Mexico Cooks!

The Sanctuary of Jesus the Nazarene :: El Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno in Atotonilco, Guanajuato

The facade of the mid-18th Century Jesuit church in Atotonilco is simple.  The interior of the church is astonishing.  Built between 1740 and 1776, the Santuario is still visited and revered by religious pilgrims.

Several years ago, while Mexico Cooks! visited San Miguel de Allende, we took advantage of some free time to go to Atotonilco to visit the Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno (Sanctuary of Jesus the Nazarene), one of the best-kept secrets of central Mexico.  In 1996, the church was added to the World Monuments Fund, and in July of 2008, UNESCO named the Santuario to its list of World Heritage sites.

The main altar in the Calvary Chapel, the largest in the church.  Sculptural figures important to Christ's Passion give visual impact to the  meditations of the faithful. A reliquary rests on the red cloth.

The Santuario is a mixture of European Baroque and New World Mexican decoration.  It consists of a large church, and several smaller chapels, all decorated with oil paintings by Rodríguez Juárez and mural paintings by Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre.  Inspired by the doctrine of San Ignacio de Loyola, the founder of the Companía de Jesús (the Company of Jesus, otherwise known as the Jesuits), the glowing paintings and murals in the church served in the evangelization of Nueva España, where the indigenous spoke their own languages but could neither read nor write, and where the Spanish conquistadores knew little if any of the languages they heard in the new land. 

St. John the Baptist pours baptismal waters over Jesus as a dove, symbol of the Holy Spirt, hovers above them.  In the 18th Century, the Santuario also served as a retreat house for the Jesuits.  Pilgrims still make week-long retreats at this church, praying in a chapel reserved just for their needs.

Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus with a kiss.  Note the demon monkey on Judas's back.  Every inch of the Santuario walls is covered with paintings of the many details, Biblical and apocryphal, of Jesus's life.  Nearly all (or perhaps all--stories vary) of the murals  were painted by Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre, a native of the area.  He worked for thirty years painting the murals.

St. Cristopher carries the infant Jesus on his shoulder.  Captain Ignacio Allende, for whom San Miguel de Allende is named, married María de la Luz Agustina y Fuentes in this church.  It was here, on September 16, 1810, that Father Miguel Hidalgo took up the standard of Our Lady of Guadalupe and bore it into battle at the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain.

This side chapel, one of several at Atotonilco, is dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary).  The mirrors that surround the figure of Our Lady are painted with oils, probably by Rodríguez Juárez.

Detail of the chapel window.

Detail of the Marian litany in the Lady Chapel.

The Santuario has been in the process of restoration since 1997.  Scaffolding still fills the church but detracts very little from the amazing paintings.

Off the beaten tourist track, the Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno will fill your eyes and heart with wonder.  Let's plan a visit to see it together.

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Come Tour with Mexico Cooks!--Off the Tourist Track, Off the Beaten Path

A November market tour in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. I'm holding a mamey fruit.  The mamey's scientific name is poutería sapote.

One of the great pleasures of my life is the number of tours Mexico Cooks! gives to lots of excited tourists.  Small, specialized tours are a joy to organize: the participants generally have common interests, a thirst for knowledge, and a hunger for--well, for Mexico Cooks!' tour specialty: food and its preparation.  Touring a food destination (a street market in Michoacán, an enclosed market in Guadalajara, a crawl through some Mexico City street stands, or meals in a series of upscale restaurants) is about far more than a brief look at a fruit, a vegetable, or a basket of freshly made tortillas.

A Pátzcuaro street vendor holds out a partially unwrapped tamal de trigo (wheat tamal).  It's sweetened with piloncillo (Mexican raw sugar) and a few plump raisins, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed.  Taste?  It's all but identical to a bran muffin, and every tour participant enjoyed a share of it.

A tour planned to your specifications can lead you to places you didn't know you wanted to go, but that you would not have missed for the world.  Here, Donna talks with the man who makes these enormous adobe bricks.  He let her try to pick up the laden wheelbarrow.  She could barely get its legs off the ground!  He laughed, raised the handles, and whizzed away with his load.

Several times in recent years, small groups wanted to tour traditional bakeries in Mexico City.  The photo shows one tiny corner of the enormous Pastelería La Ideal in the Centro Histórico.  Just looking at the photo brings the sweet fragrances back to mind.  And never mind the taste of the delicious pastries--wonderful!

Ramon and Annabelle Canova wanted an introduction to how ordinary people live and shop in Guadalajara.  We spent a highly entertaining morning at the Tianguis del Sol, a three-times-a-week outdoor market in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara.  Our first stop was for breakfast, then we shopped for unusual produce, fresh spices, and other goodies that the Canovas don't often see in their home town.  Annabelle said she felt right at home because so much of the style and flavor of this market was similar to what she experienced in the markets near her home town in the Phillipines.

We went for comida (main meal of the day) to the original location of Guadalajara's Karne Garibaldi.  The restaurant does one thing--carne en su jugo (meat in its juice)--and does it exceptionally well.  The food is plentiful, delicious, and affordable.  The place is always packed, and usually has a line to get in!

Ramon wanted to try tejuino, a regional specialty in the Guadalajara area.  Mixed when you order it, the refreshing, very lightly fermented drink is thickened with masa de maíz (corn dough) and served with a pinch of salt and a small scoop of lemon ice. 

Pillars of nopal cactus paddles, taller than a man, at Mercado de la Merced, Mexico City.   La Merced is the largest retail market in Mexico, if not in all of Latin America.  It's the ultimate market experience and just a partial tour takes the best part of a morning.  Comfortable walking shoes are a necessity--let's go!

A more intimate, up-close-and-personal Mexico City market tour takes us through the Mercado San Juan.  The San Juan is renowned for its gourmet selection of meats, fish and shellfish, cheeses, and wild mushrooms--among a million other things you might not expect to find.

Pepitorias are a sweet specialty of Mexico's capital city.  Crunchy and colorful obleas (wafers) enclose sticky syrup and squash seeds.  Mexico Cooks!' tour groups usually try these at the Bazar Sábado in San Ángel.

Lovely and fascinating people and events are around almost any Mexican corner.  The annual Festival Internacional de Música de Morelia opens every year with several blocks of carpets made of flowers.  Residents of Patamban, Michoacán work all night to create the carpets for the festival.  This piano is made entirely of plant material.  Enlarge any picture for a closer view.

Entire flowers, fuzzy pods, and flower petals are used to create the carpets' ephemeral beauty and design; these carpets last two days at most. 

In November 2012, one of Mexico Cooks!' tours was dazzled by a special Morelia concert given by Tania Libertad.  With Tania is Rosalba Morales Bartolo, a fabulous traditional cook from San Jerónimo, Michoacán, who presented the artist with various handcrafted items from the state--including the lovely coral necklace and rebozo (long rectangular shawl) that Tania is wearing.


During a food tour in Oaxaca, Mexico Cooks! took this couple for breakfast with a marvelous regional cook.  We're standing in the doorway of her traditional kitchen--where she both prepares food and gives cooking classes.  We had a great day.

No matter where we start our tour and no matter what we plan together for your itinerary, a Mexico Cooks! tour always includes a terrific surprise or two, special memories to take home, and the thirst for more of Mexico.  Marvey Chapman had a wonderful time out on Lake Pátzcuaro!  By all means come and enjoy a tour!

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

Where Mexico Cooks! Shops for Fresh Food to Prepare at Home: Mexico's Tianguis (Street Markets)

Roma tomatoes are the type we most often see at a tianguis (street market) or at an enclosed market, or in a supermarket.  Heirloom tomatoes--even standard, everyday round tomatoes--are very hard to find here.  When I buy Roma tomatoes, I am fortunate to be able to find them fully ripe and really delicious.

Thirteen years ago, in August 2007, Mexico Cooks! featured every sort of produce, dairy product, and meat sold at a local tianguis (street market) near Guadalajara, Jalisco.  For the entire month of August 2008, you read about seasonal availability of fruits and vegetables at the dozens of regularly scheduled tianguis (it's the same word in singular and plural) in Morelia, Michoacán.  Mexico Cooks! would rather shop at a hot, crowded, and sometimes smelly tianguis than at an air conditioned supermarket, rather shop for supremely fresh foods at a tianguis than give a second glance to anything frozen, boxed, or canned that's offered for sale elsewhere.

A sign maker with a sense of humor stuck this tag on his fresh Roma tomatoes: "Like you saw it on TV".  Several years ago, these were offered at 14 pesos the kilo (about 45 cents US the pound).  Next to the tomatoes, you can see the pointed ends of chiles serrano.  Today, Roma tomatoes sell for about 30-35 pesos per kilo.

The tianguis, wherever in Mexico it's held, is a basic part of the culture of modern Mexico.   Its name comes from the Náuhatl word tianquiztli, market.  Although Náhuatl markets are centuries old, the present-day form of the tianguis is fairly recent, originating during the 1970-76 Mexican presidency of Luis Echeverría Alvarez.  The author of the tianguis project in Mexico was José Iturriaga, Echeverría's former finance minister.

Cooked in a sweet syrup, whole calabaza de castilla (squash, left), camote (candied sweet potato, right), and higos (figs, rear) are available at the tianguis by the kilo or portion of a kilo.  They're to be eaten for breakfast or supper.

Although Iturriaga was himself a wealthy, educated, and cultured man, he worried about the ability of Mexico's poor to feed their families.  He was especially concerned about the availability of nutritious fresh foods sold at reasonable prices.  The tianguis, otherwise known as a mercado sobre ruedas (market on wheels), was his idea.  The government took charge of giving Mexico's working-class housewives and other food shoppers stupendous quality at the lowest possible prices.

Beautiful cebollitas de cambray (knob onions), ready for serving with carne asada (grilled meat, usually accompanied by grilled whole onions like these.  They sell for about 12 pesos per kilo.

Still operated by local government, today's tianguis only sometimes reach Iturriaga's ideal.  Often the produce can be second-rate, the meats and seafood far less than fresh, and the market's hygiene questionable--while prices are often as high or higher than the días de plaza (sale days) in upscale supermarkets.

Higos--figs, at the peak of maturity and ripeness--enjoy a relatively long season here in Mexico.  We recently paid 100 pesos for two kilos of beautifully ripe figs and prepared half a dozen jars of you-don't-want-to-know-how-good fig conserve.  Later this winter, spread on a toasted and buttered bolillo (small loaf of fresh-baked bread) from our corner abarrotes (tiny mom'n'pop grocery store), served over ice cream, or simply licked off the finger, the conserve will be an intense memory of summer.

Mexico Cooks! is a regular customer at one of the better tianguis in Morelia.  Our tianguis, set up early Wednesday mornings, is quite near our house.  Our normal purchases include seafood, excellent pork ranging from maciza (fresh pork leg) to tocino (bacon), marvelously fresh chicken (whole or whichever part you want), all of our fruits and vegetables, cheeses and table cream, dried beans, grains, and flowers for the house.  We don't eat much beef, but if we did, we'd buy it at the tianguis.

Tiny plátanos dominico (finger bananas, about 2.5 inches long) are just one of the banana varieties we usually see at the tianguis.  These sell today for about 37 pesos a kilo.  


Small ataúlfo mangos, my personal favorites.  Thirty pesos per kilo.

Prices at the Wednesday tianguis in our neighborhood, while not substantially lower than those at the supermarket, are still not higher than we care to pay.  We usually budget about 900 pesos (about $40.00 USD) to buy what we need at the tianguis for a week's meals, including pork and sometimes shrimp.  We budget another 400 pesos for purchases at the supermarket. 


Gorgeous deep red watermelons, sold by the kilo: buy as much as you like--a slice, a whole melon, whatever you need.  Twelve pesos per kilo at the tianguis!

On a recent Wednesday morning, these were our purchases:

6 large fresh white onions, 20 pesos per kilo
1 huge cantaloupe, 17 pesos per kilo 
4 ataúlfo mangos, 30 pesos per kilo 
6 red-ripe Roma tomatoes, 35 pesos per kilo
500 gr white mushrooms, 58 pesos
1/2 large white cabbage, 10 pesos
8 Gala apples, 45 pesos per kilo
1 large avocado, 60 pesos per kilo
2 large bananas, 17 pesos per kilo 
1 large papaya, 30 pesos per kilo
1 lb fresh green beans, 37 pesos per kilo
1 large head of broccoli, 28 pesos per kilo
8 ounces crema de mesa (table cream, similar to crême fraiche), about 20 pesos total
1 whole chicken, 39 pesos per kilo
250 gr cut to order bacon, 200 pesos per kilo
Total cost: 400 pesos--the equivalent of less than $25.00 USD.

The Mexican peso/USA dollar exchange rate is currently the approximately 22 pesos per dollar.  

These are the fruit of the nopal cactus, known as tunas. (The red thing to the left is a fresa (strawberry), placed for size comparison.)  Tunas are in season right now; I buy them frequently at this time of year to make agua fresca de tuna ('fresh water' made of tunas).  


Tunas are super-easy to peel--cut off each end, make a longitudinal slit in the peel, and pull the skin off.  That's it.  Eat them out of hand, slice them on a plate, or make agua fresca.  They're refreshing and delicious.

Times and needs change.  Urban Mexico views the tianguis as both a terrible bother (who would want one on their street, with its attendant noise and mess) and a joy (but where else can we get produce this fresh!).  Mexico Cooks! knows people who will not shop at a tianguis, and we know people who will not shop anywhere else.  Come with us some week and see what you think.

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

One More Report About Chiles en Nogada, a Fleeting, Seasonal Joy of Mexico's Kitchen

Azul Histórico, a star of the constellation of three restaurants that make up Ricardo Muñoz Zurita's Grupo Azul, has become one of Mexico Cooks!' favorite destinations for comida (Mexico's midday main meal).  Nestled under a canopy of trees in the patio of a 17th century Mexican palace, the restaurant is among the most beautiful--and most delicious--in Mexico's capital city.

One year, we insisted that a good friend visiting from Texas accompany us to experience the once-a-year delight of chiles en nogada, stuffed with a special picadillo (meat, fruit, and vegetable hash) and then bathed with walnut sauce, as presented and served at Restaurante Azul Histórico.  In last week's Mexico Cooks! article, we shared a terrific recipe for chiles en nogada with you. Today, we'll see the chiles, considered to be the king of Mexico's cuisine, and honored as such at table in the restaurant.


Our friend, who serves sopa de tortilla (tortilla soup) in his own restaurant, wanted to try the version served at Azul Histórico.


Four of us shared a small order of mildly spicy, delicious salpicón de venado (venison, cooked, seasoned with onion, pepper, vinegar, oil, and salt, and shredded).


Once we finished our appetizers, two of our extremely competent wait staff laid the table with a long black linen tablecloth, plus colorful appliquéd individual placemats and extra candles, all in honor of the king of chiles. The plates, also in special use for chiles en nogada, are talavera pottery from the city of Puebla, where chiles en nogada originated.


The serving platter of chiles.  Each color ribbon indicates the type stuffing in each chile.  The choices the day we were there included:

• red ribbons from Atlixco, Puebla.  The filling is composed of a complex picadillo with quite a lot of fruit. 
• green ribbons from Coxcatlán, Puebla.  The filling is shredded pork, with more spices and less fruit than the first.
• silver ribbons from Puebla de los Ángeles, Puebla.  The filling is beef with fruits and spices, for those who prefer not to eat pork.

I chose the chile from Atlixco, Puebla.  At the Azul restaurants and at most others, the chile is roasted, peeled, and seeded prior to stuffing, but is not coated with a stiffly beaten egg coating. The significance of the colors of the chile en nogada is the vision of the Mexican flag on your plate: green, white, and red. Were it coated and fried, the green would not be visible. The chile's red ribbon (and yellow flower) are removable.  The blue and white sphere with the red ribbon are part of the table decor that honors the chile.

 
Once the chile is on your plate, the waiter serves the nogada (walnut sauce). At the Azul restaurants, the diner may choose savory or sweet nogada, or a combination of the two.  I chose the combination. The waiter poured the thicker nogada salada (savory) onto the half of the chile near the tip; he then poured smooth nogada dulce (sweet) onto the half closer to the stem.  In the photo, you can easily see the dividing line between the two nogadas.


At Azul Histórico, the chiles en nogada are served without being capeados (covered with the egg batter that traditionally coats the chiles in Puebla).  Many prefer them with the fried-batter coating; I prefer them without.  After the waiter bathes the chile with its walnut sauce(s), he garnishes it with seasonal pomegranate seeds and then with a sprig of parsley. Voilà, presenting Su Majestad el Chile en Nogada!


You can see the rich filling inside the chile.  Last week's Mexico Cooks! article gives you an excellent recipe to make your own chiles en nogada.  If you try it, please let us know how delicious it was!

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

Seasonal Chiles en Nogada, Available NOW Through September In Mexico's Homes and Restaurants

Beautifully home-prepared chiles en nogada, as presented several years ago at a traditional food exhibition in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán.

Freshly harvested and peeled nuez de castilla (a kind of walnut grown in Mexico), an essential for seasonal chiles en nogada.  

Mexico celebrates its independence the entire month of September with parades, parties, and traditional food and drink, served in restaurants and at home.  The traditional festive dish during the weeks just before and after the Independence Day holiday is chiles en nogada, a magnificent tribute to the seasonal availability of a certain kind of peach, the locally grown panochera apple, in-season granadas (pomegranates) and nuez de castilla (freshly harvested walnuts). From mid-July until the end of September (or occasionally early October), seasonal local fruits, fresh pomegranates, and newly harvested walnuts make chiles en nogada possible.  Mildly spicy chiles poblano, stuffed with a fruity picadillo and topped with richly creamy walnut sauce, pomegranate seeds, and chopped parsley, flaunt the brilliant green, white and red of the Mexican flag. 


The panochera apple, grown in the Mexican state of Puebla, and pera lechera (milky pear), also grown in the area, are two must-have ingredients for making chiles en nogada in Mexico.  If you live outside Mexico, a small crisp apple and a very crisp pear (preferably Bosque or a distant second choice, d'Anjou) would substitute.

This festive dish is traditionally served on September 15 or 16 in honor of Mexico's Independence Day, though it is popular anytime in the late summer and fall. During August and September in the highlands of Mexico, particularly in Mexico City and Puebla, vendors wander tianguis (street markets) and other markets, selling the clean, white meats of nuez de castilla. It is important to use the freshest walnuts possible, as they produce such a creamy, rich sauce that it is worth the effort to buy them peeled or peel them oneself.  Yes, the recipe is time-consuming...but you and your guests will jump up and shout "VIVA!" when they've licked the platters clean. 

Ingredients

For the meat:  

• 2 pounds beef brisket or other stew meat or 1 pound beef and 1 pound pork butt**
• 1 small white onion, quartered 
• 2 large cloves garlic 
• about 1 Tbsp sea salt

 For the picadillo (filling):  

• 4 Tbsp safflower or canola oil
• the shredded meat
• 1/3 cup chopped white onion
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• pinch pimienta gorda (allspice)
• 1/2 plátano macho (plantain), chopped fine
• 1 or 2 chiles serrano, finely minced
• 4 Tbsp chopped fresh walnuts--this year's harvest, if you can find some at your local market
• 4 Tbsp slivered blanched almonds
• 2 Tbsp finely diced biznaga or acitrón (candied cactus, optional)
• 1 fresh pear, peeled and chopped
• 1 apple, peeled and chopped
• 4 ripe peaches, peeled and diced
• 3 Tbsp Mexican pink pine nuts.  Don't substitute white ones if you aren't able to find pink.  White pine nuts have a bitter aftertaste.
• 3 large, ripe tomatoes, roasted, peeled and chopped
• sea salt to taste

Fully mature chiles poblano, picked fresh and sold on the street in Tehuacán, Puebla. 


Deep green chiles poblano are normally used for chiles en nogada.  These measure as much as seven or eight inches long. If you click on the photo to make it larger, you can see that these chiles have deep, long grooves running down their sides. When I'm buying them, I choose chiles poblano that are as smooth as possible on their flat sides.  The smoothness makes them easier to roast easily.  

For the chiles:

--6 fresh chiles poblanos, roasted, peeled, slit open, and seeded, leaving the stem intact   

 For the nogada (walnut sauce):  

• 1 cup freshly harvested nuez de castilla (walnuts), peeled of all brown membrane** 
• 6 ounces queso de cabra (goat cheese), queso doble crema or standard cream cheese (not fat free) at room temperature 
• 1-1/2 cups crema mexicana or 1-1/4 cups sour cream thinned with milk 
• about 1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste
• 1 Tbsp sugar   
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup dry sherry (optional)

**Please note that this recipe is correctly made with walnuts, not pecans.  Using pecans will give your sauce a non-traditional flavor and a beige color, rather than pure white.

Remove the arils (seeds) from a pomegranate.  We who live in Mexico are fortunate to find pomegranate seeds ready to use, sold in plastic cups.

For the garnish 

--1 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
--1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds 

Preparation:

Cut the meat into large chunks, removing any excess fat. Place the meat into a large Dutch oven with the onion, garlic, and salt. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim off any foam that collects on the surface. Lower the heat and allow the water to simmer about 45 minutes, until the meat is just tender. Take the pot off the stove and let the meat cool in the broth. Remove the pieces of meat and finely shred them. 


Candied biznaga (aka acitrón) cactus.  Do try to find this ingredient in your local market.  There isn't an adequate substitute, so if you don't find it, leave it out.


Mexican pink pine nuts.  Their taste is sweeter than the standard white ones, and they leave no bitter aftertaste in your dish.  If you can't find these pink pine nuts, it's better not to substitute the white ones.

Warm the oil in a large, heavy skillet and sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat until they turn a pale gold. Stir in the shredded meat and cook for five minutes. Add the cinnamon, pepper, and cloves, then, stir in the raisins and the two tablespoons of chopped walnuts. Add the chopped pear, apple, and finely diced biznaga cactus, and mix well. Add the tomatoes and salt to taste, and continue cooking over medium-high heat until most of the moisture has evaporated. Stir often so that the mixture doesn't stick. Let cool, cover, and set aside. The picadillo may be made and refrigerated a day or two in advance of final preparations.

Roasted chiles poblano, ready to peel, seed, and stuff.  Photo courtesy Delicious Mexican Recipes.

Peel the chiles and make a slit down the side of each chile, just long enough to remove the seeds and veins. Keep the stem end intact. Drain the chiles, cut side down, on paper towels until completely dry. Cover and set aside. The chiles may be prepared a day in advance. 

At least three hours in advance, put the walnuts in a small pan of boiling water. Remove from the heat and let them sit for five minutes. Drain the nuts and, when cool, rub off as much of the dark skin as possible.  Chop the nuts into small pieces. Place the nuts, cream cheese, crema, and salt in a blender and purée thoroughly. Stir in the optional sugar, cinnamon, and sherry until thoroughly combined. Chill for several hours. 

Preheat the oven to 250ºF. When ready to serve, reheat the meat filling and stuff the chiles until they are plump and just barely closed. Put the filled chiles, covered, to warm slightly in the oven. After they are thoroughly heated, place the chiles (cut side down) on a serving platter or on individual plates, cover with the chilled walnut sauce, and sprinkle with the chopped parsley and pomegranate seeds. 


Chile en nogada as served at Restaurante Azul Histórico, Mexico City.


Chile en nogada at Beto Chef Michoacano, Morelia, Michoacán.


Chile en nogada as served at Restaurante Las Quince Letras, Centro Histórico, Oaxaca.

This dish may be served at room temperature, or it may be served slightly chilled. It is rarely if ever served hot. 

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