Mexican

Carne de Puerco con Chile Guajillo To bring out pork's flavor, try the classic Mexican technique used in this recipe: First simmer the meat, then fry it in its own rich fat. Don't be alarmed by the amount of chiles in the sauce, as mild guajillos simply lend flavor and body.

(Mole Negro de Teotitlán) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Zarela Martinez's book The Food and Life of Oaxaca. Martinez also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Martinez and Oaxacan cuisine, click here. Mole Negro is the state dish of Oaxaca, the king of moles. It also happens to be the most difficult to make. People pride themselves on their own different touches, and family recipes are passed down as heirlooms. Market stands specializing in moles all proclaim that their version is the best. This recipe is an adaptation of a version made by my friend and culinary mentor Zoyla Mendoza, who has given me such insight into the cooking of the Valley Zapotecs. When she made it for me at her home in Teotitlán del Valle, she first toasted the chiles, nuts, and spices and sent them out to a nearby mill to be ground. Meanwhile, she pounded the tomatoes and other moist ingredients in her big stone mortar, to be combined later with the nut and spice paste. Less sweet than many other versions, her Mole Negro is spicy and intense — I love the sprightly taste of fresh ginger. Increase the amount of clove and thyme in the recipe if you wish. Zoyla used much more of both than I do. Though Zoyla's version of Mole Negro is less complex then some, it shows the crucial "blackening" feature of most black moles. For years I'd made versions that turned out no blacker than dark red. An offhand remark revealed what I was doing wrong. "Queman los chiles" ("They burn the chiles"), a Juchitecan woman casually told me when I asked her. My instinct said that it would turn the whole dish bitter, so I'd just been toasting the chiles lightly. But in Oaxaca it is normal to make Mole Negro by first separating the seeds from the dried chiles, then toasting the chiles to an absolute crisp and literally burning — BURNING — the seeds. Zoyla also follows this procedure. The bitterness disappears through soaking and extended cooking. Because the pungent fumes can leave you gasping and call down the wrath of neighbors in city apartment buildings, it is wise to attempt this recipe only if you can do the worst part (burning the seeds) outdoors or with a good exhaust fan going full blast. You should also work out an advance plan for the final grinding of the paste. You can either combine all the ingredients and process them in several batches in the blender or assign part of the task (the chiles, nuts, and spices that Zoyla sent out to the mill) to the food processor. Read the recipe through carefully in advance, and decide which strategy you prefer. (The processor alone will definitely give the wrong texture.) This sauce is popular with enchiladas and shows up in chicken, turkey, or pork tamales. But the age-old way of eating black mole is with boiled turkey. In this country, use turkey parts like wings or drumsticks and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes in a small amount of stock, then finish cooking in the sauce for another 30 to 40 minutes. Please note that when served in this manner with poultry or other meats, the sauce should be thinned to a fairly light consistency. When it is used as a filling, it must be dense and thick.

(Tamales de Guajolote con Mole Negro) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Zarela Martinez's book The Food and Life of Oaxaca: Traditional Recipes from Mexico's Heart. Martinez also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. These are one of the most renowned Oaxacan classics: succulent banana-leaf tamales with a fluffy pillow of masa infused with the rich flavors of black mole and shredded cooked turkey. The meat has to be cooked by a moist-heat method, or it will be tasteless and dry, so I don't recommend using leftover roast turkey. Simmer pieces of turkey in liquid and use the most flavorful parts, not the white breast meat. Though the black mole version of turkey tamales is best-known, the dish is equally good with Mole Rojo, Coloradito, or Amarillo.

(Mole Verde con Puerco) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Zarela Martinez's book The Food and Life of Oaxaca. Martinez also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Martinez and Oaxacan cuisine, click here. Mole Verde, or just Verde for short, is the lightest and freshest-tasting of Oaxaca's "seven moles." Of the many variants I've tried, this version served with pork loin at the Oaxaca City restaurant Casa de la Abuela is my favorite. Fresh herb rather than spice accents are what distinguish a Mole Verde. A purée of green herbs has to be added at the last minute. In other parts of Mexico I've had green moles made with various greens, even lettuce leaves. But the Oaxacan Mole Verde uses just three: epazote, hoja santa, and parsley. If you can't get the first two you'll have to improvise with what's available, but the results will not be at all Oaxacan. Dried epazote and hoja santa are better than none at all, though the fresh herbs are incomparable. The amount of chiles can be varied to taste; however, this particular sauce is not usually very picante (hot). At Casa de la Abuela they combine the sauce with white beans that have been cooked separately, to keep the flavors simple and distinct. It is very important not to overcook the pork loin, a tender cut that dries out easily. I have devised a way of using boned pork loin that gets some added flavor from the reserved bones. When you have the meat boned, ask the butcher to tie the meat to the backbone and ribs. At serving time, untie and carve it to distribute both meat and rib pieces equally. If this is not practical and you have to get preboned loin without the frame of bones, buy 1 pound of pork neck bones separately and cook them with the meat. It will add some body and flavor. Mole Verde is also delicious made with chicken instead of pork. In that case, use a 3 1/2-pound chicken, cut into serving pieces, and simmer as directed below for the pork loin, reducing the cooking time to 30 minutes. Remove the skin before serving.

(Nieve de Aguacate) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Zarela Martinez's book The Food and Life of Oaxaca. Martinez also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Martinez and Oaxacan cuisine, click here. The idea of making ice cream from avocados is not strange or outlandish to Oaxacans. In many Latin American countries, avocados are eaten as dessert. (Brazilians make them into a sweet mousse.) Nieve de Aguacate is one of the perennial favorites at Oaxaca City ice-cream stands. It is naturally creamier than the usual fruit-based nieves; but some acid is necessary to offset the blandness of the avocado. Fresh lime juice is the perfect complement.

(Purée de Papas) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Zarela Martinez's book The Food and Life of Oaxaca. Martinez also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Martinez and Oaxacan cuisine, click here. When I visited the Isthmus of Tehuantepec at the season of spring parties accompanying the local velas (saints' day festivals), I found this vividly seasoned dish being served everywhere. It also turned out to be one of the regular Sunday offerings at Venancia Toledo Hernández's food stand in the Isthmian town of Ixtepec. She gave me her recipe and now everyone I've served it to in New York is in love with the brassy, sensuous flavors.

(Chileajo) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Zarela Martinez's book The Food and Life of Oaxaca. Martinez also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Martinez and Oaxacan cuisine, click here. Despite the name, this is unrelated to chileajo con puerco except for the presence of the chile and garlic that give it its name. It is one of the classic Oaxacan street snacks, especially at fiesta time, when food stands are crowded all around the beautiful Oaxaca City Zócalo (town square). Here you find women selling this wonderful specialty — a garlicky, spicy vegetable melange on a crisp fried corn tortilla, topped with a delicious combination of crumbled cheese, thinly sliced onion, and oregano. It's inspired. If you can find amarillo chiles, use a combination of them and the less characteristic, more available guajillos. Do not griddle-dry the amarillos, as they scorch easily. The tortillas used for chileajo are very small, about 3 inches in diameter. If you cannot find such a thing, cut out 3-inch rounds from larger commercial corn tortillas.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein's book, Raw.

Traditionally, escabeche refers to fish marinated in a spicy sauce. Here, mushrooms stand in for the fish with delicious results.

You can stuff five or six healthy vegetables into salsa (tomatoes, peppers, scallions, garlic, corn, whatever else is left in the crisper bin) then use that salsa five or six different ways (on fish, on chicken, in a burrito or, of course, on a delicious corn chip. You can make salsa in minutes. It keeps forever. It is the antidote to any of your vegetable woes!

Editor's note: The recipe below is part of a healthy and delicious spa menu developed exclusively for Epicurious by Lake Austin Spa Resort. This is arguably Mexico's most famous special occasion cake. Tres leches means three milks — typically heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk. Our version opts for a lighter more tropical soaking — reduced-fat coconut milk, fat-free sweetened condensed milk, and skim milk. You would think that all of this fluid infusion would turn the cake to sodden disintegration. But, in fact, it absorbs the liquids beautifully, much as does the equatorial earth absorb a sudden downpour. Accompanied by rum-caramelized bananas and topped with toasted coconut, this cake has become our most popular new dessert.

Editor's note: The recipe below is part of a healthy and delicious spa menu developed exclusively for Epicurious by Lake Austin Spa Resort. As a way of helping you to meet your daily cactus requirements, we offer you this absolutely delicious and completely refreshing salad inspired by the cooking of coastal Mexico. Cactus paddles are available in Latin or Mexican markets.

Editor's note: This recipe was included with two others from our roundup of great cookbooks for Dad. Use this fresh, spicy salsa to top grilled steak tacos or as a dip for tortilla chips.

Pozole Rojo Who said you can only enjoy a good rich stew in the depths of winter? Born in the hot climate of Mexico, this melt-in-your-mouth pork and red-chile dish also makes a satisfying but not-too-filling end to a warm summer day.

The surging popularity of sandwich wraps and quick Mexican snacks like quesadillas has turned the flour tortilla, a staple once largely confined to northern Mexico, into something found in supermarkets across the United States. Of the store-bought varieties, we are big fans of those from Maria & Ricardo's Tortilla Factory (800-881-7040), available at high-end supermarkets such as Whole Foods and by mail order from the company. (Dry-toast them slightly to freshen before using.) That said, we are even bigger fans of homemade flour tortillas. Fragrant and slightly puffy, they fall squarely into the "staff of life" category.

Once you've soaked the chiles for 2 hours, this mole comes together in 45 minutes.

The bold flavor of turkey is a natural with Mexican food. Fire-roasted salsa can be found in the refrigerated deli case at most supermarkets.

If you normally take your coffee with milk, you'll find this particular recipe for black coffee a welcome change—the molasses and cinnamon give it a warm and slightly exotic depth that's simply irresistible. Be sure to use coffee that is not finely ground.

This dish was the surprise of the year. The ingredients might seem ordinary, but trust us — it's fantastic.