Mexican
The tortilla and everything it carries; the chiles and the mole; the breakfasts and the merienda. Each recipe with its full method and the technique articles it leans on.
How to read this section: Mexican food is the tortilla first — the masa is the platform the whole section stands on, and the corn flour has to be nixtamalized or the tortilla falls apart. Then the chiles: toasted and rehydrated for the salsa and the mole, charred on the grill for the adobo. Know the tortilla and the chile and the rest reads fast — every dish in the section is those two, cooked two or three ways, and the chilaquiles and the churros are where the two halves of the section (the savory and the sweet) meet.
The tortilla
- Corn tortillas, nixtamalized (Tortillas de maíz) — Masa harina, water, and a pinch of salt, worked by hand into a masa that holds, pressed to a disc, and turned over a hot comal until the moisture inside blisters the surface. The tortilla is the whole platform of Mexican food — this is the method that makes it, and every other plate in the section sits on top of it.
Breakfast
- Huevos rancheros — Firm corn tortillas, toasted in a little fat until they have color and a little crunch, laid under eggs cooked just past set, and finished with a bright cooked salsa and beans on the side. The signature Mexican breakfast — a study in how few moving parts a dish needs when each one carries a job.
- Chilaquiles — Corn tortillas cut into triangles and fried until crisp, then simmered in a bright cooked salsa until they are soft-edged but not a mush, and topped with a soft-cooked egg, cream, and onion. The Mexican breakfast that is really just the tortilla, given a second life.
From the grill
- Al pastor, home-cut (Al pastor) — Pork shoulder cut into thick slices, marinated overnight in an adobo of dried chiles, charred on the grill until the edges hold a caramelized crust, and finished with a ring of the same chile rehydrated and blended with pineapple. The street-cart dish done at home — the marinate does the work, the grill does the flavor, and the pineapple does the finish.
Sauce
- Mole negro — Dried chiles toasted and rehydrated, a long list of aromatics and spices ground with a little oil and a little chocolate, and the whole mass cooked down slowly with stock until it is thick, glossy, and bitter-sweet. The dark mole is the signature of the tradition — the dish that takes a day and rewards the patience with the deepest sauce in Mexican food.
The merienda
- Churros — A cooked dough of flour, water, and a little butter, pushed through a star pipe into hot oil, fried until they have color and structure, and tossed in cinnamon-sugar before they cool. The Mexican merienda, done at home — the same move as the choux-family extrusion and the youtiao, and the pairing partner for the rest of the section.
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