FOOD

hola! A TASTE OF

VEGETARIAN CUISINE

Mexican gastronomy is defined by a sense of community, a rich diversity of native ingredients and age-old practices of planting and harvesting. With The Mexican Vegetarian Cookbook, a definitive collection of traditional, authentic Mexican vegetarian recipes for home cooks, published by Phaidon, chef and restauranteur Margarita Carrillo Arronte endeavours to preserve Mexico’s collective cultural and culinary Arronte endeavours to preserve Mexico’s collective cultural and culinary heritage brimming with stories, traditions, and myth, for readers. heritage brimming with stories, traditions, and myth, for readers.

MOLLETES WITH PICO DE GALLO SALSA AND GRATIN CHEESE

Cooking Time: 10 minutes | Preparation Time: 20 minutes | Serves: 4

• 4 small baguettes (15 cm long) • ¼ cup butter • 2 cups Refried Beans, seasoned • 2 cups grated Chihuahua,

Monterey Jack, or Cheddar cheese • 1-2 cups Mexican salsa or pico de gallo (see below)

For the pico de gallo salsa

• 2 large, ripe tomatoes large, seeded and chopped • ½ red onion, nely chopped • 2 serrano chiles, seeded and nely chopped • 1 tsp lemon juice • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil • 1 tbsp nely chopped coriander • sea salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Cut the baguettes in half lengthwise and remove the excess crumb. Spread the butter over the cut sides and toast them a little, crumb-side down, in a frying pan or skillet. Spread a generous layer of refried beans then grated cheese over each half. Place on an oven tray and bake the molletes until the cheese melts.

Meanwhile, mix all the salsa ingredients in a bowl, with salt to taste. Serve the hot molletes with the salsa.

Region: All Mexico

Chef’s tip:

This is a very traditional breakfast or lunch eaten by students.

BEANS AND QUELITES TAMALES

Cooking Time: 1 hour | Preparation Time: 45 minutes, plus 20 minutes resting | Serves: 12

• 60g onion, sliced • 2 tbsp corn oil • 500g quelites (wild greens), or spinach, watercress or any edible green leaf, rinsed and roughly chopped • 2 cups cooked black beans, with some of their cooking liquid • 3 large sprigs epazote, leaves nely chopped • 1 cup water, vegetable stock or bean broth • 1⅓ cups vegetable shortening • 1 tbsp baking powder • 1 tbsp ne salt • 8¾ cups masa harina • 2 bunches of dried corn husks, soaked in hot water until so , then drained • sea salt

Region: Central Mexico

Fun fact:

Mexican cuisine was added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010 — the rst, and one of only seven cuisines to receive the distinction.

Sauté the onion in a pan with some of the oil, add the chopped quelites (wild greens) and cook until any juices are released. Season with salt to taste and tip into a strainer (sieve). Using the back of a spoon, press the leaves against the strainer or squeeze them between your hands, to remove all excess liquid. Set aside.

In another pan, cook the black beans in the remaining oil, until they lose most of their liquid. Smash with a potato masher. Add the chopped epazote leaves and salt to taste. Set aside.

Beat the stock, shortening, baking powder and ne salt into the masa harina. If it’s too sti , add more liquid, a little at a time.

Take a corn husk and spread a generous spoonful of corn dough onto it. Next, add a tablespoon of beans at the center of the corn husk and another of quelites. Close the tamal by folding the sides of the husk inwards and then the bottom tip back over to enclose that end.

of beans at the center of the corn up, just tightly enough to keep up, just tightly enough to keep them standing. Lay a few soaked corn husks or a damp tea towel over the top of the tamales before adding the lid, to prevent steam from escaping.

Place the basket in a steamer and pour water into it—the water must not exceed the level of the basket. Line the basket with corn husks and place the tamales standing upright, with open ends Cook over high heat for 1 hour or until the dough comes o the corn husk easily when the tamale is unwrapped. Let the tamales rest, covered, for 20 minutes before serving.

PANELA CHEESE MEDALLIONS WITH FAVA BEANS

Cooking Time: 40 minutes | Preparation Time: 20 minutes | Serves: 4

• 1 tbsp olive oil • 4 tbsp minced onion • 2 garlic cloves, minced • 2 tbsp all-purpose (plain) flour • 2 large, ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped • 500g fresh mushrooms, cleaned and chopped • 1 tsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce • ⅓ tsp fresh thyme leaves • 4 cups podded baby fava (broad) beans, peeled and cooked • 1 cup vegetable stock • 800g panela cheese, sliced into 4 thick medallions • butter, for greasing • sea salt and black pepper • nely chopped parsley, to garnish

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat and fry the onion and garlic until golden.

Add the flour and stir to combine. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and fava (broad) beans, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the stock and cook for 5 minutes, until everything is cooked. Set aside. Place the panela Region: Central Mexico medallions in a generously buttered ovenproof dish and cover them with the fava bean mixture. buttered ovenproof dish and Chef’s tip: Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

You can broil (grill) the cheese medallions for a few seconds rather than bake and serve with the sauce.

VEGETARIAN CUISINE

TOMATO AND PINEAPPLE JELLY

Cooking Time: 25 minutes Preparation Time: 20 minutes | Makes: 2 jars

• 425g peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes • 440g fresh pineapple, nely chopped • 1 tbsp pectin • 1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces • 4 cloves • 4 cups sugar

Region: All Mexico

Put the tomatoes and pineapple into a saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes until they so en. Add the pectin and cook for 5 minutes, then add the cinnamon, cloves, and sugar, and bring to a

boil. Stir to combine, then pineapple into a saucepan boil for 10 minutes until the and simmer over mixture thickens and has the medium heat for 10 consistency of jelly (jam).

Serving Remove from the heat. suggestions: While still hot, pour the jelly into two warmed, sterilized

Serve with bread, on jars (each 2¼ cups), close the pancakes or crepes, lids tightly and leave to cool. or over ice cream. Store in the refrigerator.