Mexican
Chiles en Nogada (Stuffed Poblanos in Walnut Cream)
Puebla's late-summer dish: poblanos charred and peeled, stuffed with a picadillo of meat and fruit, covered in nogada, a white cream sauce of fresh walnuts, and scattered with pomegranate and parsley — green, white and red, the colours of the flag. The white is made by peeling: the thin brown skin on every walnut half is picked off, because it is what makes the sauce bitter and grey.
Chapulines (Toasted Grasshoppers with Lime and Chilli)
Oaxaca's grasshopper snack: boiled and dried grasshoppers toasted crisp on a dry comal and tossed with garlic, lime juice, chilli powder and salt. Eaten by the handful or on tortillas with guacamole. The whole insect is eaten, shell and all, so there is nothing for cooking to tenderise. The one thing the cook controls is water: dry is crunchy, damp is leathery.
Corunda (Masa Folded into a Triangle in a Corn Leaf)
Michoacan's tamal. Where other tamales use a dried husk, a corunda is wrapped in the long green leaf of the corn plant itself, folded over and over until the masa inside is a triangle. It is usually not filled at all — masa, lard and salt. The leaf does the folding the dough cannot do, and what comes out of the steamer is eaten under crema and salsa roja.
Carne en su Jugo (Beef Cooked in Nothing but Its Own Juices)
A beef dish from Jalisco. Paper-thin slices are salted, covered and set over a low flame, and the water the meat gives up is the broth — nothing is poured in. That single decision also deletes the searing and the deglazing, because the moisture those two steps drive off is the thing you are trying to collect. It is served with beans, crisped bacon, raw onion and coriander, and tortillas.
Guacamole (Avocado Dip)
Mexico's classic dip — ripe avocado mashed with lime, onion, cilantro, and chili. No cooking and ready in 10 minutes. Scoop it with tortilla chips or pile it on tacos and nachos; with good ingredients, anyone can make it.
Nachos
A Mexican/Tex-Mex party snack of tortilla chips loaded with melted cheese, jalapeños, beans, and meat. Ready in 10 minutes in the oven or microwave — perfect with guacamole, sour cream, and salsa.
Chilaquiles
A Mexican breakfast of crisp tortilla chips briefly simmered in salsa until just softened, then topped with cheese, crema, and eggs. A hearty brunch that puts leftover tortillas to work — delicious with green (verde) or red (rojo) salsa.
Chile Relleno (Stuffed Poblano in a Whipped Egg Batter)
A whole poblano charred, peeled, stuffed with cheese, coated in egg and shallow-fried. The batter is the unusual part: whites whipped to peaks with the yolks folded back in — a meringue, in effect. The deep-frying guide files it apart from the coatings that go into the oil wet, it has to be used the moment it is made because a foam collapses, and it will not stick to a damp chilli at all. Charring, peeling and drying the pepper is, in the end, preparation for getting that batter to hold.
Carnitas (Pork Confited in Lard, Then Crisped)
Pork submerged in lard and held for hours at a low temperature, then finished by raising the heat so the surface fries in that same fat. It is submerged in oil and it is not frying: at around 90°C the fat is only a medium for heat, and because there is no water in it there is nowhere for the flavour to leach away to. The whole dish is one pot changing method halfway.
Pozole Rojo (Hominy and Pork Stew)
The Mexican celebration stew: corn simmered until each kernel bursts open like a flower, in a pork broth stained deep red with ground dried chillies. The heart of it is not the chilli but what is done to the corn. Nixtamalisation, cooking it in an alkaline solution and slipping off the skins, is what lets the kernel flower; corn that skips it stays a hard bead however long you boil it.
Elote (Street Corn)
Mexico's beloved street snack: grilled corn slathered with mayo and crema, rolled in crumbly cotija cheese, and dusted with chili powder and lime. Creamy, salty, tangy, and spicy in every bite — served on a stick to eat by hand.
Enchiladas
Mexico's beloved home dish: corn tortillas rolled around shredded chicken, smothered in a tangy dried-chili red sauce (salsa roja), topped with cheese and baked. Finished with crumbled queso fresco, crema, and cilantro.
Beef Tacos
Seasoned ground beef spooned into warm tortillas and piled with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and salsa — Mexico's everyday favorite. The beef filling comes together in one pan in 15 minutes, and everyone builds their own from the toppings.
Quesadilla
A Mexican one-pan dish: a tortilla folded over melted cheese and fillings, griddled until golden. Great with just cheese, or use up odds and ends of veg and meat for a 10-minute meal.
Burrito
A Mexican/Tex-Mex meal in hand — a big flour tortilla wrapped tightly around rice, beans, seasoned meat, cheese, vegetables, and salsa. Fill it your way; hearty, generous, and portable.
Caesar Salad
Crisp romaine tossed in a rich anchovy-garlic-Parmigiano dressing and piled with crunchy croutons and cheese. A world-loved classic, born in Tijuana, Mexico in 1924.
Tacos al Pastor
Mexico City's signature street taco — pork marinated in a guajillo-and-achiote adobo with pineapple, seared until charred and piled on corn tortillas. Finished with onion, cilantro, pineapple, and a squeeze of lime.