Cauliflower Cakes
Cauliflower Cakes One of the most popular vegetables at Zarela were our broccoli cakes and I’ve taken to making them with different vegetables and they are all delicious. I especially like these that I came up with the other day. 2 cups very finely chopped...
Cauliflower Pancake (Torta de coliflor)
A favorite appetizer at my restaurant Zarela used to be small deep-fried tortitas (fritters) of broccoli florets in a delicate batter. They’re not something I’d cook for myself at home, but they were the inspiration for this streamlined dish based on cauliflower. It’s...
Sweet Preserved Pumpkin (Calabaza en Tacha)
The Days of the Dead (November 1 and 2) are not only one of the most dramatic of Oaxacan fiestas but among the most family centered. Altars dedicated to los difuntos (“departed ones”) appear everywhere — outside churches, on shop premises, and...
Miahuatlán-Style Tamales (Tamales Miahuatecos)
María Concepción Portillo de Carballido, the well known Oaxacan cooking teacher, introduced me to these pumpkin-enriched tamales from the neighborhood of Miahuatlán in the Sierra Madre de Sur. I included an adapted version of the recipe in my first book, but it is so...
Pork with Mashed Pumpkin (Puerco con Calabaza)
Pork with Mashed Pumpkin (Puerco con Calabaza) This Pork with Mashed Pumpkin is one of my absolute favorite Mexican pumpkin recipes. The sauce can be served as a soup or as a pasta sauce even. I’ve served it with pumpkin agnolotti. 2 pounds boneless pork butt (cut in...
The many lives of Zarela Martínez
Culinary legend Zarela Martínez introduced finely tuned, highly researched regional Mexican cuisine to a national stage, and has continued to blaze trails for more than three decades.