Yes! You can eat at Mexican food at Zarela if you’re on a diet!
January 4, 2010
Thanks to Tex-Mex, all Mexican food has gotten the reputation of being greasy, heavy and fattening at least among those who haven’ t traveled in Mexico or haven ‘t dined at restaurants such as Zarela and other fine Mexican dining establishments around the country.
This is especially unfortunate at this time of the year when everyone [...]
Pastel de Carne del Istmo – Oaxacan Meat Loaf
December 7, 2009
Pastel de Carne del Istmo
Isthmian-Style Meat Loaf
No one can say that this meat loaf is boring! It absolutely explodes with intense flavors, including various smoked, canned, or pickled ingredients that are popular in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. This dish is a favorite there at the parties accompanying the velas (patron saints’ fiestas) of the neighborhoods [...]
Our Lady of Guadalupe
November 30, 2009
The next big celebration in the Mexican and Mexican/American calendar is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12. The festivities begin around midnight with a serenade by groups of mariachis and other singers that is kicked off with Las Mananitas, the Mexican birthday song. The Virgin of Guadalupe has symbolized the Mexican nation [...]
Ask Zarela: Where can I get hoja santa?
November 23, 2009
Question: Hi, I love your books! Do you know anywhere to order Hoja Santa online?
Answer:
Generation Farms1109 North McKinney,Rice, Texas 75155
telephone 903-326-4263; fax: 903-326-6511
www.generationfarms.com
I had written the following post on the subject but it bears repeatimg:
Hoja Santa. I have been trying to bring true Mexican flavors to the U.S. for almost fifteen years and have had [...]
Brussels sprouts with chorizo
November 16, 2009
You either love or hate Brussels sprouts but for those who love them here is an exceptional way fo preparing them that my son Aaron came up with it. At my restaurant Zarela we use our homemade chorizo instead of the Spanish.
2 pounds Brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces Spanish hard chorizo, diced into 1/4-inch [...]
Eggplant – Berenjena
September 9, 2009
We seldom ate eggplant at home when we were little though it was always a favorite at Italian restaurants. But it’s eggplant season and they are glorious now and I’ve been experimenting. I’ve turned eggplant parmigiana into berenjena a la veracruzana and dropped the cheese, resurrected a recipe my first chef Tony Collicchio created at [...]
Tomates de Milpa- Currant tomatoes
August 14, 2009
Well it’s finally tomato season in New York and Tim Stark of Eckerton Hill Farm , a frequent contributor to Gourmet Magazine who sells an amazing variety of chiles and heirloom tomatoes will soon probably have currant tomatoes or tomates de milpa (literally field tomatoes,) as they are called in the Catemaco region of Veracruz.
This [...]
Squash Blossoms – Flor de Calabaza
July 17, 2009
As I’ve mentioned before in this section, in Mexico there is an age-old tradition of using every part of a plant. Squashes in particular yield a wealth of delicious dishes. The tendrils go into sopa de guias, a light chicken broth seasoned with a sauteed recaudo of tomatoes, onions, chile and garlic and cubes of [...]
Jicama
July 1, 2009
Jicama is the tuber of a plant indigenous to Mexico and Central America. The botanical name, Pachyrhizus erosus, is derived from the Greek pachys — thick and coarse, as in “pachyderm!” It has a crisp texture, somewhere between an apple and a raw potato, and a mild, nutty flavor. Low in calories, it is always [...]
Blackberries or Moras
June 16, 2009
Bret Thorn wrote an article on blackberries for Nations Restaurant News and posted it on his Facebook profile. Of course no Mexican recipes were included because no one associates blackberries with Mexican cooking but they are very much used in both the cooking of Michoacan where they make delicious tamales with a type of wild [...]




