A Week’s Worth of Mexican Recipes to Get You Cooking Some of Your Favorite Dishes at Home
Try your hand at a week's worth of Mexican meals!
Last week, I attempted to debunk the common misconceptions around Cinco De Mayo in the Food & Drink newsletter, and since doing all of that research I haven’t been able to stop craving Mexican food. I know every week I reference it getting warmer out, but that’s because with warm weather comes some of the best produce of the year, which means some of the best meals of the year to follow. Whether it’s lounging around a dreamy backyard patio or meeting friends in the park on a day when the temp is in the high 80’s, there’s no better feeling than forgetting a jacket and not even noticing. So now that we know Cinco De Mayo is basically just an excuse to eat tacos and clink glasses in the early days of May, let’s consider every day an excuse to eat tacos and say “Salud” over dishes that exemplify the best that the season has to offer.
In making my rounds through the eating stage of my research (my favorite part) I stopped by a few spots across the city; Tacos 1986 on Beverly, Ave 26 Taco Stand in DTLA, and Balam in Lynwood. Through all of my eating, I wondered why I don’t explore Mexican cooking at home more—I attribute it to the close proximity between my apartment and the above-mentioned amazing spots. To help myself incorporate more Mexican flavors into my recipe rounds, I’ve pulled together a week’s worth of Mexican meals that each slightly increase in difficulty, because who doesn’t love a little challenge? We can start off with something easy, like street tacos, and slowly make our way to the weekend with a homemade mole recipe. Check out the full list here and cook along with me this week!
Tuesday: Packable Pozole Rojo
Pozole is a classic soup dish you’ll see across Mexico. It’s easily identified by its use of hominy, which you can buy canned or dry to soak and cook on the stove like you might dried beans. This recipe has you bake chicken thighs until they are tender and then blend together a delicious sauce made of chilis, onions, garlic, and more spices.
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Wednesday: Rockfish Ceviche Tostadas
It’s hump day so we can barely muster up the energy to make it out of bed, let alone turning on the stove and cooking a large meal. That’s why ceviche is the perfect refreshing entree to throw together in a pinch.
Thursday: Baked Chiles Rellenos
This casserole-style take on chiles rellenos still requires the stuffing of chiles but is topped with a fluffy batter that gives an added flavor to the chorizo- and cheese-stuffed chiles. Plus, this recipe makes for some great leftovers for breakfast: Throw a sunny-side up egg on top and you’ve got two meals in one casserole dish.
Friday: Chile-Dusted Crispy Shrimp Tacos
Rich, spicy, and irresistible, these tacos are from chef Donnie Masterton at Taco Lab by Tacolicious, in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Rather than sliced avocados, he likes to set out pitted halves, and lets guests scoop out spoonfuls to add to the tacos, along with crunchy jicama slaw.
Saturday: Cola Shredded Beef Tacos
The cola-cooked beef becomes so tender it can be shredded easily with two forks and has a subtle sweetness and caramel flavor from the addition of a cane sugar-based soda like Mexican Coke. The leftover sauce and juices from the meat can also be used as a Birria-style dipping sauce for your tacos.
Sunday: Turkey Mole Poblano
You made it to Sunday! You deserve to sit around the table and enjoy a hearty and special meal, and mole is just that. in the early 1990s, Sunset writer Betsy Reynolds Bateson went to Puebla, Mexico, in search of something really authentic. She came back with the Morales family’s prized recipe, one with layers of flavor and subtlety—medium-hot, roasty, smoky, and sweet. It makes a grand change of pace from, say, a roast turkey for the holidays. The sauce takes time, but you can make it several days ahead. For the balanced complexity of the original, you need the right kind of dried chiles (mulato, ancho, and pasilla).
