Chipotle (tchee-POT-leh) is a smoke-dried ripe (red) jalapeno chile pepper used primarily in Mexican cuisine. Most chipotle chiles are produced in the state of Chihuahua including the popular variety known as a Morita. In central and southern Mexico, chipotle chiles are known as chile meco, chile ahumado, or típico. Chipotle can be purchased dried whole, powdered, or jarred/canned in adobo sauce.
Cabeza– People often mistake tacos featuring “cabeza” to mean “brain” but that is not correct. In Mexican cuisine, cabeza (literally ‘head’) includes all the meaty bits from the head of an animal, served in tacos or burritos. Patrons may request a mix or particular parts such as ojo (eye), oreja (ear), cachete (cheek), lengua (tongue), or labios (lips). If you specifically want the brain (a delicious choice), ask for seso.
Read more about the allure of cabeza here.
Champurrado is a thick chocolate variety of atole, a hot beverage made with finely ground corn flour (masa). The people of Mexico have been making and drinking atole for as far back as there are records of Aztec history. Today, champurrado is most often purchased from street vendors and paired with a tamale or churros for breakfast. The drink is sweetened with piloncillo (minimally processed sugar cane) and may be flavored with cinnamon, anise seed, and/or vanilla. The bolus dose of sugar and carbohydrates fuels laborers across Mexico well into the afternoon.
Bacalao is Cod fish that has been preserved by salting and drying, a process that dates back at least 500 years. Accounts of French explorer, Jacques Cartier, depicted a virtual armada of Basque ships fishing for cod off the Grand Banks off Newfoundland. Indeed, it was the creation of bacalao that enabled the fearless Basques to feed hungry sailors while crossing the world’s oceans in search of whales, cod and other catch.
Before it can be eaten, hard planks of bacalao must be rehydrated and desalinated by soaking in cold water for about three days, changing the water two to three times a day. If you have access to a cool, clean stream or river, do it the way clever inland Basques have for centuries – string it to a rock in the current and let the salt wash away.
Once rinsed, the flavor and firm texture of rehydrated bacalao are nothing like the cod that takes a direct route from ocean to table. The salt cod is perfect as a versatile filling for croquetas, tortilla de patata, stuffed piquillo peppers, served stewed as Bacalao a la Vizcaina, or simply fried.
Barbacoa is generally credited to the Mexican culture, but the term barbacoa originated in the Caribbean. As the traditional cooking method arrived with Caribbean people, voluntarily and otherwise, the term “barbecue” was born in the American South. In Mexico, barbacoa traditionally refers to whole, portioned beef, sheep or goat slow-cooked in a pit covered with maguey leaves. However, I’ve eaten a lot of delicious barbacoa in pit-less establishments that forego whole-animal butchery, leading me to believe that slowly steamed meats can be rendered tender and unctuous otherwise, although less romantically. Learn more about the process of cooking barbacoa here.
Albariño (“alba-reen-yo”) is a high-quality, light-bodied white wine produced mostly in Spain and Portugal, although winemakers in California, Oregon, Australia and elsewhere are getting in on the action.
Alubias is a general term for beans in Spain, as frijoles is in Mexico and habichuela is in Puerto Rico. There is a term in Spanish that is elemental to making a picture perfect potaje or bean stew: “Asustar las alubias”, meaning scare the beans. This method prevents the skin from breaking and peeling while they cook. Simply watch the beans come to a boil and then pour in a cup of cold water, lowering the cooking temperature. Repeat this terrifying sequence a few more times so that the frightened beans cling tightly to their thin coats to protect their creamy centers.
Amuse-bouche – An internet search of this term brings up more than a dozen references to an episode of Friends before letting Wikipedia elbow in with some actual information. I would be more ashamed of American pop culture if I were not such a huge fan of Friends, and had not, mostly likely, learned the term with that episode. Simply put, it is the first thing that hits the table in traditional European fine dining. It is a gift from the kitchen, served free of charge. No more than single bite, it serves a BIG role by providing the first impression of the Chef’s skills. It CAN NOT be meh.
Chocolate clams (Almeja Chocolata in Spanish) are one of the largest West Coast bivalves–reaching up to six inches across. Its chocolate brown shell (thus the name) houses a sweet, meaty clam that is as beautiful to behold as it is delicious to eat. They are harvested along the Pacific side of Baja, throughout the Sea of Cortez, and along the Mexican mainland coast all the way to Guatemala. For nearly 70 years these clams were contraband in the US but are now legal, if you can find them. Catalina Offshore (San Diego, CA) is a good place to start.
Fond is a French term that refers to the browned bits and caramelized drippings of meat and vegetables that end up stuck to the pan after sautéing or roasting. Though it may look like a dishwasher’s headache, fond will impart rich, umami flavor into your dish or pan sauce when you deglaze the pan with a liquid or an aromatic like onion.