LATIN CUISINE WEEK 3

Here we go with week 3 of Latin Cuisine. This is the third week of cuisines of Mexico. So far I've been pretty happy with this class. 

On the Menu we have -

Frijoles di Olla: "pot" beans

These are really just beans cooked in a pot with some sort of pork part (bones, feet, ears) to give flavor. These are topped with a little tomato and cilantro. They make an excellent side for many dishes in mexican cuisine.

Chiles en Nogada :

Basically a chile relleno with a walnut sauce. The relleno was a poblano pepper stuffed with all sorts of goodness other than the typical cheese that we are used to in the U.S. It was a little different to me, but i did like it. The sauce on the other hand did no justice to the almighty dish that is a chile relleno. It was too creamy and really didn't add anything to the relleno, instead it added a distinct flavor that actually confused my palette as to what I was supposed to be eating. 

Guacamole:

Everyone has had guacamole, some good, some bad. I've seen recipes for guacamole that call for more mayonnaise than avocado. This recipe is quite good. The limes we used were stronger than anticipated but the overall flavors were both good and correct. We added some roasted garlic to this recipe.

Mole:

MOLE! This mole was great. It was by far my favorite thing we made this week. It was an add-on recipe that I did not know was coming but was glad once I tasted it. The thing about mole is that each area in Mexico has ways of doing mole, so it can vary greatly. Refer to Latin Cuisine - Week 1 to see the green mole we made. Another thing about mole is that there are many ingredients that create the complex flavor profile. I think this recipe had about 25 ingredients. Mole is like fresh homemade tortillas in that it is a labor of love. Sure you can buy tortillas at the grocery store, but the homemade, semi-round tortillas will always taste better. Mole is a ton of work, but it sure is good.

Sopa de Fideos Aguada:

This is a dish of sauteed pasta with tomato sauce added. We used an italian grade pasta because it has a much higher quality than the traditional mexican fideos. There's not a lot to say about this dish, everyone has had pasta and tomato sauce, this is just a different variation on a classic.

Chips and Salsa:

We made chips from corn tortillas and made a quick salsa to go with it. These are the same chips that were served with the guacamole. 

This was a great week in Latin Cuisine and this class is quickly becoming my favorite. I enjoy all the flavors and combinations. Latin cuisine can be quite complex in dishes like Mole, but it can also be simple and fresh. I like both equally. Coming from New Mexico, I already have a strong preference to mexican cuisine and latin explores this further and bring new flavor profiles to the light. I could see myself really diving into Latin Cuisine as specialty.