IWNA 2019 Issue 2

31 / 92

INTERVAL WORLD ■ Issue 2, 2019 29
Showing the world ../Getty Images; ©fitopardo.com/Getty Images
cheese similar to mozzarella), and salsa. Another treat you’ll come
across in Oaxaca’s street stalls are chapulines (roasted grasshoppers),
which were an important source of protein for Mesoamerican natives
before the Europeans arrived with cattle. The grasshoppers are sea-
soned with chile, lime, and garlic, and served on a taco or tlayuda, or
eaten on their own — like munching on roasted peanuts. Myth has it
that if you eat chapulines, you’ll return to Oaxaca someday.
This bountiful region was also blessed with the elixir of the gods:
mezcal. This powerful spirit made from various types of agave plants is
mainly produced in Oaxaca state and, unlike its Jalisco-based cousin,
tequila, has a more complex and old-school distillation process.
Although it’s not impossible to take mezcal back home, enjoy a tasting
at one of the area’s artisanal distilleries, called palenques.
YUCATÁN: LAND OF THE ANCIENT MAYANS
Driven by its Mayan roots, mixed with European flavors and Caribbean
spices, the cuisine in the Yucatán Peninsula was isolated from the rest
of Mexico until about the 1950s. Ingredients such as achiote (annatto
seed) and bitter orange (from Seville, Spain) are more common here
than anywhere else in the country, and many of the emblematic meals
come from Mayan recipes.
Just as Oaxaca has its moles, Yucatecan cuisine has its recados,
or seasoning pastes. Two of the most famous dishes in the region,
cochinita pibil (slow-roasted pork) and tikin xic (roasted fish), are mari-
nated with recado rojo (a red paste with achiote and bitter orange juice)
and cooked wrapped in a banana leaf. The most complex marinade
is recado negro, a blackened-chile paste used to make relleno negro
(black broth with turkey, sausage, and hard-boiled egg).
These specialties are found throughout the peninsula, so look
for them on the dinner menu, whether you’re in Playa del Carmen or
Cancún. And if you’re in Mérida, visit the Museo de la Gastronomía
Yucateca, a museum and restaurant that pays homage to ancient
culinary traditions, and features a replica of a Mayan village. n
AS REAL AS IT GETS
As of 2017, there were close to 60,000 Mexican
restaurants in the U.S. — with nearly one in 10
eateries having Mexican menus. And while Taco Bell
was voted best Mexican restaurant in America last
year, the Mexican food landscape is not all chalupas
and tacos — if you know where to look. Add these
restaurants to your must-try list, all within Interval
vacation areas:
San Francisco, California
Cala and Tacos Cala by Mexico City chef Gabriela
Cámara |
Chicago, Illinois
Frontera Grill and Topolobampo by celebrity chef
Rick Bayless |
Los Angeles, California
Guelaguetza Restaurante, a family-owned
Oaxacan eatery, and Broken Spanish by chef Ray
Garcia |
New York City, New York
Cosme and Atla, co-owned by world-renowned
chef Enrique Olvera and run by chef Daniela
Soto-Innes | ;
Phoenix, Arizona
Barrio Café and Barrio Café Gran Reserva by
chef Silvana Salcido Esparza |
Washington, D.C., Area
Urbano 116 , run by Mexico City chef Alam Méndez
Florián, and Amparo Fondita by chef Christian
Irabién | ;
3 ounces tender, cooked, and diced octopus
2 ounces diced pork rinds
2 ounces fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 ounce cubed tomatoes
1 ounce finely chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons cubed white onions
2 teaspoons avocado cream
1 teaspoon finely sliced serrano pepper
1 teaspoon sliced spring onions
1 teaspoon finely sliced radishes (in halves)
1/4 teaspoon cilantro microgreens
Sea salt and black ground pepper (as needed)
Mix the octopus, pork rinds, lemon juice,
tomatoes, cilantro, and white onions, and
season with salt and pepper to taste. Set on
a plate. Add avocado cream, serrano pepper,
spring onions, and radishes, and finish with
microgreens. Serve chilled.
MAKE YOUR OWN
After tasting the flavors of Mexico, bring them to life in your resort unit’s kitchen
with this recipe from chef Daniela Vallejo Serrano of Azul Beach Resort Riviera
Cancun by Karisma in Riviera Maya.
Kastakán (Pork Rind) and Octopus Ceviche
Courtesy of Karisma Hotels & Resorts