Tijuana boasts an extraordinary school of culinary arts. We were privileged to be invited to present Mexico's maíces nativos (native corns) to a full auditorium of faculty, students, and the interested public. After the presentation, it was enormously gratifying to hear so many questions: "How and where do we start to promote and preserve this ancient corn?" "What can we do here in Baja California?" "How do we get seeds and how do we plant them here?" The audience truly understood and shared our preoccupation for these grains.
Left to right in the front row: W. Scott Koenig of A Gringo in Mexico, friend of maíces nativos Kalisa Wells, freelance writer Jackie Bryant, who spent the day with us, and Jennifer Kramer/Chris Mejia of Baja Test Kitchen, all of whom supported the corn project in Baja California. Seated above Scott at the far left of the photograph is Javier González Vizcaino, the director of Tijuana's Culinary Arts School, who was responsible for our invitation to speak there. The very fine culinary school recently celebrated its fourteenth anniversary.
Director Javier Gónzalez, head of the Culinary Arts School, makes a comment about a question asked after the presentation. Meeting Sr. González was a tremendous privilege for all of us involved with the Baja California corn project. We so appreciate his cheerleading!
The quintessential Baja California fish taco, delicious and endemic to the region. Think 'good-sized piece of battered and deep-fried fresh fish--often cazón--topped with salsa cruda (raw sauce--often erroneously called pico de gallo), finely shredded raw cabbage, drizzled with Mexican table cream and sprinkled with fresh cilantro. The outdoor stand offers other salsas as well, which we also slathered on our tacos. Our Baja Test Kitchen guides recommended this particular spot in the small town of Valle de Guadalupe; I'm not going to give away their secrets, but it's one of the many wonderful places they know in the in that part of the world. They'd be happy to schedule a trip for you.
This tejuino stand was one of my favorite stops. Rafael Mier's smile should tell you the story: so refreshing, so cold on a hot day--I could have drunk at least two cups, but we were on our way to eat elsewhere and tejuino is quite filling. The drink is a mixture of fresh masa (corn dough), piloncillo (Mexico's raw brown sugar), water, lemon juice, salt to taste, and ice. Everything but the ice is allowed to ferment for two or three days prior to chilling and serving. Many times your glass of tejuino will come topped with a small scoop of nieve de limón (lemon ice). The recipe comes from the state of Jalisco and the drink is served from carts all over the city of Guadalajara. I asked the man who served us our tejuino in Valle de Guadalupe where he was from--Guadalajara, of course!
We thought we'd just stop by to say hello to doña Sabina Bandera (La Guerrerense) at her carreta (street stand), but of course we stayed for some of her famous seafood tostadas. Since she was a newlywed in 1961, doña Sabina has been selling her incredibly fresh seafood preparations from a cart at the corner of Av. López Mateos and Calle Alvarado in downtown Ensenada. In addition, she recently opened a sit-down restaurant just across the street. Ensenada has always known and loved her and her wonderful seafood, but in 2012 Anthony Bourdain featured her on his show "No Reservations" and La Guerrerense became a legend and a Baja California food destination. In the coming year, La Guerrerense's seafood tostadas and jars of her dozen-plus different salsas will be available at Bourdain's new market in New York--and in another world-class city that I'm not quite allowed to mention yet. You'll read it here on Mexico Cooks! just as soon as my friend doña Sabina gives me the go-ahead.
Maíces nativos meet tostadas La Guerrerense! The tostada on the left is pulpo (octopus); the one on the right is caracol del mar (sea snail). Both are lip-smackingly good. Doña Sabina, the Guerrero-born daughter of campesinos (farmers), had a lot to talk about with Rafael Mier. He was thrilled to find out that she is 100% supportive of the work being done by the non-profit foundation Tortilla de Maíz Mexicana, and of course he is now one of her big supporters.
The serve-yourself array of salsas at doña Sabina's new cafeteria-style sit-down restaurant across from her street cart. The restaurant, simplicity itself and filled with the joy of good eating, shows the world just who doña Sabina is: no pretensions, straightforward this is who I am. You can't help but love her and the food she prepares. I certainly do.
Meet chef Omar Armas of Restaurante Mantou, Ensenada. The maíces nativos group presented these native corns to the restaurant cooks and wait staff while we were in Ensenada. The restaurant closed permanently on September 3, 2017, but chef Omar is keeping on with his culinary projects and plans to keep his career close to home. Our time at Mantou was so productive--not to mention so tasty--that it seems wise to put the news out that his culinary skills will continue to be available.
Rafael Mier talked about ancient and modern corn to the entire kitchen and front-of-the-house crew; more than triple this number was in attendance. Few had ever seen the variety of Mexico's native corns, and until hearing the talk, few understood the reasons for preserving these national treasures. Seated opposite Rafael, chef Omar listened deeply to the themes of the presentation. Above the heads of the group, you can see the final image of the Tortilla de Maíz Mexicana's slide show. The caption says, "El destino del maíz está en tus manos." 'Corn's destiny is in your hands.'
After the presentation, Restaurante Mantou hosted a dinner for us, at which we drank Henri Lurton wines. At the head of the table, Lourdes Martínez Ojeda, the head winemaker at Henri Lurton's winery (with a branch settled just over a year ago in Valle de Guadalupe) talks with everyone about why and how Henri Lurton, owner of the Château Brane-Cantenac winery in Margaux, Bordeaux, France and current head of the Lurton wine dynasties, chose Baja California for a second outpost. In addition to her work as the winemaker at Henri Lurton Baja California, Lourdes is also chef Omar's wife.
The menu we oohed and aahed over at Mantou was almost entirely vegetarian. This extraordinary salad consisted of sautéed shiitake mushrooms, verdolagas (purslane), locally made Parmesan cheese, and raspberry vinegar which had been fermented for six months. With the salad, we drank Henri Lurton Chenin Blanc Centenario. The pairing was perfect.
Pasta al dente with a sauce of calabacitas, a small squash similar to zucchini, with cherry tomatoes and gorgonzola cheese. The restaurant paired the pasta course with Henri Lurton Nebbiolo.
If you're in the Ensenada area, look for any events featuring chef Omar Armas. You won't be disappointed.
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