Nopales
A cactus salad, scrambled eggs with cactus, a cactus shake … probably doesn’t make most people’s mouths water with culinary anticipation, but nopales –the flat paddles of the Opuntia cactus– have a rich history in Mexican cuisine and are a fine addition to a healthy diet. Nopales are so revered in Mexico that you will...
Top 10 Mexican Holiday Dishes
The holidays are different for everyone. Some like to make their home the center of the festivities and some like to be a guest. Many of our readers visit Zihuatanejo to get away from it all and enjoy the Mexican ways of celebrating amongst the sun and the sand. As for me, I have spent...
Recipe: Pierna (Pork Leg)
By Rosa Arizmendi, chef at El Manglar
Ingredients: 8 to 10 kilos of pork leg (or you can use rib eye if preferred) 3 tablespoons onion powder 3 tablespoons garlic powder 1 tablespoon black pepper A dash of oregano juice of 1 orange 1 cup brandy 5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 3 tablespoons maggy sauce (you can find this at your local Mexican...
Mexico’s Wine Country
Valle de Guadalupe
The New World of Wine Today, Baja California is incontestably the major wine region of Mexico. Located northeast of Ensenada in the Mexican state of Baja California, the Valle de Guadalupe produces the majority of Mexican wine—more than 90% of Mexican wine, in fact, comes from this area. Who would have thought that this inhospitable...
The Mexican Wine Oasis
Parras de la Fuente
It is not a mirage! After having crossed a long desert there appears a miraculous oasis… In this valley of fertile land crystalline springs abound. The Parras valley is a verdant space in which one forgets that they are surrounded by the semi-desert region of Coahuila. In addition to its water reserve, the Parras valley’s...
Mexican Cuisine and Wine
A Flavorful and Complicated Union
Castilian Spanish uses the word maridaje (marriage) to talk about the association between a dish and a wine. This word is inspired by the French term mariage, “marriage” in English. As in a marriage between two people, the goal in culinary maridajes is to achieve total harmony. To come to a fair balance we must...
Wine and Cheese
Breaking with tradition
The theme of an eternal discussion among sommeliers, the pairing of wine and cheese is without a doubt the most difficult. This despite the fact that both are a result of the blending of yeast and bacteria. A good cheese can better a low quality wine or a powerful cheese can devastate a fine wine....
