Truly Mexican: Essential Recipes and Techniques for Authentic Mexican Cooking

by Roberto Santibanez, JJ Goode, Romulo Yanes

Overview

Amazing, authentic Mexican cooking for the home kitchen

Mexican cuisine is an American favorite from coast to coast, but many people are too intimidated to try cooking real Mexican meals in their own kitchens. In Truly Mexican, Roberto Santibañez shows you that it's the flavors that are complex, not the cooking. With effortless preparations and fresh, flavorful ingredients, Mexican home cooking can be simple and simply delicious.

An introduction to Mexican cooking covers the main ingredients as well as how they're best prepared—from toasting tortillas to roasting tomatoes—and offers a few simple kitchen commandments that make great results a given. Recipes cover main dishes, sides, salsas, guacamoles, moles, adobos, and more.

• Features 128 recipes for authentic Mexican favorites—from classic tacos and tamales to stunning dishes like Braised Short Ribs Adobo and Red Snapper Papillotes in Green Mole
• Includes a useful Sources section to help readers track down authentic Mexican ingredients
• Provides straightforward instructions on essential techniques like roasting chiles, making fresh tortillas, and filling enchiladas

Illustrated throughout with dramatic photos that evoke bold Mexican flavors, Truly Mexican puts the real tastes of Mexico within easy reach.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470499559
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	04/19/2011
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	149,889
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

ROBERTO SANTIBANEZ is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and the chef/owner of Fonda restaurant in Brooklyn and Manhattan, New York. A native of Mexico City, he is the President of Truly Mexican Consulting and a member of The Culinary Institute of America's Latin Cuisines Advisory Council. He is also the author of Rosa's New Mexican Table and Truly Mexican. His website is www.robertosantibanez.com.

JJ GOODE has written about food and travel for the New York Times, Gourmet, Saveur, Bon Appetit, Food &Wine, and Every Day with Rachael Ray. He is the coauthor of six cookbooks, including A Girl and Her Pig by April Bloomfield and Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto.

ROMULO YANES is a New York-based photographer who specializes in editorial, food, and travel. He was the photographic eye for Gourmet for nearly 25 years, capturing memorable images for the magazine's covers and travel and food segments.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi

INTRODUCTION vii

BASICS 1

ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS AND TECHNIQUES

SALSAS 42

IGNITING THE FIRE OF FLAVOR

GUACAMOLES 100

THE CHUNKY AND THE SMOOTH

ADOBOS 120

SIMPLE PUREES WITH SOULFUL APPLICATIONS

MOLES & PIPIANES 148

MEXICO'S ICONIC SAUCES

MORE IDEAS FOR USING MEXICAN SAUCES 210

SIDES 244

FOR ROUNDING OUT YOUR MEAL

SOURCES 258

INDEX 259

Editorial Reviews

Santibañez, a Le Cordon Bleu–trained chef and owner of the Brooklyn eatery, Fonda, born and raised in Mexico City, didn't set out to pen a "comprehensive" guide to Mexican cooking or the rich history of the country's food, but instead focuses solely on sauces—from salsas to adobos to moles—emphasizing techniques that home cooks can master and use in various dishes. With the goal "to convert as many readers as I could from people who would love to cook Mexican food to people who cook Mexican food they love," the author lays a solid foundation with a chapter on ingredients, technique, and equipment. The 140 recipes include a selection of guacamoles including departures from the classic such as a blue cheese guacamole, an apple-tequila guacamole, and a seafood guacamole. Recipes for adobos lead readers to main courses featuring various proteins such as adobo-braised lamb or a grilled skirt steak marinated in adobo. While one won't find desserts or suggested menus, the author's expertise is conveyed in a straightforward and inspiring tone that will instill confidence in cooks eager to prepare Mexican meals at home, regardless of previous experience or skill level. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

TRULY MEXICAN by Roberto Santibañez with J. J. Goode and Shelley Wiseman focuses on sauces, with chapters on salsas, guacamoles, adobos and moles. So rather than create composed dishes, you can use his unusual red peanut sauce or deep, rich adobo D. F., made with chiles and Mexican chocolate, to dress rotisserie chicken. Try a few more recipes from Mr. Santibañez — Rosa Mexicano's culinary director before he opened Fonda in Brooklyn — and anchos, pasillas and guajillos could become regulars in your cupboard. (New York Times Dining Section, November 2011)

Santibañez, a Le Cordon Bleu–trained chef and owner of the Brooklyn eatery, Fonda, born and raised in Mexico City, didn't set out to pen a "comprehensive" guide to Mexican cooking or the rich history of the country's food, but instead focuses solely on sauces—from salsas to adobos to moles—emphasizing techniques that home cooks can master and use in various dishes. With the goal "to convert as many readers as I could from people who would love to cook Mexican food to people who cook Mexican food they love," the author lays a solid foundation with a chapter on ingredients, technique, and equipment. The 140 recipes include a selection of guacamoles including departures from the classic such as a blue cheese guacamole, an apple-tequila guacamole, and a seafood guacamole. Recipes for adobos lead readers to main courses featuring various proteins such as adobo-braised lamb or a grilled skirt steak marinated in adobo. While one won't find desserts or suggested menus, the author's expertise is conveyed in a straightforward and inspiring tone that will instill confidence in cooks eager to prepare Mexican meals at home, regardless of previous experience or skill level. (Apr.) (Publishers Weekly, March 2011)

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