Mexico in L.A. : Wrap Stars

“I didn’t want the recipes to be the same as those in every other book on Mexican cooking,” explained Susanna Palazuelos. Instead, many of those she provided for the new “Mexico the Beautiful Cookbook” (Collins Publishers: 1991, $45) came from her own repertoire; some from other well-known Mexican cooks.

The Palazuelos family has a long history linked to food. An ancestor, Narciso Bassols, wrote “La Cocinera Poblana” in 1895, one of Mexico’s first cookbooks. Following in this tradition, Palazuelos began collecting recipes at age 17.

Today she is an Acapulco-based caterer and member of the Circulo Mexicano de Arte Culinario. Formed in 1981, this group of nine female cooking experts is dedicated to preserving, enhancing and promoting the regional dishes of Mexico. Palazuelos has been active in the research and collection of what she terms “lost recipes”--those that failed to be passed along from generation to generation.

“It took me eight years to get the recipe for chiles en nogada (chiles in walnut sauce),” Palazuelos said. It was created by the Augustine nuns of Puebla for a visit by emperor, Con Augustin de Iturbide. Alcachofas de la hacienda (hacienda-style artichokes) comes from her great-great grandmother.

Ensalada Cesar (Caesar salad) is based on the original recipe developed by two Italian brothers, Alex and Caesar Cardini, in their Tijuana restaurant in the late 1920s. “What they call Caesar salad in the States doesn’t resemble Caesar salad anymore,” Palazuelos said.

She points with pride to tortitas de tuetano (bone marrow patties), a century-old recipe, and chiles moritas rellenos con salsa de nuez (stuffed chiles moritas with walnut sauce), that uses the small dried and smoked morita chiles, not easily found outside Mexico. ( Chipotle chiles may be substituted.)

The book’s glossary explains ingredient substitutions have been noted in many of the recipes. “The resulting dish may not have the authentic flavor of the original, but it will still retain its basic character and be a satisfying part of a Mexican meal. Just remember that these recipes were created from the plants and animals of a specific region, and so they may vary even when made in a different part of Mexico. Your substitutions are just one more variation in the evolution of these dishes.”

This was evident when Palazuelos demonstrated Fresh Corn Tamales in The Times Test Kitchen. The book says this of the recipe: “For some reason these delicate fresh corn tamales of Michoacan are never quite the same when prepared elsewhere, but they still are unique and very good. In Mexico they would be made with fresh field corn, which has a higher starch content. The best substitute is corn that has been picked for several days and is not too sweet or tender.”

We purchased unhusked corn several days before her visit and kept it refrigerated. Palazuelos began preparation by washing the ears, drying them with paper towels and removing any dried ends and silk from the tops (Step 1).

She used a chef’s knife to slice through the thick end of the ears (Step 2), then carefully peeled off the husks so they didn’t break (Step 3). These were washed, dried and set aside.

Again using a chef’s knife, she cut enough kernels from the cobs (Step 4) to equal five cups. The kernels were placed in a bowl and Palazuelos moistened her hands with water and stirred the corn so any remaining silk stuck to her fingers and could be removed (Step 5).

She placed about one cup of the kernels at a time in a food processor (a blender may also be used) and processed them just until the kernels were chopped. The finished texture was about the consistency of cottage cheese or cooked oatmeal (Step 6).

This procedure was repeated until all the corn had been processed, then sugar, salt and softened butter were stirred in. Although the recipe calls for milk, the corn we used had enough liquid that only a portion of the 1/3 cup called for needed to be added.

The husks from our corn were not as large as those from the Mexican variety, so Palazuelos showed how two could be placed together (Step 7). She spooned about a tablespoon of the corn mixture near the center of the husks (Step 8), folded the sides over the filling, then folded in the ends (Step 9).

We used a traditional tamalero for cooking the tamales, but any deep steamer will do. Place water in the bottom, position the steaming rack and line it with a few corn husks, if desired.

Stand the prepared tamales in the steamer (Step 10), being careful not to crush them. Cover with another layer of corn husks, place the lid of the steamer on top as tightly as possible and bring the water to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer the tamales about an hour, depending on their size. When cooked, the filling will appear curdled. Allow them to cool at least 20 minutes so the filling dries and doesn’t stick to the husks, then remove from the husks before serving and garnish the tamales with freshly prepared or bottled salsa and creme fraiche or sour cream.

Although the book claims all the recipes were tested in the United States with locally obtained ingredients, they are not flawless. Palazuelos told us she tried 10 to 20 recipes to get the best one for three-milk cake, yet it lists baking powder in the ingredients and doesn’t tell you when it should be added. (We assume you combine it with the flour.) Also, ingredients in this and some of the other recipes are not listed in the order of usage, a standard cookbook procedure.

Egg whites in the frosting for this same cake will probably reach the 160 degrees needed to kill salmonella when the boiling syrup is added, but no indication has been made that this is a must. Nor is any disclaimer added.

On the whole, however, the recipes are infinitely more usable than those in “Italy the Beautiful,” the first book in this series. In addition, this is not only a cookbook, but a coffee-table-quality pictorial account of Mexican cuisine. The photographs by food and travel photographer Ignacio Urquiza not only portray the recipes, but capture the essence of his homeland--the people and diverse regions from which these foods originate.

The text by Marilyn Tausend capsulizes the country’s culinary history and gives a glimpse of each state--quite a feat for one volume. If it gets a bit overzealous at times--for instance when she states “think how dull an Indian curry would be without chiles to give it life,” when many indigenous curries are made without chiles--there is still much that is interesting and informative.

FRESH CORN TAMALES (Uchepos)

8 to 10 ears corn

1/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons softened butter or lard

Use sharp knife to slice through thick end of corn ears. Remove husks, being careful not to break, and set aside. Slice kernels off cobs to yield about 5 cups.

Place corn kernels in bowl. Moisten hands and stir kernels so any corn silk sticks to hands and can be removed.

Place 1 cup corn kernels in blender and process on high speed, adding milk as necessary. Do not process too thoroughly (mixture should be consistency of cottage cheese.) Pour mixture into bowl. Repeat until all corn has been processed.

Stir sugar and salt into corn mixture and mix well. Add softened butter and combine thoroughly.

Place steamer basket in steamer and add hot water to 1/2 inch below bottom of basket. Line basket with stiffer corn husks.

Spread 1 pliable corn husk on work surface. Place 1 tablespoon corn mixture on husk. Roll up husk loosely and fold point over seam.

Stack prepared tamales in steamer basket with seams and points facing up, being careful not to crush. Cover tamales with layer of corn husks and place lid on steamer.

Bring water to boil, then reduce heat to low and steam tamales 1 hour or until filling inside husk appears curdled. Allow tamales to cool at least 20 minutes so filling dries and does not stick to husks. Makes 14 to 16 tamales.