Mexican Recipes
498 recipes found
Tamales de Pollo (Chipotle Chicken Tamales)
Guadalupe Moreno’s tinga de pollo makes for a delicious filling in this tamales formula from Alicia Villanueva of Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas in Hayward, Calif. Ms. Villanueva shared her recipe with Leticia Landa and Caleb Zigas for their cookbook “We Are La Cocina.” Her tamales are made with corn masa flour that’s softened and flavored at the same time with both fat and broth. The recipe is a project, but once you’ve done the work of preparing the husks, filling and masa, the process of filling and wrapping the tamales goes quickly.
Queso Fundido With Chorizo, Jalapeño and Cilantro
Here is a magical recipe that works as well for a family dinner as for a football-watching spread: a pound of Monterey Jack melted over chorizo, jalapeño and cilantro, served with chips and lime. You’re welcome.
Grilled Corn, Mexican Style
Not only is this recipe very easy, it results in the kind of deep flavor associated with the crunchy street corn of Mexico. In many parts of Mexico, though, that crunchiness is highlighted with a creamy chile-lime sauce. This is more unusual than the tried, true and unbeatable butter-salt-and-pepper combination, and only slightly more complicated. Just mix together mayonnaise, freshly squeezed lime juice, chile powder, salt and pepper. It’s pretty authentic, and a combination that brings out the grilled flavor, and balances the sweetness of fresh corn perfectly.
Arroz Rojo (Red Rice)
Also known as arroz Mexicano, these tomato-slicked grains of rice taste amazing alongside beans, tacos, enchiladas and just about any spread of meat, seafood and vegetables. Esteban Castillo, the author of the “Chicano Eats” cookbook and blog, toasts the rice in garlicky oil first to give the final dish an even richer flavor. A simple spice blend does, too.
Squash Blossom Quesadillas
Grenadine Punch
Pineapple Salsa
This is a simple salsa with a bright acidity, one that you could temper with some diced mango if you like. I’ve called for a single jalapeño. You could use two if you like. Just keep all the flavors in balance – sweet, salty, sour and fiery. It’s terrific on pork and with grilled fish, on tacos or as an accompaniment to breakfast eggs.
Pan de Muerto
You’ll find this pan de muerto, or bread of the dead, at the center of the elaborate Day of the Dead altar festooned with sugared skulls, flowers and other mementos of the family’s departed.
Agua Fresca de Jamaica
Churros
In the world of fresh pastry, few things are quicker than churros – those crullerlike strips of crisp fried dough that are street-corner snacks in Spain, Mexico and some New York City subway stations. In fact, there are few breakfast dishes or last-minute late-night snacks that can match a batch of churros. If there is a recipe ideal for learning deep frying, this is it. The dough is extremely forgiving, and will brown nicely at any temperature in the neighborhood of 350; with a frying thermometer, you can hit the temperature right on the money. The only trick, as with all deep frying, is to not crowd the dough strips. Work in batches. Once the strips are gloriously brown, turn them in a sugar-cinnamon mixture and serve hot, or at least warm. Cold churros are certainly edible, but they're a far cry from hot ones.
Pork Margarita
Peppadew Martini
Shrimp-and-Crab Campechana
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.
Chicken Flautas Ahogadas
These crunchy, tube-shaped flautas ahogadas — the name roughly translates to “drowned flutes” — are served in a pool of spicy tomatillo sauce, and the idea is to slather each bite in the sauce as you eat. They’re immensely popular in Mexico City, where they’re prepared using long corn tortillas specifically made for the dish. This faster version uses standard corn tortillas and a quick rotisserie chicken filling, but the tomatillo sauce, which is tart with an underlying sweetness, deserves to be made from scratch. Prepare it a day in advance or freeze it to save time. It’s worth making a double batch of the sauce, because it brightens up just about anything: tacos, quesadillas or eggs.
Hibiscus Quesadillas (Quesadilla con Flor de Jamaica)
Dried hibiscus is cheap and plentiful, usually available in specialty grocery stores or international supermarket bulk bins. It has a place in kitchens around the world, in drinks and syrups and remedies and stews. The calyxes of the flower — the part we actually eat — also happen to have a high pectin content, making them ideal for jelly making. Lately, the ingredient has been marketed as a kind of health food, or meat substitute, but the ingredient has deep, ancient roots and stands on its own. Adriana Almazán Lahl, who owns a catering business in San Francisco, rehydrates the flowers and sautés them with onion and chiles, then folds the spicy mixture into flour tortillas with a little cheese. The result is a quick, delicious meal, and an excellent way to use up the entire flower. Be sure to rinse the hibiscus well before you get started; grit hides in its folds.
Chicken Thighs With Cumin, Cayenne and Citrus
Chicken thighs have a huge advantage over lean breasts. The skin browns nicely and the meat stays juicy even when thoroughly cooked, which makes them ideal for grilling or broiling. The dark, rich meat also responds brilliantly to the strong equatorial flavors often associated with grilling. The Mexican-inspired treatment here, a quick liquid rub for the thighs, packs plenty of punch, even if you use just a little cayenne. What makes it evoke Mexico is the combination of two characteristic spices, cumin and oregano, with a mixture of orange and lime juices to simulate the sour orange that is used in the Yucatán but is rarely seen in this country.
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.
Carnitas
Carnitas (or “little meats”) are a traditional Mexican dish of cubed pork shoulder braised with spices and citrus until tender. Fresh orange, crushed garlic, earthy oregano and aromatic cinnamon and bay leaf create a rich and fragrant braising liquid that imparts its savory flavors into the pork as it cooks. There’s very little hands-on work involved, and the carnitas can be made a day ahead. Store the pork in the liquid overnight, then gently reheat before serving. A final finish under the broiler creates a golden, crispy exterior on the meat.
Carne Adobada (Chile-Marinated Steak)
Mexican adobada, a tangy marinade with guajillo chiles, is often reserved for large cuts of pork, but it’s also well-suited to any sturdy cut of steak, such as flank. The acid comes from lime juice in this formula, but vinegar or lemon juice works as well. An overnight marinade yields incredibly tender results, but a 30-minute steep is sufficient to infuse the meat with the fruity flavor of the chiles. Here, the steak is paired with a nice piquant roasted red pepper relish, which complements the deep flavors of the marinated meat. Side dishes like rice, beans and warm tortillas round this dish out for a wonderful weeknight meal.
Nana José’s Chocolate Pecan Cake
A Passover flourless chocolate pecan torte, served with berries sweetened with shaved piloncillo, raw Mexican brown sugar, and flavored with lime juice.