Breakfast at Chilhuacle Rojo in Oaxaca City
Weeks before we left for Oaxaca, I chose this blog-topic – Hole Molé – knowing that I would return from our visit excited to cook the 7 famous Oaxacan types of molé. But it’s not to be. After a week of food-filled Oaxacan days, I realized that Oaxacan food is just too complex for BigLittleMeals…and me. If I don’t want to track down the hoja santo, the chilhuacle rojo (which BTW is the name of one of our favorite cafes in Oaxaca), the avocado leaves, or the 25+ other ingredients that go into some moles, I’m guessing you won’t want to either.
So I’ll focus on three simple Oaxacan specialties: cheese, chocolate, and mezcal. Meanwhile, Andy – in Andy’s Corner – is busy trying to find out what gets lost in translation.
Molletes using ciabatta bread and served with salsas and sour cream at Boulenc in Oaxaca City
If you want Oaxacan – yet simple – go for a mollete. Toast bread (Mexican bolillos is traditional), add a thin layer of refried black beans and a little Oaxacan melting cheese, stick it under the broiler, and serve with a store-bought salsa and some sour cream or crema. At a fabulous bakery in Oaxaca City, Boulenc, molletes are made with ciabatta bread. I highly recommend that.
Chocolate ground for hot drinks at the Mercado 20 de Noviembre in Oaxaca City
Every market we visited in Oaxaca had a stand selling Mayordomo Chocolate, which is made in Oaxaca. And every market had bins of ground chocolate – to be used in drinks. So we’re offering up a recipe for a simple “snacking cake” with Mexican chocolate. It’s a cake which even I, as a certified non-chocolate-eater, could over-eat. If you can’t find Mexican chocolate, other bar chocolate can be substituted.
Taza Chocolate – Oaxacan-style chocolate made in Maine and available on Amazon
As for mezcal, I love this quote from the article “Mezcal Sunrise” in The New Yorker’s April 2016 issue: The first sip is mouthwash—harsh, disinfecting, functional. The second reveals the flavors. By the third, people are saying the word “magic,” and it’s not that embarrassing. How true – if you’re drinking mezcal straight (the purists’ preferred way). The first sip about blows you away – but it’s all good from then on out!
We’re partial to mezcal cocktails such as this pineapple-y margarita or Joe’s Mezcal Margarita or the Mezcal Negroni, which we blogged about earlier.
Oaxacan Gold Margarita
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Big Little Meals 