"Zarela Martinez" news and stories

Our mini spotlight on Mexican favorites (see posts for barbecue-chicken quesadillas, fish tacos and breakfast burritos) today features the spirit of Oaxaca in these gorgeous charred and stuffed poblanos, better known as chiles rellenos. Mild by nature, the poblano can play host to stuffings as simple as the queso oaxaca and cilantro pictured above, to a mix of halibut, shrimp, calamari and crabmeat, as masterfully assembled by chef Roberto Santibañez in his cookbook Rosa's New Mexican Table.

Regional specialty queso oaxaca is a mild mozzarella-like cheese that's formed into ribbons and rolled into a ball. Think a ball of yarn, only cheese. If you can't find it in your local markets or specialty stores, you can order it online at igourmet.com. Mozzarella can be substituted, but there's nothing like the taste of the real thing.

Avocado-and-tomato salsa makes a great accompaniment in another cheese-based chile relleno recipe (this one made with a combination of Monterey Jack and Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses). For more on Oaxaca, check out chef Zarela Martinez's recent blog post.

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Seafood plus citrus equals ceviche, but, depending on where you're eating that ceviche, the citrus may be grapefruit juice (as in Chile), bitter-orange juice (Peru) or lemon juice (Panama). And the seafood may be shrimp, halibut, scallops or sea bass. This quintessentially Latin American dish is claimed by many countries, and is given a unique flavor in each. At the recent Taste of Tribeca event, chef Aarón Sanchez, of New York restaurant Centrico (which specializes in regional Mexican cooking), offered up this seafood blend in a sweet citrus sauce, and crisped up some plaintain chips to serve it with. Blogger peekandeat declared it the dish of the day.

You may have to stop by Centrico to try this version, but here's a Sanchez recipe for a scallop ceviche that sounds like it comes straight from Veracruz, Mexico: It's made with lemongrass, coconut milk and shredded coconut (along with lime juice, tomatoes and ginger). Which makes sense, since Sanchez is the son of chef, television personality, and cookbook author Zarela Martínez, who has brought the soul of Veracruz (and many other regions of Mexico) to the American kitchen. (A note on preparing ceviche: While most restaurant versions are made with raw fish marinated in the citrus mixture, for the sake of safety in the home kitchen, cook the fish a bit before combining it with the other ingredients, as in this Kitchen Daily recipe.)

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Let's not kid ourselves -- holidays have always been about the food. Hannukah has latkes. Thanksgiving has turkey. Independence Day has barbecue. Christmas is no exception, especially in Latin America. In Mexico and parts of the United States, Christmas is preceded by Las Posadas, a nine-day marathon of singing and eating. It begins Wednesday and lasts until Dec. 24.

The phrase "Las Posadas" translates to "the inns." It refers to the attempts of Mary and Joseph to find room at an inn for the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Each night, celebrants and musicians gather for candlelight processions, led by children dressed as the Holy Family and the Three Wise Men, and travel from home to home singing and requesting permission to enter until welcomed by an "innkeeper." At last, the food!

Among the essential dishes of holiday parties are ponche (punch), antojitos (snacks or appetizers), colaciones (light foods like sugar balls), pozole (hominy, pork and chile stew) and, of course, tamales, the ever-present Mexican holiday food. Ultimately, the foods and recipes are regionally dependent, as much of Mexican cuisine is. Zarela Martinez, matriarch of Mexican restaurants in New York and owner of Zarela, likes to serve pozole during Las Posadas. "It is easy to do and everyone loves it."