DOWN MEXICO WAY

I ADMIT IT. MY CULINARY AND DISTILLERY geography’s a bit hazy when it comes to Mexico. I have to consult a map to remind myself that Oaxaca--home of the smoky, rustic liquor mezcal--is just a stone’s throw from Guatemala and a very long way from Tex-Mex. Or that tequila was named after the town that lies between Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco. Add to that the complexities of various regional Mexican cuisines, which bear little resemblance to the border food that Southern Californians love, and I felt compelled to shore up my knowledge.

To remedy my plight, I drove up one Sunday through summer fog to the sunny crest of a Westside canyon to visit my friend Nancy Zaslavsky, author of “A Cook’s Tour of Mexico” and “Meatless Mexican Home Cooking.” I’d gone literally and figuratively to the mountaintop; Nancy is nearly encyclopedic on the topic and leads culinary tours to her favorite haunts in Mexico.

She eased my mind immediately. “Though southern Mexico has a world class-cuisine--nothing like border food--it is unfamiliar to most Americans.” Nancy and her husband, Morris, have been exploring Mexico’s markets and kitchens since their first road trip to Ensenada in 1970 after relocating to Los Angeles from New York.

Like other evolved cookery, she says, southern Mexican dishes are about layering flavors, in this case, riffs on heat and smoke forged from Spanish and Caribbean influences. And like other fine cuisines, southern Mexican cooking has its superior spirits.

Tequila and mezcal, made from the heart of the agave, a lily relative, defy flavor comparisons since most alcohol is made from grains, fruits or vegetables. As Nancy points out, “Tequila tastes like itself and can be measured only against other tequilas.”

The best are 100% pure Weber blue agave (maguey in Spanish) and legally produced only in Jalisco and parts of Guanajuato, Nyarit, Tamaulipas, and Michoacan. The cores (pinas) are steamed in brick ovens, naturally fermented and distilled. Much tequila is immediately bottled young as joven, also called “silver,” “white” or “clear,” the vanilla notes unadulterated by aging or the additives found in lesser tequilas.

Tequila reposado is oak barrel “rested” from 2 to 12 months and tequila anejo is aged 1 to 5 years. More golden, complex and smooth than the silver, they’re best sipped like fine scotch or cognac.

For the mezcals, the pinas are roasted to give the liquor smoky overtones, with the alcohol content nearing the 100-proof mark. The best mezcals, which come from small Oaxacan villages, are made from several agave varieties and, unless they are mezcal con gusano, aren’t bottled with a caterpillar. Wouldn’t you know, as connoisseurs turn their attention to these potent potions, increased demand for tequila has created an agave shortage and prices are rising.

But there was no lack of tequila that afternoon as Nancy and I cooked and chatted in her kitchen. Black beans Veracruzana, smoky sweet with pilo cillo sugar and chipotle chiles, bubbled gently in the clay cazuela on the stove. Nancy blended a toasted tomato-peanut salsa from San Miguel d’Allende and Michoacan blackberry-citrus salsa while I plucked rose-tinged amaranth leaves for earthy Guanajuato-style braised potatoes and greens. Jalisco chicken adobado, rich with lime, tequila, chiles and spices, and Puebla tequila-and-chipotle-rubbed lamb lay marinating in the fridge. It was obvious that this menu was wonderfully do-ahead, and contrary to popular thinking about Mexican cooking, used only two tablespoons of oil.

As the sun slipped behind the mountain, guests began to arrive and we gathered on the guava-and-epazote-bordered patio to sip silver tequila and fresh-lime margaritas, “a cocktail designed to pique the appetite.” She kept it simple so we’d taste the counterpoint between citrus and spirit: no salt, no aged, oaky tequila, and most certainly no frothing in a blender. Just 1 part lime, 1/2 part Cointreau and 11/2 parts top-notch tequila.

The aroma of grilling meat and homemade tortillas cooking on a comal over hot coals soon beckoned us to tables set with bright, hand-woven cloths from Michoacan and Oaxaca. With one bite of my taco--succulent crisp-skinned chunks of chicken zingy with fresh-squeezed lime and tequila, a smear of creamy beans, blackberry-citrus salsa and the chewy, homemade tortilla--I got it. I experienced the smoldering heat from the marinade’s dried ancho and guajillo chiles, the citrus and tequila undertones and the fruity notes of fresh manzano chile in the garnet-colored salsa, all wrapped in the tortilla’s earthiness.

The sky darkened, the candles in iguana-shaped sconces flickered like reptilian tongues, and we felt the evening’s coolness. We sipped tequila anejo and Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal from Chichicaps. I think my geography lesson went quite well.

Pollo Adobado

(Grilled Chile-Tequila Chicken)

Adapted from “A Cook’s Tour of Mexico,”

by Nancy Zaslavsky (St. Martin’s Press, 1995)

Serves 8

3 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded

3 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded

5 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup tequila

1/2 teaspoon each: dried Mexican oregano (such as McCormick brand), dried thyme, freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 31/2-pound butterflied chickens, wings turned under

Additional lime juice

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Tear chiles into large flat pieces and toast on hot griddle or in dry skillet, holding them down briefly with spatula until they crackle and change color. Turn and hold down a few seconds more. Do not allow chiles to blacken. Put chiles in bowl of hot water and soak at least 20 minutes to soften. Toast garlic cloves until dark brown, about 10 minutes, and peel.

Drain chiles and place in blender with garlic and lime juice. Blend, add tequila, remaining seasonings and puree until smooth, scraping and stirring frequently. Heat deep saucepan to hot and pour in sauce (it will splatter). Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring until sauce darkens and alcohol burns off, about 10 minutes. When sauce cools, spread half of it over chickens, reserving remainder, and marinate for 2-8 hours.

Prepare medium-hot grill, using mesquite if possible. When coals are white-hot, place chickens skin side down on the hot grill. Cook for 15 minutes, basting with reserved sauce. Turn chickens, continue basting and cook until thigh meat is cooked through, about 20 minutes more. Immediately place chickens on cutting board, chop into quarters and sprinkle with additional lime juice while meat is still sizzling.

Blackberry-Sour Citrus Salsa

Adapted from “A Cook’s Tour of Mexico”

Makes about 2 cups

2 juice oranges

2 limes

1 medium white onion, finely chopped

1/2 to 1 manzano chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped

1 cup coarsely mashed blackberries

*

Squeeze orange and lime juices into bowl. Mix in onion and chile. Stir in blackberries. Add more chopped chile or sweeten with sugar if desired.

Toasted Tomato-Peanut Table Salsa

Adapted from “Meatless Mexican Home Cooking,”

by Nancy Zaslavsky (St. Martin’s Press, 1997)

Makes about 2 cups

10 garlic cloves, unpeeled

10 ripe plum tomatoes

6 de arbol chiles (or other small, spicy dried chiles)

1/2 cup dry-roasted unsalted peanuts

2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

10 grinds black pepper

*

Toast garlic and tomatoes on ungreased griddle or skillet until skins have blackened spots. Peel garlic and place in blender container. Toast chiles about 30 seconds. Discard stems and add chiles to blender. Add peanuts and puree. Add tomatoes a few at a time and roughly puree. Scrape down blender. Add seasonings and puree again. Do not strain.

Nancy Z’s Wilted Garden Greens with Herbs and Potatoes

Serves 8

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium white onions, sliced vertically 1/4-inch thick

4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2 fresh green serrano chiles, finely chopped

8 waxy medium potatoes, unpeeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

Freshly ground pepper

Kosher salt

1 1/2 pounds fresh greens such as amaranth (also called Chinese greens), lamb’s quarters or Swiss chard

1/2 cup mixed fresh herbs such as flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, oregano, epazote and chervil

1 cup crumbled queso fresco cheese

*

Heat oil in large, deep pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute until transparent, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and saute until potatoes are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and chiles and cook 5 minutes more.

Meanwhile, remove tough stems and coarsely chop greens. Rinse well. Add a few handfuls of still-wet greens to pot. As they wilt, add remaining greens and herbs. Gently stir until all greens are wilted, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Can be made several hours ahead and reheated before serving. Sprinkle queso fresco on top.

Black Beans with Sweetened Smoky, Spicy Chile

Adapted from “Meatless Mexican Home Cooking”

Serves 8

Consider the first part of the recipe a master recipe for cooking beans. According to Zaslavsky, Mexicans don’t pre-soak beans because the bean flavor is lost. If you feel you must, bring water to a boil, pour over beans, boil 2 minutes, remove beans from heat and soak for two hours before proceeding. Do not change soaking water.

1 pound dried black beans (about 2 1/2 cups)

1 white onion, halved

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Juice of 2 limes

2 chiles chipotles en adobo

4 ounces piloncillo sugar melted with some bean liquid, or 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup crumbled queso fresco or mild feta, optional

*

Pick over beans and rinse. Place beans and onion in deep pot and add boiling water to cover by two inches. Bring beans to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered until beans are tender, 11/2 to 2 hours (Time depends on age and size of beans.) Season with salt and some lime juice. (May be made ahead to this point and refrigerated.)

Melt sugar in some of the bean liquid in large pot over medium low heat. Add 2 cups of cooked beans and more liquid and roughly mash with a potato masher. Add remaining beans and additional liquid and continue to mash until a coarse puree is achieved. Stir in chiles and lime juice. Bean “paste” will thicken when removed from heat. May be kept warm over low heat; beans will continue to thicken. If desired, sprinkle crumbled cheese over beans to serve.

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Note: Canned chipotles en adobo and queso fresco are available in most supermarkets; piloncillo sugar is available at Latino markets.