A Little Love Story for Valentine's Day

Also, the best Mexican breakfast. A recipe. And a vintage newspaper article.

I’m at the San Miguel de Allende Writer’s Conference and Literary Festival which is now in its 20th year, and I highly recommend it to anyone who’s in love with words. You won’t find more Interesting people or a more beautiful place.

Yesterday, when I was speaking, I mentioned this old article, so I thought I’d post it. While I was working on my talk I came upon an old newspaper clipping from about the same time, and just for fun I’ve posted that down below.

I’ve been spending time in the markets here in San Miguel, and chiles are everywhere. I just bought some dried guajillos to take home. Guajillo chiles aren't very hot, but they have a wonderfully fruity flavor with great depth.

One warning: this recipe isn't worth your time unless you can find fantastic chiles that have been dried in the not-so-distant past.

Easy Guajillo Salsa
12 dried guajillo chiles
1 large can whole peeled tomatoes
1/2 onion, peeled but not chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar - white or apple cider
Limes
Cilantro

Wipe your chiles (they tend to be dusty). Remove stems, seeds and veins.

Gently toast them in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until the aroma fills the kitchen. Be careful not to let them get too brown.

Throw the chiles, tomatoes, onion and garlic into a saucepan over high heat, breaking up the tomatoes on the side of the pan. If the mixture seems too thick, add a little water. When it begins to bubble rapidly, turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt, sugar and vinegar, and cook for another minute.

Let the mixture sit for a few minutes, then transfer to a blender and blitz until smooth. Cool and refrigerate.

I like this on tortillas topped with beans and melted cheese. I like to add a fresh salsa of chopped tomatoes, chiles and onions with a bit of lime juice. Then I spoon on the guajillo salsa.

If I'm not adding a layer of fresh salsa, I season the gujillo salsa with finely chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice - but you will undoubtedly have ideas of your own.

Ten years ago I was in Mexico City for a food conference called Dialogos de Cocina. We ate fantastic meals in all the best restaurants - but this was the meal that made the biggest impression on me.

2015

The wonderful chef, Alex Ruiz, a man with a big smile and a bigger heart, invited a group of us to have breakfast at his restaurant, Guzina Oaxaca (he's taken over the space in Polanco once occupied by chef Patricia Quintana).

It was, I think, the best breakfast I've ever eaten.

It started with hot chocolate- not too sweet, not too rich, tasting mostly of cocoa beans and extraordinarily refreshing.

And this plate of fresh vegetables…

which soon became a fresh salsa, pounded in a molcajete.

We spooned it onto quesadillas - cheese and squash blossoms folded into hand-patted, just made tortillas...

and onto these spectacular black beans, which were unlike any I've had before.  The beans were cooked with avocado leaf, which left behind a whisper of anise-like flavor, and epazote (the fiercest green I know), and then refried in lard with smashed plantain. The resulting flavor was sweet and vegetal, with the slightest hint of pork, as if a little pig had just passed through on his way to play.

That salsa also went onto these chilaquiles.

These pork ribs, cooked with chiles and purslane, were irresistible (and especially good scooped into black beans and wrapped in warm tortillas).

There was more to come. Huevos rancheros blanketed in a richly flavorful mole.

I still dream about that breakfast.

As promised, this article about me - in the days before disguises.