82 L.A. MEXICANOREGIONAL MEXICAN CUISINE 83seeds for only a few seconds, taking extra care not to burn these tiny seeds. Add to the stock.Toast 1 tomato, onion, and remaining garlic clove on the comal, turning occasionally to obtain an even char. Add them to the chicken stock. Toast allspice and cloves and add them to the stock.Place saucepan over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add about 2 tablespoons oil and pour all of the bowl’s contents into the saucepan, stirring to combine. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside to let all the ingredients soften for about 15 minutes.When softened, pour pipián mixture into a food processor or blender and process (in batches if nec-essary) until you have a smooth blend. Pour sauce into a large skillet over medium-high heat, add chicken pieces, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken finishes cooking through, about 10 minutes. The sauce consistency should be that of a milkshake; if it seems too thick, add more stock. You might need to add as much as 2 cups. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Serve with white rice and warm corn tortillas. Chicken with Pipián RojoChicken with Red Pumpkin-Seed MoleRamiro Arvizu & Jaime Martín del Campo, La Casita Mexicana & MexicanoWhen Ramiro Arvizu and Jaime Martín del Campo first opened their doors at La Casita Mexicana, they gave moles the greatest attention and care, even if their Mexican American customers were begging for burritos. To promote their moles, the chefs served it on their chips and came up with such fun dishes as tres moles (my personal favorite), a trio of chicken enchiladas covered in mole poblano, green pipián, and red pipián. Pipianes, a group of pumpkin-seed-based dishes, are among the more than 300 moles that exist in Mexico. I recommend this pipián dish as your gateway dish into the rich world of moles—it’s delicious and it has fewer ingredients than more complex moles and is quite versatile—try it with almost any protein. Serves 4 to 6 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces, skin on½ medium onion, quartered3 cloves garlic, peeled1 bay leaf1 teaspoon sea salt2 California chiles1 chile de árbol1 ancho chile¼ cup peanuts1⁄3 cup pumpkin seeds¼ cup sesame seeds1 clove garlic1 whole roma tomato½ small onion2 allspice berries2 clovesCorn or other vegetable oil for cookingSea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste6 cups cooked white rice (see recipe page 26)1 dozen corn tortillasPlace chicken pieces in a large, sturdy pot, add water to cover (about 8 cups), and set over high heat. Add ½ onion, 2 garlic cloves, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to barely a simmer, cover, and cook over low heat until the chicken is almost but not quite cooked through, about 50 minutes. Remove chicken pieces and set aside. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve. Put 2 cups of the strained chicken stock into a large bowl. Toast chile peppers over medium-high heat on a comal or in a skillet for about 15 seconds per side. Remove and discard stems, seeds, and membranes and place chiles in the bowl with the chicken stock. Toast peanuts, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until golden brown, about 3 minutes, and add them to the stock. Toast pumpkin seeds, stirring constantly, until they take on a golden color and start to jump; do not overcook. Add to the chicken stock. Toast sesame 82 L.A. MEXICANOREGIONAL MEXICAN CUISINE 83seeds for only a few seconds, taking extra care not to burn these tiny seeds. Add to the stock.Toast 1 tomato, onion, and remaining garlic clove on the comal, turning occasionally to obtain an even char. Add them to the chicken stock. Toast allspice and cloves and add them to the stock.Place saucepan over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add about 2 tablespoons oil and pour all of the bowl’s contents into the saucepan, stirring to combine. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside to let all the ingredients soften for about 15 minutes.When softened, pour pipián mixture into a food processor or blender and process (in batches if nec-essary) until you have a smooth blend. Pour sauce into a large skillet over medium-high heat, add chicken pieces, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken finishes cooking through, about 10 minutes. The sauce consistency should be that of a milkshake; if it seems too thick, add more stock. You might need to add as much as 2 cups. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Serve with white rice and warm corn tortillas. Chicken with Pipián RojoChicken with Red Pumpkin-Seed MoleRamiro Arvizu & Jaime Martín del Campo, La Casita Mexicana & MexicanoWhen Ramiro Arvizu and Jaime Martín del Campo first opened their doors at La Casita Mexicana, they gave moles the greatest attention and care, even if their Mexican American customers were begging for burritos. To promote their moles, the chefs served it on their chips and came up with such fun dishes as tres moles (my personal favorite), a trio of chicken enchiladas covered in mole poblano, green pipián, and red pipián. Pipianes, a group of pumpkin-seed-based dishes, are among the more than 300 moles that exist in Mexico. I recommend this pipián dish as your gateway dish into the rich world of moles—it’s delicious and it has fewer ingredients than more complex moles and is quite versatile—try it with almost any protein. Serves 4 to 6 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces, skin on½ medium onion, quartered3 cloves garlic, peeled1 bay leaf1 teaspoon sea salt2 California chiles1 chile de árbol1 ancho chile¼ cup peanuts1⁄3 cup pumpkin seeds¼ cup sesame seeds1 clove garlic1 whole roma tomato½ small onion2 allspice berries2 clovesCorn or other vegetable oil for cookingSea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste6 cups cooked white rice (see recipe page 26)1 dozen corn tortillasPlace chicken pieces in a large, sturdy pot, add water to cover (about 8 cups), and set over high heat. Add ½ onion, 2 garlic cloves, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to barely a simmer, cover, and cook over low heat until the chicken is almost but not quite cooked through, about 50 minutes. Remove chicken pieces and set aside. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve. Put 2 cups of the strained chicken stock into a large bowl. Toast chile peppers over medium-high heat on a comal or in a skillet for about 15 seconds per side. Remove and discard stems, seeds, and membranes and place chiles in the bowl with the chicken stock. Toast peanuts, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until golden brown, about 3 minutes, and add them to the stock. Toast pumpkin seeds, stirring constantly, until they take on a golden color and start to jump; do not overcook. Add to the chicken stock. Toast sesame 120 L.A. MEXICANOALTA CALIFORNIA CUISINE 121Scallops in Aguachile Carlos Salgado, Taco MariaIn the Pacific states of Sinaloa and Nayarit, aguachile de callo de hacha (scallops in chile water) is the Rolls Royce of ceviche dishes, in which the luxurious scallop is bathed in a fiery solution of lime and fresh green chile. Traditionally, only two vegetables—cucumber and purple onion—serve as a garnish, so the dish shines with just a finish of sea salt and pepper. Not surprisingly, the elegantly simple aguachile has become a favorite of modern Mexican chefs like Carlos Salgado, who is slowly evolving the flavors in his versions. Two noTes: Poached shrimp, sliced in half down the middle, will substitute beautifully for the scallops if you prefer that. And if you can’t find anise hyssop leaves (they are uncommon), fresh mint makes a delicious variation.Serves 66 large Hokkaido scallops2 Persian cucumbers2 teaspoons sugar, plus more if needed30 anise hyssop leaves, plus a few more (with flower) for garnish1 cup grapeseed oil2 serrano chiles, stemmed¾ cup Bearss or key lime juice¼ cup Meyer lemon juice¼ cup mandarin orange juiceSea salt to tastePlace 6 flat bowls in the refrigerator or freezer to chill.Remove the foot from each scallop, rinse under cold water, and pat dry. With the flat side of the meat down, slice each scallop in half, making two disks, then dice both into ½-inch pieces. Place in a container lined with a clean linen towel and refrigerate until needed.Wash and dry the cucumbers and chop into ½-inch pieces, leaving the skin on. Place into a bowl, add 2 teaspoons sugar, and macerate until the sugar dissolves and the cucumber softens and releases its liquid. Set aside in the refrigerator to keep cold.Prepare an ice water bath and, separately, bring a pot of water to a roiling boil. Add a pinch of salt. Drop in the anise hyssop leaves (or mint) and blanch until they are soft, 20 to 30 seconds. Remove with a fine-mesh skimmer (called a spider) and shock the leaves in the ice water. Drain the leaves, squeezing out any excess moisture. Purée in a blender with grapeseed oil until completely smooth. Refresh the ice water bath and have a small stainless steel bowl ready to rest in the bath. Working swiftly, pour the hyssop oil into a saucepan and quickly bring to a simmer. After just a few seconds, remove from the heat and pour into the metal bowl over the ice bath. Stir to cool quickly. When cooled, strain through a coffee filter to obtain a clear, green-tinted aromatic oil.Rinse chiles and drain them well. Place chiles and the 3 citrus juices into a blender and mix on high until fully combined. Add salt to taste. If the liquid is too spicy, add a bit of sugar to tone it down. Strain the aguachile liquid into a nonreactive container. To serve, divide chopped scallops among the 6 chilled bowls. Spoon some macerated cucumber around the scallops, being sure to include some of the cucumber liquid. Spoon a few tablespoons of aguachile liquid around the scallops, then spoon a few beads of hyssop oil into the liquid. Finish by tearing some hyssop leaves and spreading the sweet flowers over the bowl. Garnish the scallops with a few grains of coarse salt and serve immediately. 120 L.A. MEXICANOALTA CALIFORNIA CUISINE 121Scallops in Aguachile Carlos Salgado, Taco MariaIn the Pacific states of Sinaloa and Nayarit, aguachile de callo de hacha (scallops in chile water) is the Rolls Royce of ceviche dishes, in which the luxurious scallop is bathed in a fiery solution of lime and fresh green chile. Traditionally, only two vegetables—cucumber and purple onion—serve as a garnish, so the dish shines with just a finish of sea salt and pepper. Not surprisingly, the elegantly simple aguachile has become a favorite of modern Mexican chefs like Carlos Salgado, who is slowly evolving the flavors in his versions. Two noTes: Poached shrimp, sliced in half down the middle, will substitute beautifully for the scallops if you prefer that. And if you can’t find anise hyssop leaves (they are uncommon), fresh mint makes a delicious variation.Serves 66 large Hokkaido scallops2 Persian cucumbers2 teaspoons sugar, plus more if needed30 anise hyssop leaves, plus a few more (with flower) for garnish1 cup grapeseed oil2 serrano chiles, stemmed¾ cup Bearss or key lime juice¼ cup Meyer lemon juice¼ cup mandarin orange juiceSea salt to tastePlace 6 flat bowls in the refrigerator or freezer to chill.Remove the foot from each scallop, rinse under cold water, and pat dry. With the flat side of the meat down, slice each scallop in half, making two disks, then dice both into ½-inch pieces. Place in a container lined with a clean linen towel and refrigerate until needed.Wash and dry the cucumbers and chop into ½-inch pieces, leaving the skin on. Place into a bowl, add 2 teaspoons sugar, and macerate until the sugar dissolves and the cucumber softens and releases its liquid. Set aside in the refrigerator to keep cold.Prepare an ice water bath and, separately, bring a pot of water to a roiling boil. Add a pinch of salt. Drop in the anise hyssop leaves (or mint) and blanch until they are soft, 20 to 30 seconds. Remove with a fine-mesh skimmer (called a spider) and shock the leaves in the ice water. Drain the leaves, squeezing out any excess moisture. Purée in a blender with grapeseed oil until completely smooth. Refresh the ice water bath and have a small stainless steel bowl ready to rest in the bath. Working swiftly, pour the hyssop oil into a saucepan and quickly bring to a simmer. After just a few seconds, remove from the heat and pour into the metal bowl over the ice bath. Stir to cool quickly. When cooled, strain through a coffee filter to obtain a clear, green-tinted aromatic oil.Rinse chiles and drain them well. Place chiles and the 3 citrus juices into a blender and mix on high until fully combined. Add salt to taste. If the liquid is too spicy, add a bit of sugar to tone it down. Strain the aguachile liquid into a nonreactive container. To serve, divide chopped scallops among the 6 chilled bowls. Spoon some macerated cucumber around the scallops, being sure to include some of the cucumber liquid. Spoon a few tablespoons of aguachile liquid around the scallops, then spoon a few beads of hyssop oil into the liquid. Finish by tearing some hyssop leaves and spreading the sweet flowers over the bowl. Garnish the scallops with a few grains of coarse salt and serve immediately. 162 L.A. MEXICANOBEBIDAS 163La HuatulcoCecilia Murrieta, La Niña del MezcalThis refreshing cocktail is named after the resort town of Huatulco, Oaxaca, near the Pacific Ocean, a special place for Cecilia Murrieta. Let this cocktail take you back to the beginning of mezcal’s third wave, when young entrepreneurs like Cecilia began to craft artisanal mezcales for the US consumer, a trend that is just getting started. Trust me, it will dominate the Mexican spirit category in the coming years. Makes 1 cocktailLa Niña del Mezcal Jamaica salt and edible flowers sea salt or margarita salt1 lime1½ ounces La Niña del Mezcal Espadin½ ounce Aperol¼ ounce Giffard Banane du Brésil liqueur ¼ ounce Giffard vanilla liqueur 1½ ounces fresh pineapple juice½ ounce lime juice 1 ounce Coco Lopez coconut cream 1 ice cubeCrushed icePlace the two salts on a small plate and stir to combine. Quarter the lime and rub a wedge around the rim of a tall Collins glass, then dip it in the salt mixture. Place mezcal, Aperol, liqueurs, juices, coconut cream, and ice cube in a cocktail shaker and shake vig-orously for 30 seconds until the mixture is frothy. Pour into prepared glass without straining and top with crushed ice.Soledad’s Tepache Soledad Lopez (see profile page 61)There are many great tepaches out there, but count on the Oaxacans to deliver the most robust flavor to this fermented pineapple drink. Soledad Lopez uses a long fermentation to really bring out the true funky flavors. This is a perfect beverage for summer, a refreshing and layered potion that works great at a pool party or at a table laden with traditional Oaxacan food. Makes 16 8-ounce drinks1 whole pineapple, rind removed and cut into small chunks2 pounds piloncillo (brown sugar cane)10 cloves1 stick cinnamon5 black peppercorns 3 liters (12½ cups) water Lime wedges, optionalChile powder, optionalKosher salt, optionalPurée pineapple in small batches in a blender and pour into a large glass jar. Stir in brown sugar and add cloves, cinnamon, and pepper-corns. Pour in water and stir to combine.Seal jar tightly with a lid and set to fer-ment in a cool, dry place with no direct sun-light for 10 days, gently stirring the mixture every 3 days to break up the brown sugar.On the 11th day, taste and correct the flavors, adding more brown sugar if desired. Pour tepache through a strainer into another jar or pitcher for serving. Store in the refrig-erator to cool, and serve cold over ice. If you like, rub the rims of the serving glasses with lime and dip into a chile powder–salt mixture for presentation and tradition. We hope youenjoyed this EYB Book PreviewThe complete book is available from all major booksellers. Or use the "Buy Book" button and help support EYB.Next >