rennet; choose a vegetarian one. Chef's tip: cut the corn into rounds rather than taking off the kernels, so everyone gets a sweet piece to gnaw.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Pipián verdeGreen pumpkin seed sauce
Pipián verde is one of the oldest sauces in central Mexico, thickened with ground pumpkin seeds long before chocolate moles appeared, and in Puebla it is often served during Lent with vegetables. Toasted seeds are blended with tomatillo, green chiles, herbs and lettuce leaves into a pale jade sauce that tastes nutty and gently tangy. Here it coats tender chayote and green beans; the same sauce is also made with poached chicken. Serve with rice and warm tortillas. Chef's tip: once the seed paste is in the pan, keep it at a lazy simmer, because boiling makes the sauce grainy and split.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Agua de sandíaWatermelon drink
When watermelons are piled high in the markets of Jalisco and Sonora in summer, almost every taquería has a jar of bright pink agua de sandía next to the horchata. It needs only ripe watermelon, water, a squeeze of lime and a touch of sugar, and children love it. Chef's tip: a very ripe melon may need no sugar at all, so taste before you sweeten.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
TetelasBean-filled masa triangles
In the Mixteca region between Oaxaca and Puebla, tetelas are folded into neat triangles on the comal and sold at village markets, often filled with black beans scented with avocado leaf and a little stringy quesillo. The masa turns toasty and slightly crisp outside while the filling stays creamy, and they are eaten with salsa as a snack or light supper. Quesillo is traditionally made with animal rennet, so pick a vegetarian stretched-curd cheese or a mozzarella labelled suitable for vegetarians. Chef's tip: fold the third side over last and press the seams with your fingertip so nothing leaks onto the comal.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Bisquets mexicanosFlaky biscuits
Mexico City cafés such as the old breakfast halls of the Centro serve bisquets split hot with butter and strawberry jam alongside café con leche. They are taller, sweeter and more cake-like than American biscuits, with a shiny egg-washed top and layers that pull apart. They contain wheat, egg and dairy. Chef's tip: cut straight down with a sharp cutter and never twist, so the sides stay open and the bisquets rise tall.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Agua de mangoMango drink
In April and May, when Ataulfo mangoes from Chiapas and Manila mangoes from Veracruz flood the markets, agua de mango becomes the drink of every comida corrida. It is thick, golden and very fruity, sharpened with lime. Chef's tip: use soft, fully ripe yellow mangoes with wrinkled skin; they need far less sugar and give a smooth, fibre-free drink.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
EntomatadasEnchiladas in tomato sauce
Entomatadas are what many families in central and northern Mexico make on a weekday evening, from Querétaro to Chihuahua: corn tortillas warmed in oil, bathed in a mild, garlicky tomato sauce and folded around fresh cheese. Without dried chiles they are gentle enough for children, and they are often served with refried beans and a fried egg on the side. Check the cheese label: many fresh Mexican cheeses use animal rennet, and a vegetarian queso fresco or ricotta salata works just as well here. Chef's tip: warm each tortilla in a little oil before it meets the sauce, so it bends without tearing.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Ensalada de NochebuenaBeetroot and fruit salad
Late on 24 December, families in Mexico City and the central states gather for the cena de Nochebuena, and on the table, next to the romeritos and bacalao, sits this jewel-bright salad. Beetroot stains the crisp jícama pink, sweet oranges and apple balance its earthiness, and roasted peanuts and pomegranate seeds scatter over the top with a little lettuce underneath. It is fresh relief among rich Christmas dishes and children love the colour. Chef's tip: dress the beetroot separately and add it at the last minute, unless you want everything magenta.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Rosca de reyesEpiphany bread ring
On the evening of 5 or 6 January, offices, schools and families all over Mexico cut a rosca de reyes for the Three Kings, washing it down with hot chocolate. The soft orange-scented ring is jewelled with candied fig, quince paste and cherries and striped with crunchy sugar paste; hidden inside is a tiny figure of the baby Jesus, and whoever finds it in their slice must host a tamales party on 2 February. Always tell guests there is a figurine and warn little children, as it is a choking risk; a whole almond is a safer stand-in. Chef's tip: push the figure in from underneath after baking, so it does not melt or show.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Jícama con chile y limónJícama with chile and lime
Few snacks are as simple or as refreshing as this one, sold in bags from street carts and made at home all over Mexico as an after-school or pre-lunch nibble. Jícama tastes like a cross between apple and water chestnut: crisp, juicy and barely sweet. Lime, salt and chile powder are all it needs. Chef's tip: a short soak in iced water makes the sticks extra crisp.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Enchiladas potosinasRed chile cheese enchiladas
Unlike the sauced enchiladas of Mexico City, the enchiladas of San Luis Potosí are small turnovers of masa kneaded with red chile paste, filled with fresh cheese and onion, cooked on the comal and quickly fried. In the city's plaza they are sold by the dozen with crema, shredded lettuce and pickled vegetables, and they're a favourite for Sunday family suppers. For a fully vegetarian plate, swap the usual animal-rennet queso fresco for a vegetarian fresh cheese or a mild microbial-rennet feta. Chef's tip: let the chile paste cool before kneading it into the masa, or the dough turns sticky.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Huevos ahogadosEggs poached in salsa
In homes across Puebla, Hidalgo and Mexico City, 'drowned eggs' are what you make when the fridge is nearly empty and breakfast must still be hot: a thin, brothy salsa of tomato, chile and onion is brought to a simmer, a sprig of epazote goes in, and the eggs are poached right in it. Spooned into bowls with tortillas or a crusty bolillo for dunking, it is lighter than it looks. Chef's tip: keep the salsa thinner than a pasta sauce, so the eggs can sink and poach evenly.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
BiónicoFruit cup with cream
Born in the 1990s at a juice stand in Guadalajara, Jalisco, the biónico is now the city's favourite breakfast on the go: a tall cup of chopped papaya, melon, apple, banana and strawberries drenched in a sweet cream of yoghurt, soured cream and condensed milk, then scattered with granola, coconut and raisins. Kids adore it and it takes fifteen minutes. Chef's tip: cut the banana last and fold it straight into the cream, so it stays pale.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
BolilloCrusty Mexican rolls
Before dawn in Mexico City, León or Puebla, neighbourhood bakeries pull trays of bolillos from the oven for tortas, molletes and the morning coffee. The rolls are oval with pointed ends and one deep slash, a thin crackly crust and a light, slightly chewy crumb, born from the French bakers who worked in Mexico in the 1860s. This version is made with no lard or butter, so it is vegan. Chef's tip: a tray of boiling water in the oven for the first ten minutes is what gives the crust its shine and crackle.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Marranitos de piloncilloPig-shaped gingerbread biscuits
Every pan dulce case in Mexico has a row of little brown pigs, called marranitos in the centre, cochinitos in the north and puerquitos in between. They are soft, cakey biscuits sweetened with dark piloncillo cane sugar, spiced with cinnamon and a touch of anise, and dunked into café de olla or cold milk in the afternoon. They are made here with butter, so they suit vegetarians, and contain egg and wheat. Chef's tip: roll the dough thick, about 1 cm, because thin pigs bake into hard crackers instead of soft cakes.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Carlota de limónLime icebox cake
In Mexican home kitchens carlota de limón is the dessert everyone's aunt knows by heart: layers of Marías biscuits and a lime cream whipped from condensed and evaporated milk, chilled until it slices like a cake. It is made on hot afternoons in Sonora and Veracruz and turns up at every children's party. The lime curdles the milk just enough to thicken it, so there's no cooking at all. It contains wheat and dairy. Chef's tip: blend in the lime juice slowly, with the motor running, until the cream thickens visibly.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Sopa de flor de calabazaSquash blossom soup
From July to September, when the summer rains fill Mexico City's markets with armfuls of orange squash blossoms, home cooks turn them into this light, golden soup. Half the blossoms are blended with onion into the base and the rest go in whole at the end, with diced courgette, sweetcorn and a sprig of epazote. The result is delicate and floral, a good first course before something rich. Serve with crumbled queso fresco; it is usually made with animal rennet, so look for a vegetarian one. Chef's tip: buy blossoms in the morning and use them the same day, as they wilt within hours.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Tacos de requesón
Among the stews kept warm in clay pots at Mexico City's taco de guisado stands, requesón is a mild, creamy favourite: soft fresh curd cooked with onion, serrano and the pungent herb epazote. It is eaten in small doubled tortillas with salsa verde, often at breakfast. Requesón is made from whey left after rennet cheesemaking, so choose ricotta labelled vegetarian if that matters to you. Chef's tip: cook the curd only until hot and slightly dry; long cooking makes it rubbery.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Calaveras de azúcarSugar skulls
In the markets of Toluca, Mexico City and Oaxaca, the alfeñique stalls of late October are piled with gleaming white sugar skulls, and families buy them to write a loved one's name across the forehead and set them on the home altar. They are mainly decorative: made right they set rock hard and keep for a year, and children may nibble a little, but they are not really a sweet for eating. Pressing damp sugar into a skull mould is easy, and the fun is the decorating with royal icing, sequins and coloured foil. Chef's tip: let the skulls dry for a full day before icing, or the damp sugar weeps into the colours.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Tamales dulcesSweet tamales
Every tamal tray in Mexico City has a few pink ones tucked in among the green and red, and these sweet tamales are what children reach for first at December posadas and on 2 February, Día de la Candelaria. The masa is beaten with butter and sugar, tinted the colour of a sugared almond and studded with raisins, then steamed in husks until soft and cakey; they are eaten warm with atole or hot chocolate. This version uses butter and vegetable shortening, not lard. Chef's tip: add a few drops of colour at a time; the pink deepens as it steams.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Calabaza en tachaCandied pumpkin
When the first squash of autumn arrives, kitchens across Puebla, Tlaxcala and Mexico State fill with the dark caramel smell of calabaza en tacha, a sweet that goes on the ofrenda on 1 November and is eaten warm at breakfast with a splash of cold milk. Wedges of pumpkin simmer slowly in piloncillo, the cone-shaped raw cane sugar, with cinnamon bark, orange and a few cloves until the flesh turns glossy amber and the syrup thickens. It is homely, deeply sweet and spiced. Chef's tip: lay the pumpkin skin side down and never stir, just baste, so the pieces stay whole.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Tejocotes en almíbarHawthorn fruit in syrup
Golden tejocotes, small tart hawthorn fruits from the highlands around Puebla and the State of Mexico, appear in market sacks for only a few weeks before Day of the Dead and Christmas. Poached whole in piloncillo syrup with cinnamon and a strip of orange, they turn soft and perfumed, a little like quince crossed with apricot, and are set on the ofrenda or eaten from a bowl with their syrup. Outside Mexico, look for them frozen or in jars at Latin grocers; small crab apples are the nearest swap. Chef's tip: blanch and peel them first, as the skins go tough and bitter in syrup.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Ponche navideñoHot Christmas fruit punch
During the nine nights of posadas from 16 to 24 December, neighbours in central Mexico walk the streets singing for shelter, and the reward at the last door is a cup of steaming ponche ladled from a clay pot. Whole fruits, tejocotes, guavas, apple, prunes, sticks of sugarcane, simmer with hibiscus, cinnamon and piloncillo until the punch is fragrant and amber, and everyone fishes the soft fruit out with a spoon. This recipe is alcohol-free and good for all ages; some adults add a splash of rum to their own cup, but none is used here. Chef's tip: add the guavas late, as they collapse if cooked too long.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
CapirotadaMexican bread pudding
On the Fridays of Lent and above all on Good Friday, grandmothers from Jalisco to Sonora layer stale bolillo with a dark syrup of piloncillo, cinnamon and cloves, then tuck in raisins, peanuts and crumbled cheese, a sweet-salty pudding that uses up bread when meat is off the menu. It comes out of the oven sticky at the edges and soft in the middle, and is eaten warm or at room temperature. The traditional cheese, queso añejo or cotija, is usually made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese or mild feta if you prefer. Chef's tip: fry or toast the bread until really dry and golden first; soft bread turns to porridge in the syrup.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Paletas de fresa con cremaStrawberry cream ice pops
Pink, creamy and dotted with red fruit, fresa con crema pops are the milky paletas children pick first at any paletería michoacana, and they echo the strawberries and cream sold in cups in Irapuato. Fresh strawberries are folded into a sweet milk-and-cream base that freezes smooth. It contains dairy. Chef's tip: macerate the strawberries in sugar first, as the syrup keeps the fruit soft rather than icy.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Lentejas con piña y plátanoLentils with pineapple and plantain
Sweet and savoury share a pot in this Lent favourite from Puebla and Mexico City kitchens: brown lentils simmered in a tomato and garlic broth, finished with chunks of pineapple and slices of fried ripe plantain. It sounds unusual but tastes balanced and comforting, and many families eat it on the Fridays before Easter with white rice and tortillas. Chef's tip: use a plantain with a black-speckled skin; green ones stay starchy and never sweeten.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Huevos divorciadosEggs in red and green salsa
Order 'divorced eggs' in any Mexico City café or roadside fonda and you get a plate split down the middle: one fried egg on a tortilla under smoky red salsa, the other under tangy green tomatillo salsa, with a ridge of refried beans keeping the couple apart. It is a cheerful weekend breakfast and a good way to use up leftover salsas. Mexican crumbling cheese is often made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian one if needed. Chef's tip: warm the tortillas in the egg pan first, so they are soft but not greasy.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Palanquetas de cacahuatePeanut brittle bars
Bus-station vendors, school gates and the sweet stalls around the Basilica in Mexico City all sell palanquetas, crisp bars of roasted peanuts bound in amber piloncillo or sugar caramel. They are crunchy, toasty and only lightly salted, and families also make them with pumpkin seeds or sesame. They contain peanuts. Chef's tip: have everything oiled and ready before you start, because the caramel sets within a minute of leaving the heat.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Rebanadas de mantequillaButtered sweet bread slices
When yesterday's pan dulce goes stale, Mexican bakeries slice it thick, spread it with butter, dust it with sugar and toast it until crisp, and the result, rebanadas, often sells out first. At home it is a ten-minute afternoon treat with hot chocolate or a glass of cold milk, and a good way to use up a loaf of brioche, a pan de yema or a few bolillos. This version uses butter, so it is vegetarian. Chef's tip: let the butter get really soft so it sinks into the bread instead of sitting on top.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Polvorones de nuezPecan butter cookies
Christmas cookie tins, wedding tables and bakery counters all over northern and central Mexico hold polvorones, small domes of toasted pecan shortbread that crumble to dust in the mouth, which is how they got their name. They are rolled twice in icing sugar, once warm and once cold, so they look snowy. Old recipes used lard; this one uses butter, so it is vegetarian, and it contains wheat and tree nuts. Chef's tip: toast the pecans first, which turns a plain cookie into a deeply nutty one.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Mazapán de cacahuatePeanut sugar sweets
Mexican children grow up on mazapán, little rounds of ground roasted peanuts and powdered sugar that crumble at the first bite, sold singly at corner shops and piñata parties across the country. The homemade version tastes even more of peanut and needs no cooking at all, only a blender and a pastry cutter or bottle cap to press the rounds. They contain peanuts. Chef's tip: press really hard and lift the cutter straight up, as loose pressing is why homemade mazapán falls apart.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
GaznatesMeringue-filled pastry tubes
Gaznates are a fair and fiesta sweet in Puebla, Mexico City and the State of Mexico: paper-thin squares of pastry wrapped around metal tubes, fried until blistered and filled with a glossy meringue or sweetened coconut. Some stalls tint the meringue pink. The shell shatters like a cannoli while the filling is soft and cloud-like. They contain wheat and egg. Chef's tip: roll the dough as thin as you can, so it bubbles and turns crisp; thick dough turns hard.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Fruta con chileFruit with chile and lime
Every plaza in Mexico City seems to have a fruit cart with a glass case of jícama, cucumber, mango and pineapple, cut to order into tall sticks and packed into a cup. The vendor squeezes over lime and shakes on chile-lime salt, and you eat it with a toothpick on a hot afternoon. It's juicy, crunchy, sour and only a little hot. Chef's tip: chill the fruit well first; cold fruit and sharp chile make the contrast.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Pan de eloteFresh corn cake
Across central Mexico, from Morelos to the State of Mexico, pan de elote is baked when fresh corn is cheap in late summer and sold by the slice at market stalls. Despite its name it is more cake than bread: fresh kernels blended with butter, eggs and condensed milk bake into a dense, custardy, golden loaf that tastes of sweet corn. It contains wheat and egg. Chef's tip: use the starchiest, most mature corn you can find, because young sweetcorn makes a wetter, flatter cake.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Atole blancoWarm masa drink
Long before coffee arrived, atole was the morning drink of central and southern Mexico, and in villages of Oaxaca, Puebla and Tlaxcala plain atole blanco is still drunk hot with tamales at breakfast or on cold evenings. Fresh masa is whisked into water and cooked until it thickens to a silky, gently sweet drink with a toasty corn taste. Made with water it is vegan. Chef's tip: strain the masa before cooking, so the atole is smooth with no lumps.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Ejotes con huevoGreen beans with egg
Cheap, fast and filling, this is the kind of dish that turns up on Mexican home tables on a Lent Friday, at breakfast or as the main course of a weekday comida. Green beans are blanched, tossed through a quick tomato and serrano sofrito and bound with softly scrambled egg. Spoon it into warm corn tortillas or eat it with frijoles de la olla and rice. Chef's tip: cut the beans on a slant into short pieces so every forkful catches some egg.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Chongos zamoranosMilk curds in cinnamon syrup
Zamora in Michoacán gave its name to chongos, soft knots of fresh milk curd slowly poached in their own whey with sugar and cinnamon until the syrup turns golden and the curds turn springy. They are served cool in small glass bowls after Sunday lunch, and jars are sold at roadside stands across the Bajío. Traditionally the milk is set with animal rennet; use a vegetarian rennet (microbial or plant-based) to keep it vegetarian. Chef's tip: never stir after the curds form, only tilt the pan, or they break into crumbs.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Nieve de mameyMamey ice cream
Mamey, the rough brown fruit with salmon-orange flesh that tastes like sweet potato, pumpkin and almond at once, is a favourite in Tabasco, Chiapas, Veracruz and the Yucatán, and its ice cream is a star of the nevería in any southern town. The fruit is naturally so creamy that a little milk and sugar is enough. It contains dairy. Chef's tip: use a mamey that gives like a ripe avocado when pressed; underripe ones taste chalky.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Limones rellenos de cocoCoconut-stuffed candied limes
At the candy stalls of Oaxaca's Mercado 20 de Noviembre and in the towns of Michoacán, bright green candied limes stuffed with snowy coconut are a jewel of traditional dulcería. The limes are scraped, soaked and boiled to take away the bitterness, then candied over two days until glassy, hollowed and filled. They are sweet, chewy and sharp at once, made for weddings and gifts. Chef's tip: change the soaking water every time without fail, as that is what takes away the bitterness of the pith.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Agua de tamarindoTamarind drink
Brown, cloudy and gloriously tart, agua de tamarindo fills the big glass vitroleros at taquerías and fondas across Mexico, especially in hot Guerrero, Colima and the Yucatán, and it is the drink most people reach for with a plate of tacos de guisado. The pods are peeled, simmered and rubbed through a sieve, so it tastes far fresher than paste or concentrate. Chef's tip: soak the pulp in the hot cooking water before you rub it, which loosens every bit from the seeds.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Agua de pepino con limónCucumber lime drink
Pale green and very refreshing, agua de pepino is the cooler sold from market juice stands in Mexico City and Oaxaca when the afternoon heat builds, and families blend a jug for comida on hot days. Cucumber, lime and a few mint leaves give a clean, light taste with very little sugar. Chef's tip: leave some of the peel on the cucumber for colour, but strain the drink so it stays silky.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Paletas de mango con chileMango ice pops with chile
The town of Tocumbo in Michoacán sent paleteros all over Mexico, and their shops, the paleterías michoacanas, sell fruit ice pops from Tijuana to Cancún. Mango con chile is one of the most loved: chunky frozen mango purée, sharp with lime, with a ribbon of chile powder through it and more sprinkled on top. Chef's tip: leave a few small cubes of mango in the purée, so every bite has real fruit.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Tacos de nopales asadosGrilled cactus tacos
At weekend markets in Milpa Alta, the cactus-growing district on Mexico City's southern edge, whole nopal paddles are grilled until tender and folded into tortillas with charred spring onions and salsa verde. Grilling dries the natural slime the cactus is known for and leaves a lemony, green-bean flavour. It is a light, naturally vegan taco. Buy paddles with the spines already removed, or scrape them carefully with a knife. Chef's tip: score the paddles in a criss-cross before grilling so they cook evenly and stay flat.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Nieve de garrafa de limónLime water ice
In town plazas from Oaxaca to Guadalajara, neveros still churn nieve de garrafa by spinning a tall metal can in a wooden barrel of ice and rock salt, scraping the frozen walls with a long paddle. Lime nieve is the sharpest and most refreshing, pale green from the zest, and it is eaten in small cups after a hot walk through the market. At home a metal bowl set in ice and salt works the same way. Chef's tip: add the zest at the start but strain it out; that way you get its oils without the bitterness.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
MangonadaMango sorbet with chamoy
Mangonadas, also called chamoyadas, are a Mexican street sweet sold by neverías and fruit stands from Guadalajara to the US border: thick frozen mango blended to a slush, layered in a tall cup with sticky red chamoy and chile-lime salt and crowned with fresh mango cubes. Sweet, sour, salty and hot at once, it comes with a chewy tamarind-candy straw for stirring. Chef's tip: freeze the mango in cubes beforehand, so you get a thick spoonable slush without watering it down with ice.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Crema de eloteCreamy corn soup
Market fondas around Mexico City and Puebla ladle this pale-gold soup as the opening course of the comida corrida, the set lunch served from about two until four in the afternoon. Fresh kernels are simmered in milk with a little onion, blended until silky and finished with ribbons of roasted poblano, a few cubes of queso fresco and a swirl of crema. Sweet corn comes first, then a gentle green heat from the chile. Queso fresco is usually made with animal rennet, so choose one labelled vegetarian or use a mild vegetarian feta. Chef's tip: scrape the bare cobs with the back of a knife; that milky pulp thickens the soup without any flour.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Fideo secoDry chipotle vermicelli
A 'dry soup' sounds like a contradiction, but in Central Mexico sopa seca is the pasta or rice course that follows the brothy soup at the comida corrida. Short vermicelli is fried until nut-brown, then simmered in a smoky chipotle and tomato purée until every drop is absorbed. It's served heaped with crema, crumbled cheese and slices of avocado. Cotija and queso fresco are normally made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian crumbly cheese. Chef's tip: fry the noodles until they're the colour of a hazelnut; pale noodles taste flat.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
ChamoySweet-sour chile sauce
Brick-red and glossy, chamoy is the sauce Mexicans splash over fresh fruit, mango sorbet, crisps and the rim of a michelada glass. It is said to descend from Asian salted plum sauces, but today's version is pure Mexican: dried apricots and hibiscus simmered and blended with chile, lime, sugar and salt. Homemade chamoy is fruitier and less sweet than the bottled kind. Chef's tip: it thickens a lot as it cools, so take it off the heat when it still pours like warm ketchup.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Nieve de leche quemadaBurnt milk ice cream
Under the laurel trees by the church of La Soledad in Oaxaca city, the nieve stalls scoop leche quemada, burnt milk ice cream, often paired in one cup with a tart tuna (prickly pear) sorbet. The milk is cooked with cinnamon until it catches and caramelises on the bottom of the pan, giving a smoky, toffee-like flavour and a light beige colour. It contains dairy and egg. Chef's tip: let the milk scorch deliberately, but scrape the brown layer into the milk rather than letting it go black.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Crema de chile poblanoCreamy poblano soup
In Puebla, where poblano chiles take their name, this pale-jade soup appears at family lunches and on the menu of almost every cocina económica. Roasted chiles are blended with onion, a little corn and milk, then enriched with cream, so the flavour is smoky and mellow with just a flicker of heat. Serve it with crisp tortilla strips or a few corn kernels on top. Chef's tip: roast a couple of extra chiles while the grill is hot; the strips keep for four days and lift any taco or quesadilla.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Chicharrones de harinaPuffed wheat snacks
Outside Mexican schools and parks, vendors fry little dried wheels and rectangles of wheat dough until they balloon into airy, crackly chicharrones de harina, also called duritos. They're handed over in a plastic bag drenched in lime juice and bottled hot sauce. At home you can buy the dried pellets (duros) at Latin grocers, and they puff in seconds. Chef's tip: fry just a small handful at a time; they triple in size.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Tacos dorados de papaFried potato tacos
Crisp potato tacos are a Friday and Lent staple in homes across central Mexico, and a cheap favourite at fondas near schools in Mexico City. Tortillas are rolled around buttery-soft mashed potato, fried until shattering, then buried under cool lettuce, crema, salsa and crumbled cheese. Children love them, and the potato filling is easy to make ahead. Fresh crumbly cheeses here are often set with animal rennet; a vegetarian queso fresco or a microbial-rennet feta keeps the dish meat-free. Chef's tip: mash the potatoes while hot and let them cool before rolling, so the filling is firm and doesn't ooze into the oil.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Tamales de rajas con quesoPoblano and cheese tamales
On the evening of 2 November, after the graveyard visit, many families in central Mexico sit down to a pot of steaming tamales, and rajas con queso is the meat-free favourite at every tamalera's stall. Soft, fluffy masa beaten with fat until it floats wraps a filling of charred poblano strips, a spoon of tomato salsa and a finger of melting cheese. Fresh Mexican cheeses such as queso Oaxaca or panela are often made with animal rennet; choose a vegetarian mozzarella-style cheese if that matters to you. The masa here uses vegetable shortening rather than lard. Chef's tip: test the beaten masa by dropping a pinch into cold water; when it floats, it is light enough.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Tortitas de coliflorCauliflower in egg batter
Cuaresma, the six weeks of Lent, is cauliflower season in the markets of Puebla and Mexico City, and cooks turn the florets into these puffy capeados: each piece stuffed with a little cheese, dipped in whisked egg, fried until golden and then bathed in a brick-red sauce of tomato and guajillo chilli. They come to the table with white rice and a stack of tortillas. Queso Oaxaca and panela are often made with animal rennet, so pick a vegetarian melting cheese if needed. Chef's tip: dust the florets with flour before the batter so it clings rather than slides off.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Guacamole
In fondas around Mexico City and at Sunday carne asada gatherings across Puebla and the Bajío, guacamole is pounded to order in a basalt molcajete and carried to the table still in the stone. No sour cream, no garlic powder: just ripe avocado crushed over a paste of onion, serrano chile, cilantro and salt, sharpened with lime. It is a dip for warm totopos, a topping for tacos and a side for grilled meat, and it is best eaten within the hour. Chef's tip: grind the chile, onion and salt to a wet paste first, so the heat spreads through every bite instead of sitting in chunks.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Pan de muertoDay of the Dead bread
From mid-October, bakeries from Mexico City to Puebla stack their shelves with these domed loaves, and families set one on the ofrenda for the souls who return on 1 and 2 November, then share the rest with hot chocolate. The crumb is soft and rich with butter and egg, scented with orange zest and orange-blossom water, and the knobbly strips across the top stand for bones, with a small ball for the skull. A sugar crust or a dusting of sesame finishes it. Chef's tip: shape the bones from dough you have held back and chilled, so they keep their ridges instead of melting flat in the oven.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Nopales con huevoCactus and scrambled eggs
Tender cactus paddles are sold cleaned and diced in bags at every market in Mexico City and Michoacán, and the quickest breakfast they make is this: nopales fried with onion, tomato and green chile until their sticky juice cooks off, then folded through softly scrambled eggs. It is light, green and tangy, and wrapped in a warm tortilla it becomes a taco to eat on the way out. Chef's tip: cook the nopales uncovered until the slime has gone completely before the eggs go in.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
GaribaldisJam-glazed sprinkle cakes
Named after a famous old Mexico City bakery, garibaldis are little dome-shaped butter cakes coated in warm apricot jam and rolled in white nonpareils, so they look like snowballs on the counter. Chilangos buy them by the bag for afternoon coffee and school lunchboxes. The cake is dense and buttery, the jam gives a sharp, sticky contrast and the sprinkles a light crunch. Chef's tip: brush the jam on while the cakes are still warm, as the sprinkles then stick evenly.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
CocolesAnise sweet bread
In the markets of Puebla, Tlaxcala and Mexico City, cocoles are the plain, honest bread of the morning: diamond-shaped, deep brown from piloncillo, fragrant with anise and studded with sesame seeds on top. They are not very sweet, so people eat them with café de olla or split them for a cheese torta. Old bakers used lard; this version uses vegetable shortening, so it stays vegetarian and vegan. Chef's tip: steep the anise in the warm piloncillo syrup, so its flavour runs through every bite.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Jamoncillo de lecheMilk fudge
Jamoncillo turns up wrapped in waxed paper at sweet stalls from Puebla to Coahuila, and in San Luis Potosí and Guadalajara whole shops are given over to it. Milk and sugar are cooked down slowly with cinnamon until they turn into a pale caramel-coloured fudge that is firm, slightly grainy and rich, then pressed into bars and topped with pecan halves. Chef's tip: keep the heat moderate and stir all the time near the end, because the paste can catch and burn in seconds.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Atole de guayabaGuava masa drink
In the cold months, when guavas from Aguascalientes and Michoacán perfume the markets, street vendors in Mexico City ladle atole de guayaba from big steaming pots beside the tamal cart. Ripe guava is blended with milk, strained and thickened with cornflour into a pink, creamy, fragrant drink. It contains dairy. Chef's tip: add the blended guava only once the milk is thickened and off the boil, so the milk doesn't curdle.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Atole de fresaStrawberry masa drink
Pink, warm and sweet, atole de fresa is a children's favourite in Mexico City and Irapuato, the strawberry capital of Guanajuato, sold in polystyrene cups alongside tamales for breakfast. Fresh strawberries are blended with milk and thickened with a little masa, which gives a gentle corn flavour under the fruit. It contains dairy. Chef's tip: blend the strawberries raw and add them at the end, so the drink keeps its bright colour.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Salsa verde crudaRaw tomatillo salsa
Raw green salsa sits in a bowl on nearly every taquería counter from Toluca to Mexico City, and families blend a fresh jar most mornings to spoon over eggs, tacos de guisado and grilled meat. Because the tomatillos are not cooked, it tastes sharp, grassy and almost citrusy, with a clean serrano bite. It takes ten minutes and keeps three days in the fridge, thickening slightly as the tomatillo pectin sets. Chef's tip: choose firm, bright green tomatillos that have split their papery husks; yellowing ones are sweeter and make a dull salsa.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Ensalada de manzana navideñaCreamy apple salad
In homes from Monterrey to Guadalajara, a big bowl of creamy apple salad is chilling in the fridge on Christmas Eve, ready to sit alongside roast pork or turkey, and the kids usually go back for seconds as dessert. Crisp diced apple, juicy pineapple, celery for crunch, raisins and toasted pecans are folded into a sweet dressing of cream, condensed milk and a little soured cream. Many versions add marshmallows, but most contain gelatine, so they are left out here. Chef's tip: chill it for an hour before serving; the dressing thickens and the flavours marry.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Flan napolitanoCream cheese caramel flan
Mexican family parties, from birthday lunches in Monterrey to Sunday comida in Guadalajara, very often end with flan napolitano. It is richer and denser than a Spanish egg flan, because condensed milk, evaporated milk and cream cheese are blended into the custard, giving a cheesecake-like slice under a dark caramel. It contains eggs and dairy; standard cream cheese is made without animal rennet. Chef's tip: bake it in a gentle water bath and chill it overnight before turning out, so it slices clean.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Cacahuates enchiladosChile-garlic peanuts
Sold in twists of paper at bus stations and set out free with a drink in Mexican cantinas, these peanuts are fried slowly with whole garlic and dried chile de árbol, then tossed with chile powder, salt and lime. They're crunchy, salty, sour and hot all at once. Make a batch for a party or keep a jar for snacking. They contain peanuts, so warn guests with nut allergies. Chef's tip: let them cool fully on a tray before tasting; they only turn properly crunchy once cold.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Salsa de molcajeteCharred tomato chile salsa
Market cooks in Puebla, Tlaxcala and the State of Mexico still blister tomatoes, garlic and chiles on a dry comal and grind them in the same volcanic-stone mortar that gives this salsa its name. The result is chunky, smoky and slightly sweet from the charred tomato skins, and it is served warm or at room temperature with grilled meat, quesadillas and barbacoa. A blender works, but the molcajete gives a rougher, juicier texture. Chef's tip: grind the garlic, chile and salt first, then the tomatoes, so the hard bits break down properly.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
ChiltomateRoasted tomato habanero sauce
Chiltomate is the everyday red sauce of the Yucatán Peninsula, ladled over papadzules, huevos motuleños, panuchos and grilled pork in Mérida's cocinas económicas. Tomatoes are charred on the comal, blended and simmered with onion, while a whole roasted habanero floats in the pan to scent it with fruity heat. It is mild unless you split the chile. Chef's tip: for real heat, slit the habanero before simmering; for a family table, leave it whole and lift it out.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
HuarachesSandal-shaped masa cakes
Named for the leather sandals they resemble, huaraches are the pride of the market stalls around La Merced and the Jamaica market in Mexico City, where long ovals of masa are filled with beans, griddled and loaded with toppings at breakfast or lunch. This vegetarian version is topped with salsa verde, grilled nopales, crema, onion and crumbled fresh cheese. Most queso fresco is set with animal rennet; a vegetarian-labelled fresh cheese or a crumbly feta made with microbial rennet keeps it meat-free. Chef's tip: pat the beans into a log inside the masa before pressing, so they spread evenly to the edges.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
BocolesFilled masa cakes
Bocoles are breakfast across the Huasteca, the green hill country shared by Veracruz, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas, where they come off the comal at dawn to be split open and stuffed. The masa is enriched with fat (traditionally pork lard; vegetable shortening here keeps them vegetarian) so the cakes are tender and slightly crumbly. Fill them with beans, cheese and salsa, or with scrambled egg. If you keep a vegetarian kitchen, note that ranch-style fresh cheese is usually set with animal rennet; a vegetarian queso fresco or feta does the same job. Chef's tip: cook them slowly over a medium-low heat so the thick centre cooks through before the outside burns.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
PenequesCheese-filled masa pockets
Peneques are a Lenten and weekday favourite in the fondas of Mexico City and Puebla: thin masa pockets are cooked on the comal, stuffed with stringy cheese, coated in a fluffy egg batter, fried and then simmered briefly in a light tomato broth, like a chile relleno without the chile. They are soft, comforting and served with rice and beans. Oaxaca cheese is commonly made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian mozzarella or stretched-curd cheese if that matters to you. Chef's tip: dust the stuffed pockets with masa harina before battering so the egg clings instead of sliding off.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Tortitas de papaPotato patties in tomato broth
Meatless Fridays in Lent turn Mexican kitchens toward tortitas: in Mexico City and across the Bajío, golden patties of mashed potato and cheese are fried, then slipped into a thin, warm tomato caldillo and eaten with rice, beans and tortillas. Children love them, and they stretch a few potatoes into a proper meal. Mexican fresh cheeses are often made with animal rennet; a vegetarian mozzarella or mild cheddar works well. Chef's tip: mash the potatoes while hot and let them steam dry, so the patties hold together without flour.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Huevos tiradosEggs with black beans
In the port of Veracruz and the coffee towns around Xalapa, morning cafés roll out a dark, savoury omelette that looks plain and tastes rich: eggs are 'thrown' into a pan of black refried beans and stirred, then rolled into a log and served with tortillas, fresh cheese and salsa. It keeps workers going till lunch. Chef's tip: the beans should be thick and fairly dry, like mashed potato, or the roll won't hold.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
MantecadasMexican muffins
Red pleated paper cups give mantecadas away at once on the bakery tray, from Monterrey to Mérida. Inside is a tender, golden, slightly orange-scented sponge, richer than a cupcake and topped with a domed crust, eaten for breakfast or merienda with milky coffee. They contain egg, butter and wheat. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 20 minutes before baking, which gives the tall, cracked dome bakery mantecadas are known for.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
EnmoladasEnchiladas in mole
In Puebla and Oaxaca, leftover mole from a fiesta becomes enmoladas the next day: warm tortillas dipped in the dark sauce, folded around cheese and finished with onion and toasted sesame. This version makes a quick vegetarian mole from scratch with vegetable stock and oil, because market moles often contain lard or chicken stock. The cheese is the one ingredient to check, since queso fresco is often made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian fresh cheese or paneer-style curd instead. Chef's tip: keep the mole loose, like pouring cream, so it coats each tortilla in a thin glossy layer rather than a thick paste.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Salsa machaChile peanut oil salsa
In Orizaba and Córdoba in the mountains of Veracruz, salsa macha is a jar that lives on the table: dried chiles, garlic, peanuts and sesame fried in oil and crushed into a dark, crunchy relish. It is spooned over eggs, tamales, beans, grilled vegetables and even fresh cheese, and a little goes a long way. The flavour is smoky and nutty rather than fiercely hot when made with mild chiles. This version contains peanuts and sesame, both common allergens. Chef's tip: let the oil cool for a minute before the chiles go in; they need gentle heat to release their flavour without scorching.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Caldo de habasDried fava bean soup
Few dishes say Good Friday in Mexico City, Hidalgo and Tlaxcala like a bowl of thick, golden caldo de habas, made from peeled dried fava beans cooked down until they almost dissolve. Tomato, onion and garlic give it body, cumin warmth and a handful of fresh mint lifts it, with lime and a pinch of chilli flakes at the table. Cheap, filling and protein-rich, it suits any cold weekday. Look for yellow, peeled split favas at Latin or Middle Eastern shops. Chef's tip: add the mint only at the very end, or it turns grey and loses its scent.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Nopales navegantesCactus in chilli broth with eggs
The name means 'sailing cactus', for the strips of nopal floating in a light red broth, and the dish is a standby of Lent in Hidalgo and the State of Mexico, when cooks want something warming and meatless. Eggs are cracked straight into the simmering caldo to poach, and the bowl is finished with fresh cheese, coriander and lime. It is light, cheap and ready in about forty minutes. Use a vegetarian cheese if you avoid animal rennet. Chef's tip: boil the nopales separately first and rinse well, so their slippery juice doesn't thicken the broth.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Jicaletas (jícama lollipops with chamoy)
At home time outside primary schools in Mexico City's Coyoacán and Narvarte, carts sell jicaletas, thick rounds of jícama pushed onto a stick like a giant lollipop and painted bright red with sweet-sour chamoy. They are crunchy, juicy and cold, with salty, sour and spicy layers on the outside, and make a light afternoon snack on a hot day. Chef's tip: cut the slices at least 1.5 cm thick, otherwise they snap off the stick at the first bite.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Frijoles maneadosPinto beans with chile and cheese
Frijoles maneados are the rich party beans of Sonora in northern Mexico, cooked for carne asada gatherings, weddings and Sunday lunch, and spooned onto flour tortillas. Soft pinto beans are mashed and beaten (maneados means stirred or worked) with dried red chile colorado, milk and so much melting cheese that the pot pulls into strings. Serve them with flour tortillas, grilled vegetables and a sharp salsa. The usual mistake is adding the cheese while the pot is boiling hard, which makes it go rubbery and oily; take the heat right down first. Chef's tip: Sonoran queso regional or Chihuahua cheese is often made with animal rennet, so for a vegetarian pot choose a vegetarian Monterey Jack-style or mild Cheddar cheese labelled suitable for vegetarians.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
TepacheFermented pineapple drink
In Guadalajara and markets across central Mexico, tepacheros sell this drink from big clay jars, ladled over ice into bags with a straw on hot afternoons. It is the thrifty drink of the house: the peel and core left after eating a pineapple are fermented for two or three days with piloncillo, cinnamon and cloves until the liquid turns golden, faintly fizzy and pleasantly sour, like a spiced pineapple cider. Wild yeasts from the peel do the work, so it makes a trace of alcohol, well under 1% when drunk young; the longer it sits, the sourer and more alcoholic it gets. The common mistake is leaving it too long in a warm kitchen, when it turns vinegary and cloudy; in hot weather check after 36 hours. It is ready when it has a layer of fine bubbles, smells sweet-sour and fruity, and tastes tart rather than syrupy. White, flat foam can be skimmed; fuzzy, coloured mould, a slimy texture or a rotten smell mean throw it away. Keep it in the fridge 3–5 days, and if you bottle it for fizz, burp the bottles daily so pressure cannot build. Chef's tip: use an organic pineapple and do not scrub the peel, as the yeasts live on its skin.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
TejateMaize and cacao drink
In the markets of Oaxaca city and San Andrés Huayápam, women sit behind wide painted gourds of tejate, scooping it into jícaras for anyone who needs cooling down in the hot middle of the day; it turns up at Guelaguetza in July, at village fiestas and at every Sunday tianguis. The base is maize, cooked with wood ash, ground on a metate with toasted cacao beans, the roasted kernel of the mamey seed (pixtle) and dried rosita de cacao flowers. That paste is worked by hand into cold water until a thick, beige foam rises and floats. Each sip is cool, earthy and faintly bitter, like cocoa without milk, with grainy body below and the airy flor on top; you sweeten it to taste with a thin sugar syrup. The usual mistake is mixing too fast with lots of water at once: the paste never emulsifies and no foam forms. Add water a little at a time and keep lifting and dropping the paste with your hand. It is ready when a firm, creamy foam a finger thick sits on the surface. Pixtle must be thoroughly roasted and only used in the small amount given, as raw mamey seed is not safe to eat. Chef's tip: grind everything twice; the finer the paste, the taller and longer-lasting the flor.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Agua de chilacayoteFig-leaf squash drink
When the big, mottled chilacayote squashes ripen at the end of the rains, cooks in Oaxaca's valleys and the Mixteca of Puebla turn them into a drink you eat with a spoon. The flesh is cooked with dark piloncillo and cinnamon until it falls into translucent threads, then cooled and loosened with water; in Oaxaca it is ladled out of clay jars at fairs, weddings and the Day of the Dead, often with a little pineapple. It tastes like cinnamon-scented panela, with soft, slightly crunchy strands that slide up the straw. The usual mistake is boiling it to mush; overcooked flesh goes cloudy and the strands disappear. Simmer gently and stop when the threads separate easily with a fork but still have a little bite. It is ready when the syrup is amber and the strands look glassy. Chilacayote is hard to find outside Mexico; spaghetti squash is the best substitute and gives the same threads. Keeps 3 days in the fridge. Chef's tip: grate a little orange zest into the pot in the last minute to brighten the piloncillo.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Agua de tuna (prickly pear drink)
Late summer is tuna season across the central highlands, from Hidalgo and the Estado de México down to Puebla's Teotihuacán valley, and that is when the big vitroleros in markets and taquerías turn shocking pink. Agua de tuna is just the cactus fruit blended with water, lime and a little sugar, strained, and poured over ice with lunch. Red tunas give a vivid colour and a taste between watermelon and pear; green ones make a paler, more herbal drink. It should be light and thirst-quenching, never syrupy. The commonest mistake is blending too long: the hard seeds crack and the agua turns gritty and slightly bitter. Pulse briefly, just enough to free the pulp, then strain well. It is ready when the liquid runs smooth through the sieve and tastes clearly of fruit with only a lift of lime. Handle unpeeled tunas with tongs or gloves: even 'cleaned' ones keep tiny glochids. Chef's tip: chill the peeled fruit before blending; cold pulp keeps its colour bright and needs less ice to dilute it.
by KrazyBadal 0 views
Showing 120 of 211 recipes
Show more recipesPage 5 of 9
More collections
- Quick vegetarian dinners
- 15-minute meals
- 30-minute dinners
- Vegetarian recipes
- Vegan recipes
- High-protein meals
- Healthy dinners
- Comfort food
- One-pot meals
- Kid-friendly dinners
- Spicy recipes
- Gluten-free recipes
- Make-ahead meals
- Quick breakfasts
- Easy curries
- Farali recipes for Navratri and vrat
- Easy Indian sweets
- Baby and toddler food
- Kid-friendly breakfasts
- Lunchbox ideas
- Low-calorie recipes
- High-protein vegetarian meals
- Vegetarian Indian dinners
- Vegan Indian recipes
- Quick Indian snacks
- Vegetarian Italian recipes
- Vegetarian Chinese recipes
- Vegetarian Thai recipes
- Vegetarian Japanese recipes
- Vegetarian Korean recipes
- Mocktails and cool drinks
- Quick desserts
- Quick soups