Sopa de tortilla, or tortilla soup, is an excellent go-to meal for the fall and winter, but can easily get out of balance if you overdo one of the ingredients. Too many tomatoes and it starts tasting like tomato soup. Too many chiles and it tastes like chili. The key is to strike a subtle […]
Mexican Food
Salsa de Chile Cascabel
Cascabel chiles are a dried chile that you don’t run across as often in Mexican cooking as others. That’s unfortunate since they make for an excellent salsa, imparting a slightly fruity and nutty flavor. This salsa makes an excellent condiment for pork and a superb table salsa. I can’t take the credit for this recipe, […]
Carne Picada
In Spanish, carne picada means “minced beef.” This is not to be confused with “carne molida,” which means ground beef. In our carne picada recipe, we chop beef chuck into 1/4-inch cubes before we cook it. Cutting the beef into cubes like this makes for a much better texture than using ground beef. You’re welcome […]
Salsa de Chile Arbol
Salsa de chile arbol is a roasted, tomato-forward salsa with the zippy and acidic tang of tomatillos, highlighted with the subtle nuttiness of the arbol chiles. It’s a great salsa for drizzling over fatty meats or simply serving up with tortilla chips. With chile de arbol being the basis of the heat in this recipe, […]
Arrachera for Carne Asada Tacos
The term arrachera refers to the beef skirt steak. When grilled, it’s referred to as carne asada. More often than not, here in the U.S., it’s referred to as fajitas. Carne asada can be made from other beef cuts, like flank steak (carne asada roughly translates to “roasted beef”). I hate using the term fajitas because it […]
Creamy Roasted Avocado-Tomatillo Dip
Our creamy, roasted avocado-tomatillo dip is very much like a tangy, dip-able, guacamole. This salsa is also very versatile. The creaminess goes excellent with smoky meats, like arrachera or fajitas. It can also be thinned with a little crema and used like an aioli.
Mexican Molletes Sandwiches
Mexican molletes sandwiches are more or less a cross between an open-face grilled cheese and a bruschetta with some refried beans thrown in for good measure. They are super simple to make. This is one of those recipes that you don’t need to refer back to, but instead, just remember. It has just five ingredients: […]
Pico De Gallo
Pico de gallo is a simple, fresh salsa (sometimes called salsa fresca or salsa crudo) that goes well on anything. It’s one of the most common salsas you’ll find north of the border due to its versatility and excellent taste. This salsa is excellent if you want to balance out any fatty or starchy ingredients […]
Torta Ahogada – Drowned Sandwich
Although they seem simple at first glance, a torta ahogada (translates to “drowned sandwich”) is packed with flavor and complexity. The refried beans and carnitas add a rich, smokey flavor that perfectly pairs with the chile de arbol sauce’s acidity and nuttiness. The torta ahogada is popular in the Mexican state of Jalisco but can […]
Frijoles Negros Refritos – Refried Black Beans
You can buy refried black beans (frijoles negros refritos) in a can if you want, but they won’t have anywhere near the flavor and complexity that you can coax out of them by doing it yourself. If you buy it in a can, you’ll also end up paying substantially more for something that doesn’t taste […]
