Tacopedia,
Déborah Holtz and Juan Carlos Mena, 2015 Mexico
A fabulous
book, a study of culture through food. Roasted pineapple is delicious with tacos! Anne
“Everything fits in a tortilla: As Mexican as mariachi
music, the taco is, without a doubt, Mexico’s most popular food . . . A taco,
at its simplest, is a tortilla, filling, and salsa – the other holy trinity in
Mexico – yet when these three elements are prepared with the proper care and
ingredients, tacos can be raised to the status of haute cuisine . . . the
humble tortilla has an extraordinary capacity for adapting itself to fillings
of every possible kind – meat, vegetables, fruit, cheese – and anything placed
in a tortilla is, by definition, a taco.” Alejandro Escalante
Roasted
Pineapple
Serves 4 – 6
1 small pineapple, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced; sugar;
sea salt; corn oil, if frying
1. Dust both sides of the pineapple slices with a little
sugar and salt
2. Roast the slices on a hot grill or griddle, or else fry
in a skillet with a little oil, on each side for about half a minute, or until
golden
3. Cut the slices into small chunks and serve on a plate
next to the salsas
Gringas
Serves 4
9 oz (250g) Oaxaca, chihuahua, or asadero cheese (or
another melting cheese); 6 – 12 4 ½” (11 cm) flour tortillas; 11oz (300g) meat
prepared al pastor style (steaks marinated, roasted on a griddle and sliced
into strips); salsa, roasted pineapple, chopped onion, and fresh cilantro, to
garnish
1. Make a quesadilla: put some cheese in a flour tortilla,
fold the tortilla in half, then warm both sides on a hot griddle until the
cheese has melted.
2. Open the quesadilla and add the prepared meat to the
melted cheese
3. Serve immediately with garnishes of your choice
