Hey, everyone!
I recently got back from a trip to Mexico City— my first time visiting since I lived there in 2015. It is, without a doubt, one of my favorite places to eat anywhere in the world.
In 2015, I moved to Mexico City to attend cooking school. My original plan was to return to the US after the 6 month program wrapped up. Instead, I ended up taking a job at Hartwood and staying another year and a half. I was endlessly inspired by the food of Mexico at the time, and I still am today.
Mexico has one of the most diverse and complex cuisines of any country on earth. It’s the birthplace of some of my favorite ingredients— corn, chiles, beans, tomatoes— and it’s full of regional intricacies. The history and anthropology behind Mexican cuisine are equally fascinating. More than anything, however, it simply boasts the flavor profiles I gravitate towards most. Every time I go, I return home with a suitcase full of chiles, coffee, mole, and whatever else I can sneak back.
If you’re traveling to Mexico City any time soon, be sure to shoot me a message! I’d be happy to share my recommendations with you!
Cheers!
Myles
Serana Dinner Series
A few weekends ago, I cooked the second dinner in a dinner series I’ve been doing with my friends at Serana.
Serana is a gorgeous property about 45 min east of Austin. We partnered to create a locally-sourced, seasonal, farm-to-table outdoor dinner series. You can check out some scenes from the dinners here and here.
These have been super fun to put on, and we’re planning to do them regularly in the future. If you’re based in Austin or planning to visit, be sure to come to one!
You can sign up for our email list at this site to be notified about future events. We’ll also announce them on Mother Tongue’s Instagram!
What I’m Cooking
This salsa is one of my favorite concoctions I’ve come up with recently. I feel like it’s representative of a lot of my cooking— deeply inspired by Mexico, but crafted with local terroir.
Salsa macha is a Mexican condiment where chiles, nuts and seeds, and garlic are crisped up in oil. I was inspired to make this version when I found a local vendor at my farmer’s market selling Texas pecan oil. Pecan oil has a high heat point and a slightly nutty, buttery flavor. If you can track it down, I highly recommend doing so. I combined that with local pecans and pumpkin seeds, garlic, plus some smoke-dried chipotles, anchos, guajillos, and some arbol chiles for heat.
This salsa will find its way onto everything from tacos to eggs to rice bowls and more.
What I’m Drinking
I’ve been following Empirical, a spirits company founded by a former Noma chef, for some time on Instagram. I finally got the opportunity to try their products at Loup Bar, an incredible natural wine bar in Mexico City.
They first got my attention with their Ayuuk spirit, which is made with my favorite chile pepper in the entire world— the Oaxacan pasilla mixe. They detail the entire story behind the process on their website. It did not disappoint— it was one of the most complex, interesting, and delicious spirits I’ve ever had. I’ll definitely be picking up a bottle and trying more from them.
What I’m Using
There really is nothing that compares to the taste and texture of true nixtamalized, freshly milled corn tortillas. But using masa harina at home gets you pretty damn close.
Unfortunately, most masa harina on the market isn’t very good. There’s the industrial scale stuff like Maseca that tastes awful, but even the organic masa harina from Bob’s Red Mill doesn’t have a great texture.
Enter Masienda’s chef-grade masa harina. Masienda (where I used to work) sources and imports heirloom corn from family farmers throughout Mexico, and that’s what they use to make their masa harina. It is by far the best offering on the market.
I always keep a bag or two of this on deck to make masa at home. It’s as close as I’ll get to being transported back to the fresh tortillas in Mexico.
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