• mjes on October 23, 2019

  Guacamole pp 252 with lime-cilantro-oregano-serrano is a winner as is ensalada de Nopalitos con chile guajillo pp. 138 garlic-onion-guajillo-chile de arbol-oregano-cumin. Can't wait to try other recipes.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Black bean paste (Pasta de frijol negro)

  • tekobo on May 30, 2021

    Lovely soothing paste to smear across your tortilla to start a great taco.

  • violi on November 06, 2021

    This was delicious. Can't wait to cook more from this book.

  • laura_qs4g4l on March 28, 2026

    Taste is great. Not sure if you're supposed to drain beans before blending, cooking water is not measured. Ended up using about half the cooking liquid to blend the puree.

• Refried black beans (Frijoles refritos)

  • laura_qs4g4l on March 30, 2026

    I had to add another cup of water to get the beans to blend. Still tasted great.

• Pork rind paste (Aciento)

  • violi on November 06, 2021

    I used a full 16oz of rinds because the store sold me a full lb of rinds. This stuff is delicious. I ended up putting it in almost everything I was cooking for dinner.

• Chilaquiles in black mole sauce (Chilaquiles en mole negro)

  • laura_qs4g4l on March 30, 2026

    Yummm

• Pan-fried tortillas in a spicy black bean sauce (Enfrijoladas)

  • jenburkholder on July 20, 2021

    So good. Heavy, but utterly delicious IMO (I ate five). Serve with something sharp. Comes together quickly if you’ve made the beans in advance. Also, how did I never know how good avocado leaves are with black beans?

  • alysekstokes on May 22, 2025

    Made this using Rancho Gorda Santanero Negro Delgado beans and their broth and the sauce was absolutely fantastic! Topped the enfrijoladas with sliced avocado and cilantro.

• Oaxacan chicken soup (Caldo de fandango del valle)

  • elana.lepkowski on October 24, 2023

    I cooked a whole chicken unbroken for the first part and then shredded it while the tomatoes were cooking and added that back in to the soup for the simmering at the end.

• Black mole (Mole negro)

  • tges on April 08, 2021

    Sensational. Fun to make also. Really results in a silky, complex and gorgeous looking mole. I ended up getting cravings for it many times a day - over the next few days. A flavour which will just bewitch you. Beautiful had with just a tortilla but I do think I like it with pulled chicken in enmoladas. I am happy to keep this as my go-to mole negro recipe but I do plan on cooking Enrique Olvera's mole madre too so we'll see which one is the keeper.

  • jenburkholder on January 04, 2022

    Really good. We used a corn tortilla instead of cookies to keep it gluten-free, subbed cascabels for chilhuacle negros, and used veggie stock. Such a fascinating flavor, and the process, while labor-intensive, wasn’t hard. Ate it with soy curls / chicken (depending on family member) and warm tortillas, froze the rest for future deliciousness. Will be trying more moles from this book.

  • lucian_f0fcre on January 29, 2026

    Looks intimidating but I promise you this will be the best thing you’ve tasted in a while.

  • laura_qs4g4l on March 30, 2026

    I looooove mole negro. The result from this recipe was very delicious and a good consistency. A few notes from my cook: 1 - I had to sub a lot of chiles and that is likely part of why it isn't dark enough. I used cascabel, pasilla, and mulato negro 2 - I found it difficult to know how toasted was toasted enough. Last time I made mole negro (different recipe) I burned things too much and it was very bitter. This time I erred on the side of caution and ended up with more of a coloradito--i should have gone further. Photo for reference of my maria biscuits, almonds, and pineapple 3 - this took me literally 6 straight hours of cooking. Waaaaay longer than I expected to get everything toasted and strained through a double fine mesh sieve 4 - as with many recipes in the book, there are some editing issues. It's not clear if you should be using the reserved oil from the chile toasting in the seed mix toasting and the final paste cooking. They say to reserve the oil twice so I can't imagine you just reserve it and don't use it? But the recipe calls for separate oil in the ingredients so it's not super clear.

• White beans, nopales, and dried shrimp in yellow mole (Mole amarillo de frijol blanco con nopal y camarones secos)

  • Acarroll on June 25, 2023

    This had a ton of different steps, but by the time the soup was (finally) done, I kept stealing spoonfuls out of the pot because it was so good. But something happened to the leftovers! I'm not sure what, but I couldn't bring myself to eat them. Also note that the ingredient list has roma tomatoes which are never mentioned in the instructions.

• Chicken in creamy chipotle sauce (Pollo enchipotlado)

  • Kduncan on April 02, 2021

    This was really good, not too spicy hot, and the crema really balances out the spice that is there. Will make again.

  • tges on May 29, 2021

    Rather like a Mexican butter chicken. Resulting flavour rich and tasty. Delicious sauce.

  • mayfayflo on January 15, 2026

    Made it with chicken thighs instead of having to deal with a whole chicken. Absolutely delicious!

• Oregano fried chicken (Pollo al oregano)

  • jaxcap on September 09, 2023

    The chicken had amazing flavor, the potatoes not so much. It was probably my fault for steaming the potatoes in a pressure cooker to cook them though, next time I'd boil them with salt or something.

  • stepharama1 on April 11, 2025

    The technique of boiling and then frying the chicken produced a yummy, moist and very flavorful result. I used about half the weight of chicken (thighs only - not a whole chicken as directed) and almost the entire amount of spice paste (rather than half) and thought the flavoring was correct. Therefore, I would be sure to double the spice paste if I was cooking the entire weight of chicken - since I like perky flavors.

• Shredded chicken in a savory, sweet tomato sauce (Picadillo de pollo)

  • valbe on April 02, 2022

    This is a very good (sauce) recipe which is also suitable with ground beef. I will make it again to use in other recipes.

  • janeh9 on January 07, 2024

    Made this using shredded cooked turkey, and it was delicious! The recipe calls for 3 tbs sugar, but I found it well balanced and sweet enough with just one tablespoon…..and I don’t tend to reduce sugar in anything…

  • icooksometimes on June 04, 2025

    Omitted olives and half the sugar. Used chicken stock made earlier in the week to cook the chicken. Due to a vinegar skin allergy, used lime juice and extra chicken stock for the final cook on the chicken. We agreed it was delicious but would skip the raisins next time. I added fresh cherry tomatoes at the very end, they gave the acid the sauce needed without the vinegar.

• Oaxacan-style chiles rellenos (Chiles rellenos de picadillo)

  • david_5vnsgn on March 12, 2026

    Page 198

• Spaghetti in poblano salsa

  • Anea25 on February 27, 2025

    so simple, so few ingredients. the end result is so much more than the sum of its part. Great weeknight dinner

  • icooksometimes on June 17, 2025

    Very easy meal. I added a home-roasted red bell pepper because it was going to go bad. Few dishes, great lazy dinner when you need vegetables but without much effort

  • robert_mbrqeg on March 05, 2026

    Good, but felt like it was missing something.

  • nikki_ml27zt on May 26, 2026

    I LOVE green spaghetti, but I’m not sure if it’s just because I’m accustomed to another recipe or if this really is as bland as it seems. I like to add a roasted Serrano (no seeds - gives a little kick but not too spicy), chicken bouillon, and queso fresco straight into the blender. If I don’t add the queso fresco in the blender, I like to add a little Chihuahua cheese or shredded quesadilla cheese straight to the pasta when mixing.

• Griddled crispy empanadas stuffed with yellow mole and chicken (Empanadas de San Antonio)

  • Ehcoggin on August 26, 2024

    The ratio on the mole has to be wrong. I used even less dried chilies than it called for and it still made so much deep red mole.

• Crispy pork in a morita salsa (Salsa de carne frita)

  • jacqie on August 23, 2020

    Simpler than they seem.

• Baked, Isthmus-style mashed potatoes (Papa Istmeña)

  • tges on May 29, 2021

    To die for.

• Layered chocolate and flan cake (Chocoflan)

  • Chibblywibbly on January 09, 2026

    I found the instructions lacking and mine didn't turn out quite right... but did taste great!

• Creamy serrano salsa (Guacachile)

  • spacebaby on July 20, 2025

    Very good, but next time I'll add cilantro to make it greener, it looks like the color of Chinese mustard otherwise.

• Flor de piña

  • Baxter850 on March 13, 2026

    Pretty good. This is refreshing on a hot day. Definitely replace honey syrup (50% honey and 50% water) for that honey. Otherwise, the drink is way too sweet.

• Food52

  ...tells the story of the beloved Los Angeles restaurant, Guelaguetza, of the family who's been running it since 1994, and of an entire region—indeed, one of Mexico's major culinary hubs.

  Full review