Enjoy these authentic recipes from hotels and resorts in the Mexican Caribbean and Los Cabos.
Su Casa Plant-Based Chilaquiles
by Chef Eugenio Villafaña at Palmaïa – The House of AÏA
Tortilla chips
- 16 5” corn tortillas cut into one-inch squares
- Vegetable oil in a spray bottle
Charred tomato sauce
- 2 spoons olive oil
- 10 ripe plum tomatoes
- 1 yellow onion
- 6 garlic cloves, large
- 3 pieces morita pepper
- 1 spoon of Chef’s seasoning*
- A bunch of fresh cilantro Vegetable stock* as needed
Add-ons
- 2 cups “de la olla” beans*
- Plant-based sour cream*
- Plant-based fresh cheese*
- 2 ripe avocados
- Fresh cilantro sprigs
Directions
Tortilla chips: Preheat oven at 350°F. Place tortilla squares over baking sheet, spraying vegetable oil making sure all tortillas are coated. Cook for 5 minutes, stir constantly for a total of 20 minutes. Let it cool aside.
Charred tomato sauce: Heat up the grill (if not available, keep your oven on). Boil 2 cups of water, remove from heat and add the morita peppers. Set aside. Remove stem end sides of the tomatoes, peel onion, peel garlic. Coat all vegetables with olive oil and place over the grill or a baking sheet and stick it the oven, turning them time to time until charred.
Blend tomatoes, onion, garlic, hydrated morita peppers and cilantro with a spoon of Chef’s seasoning, adding just a fair amount of vegetable stock to allow a proper smooth blending.
Transfer sauce to a heated pan with a spoon of olive oil and carefully “fry” the sauce, adjust season with sea salt. Let it boil for 3 to 5 minutes to medium heat.
Serving: Place tortilla chips in a heated casserole, once the sauce is ready, add the hot red salsa until the tortillas are fully coated with the sauce. You can add less sauce if you want them less soupy. Transfer to a plate or bowl layered with desired amount of “de la olla” beans, sour cream, fresh cheese, pickled onions, diced avocados and fresh cilantro sprigs. Buen provecho!
Traditional Mexican Aguachile
by Chef Carlos Gaytan, Ha’ Restaurant at Hotel Xcaret Mexico and Tzuco
- 2 lbs. Shrimp peeled and cleaned
- 10 guajillo peppers
- 1 qt. brown onion, finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 limes, juiced
- 1 English cucumber, peeled, seedless and diced
- 1 red onion, finely sliced
- 2 oz. ginger, peeled
- Olive oil
- Salt
Directions
Aguachile sauce: Put the guajillo peppers in a bowl of lukewarm water and place a small plate on top to keep them submerged. Leave to soak until soft and fully rehydrated (this can take as long as 15-30 minutes, depending on the size) and change color. In a skillet on medium-high heat, add olive oil. Sauté brown onion and garlic cloves until they are caramelized and softened. Then, in a blender, mix the guajillo peppers, guajillo pepper’s water, brown onion, ginger, garlic and lime juice season with salt.
Shrimp: Add the shrimp in boiled water for 5 seconds. Then, rinse the shrimp in cold water for 15 seconds and pat dry with paper towels and transfer back to a bowl.
Finishing: Add red onion, shrimp, cucumber, aguachile sauce and season with salt.
Baja Fish Tacos
by Hacienda Encantada Resort & Residences
Fish
- 1 lb halibut, cut into 1 x 3 inch pieces
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp coriander
- Lime zest
- 1 T canola oil
- ¼ tsp salt
Crema
- 8 oz. sour cream
- 2 tbsp. lime juice
- lime zest
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Pico de Gallo
- 1.5 lbs. tomatoes, chopped
- 3/4 cup red onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, chopped
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- corn tortillas
- shredded cabbage
Directions
Halibut: Mix chili powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, coriander, lime zest, and salt in bowl. Cover halibut with above mix. Heat canola oil in frying pan over medium heat. Cook halibut in pan for 2 minutes on each side
Crema: Add sour cream, lime juice, lime zest, cumin and salt to small bowl and mix. Add water if too thick
Pico de Gallo: Place tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and salt in mixing bowl and mix. Add halibut to corn tortilla, top with shredded cabbage, pico de gallo and cream and enjoy right away!
Pan de Mole
by Belmond Maroma Resort & Spa
Sourdough
- 500 g wheat flour
- 500 ml water
Pan de Mole
- 1,750 g of flour
- 35 g salt
- 55 g yeast
- 525 g pre-prepared sourdough
- 350 g black mole paste
- Sesame seeds
- 1 lt ice water
Directions
To begin, you will need to prepare the sourdough three days in advance. On the first day mix 100g of wheat flour with 100ml of water, and leave to stand for 24 hours. If the dough has bubbles, remove half the mixture and replace with the same amount of flour, mixing again. If no bubbles have formed allow to rest for another day.
On day three, whether or not bubbles have formed, again remove half the mixture and replace with the same amount of flour, integrating once more. The sourdough is now ready to prepare for pan de mole.
In a mixer, add all the pan de mole ingredients and mix thoroughly. Leave to stand for 30 minutes. Slowly add the water to assist with fermentation, then leave to stand for 20 minutes.
Form the dough into small balls of approximately 50g and place on a waxed paper-lined tray. Add sesame seeds and allow to ferment for 2 hours, or when the dough has doubled in size.
Put the tray into the oven, pre-heated to 200-degrees celsius. Throw a splash of water onto the oven floor and immediately close the door. Leave to bake for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned.