Viva Mexico! How fortuitous for us to be in Mexico on our International Cooking Tour the week of Mexican Independence Day, September 16th. This is the 204th anniversary of Mexico’s fight for independence from Spain. The struggle for Mexican independence dates back to the decades after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. History is a fascinating thing and each country has such a great story to tell of how the conquered and the conquerors foods, religions and inventions blend together to make the country what it is today.
The Mayan civilization dates back to 250 B.C. and they weren’t even the first people to inhabit what is now known as Mexico but that’s too long a tale to tell when you’re waiting for dinner! Let’s jump back to 1325 and the beginning of the Aztec Empire. They started out as a little nomadic tribe and over time banded together to form a three-way alliance with two other city-states, conquer their major rivals and establish joint control over the region. By 1428 the mighty Aztecs developed an intricate social, political, religious and commercial organization, with an economy driven by bustling markets.
In 1519, Cortés set sail from Cuba with 11 ships on the request of Diego Velásquez, the governor of Cuba for Spain. With more than 450 soldiers, and a large number of supplies, they arrive in the Yucatan. The Spaniards brought pigs and with pigs comes lard! This forever changed their way of cooking from pits in the ground to frying foods.
The regional cuisine of Mexico is very diverse and each of the six regions are known for their different styles of cooking and the ingredients they use. Only 12% of the country gets enough rain to grow crops so the style of farming produces a more arid fertile agriculture. Northern Mexico has cattle ranching and uses flour tortillas (wheat brought by the Spanish), Central Mexico is the breadbasket and most agricultural area of Mexico and is the largest producer of avocados. Food is heavily corn based so corn tortillas are more typically eaten here, not flour tortillas. With over 400 varieties of Agave grown here, the climate is perfect for producing Tequila and Mezcal. It is also the home of the Zacahuil ~ the 3-6 foot tamale that will feed over 50 people and take up to 12 hours to cook. Now that’s a party!
Southern Mexico relies on seafood as a staple and has intensive sugarcane, coffee bean and cacao production. The Yucatan Peninsula, home of the ancient Mayas, uses venison and wild turkeys in their cooking and black beans instead of Pinto beans are eaten in this region. The Pacific Coast boasts the largest fishing fleet, brings us Mariachi music, 7 major varieties of Mole and the tradition of Rodeo! Last but not least, Baja California! For us lucky Californians it’s just a quick trip over the border to savor the flavors and excitement that is Mexico and it’s people. Valley de Guadalupe is an up and coming wine region, referred to by many as the Napa Valley of Mexico.
A fun little tidbit about Caesar Salad, although associated with Italian food, it was created in Tijuana, B.C., Mexico! Restaurateur Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant who operated restaurants in Mexico and the United States is credited with the creation of this famous salad. As the story goes, in 1924 Cardini was living in San Diego but also working in his Tijuana restaurant and they experienced an unusual holiday rush that wiped out most of his food supply. Wanting to please his guests, he scraped together what was left in the kitchen and created the Caesar Salad, tossed it table side for dramatic flair and the rest is history!
Now that was a mouthful of regional cuisine! Back to the past……defying the authority of Velasquéz, Cortés founds the city of Veracruz, on the Gulf of Mexico directly east of Mexico City. Since Veracruz is a coastal city, fish and seafood play a prominent role in everyday cooking. The quality of red snapper usually used in Pescado (Fish) Veracruzana is hard to come by in the United States so we will use chicken. Still tastes great but if you can get your hands on some real red snapper, go for it like the natives do!
The depth of flavor in the sauce sets it apart from the usual tomato sauce flavor we have all come to expect. The flavor of cinnamon and cloves linger with a subtle hint of exotic spices and are intriguing to the palate. Give me more it says with each bite!
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet; add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Remove from the pan and set aside.
If you have larger chicken breasts, then butterfly them for even, fast cooking. If the breasts are smaller, use them whole and increase cooking time by 10 minutes.
Season chicken with pepper (hold back on the salt for now since there are so many natural salts in the other ingredients), add 2 tablespoon olive oil to pan and saute chicken breasts in same skillet to brown on both sides. Chicken will be cooked about half way through. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add onion and garlic mixture back into the pan. Oh, those lovely browned bits of flavor! Onions, garlic and browned bits! Now that is the beginning of a flavor powerhouse!
Lightly rinse the capers. Plenty of salt between the capers, olives and tomatoes so this is a great way to cut back on some of the saltiness.
Prep all of the sauce ingredients while the chicken is cooking. This is the key to having fun while you cook. Your next steps are already done and when it comes time to add them, you aren’t spinning around your kitchen like a whirling dervish or a chicken with your head cut off and over cooking the chicken. Mise en Place!
Add remaining ingredients to pan, bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes until mixture becomes almost a sauce-like consistency.
Add the chicken breasts back into the pan and cover the chicken with the sauce. Add a little more broth if needed to come up 2/3 of the way on the chicken breast. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes until chicken is done and tender. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
Serve with Mexican Rice (Arroz a la Mexicana) and Black Beans. Remember, black beans from this region not pinto (refried) beans.
Note: The olives and capers will add salt to the dish so be careful how much extra salt you add. Taste before adding any salt.
*Fresh Spices – Whole spices last twice as long as ground spices. In general, whole spices will last for two years while ground spices should be used within six to nine months for maximum flavor.
How do you know if they are fresh? Save the remainder of an almost empty container of cooking spices and compare it with the new one you buy. Once you’ve done this “smell comparison test” you’ll be so impressed by the difference between the old and new spices you will know exactly what you are smelling for next time!
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 cup white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 large chicken breasts, butterflied or 4 small whole breasts
- 1 - 16 ounce can diced tomatoes, including juice
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup green olives, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed to remove some salt, rough chopped
- 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano*
- 1 bay leaf*
- 1 small jalapeno, seeds and veins removed, thinly sliced in rounds
- 1 cinnamon stick, fresh*
- 2 whole cloves, fresh*
- Mexican Rice and Black Beans to serve with dish
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet; add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Season chicken with pepper, add 2 tablespoon olive oil to pan and saute chicken breasts in same skillet to brown on both sides. Chicken will be cooked about half way through. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add onion and garlic mixture back into the pan. Add remaining ingredients to pan, bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes until mixture becomes almost a sauce-like consistency.
- Add the chicken breasts back into the pan and cover the chicken with the sauce. Add a little more broth if needed to come up 2/3 of the way on the chicken breast. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes until chicken is done and tender. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve with Mexican Rice and Black Beans.
- Note: The olives and capers will add salt to the dish so be careful how much extra salt you add. Taste before adding any salt.
- *Fresh Spices - Whole spices last twice as long as ground spices. In general, whole spices will last for two years while ground spices should be used within six to nine months for maximum flavor.
- How do you know if they are fresh? Save the remainder of an almost empty container of cooking spices and compare it with the new one you buy. Once you've done this "smell comparison test" you’ll be so impressed by the difference between the old and new spices you will know exactly what you are smelling for next time!
I made this recipe for my family, but did not tell them it had simmered with cloves and a cinnamon stick in the sauce. My daughter took one bite and said, “This tastes like Christmas!” I asked her what recipe it tasted like and neither she, my son or husband could decide on the dish. Finally I told them the sauce had cooked with a whole cinnamon stick and they realized that it “tasted” like the smell of our Christmas potpourri! We loved it and everyone thought it was delicious!