• robm on February 11, 2012

  This is a great book on the cooking of a Mexican region that doesn't get much foreign tourism. The state of Veracruz takes up a good part of Mexico's eastern coastline on the Gulf of Mexico. It was the first place the Spanish landed in their conquest of Mexico, so the main city, Veracruz, is very old and still one of the country's main ports. The cooking is strongly influenced by Cuba's, but being Mexico it's spicier. With such a long coastline, seafood is a local specialty. There were sugar plantations in the lowlands, so there's also an African influence from the slaves who were imported to work the sugar fields. The interior is mountainous and the capital city, Jalapa (or Xalapa) has its own specialties. Martinez is a well-known chef and cookbook writer. Check out her other cookbooks on Mexican cuisine, including a fine book on the cooking of Oaxaca.

• robm on July 05, 2011

  An excellent cookbook of one of Mexico's great regional cuisines. Veracruz isn't that well known by tourists, as it's on Mexico's Gulf Coast (most of the famous resorts are on the Pacific or Caribbean coasts) but it deserves to be visited more! The site where Europeans first laid eyes on Mexico, and the gateway for the Spanish conquest, Veracruz is an ancient city whose cuisine is influenced by traditional indigenous foods, but also European, Caribbean and African cooking. Great seafood recipes, being an historic port on the Gulf! It's a terrifically atmospheric city where you eat very, very well!

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Hashed fish with fresh herbs and olives (Minilla)

  • sometimes on May 30, 2026

    Halved the recipe except for the poaching liquid, otherwise made as written using redfish. I have no real reference for the dish but this was tasty served on some tostadas. Wish there were weights given for the herbs; the mint/parsley ratio ended up a smidge too mint heavy for me, might have rated it 5 if not for that. If making this again would also consider a more veg heavy version halving only the fish.

• Pompano wrapped in hoja santa (Pámpano en acuyo)

  • TrishaCP on March 05, 2015

    This was my first time cooking with hoja santa, and I enjoyed it's anise-like qualities. (Reminded me of tarragon a bit.) I didn't like the jalapeños in this preparation though, because the fish and hoja santa are so delicate in flavor, the chile kind of blew those flavors away.

• Red snapper Veracruz style (Huachinango a la Veracruzana)

  • mcvl on July 28, 2012

    Wonderful dish, I've been making it for years. I give it four stars as written, five in my variation, which adds to the broth/sauce mint leaves, raisins, the tiniest touch of ground clove, and enough lime juice to brighten all the flavors without tasting sour. I serve the pickled jalapenos on the side along with some fresh jalapenos and serranos to account for differences in the flame-resistance of various people's mouths.

• Peppered shrimp (Camarones a la pimienta)

  • nicolepellegrini on September 24, 2013

    This is a staple recipe in our house, whenever really quality shrimp and fresh peppers are available. Simple, fast and delicious. I like to use a mixture of at least three different peppers from sweet to hot for a more complex flavor.

  • TrishaCP on July 29, 2016

    This was simple and delicious. The tiny bit of mayonnaise does add a nice depth to the recipe. I only used half the chiles called for (serrano), but with their seeds as I really prefer the flavor the seeds impart.

• Shrimp or langoustines in chile sauce (Camarones o langostinos enchipotlados)

  • TrishaCP on October 21, 2023

    This was simple and delicious. I used spot prawns and had to sub dried chipotles with Sirarakhong Hathei chiles since I needed to use what was on hand. I did have the fresh hoja santa leaves, and they added a wonderful flavor to the dish.

• Hearts of palm salad (Ensalada de palmitos)

  • sometimes on April 06, 2026

    Made a half recipe, and honestly just let it rip in the blender instead of faffing about one step at a time in the food processor. A rich and mild flavor, obviously the chosen olive oil will make a big difference here. The book suggests this as a standalone side and I wasn’t a huge fan of that, the scallions aren’t enough interest on their own imo, but I really enjoyed this as a base for charred broccolini. I’d also use this as a lighter sub for mayo on a sandwich, etc. Probably won’t make this specific recipe again but will tweak and add something based off this to my repertoire. Opt for smaller garlic clove

• Garlic butter enrichment (Ajo preparado)

  • sometimes on May 30, 2026

    Made as written en route to the Minilla recipe which turned out well. It’s garlic and butter! This recipe mentions cooking until the moisture is gone and it’s “bubbling in poppy craters”; the bubbling is really the thing to look for.