Recipes By Rick A. Martínez
45 recipes found
Tostadas
In Spanish, tostada is used as an adjective and a noun to refer to a tortilla that has been toasted on a comal or griddle, crisped in the oven, or in some regions of Mexico, fried until golden brown. Stateside, store-bought corn tortillas are made using preservatives to extend their shelf life, but they can also add a sour taste and smell to the product. This is masked by toasting or frying them, which enhances the flavor of the corn, making them taste more like something you would find in Mexico. Tostadas can be used to hold whatever fillings you want to pile on top, but in this recipe, chorizo and canned beans make a quick meal perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Barbacoa
Originating with the Taíno people of eastern Dominican Republic, barbacoa is a method of cooking meat whose name comes from the Arawak word barbaca. In Mexico, barbacoa is a style of slow cooking large cuts of beef, lamb, goat and pork. Depending on regionality, the meat is cooked over an open fire or in an underground pit called a pibil, wrapped in agave or banana leaves, often covered with earth, then slow roasted overnight. In this version, beef is oven roasted at a low temperature in a sauce made from dried chiles, herbs and spices, until the meat is so tender it easily shreds.
Frijoles de Olla (Homestyle Black Beans)
This beloved dish often starts with unsoaked dried beans, which are traditionally cooked in an olla, earthenware pot, or other types of clay pots, such as a cazuela de barro. Any pot works and the seasonings are generally simple — usually onion, garlic, herbs and sometimes lard or pork — but the resulting flavor is rich and complex. A staple throughout Mexico, this dish varies from region to region in the types of beans used and include pinto beans, black beans and Mayocoba beans. Eaten as is as a side or a main dish, frijoles de olla also can be puréed, smashed or refried and used as a sauce or a filling for dishes like tetelas.
Tetelas de Frijol Negro (Black Bean Masa Dumplings)
Tetelas, triangle-shaped dumplings, are wrapped with a thin disk of masa and usually filled with a rich and spicy black bean purée. With roots in Mesoamerica, tetelas are thought to have originated in the pre-Aztec culture of the Mixtec people. They lived in the current Mexican states of Oaxaca and parts of nearby Puebla, where tetelas remain popular today. In this version, avocado leaves perfume the beans with hints of citrus and anise, but if you don’t have them, you can use a combination of parsley and tarragon instead. Tetelas can be served alongside a meal like hearty dinner rolls or as a side dish, topped with shredded lettuce or cabbage, salsa, crema, chopped cilantro and onion and a sprinkle of queso Cotija.
Tortillas de Maíz
Any reservations you might have had about making corn tortillas from scratch will disappear the moment you taste them: warm, soft and chewy, they actually taste like corn. Freshly made masa purchased from a Mexican market or tortilleria will give you the most soulful flavor and texture, but masa harina is a close second that turns out tortillas that are still miles ahead of packaged ones. When mixed with water and salt, masa presses easily into rounds if it’s properly hydrated according to the tips below. A staple of the Mexican table, homemade tortillas are served with most meals the way bread is in other countries. And while outside Mexico, tacos may be their most well-known use, they can be toasted to make tostadas; stuffed, rolled and fried to make taquitos or flautas; or bathed in a chile, bean, tomato or mole sauce to make enchiladas, enfrijoladas, entomatadas and enmoladas.
Gorditas de Maíz
Gorditas are thicker and heartier than their flat tortilla cousins and are even easier to make. They don’t require a tortilla press and can be shaped simply by patting masa dough flat. Once cooked, they are often split in the center like a pita and filled with stewed meats and vegetables. Their extra thickness helps to absorb guisos, braises, and to hold their structure and shape when they are stuffed with saucier fillings like pork pulled off the bone from encacahuatado de costillas de cerdo. Gorditas also can be served uncut and used like a thick tortilla for swiping through mole negro.
Grilled Lemongrass Pork
This recipe was inspired by thịt heo nướng xả, the sweet, salty and aromatic grilled pork dish that is popular in many Vietnamese restaurants in the United States. Lean pork steaks cooked over high heat can dry out quickly, but a quick 15-minute soak in a mixture of baking soda and water ensures a moist and juicy steak. Baking soda causes a chemical reaction on the surface of the meat, which makes it more difficult for the proteins to bond during cooking or grilling. This means you end up with tender, not tough, meat. Shoulder steaks work well here because they have more flavor than lean pork chops and can take high heat and a strong marinade better than other thin cuts. Your butcher can cut the steaks for you or you can use thin cut pork chops.
Gochujang Burger With Spicy Slaw
This may be the perfect all-purpose sauce — BBQ, marinade, dressing — for your summer cookouts. Tangy and sweet rice vinegar cuts through the spicy richness of gochujang, and toasted sesame seed oil amps up the smokiness you get from the grill. The sauce does double duty in this recipe: It’s used to flavor the pork bulgogi-inspired patties, and it’s used as a dressing for the cucumber, sprout and carrot slaw. These burgers can also be made indoors in a large cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
Sopa Tlaxcalteca (Creamy Chicken Vegetable Soup)
Sopa Tlaxcalteca, from the central state of Tlaxcala, is a seasonal chicken soup simmered with ripe local produce like corn, carrots, mushrooms, squash and squash blossoms. What makes it special is the whole milk that is added to the simmering broth. It lends a very slight creaminess that accentuates the sweetness of the vegetables and amps up the richness of the chicken stock. There are many soups in Mexico, but this is easily one of the most comforting.
Encacahuatado de Costillas de Cerdo (Pork Ribs in Peanut-Chile Sauce)
Encacahuatados are mole-like sauces made with peanuts, dried chiles, tomatoes and cinnamon. Traditionally, they are served with chicken and prepared for special occasions, like birthdays and holidays. In Xalapa, a town in central Veracruz along the Gulf Coast, encacahuatados are made with pork, whose richness pairs well with the nuttiness of roasted peanuts in the spicy-sweet sauce.
Pescado Zarandeado (Grilled Fish With Chile-Citrus Sauce)
This pre-Hispanic dish comes from Mexcalitlán, a small island in the state of Nayarit on the mid-Pacific Coast. Originally, the fish was seasoned with a chile-lime salsa and grilled over a zaranda, a pit made of mangrove wood from which the dish gets its name. But there are many regional variations, using either freshwater and saltwater fish, found along the Pacific Coast as well as inland, in the northern central states.
Pico de Gallo
This recipe is a classic pico de gallo preparation with the exception of the inclusion of two types of spicy chiles, jalapeño and serrano. Their flavors are so different: Jalapeños are much more vegetal and can lean into bell pepper and poblano flavors, while serranos are much sharper, crisp and almost cucumber-like. They complement each other very well, and are used in many Mexican salsas. Serve pico de gallo with empanadas de chipilín or on the side with your favorite tacos or grilled meats.
Empanadas de Chipilín
These empanadas are very common in the food stalls of the mercados and tianguis (open-air market) in the southern state of Chiapas. A plant native to Mexico, chipilín lends its leaves to stews and salsas, and is mixed into corn masa to make tortillas, tamales and empanadas in the country’s center and south. Adding chipilín to masa lends a subtle herbaceousness that complements the earthiness of the corn. If you can’t find it, spinach, chard or kale makes a great substitute.
Tacos Campechanos
One of the best food experiences you can have in Mexico City is walking up to a sidewalk taco stand late at night and smelling the incredible aroma of meats and vegetables simmering in a huge pot over a gas flame. The taqueros start early in the day and add meats like suadero, pork, offal, tripe, chitlins, pig and beef feet, chorizo, onions and chiles into a giant pot, where they cook until the meats fall apart and the flavors fuse together in perfect harmony. On the menu at many of these stands, tacos campechanos include a little bit of everything in those pots.
Salsa Taquera
This is a classic salsa of the Mexico City taquero — a combination of tomatoes, tomatillos and chiles de árbol. The preparation varies from stand to stand. Some prefer to char over an open flame, others boil and others just throw everything in the blender raw. They are all incredibly delicious, and you should play around with the preparation until you find your inner taquero style.
Mole Negro
Mole negro is one of the most striking and complex moles from the state of Oaxaca. The color and flavor come from nearly incinerating the chilhuacles negros, the native dried chiles used for the base. They’re then rinsed and soaked to revive their flavor and to remove the bitterness from the charring. What results is a velvety black sauce that’s traditionally served over roasted poultry, but also pairs beautifully with roasted vegetables and fish.
Tamales de Rajas con Queso (Poblano and Cheese Tamales)
A plant-based breakfast or midday snack sold in the streets of Oaxaca, tamales de rajas y queso rival pork- and chicken-filled tamales in their appeal. Unlike their corn husk-wrapped northern cousins, these tamales feature charred banana leaves, which give them a roasted, almost vegetal flavor. The masa is then pressed on top before it’s filled, sauced and wrapped.
Tostadas Campechanas de Mariscos (Seafood Tostadas)
At the beautifully abundant Mercado Negro in Ensenada, Baja California, the clams, mussels, oysters, shrimp and fish that are for sale each day are highly sought after by locals and chefs. Almost more common than street tacos served there are these tostadas, made in stands that sell towers of fresh, raw seafood tossed with squeezed lime juice and topped with a number of different housemade salsas.
Gorditas de Flores de Jamaica (Spicy Hibiscus-Stuffed Gorditas)
Flor de jamaica is a type of hibiscus flower that is dried and often boiled with sugar and spices to make agua fresca, a sweet-tart beverage found across Mexico. In a savory main, the boiled flowers, which have an almost meaty, mushroomlike texture, are often pan-fried, seared or charred. But here, they’re stewed with dried chiles, cinnamon and sweet potato to make a saucy filling for a gordita — a thick corn patty that’s griddled, split and stuffed.
Chiles Anchos Rellenos de Queso
Well known in Mexico and the United States, chiles rellenos are most often thought of as featuring charred, batter-fried and stuffed fresh poblanos, but dried chiles are also commonly used. Dried poblanos, called anchos, are similar in texture and flavor to dried apricots but with a smoky, slight spicy finish. Soft, pliable and mildly sweet, they can be stuffed without having to be charred and peeled.
Chanclas Poblanas (Chorizo Sandwiches With Tomato-Guajillo Salsa)
Sold in the markets and street stalls of Puebla, chanclas poblanas are made with a slightly flattened, flour-dusted, oval-shaped bun called pan para chanclas which gets its rise and flavor from pulque, a fermented alcoholic drink made from the maguey plant. (Chancla, which means flip-flop or sandal, refers to the shape.) Then, they’re opened and stuffed with chorizo and bathed in a rich tomato-guajillo salsa. They’re messy, but they can be eaten with your hands or a fork and a knife.