FROM MEXICO—Yogurt on Mexican Menus

Biónico: Mexican Fruit Salad with Yogurt

Jocoque

MOST RESTAURANTS WITH A BREAKFAST MENU SERVE YOGURT, TYPICALLY WITH GRANOLA AND HONEY… BUT IT IS IN SAVORY FOOD THAT YOGURT CAN ADD A DISTINCTIVE FLAVOR.

| BY KAREN HURSH GRABER, writing from Mexico | As diners look for ingr edi ents to stay healthy during trying times, yogurt stands out as a nourishing, tasty and versatile option—and one that can work surprisingly well in Mexican res taurant kitchens.

Y ogur t, in fact, is a favorite ingredient in Mexico, where the per capita con sumption of the dairy favorite is a whopping 8.7 kilos, or nearly 20 pounds, per year—a big jump fr om the 13 pounds per capita consumed in the U.S.

From market stalls to supermarket aisles and small miscelanías, or momand-pop stores, yogurt is found in nearly every venue in Mexico that sells grocer ies. Almost all mercados have at least one dairy stand of fering homemade yogurt, and the super stores fill refriger ated cases with plain, flavored, Greek, fruit-at-bottom, “light” and drinkable yogurt para beber.

Mexicans’ passion for yogurt, how ever, was popular long before “probiotic” became a dietary buzz word. In

Fiesta Del Mar’s Enjococado

1892, the first of a wave of Lebanese immigrants arrived in the country, bringing with them jocoque, a cheese-like yogurt still made the traditional way in Mexican homes (especially in Puebla, Oaxaca and Sinaloa) by leaving a clay container of milk near a heat source until curdling occurs. Although commercial jocoque, made using lactobacillus, is sold in supermarkets, many prefer the taste of homemade, clay pot jocoque.

FROM BREAKFAST BOWLS TO ENTICING ENTRÉES Most restaurants with a breakfast menu serve yogurt, typically with granola and honey, which is on the menu at Azul Historico in Mexico City.

Sauce & Dip TIP USE REGULAR YOGURT, NOT LOW FA T OR GREEK, FOR A CREAMIER TEXTURE; OR TRY USING HALF YOGURT AND HALF SOUR CREAM.

Also in the city, Restaurant Nicos and El Balcón del Zócalo serve yogurt with a choice of seasonal fruits. In Puebla, El Anafre Rojo offers a double dose of dairy, serving both yogurt and cottage cheese with the fruit plate.

But it is in savor y food that yogurt can add a distinc tive flavor. In Puebla, where there is a strong Lebanese culinary influence, El Mural de los Poblanos of fers several dishes with jocoque. The tostadas de jocoque con chapulines ar e served with garlic chile sauce on pan árabe, a cross between tortillas and pita bread.

The restaurant also serves jocoque as a topping for lamb tacos, made with pan árabe and featured on the tasting menu; and on huevos en cazuela, Sinaloanstyle eggs with carne seca, or machaca, and chopped serrano chiles. Jocoque is also served with eggs at Puebla’s Casa Barroca, where it accompanies herbed huevos verdes.

In Chiautla de Tapia, part of the region called the Mixteca Poblana, a mountainous terrain between Puebla and Oaxaca, either jocoque or a mixture of sour cream and plain yogurt is combined with dried

Tostadas de Jocoque con Chapulines from El Mural de los Poblanos chiles, tomatoes and tomatillos to make a mole type chicken dish called enjococado.

Yogurt also works as a delicious, creamy base for licua dos and batidos, dips, and savor y sauces. Blend a small can of chipotles en adobo with a cup of plain (not Greek) yogurt to make a quick sauce to serve with tacos or tosta das, or as a dip for totopos, or combined with cilantro and lime for a sauce that adds flavor to fish tacos or baked fish.

See Graber’s recipes for Biónico: Mexican Fruit Salad and Enjococado: Chicken in Yogurt Sauce on page 43.

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