Jason Wyrick - Vegan Mexico: Soul-Satisfying Regional Recipes from Tamales to Tostadas

Also by Jason Wyrick

Vegan Tacos

Vegan Mexico: Soul-Satisfying Regional Favorites from Tamales to Tostadas by Jason Wyrick (Copyright 2016 by Jason Wyrick)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except in the context of reviews and fair reference, without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 13: 978-1-941252-23-9

First Edition, November 2016

Vegan Heritage Press, LLC books are available at quantity discounts. For information, please visit our website at www.veganheritagepress.com or write the publisher at Vegan Heritage Press, P.O. Box 628, Woodstock, VA 22664-0628.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Wyrick, Jason, author.

Title: Vegan Mexico: soul-satisfying regional recipes from tamales to

tostadas / Jason Wyrick.

Description: First edition. | Woodstock, Virginia: Vegan Heritage Press,

[2016] | Includes index. | Description based on print version record and

CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016022003 (print) | LCCN 2016019244 (ebook) | ISBN

9781941252222 (epub) | ISBN 9781941252239 (prc) | ISBN 9781941252215 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Cooking, Mexican. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX716.M4 (print) | LCC TX716.M4 W97 2016 (ebook) | DDC

641.5972--dc23

Photo credits: Front cover: stock photo. Interior photos by Jason Wyrick. Incidental stock photos. Cover design by Dianne Wenz.

Disclaimer: Allergies can be a serious threat to ones health. If you know you have food allergies, please take necessary precautions whenever you cook. Also, gloves and eye protection are recommended for handling hot chiles. If you require a medical diagnosis, or if you are contemplating any major dietary change, please consult a qualified health-care provider. You should always seek an expert medical opinion before making changes in your diet.

Vegan Heritage Press, LLC books are distributed by Andrews McMeel Publishing.

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to the women in my family who passed down to me our familys traditional Mexican recipes, to my mom who passed to me our familys rich, and sometimes crazy history, and to my wife and daughter for their love and support and infinite willingness to taste test the recipes in this book.

Contents

Sopes with Smashed Charro Beans and
Fried Chiles

Huaraches with Cactus, Beans, Guajillo
Sauce, and Crema

Jicama-on-a-Stick with Lime and Pequn
Chile Powder

Bean and Avocado Sandwich Drowned in
Salsa

Huastecas-Style Chorizo and Cactus
Enchiladas

Enchiladas in Green Chile Sauce with
Green Pipin

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Mole
Enchiladas

Spinach-Potato Salad with Lime-Agave
Dressing

Pasta and Trumpet Mushrooms in Chile
Apricot Sauce

Smoked and Grilled Seitan in Pumpkin
Seed Tomato Sauce

Small Bites and Snacks
(Botanas y Tentempies)

Roasted White Sweet Potatoes with Burnt
Chile Sauce

I n this book, I provide a mix of many popular Mexican recipes, from Chilaquiles to Red Pozole, and recipes that are rarely seen outside of their home regions, such as Pirate Tacos from Monterey. In many cases, these recipes are exactly like the traditional recipes. Other recipes are my vegan translations of dishes that are normally meat heavy, such as chilorio, a dish traditionally made with shredded pork in chile sauce.

Nearly all of the ingredients are easy to find, with substitutions given for those that arent. My hope, however, is that authentic Mexican food inspires you enough to set out in search of these mysterious ingredients. In terms of skill, the recipes run the gamut from simple to complex, but most are right in the middle. If you have a little experience in the kitchen, youll find these recipes quite doable.

Finally, I chose recipes that are designed to teach essential techniques for creating Mexican food, so that you can pick up any Mexican cookbook and make your own vegan versions of traditional nonvegan recipes. It will open up a vast world of Mexican food for you to call upon and explore!

My book Vegan Tacos: Authentic and Inspired Recipes for Mexicos Favorite Street Food (also published by Vegan Heritage Press) is an important companion to this book. Vegan Tacos is not just a book on tacos but on salsas, gear, tortilla-making, chiles, drinks like horchata and caf de olla, and a whole lot more. Plus, its one of the most extensive guides on tacos in the world. For space reasons, I have tried not to repeat too much of the information from Vegan Tacos in Vegan Mexico. If you like this book, and you like authentic tacos, I urge you to pick up a copy of Vegan Tacos. For now, however, I hope you enjoy exploring the delights of Vegan Mexico.

Mi Familia

To me, Mexican food means family. My Mexican ancestry comes from my moms side. Our ancestors were primarily Spanishspecifically Basquebut the family has been a part of Mexico for well over a century, their identity woven into the Mexican cultural landscape, including food. Especially food. I remember visiting our relatives when I was very young and always being offered foods like beans, tacos, tamales, and huevos rancheros.

I should qualify my Mexican food exposure, however, lest this turn into see how Mexican I am street-cred bragging. The food I grew up with was what I call Mexicanish. At the time, most of the Mexican food in the Phoenix area was heavily Americanized, laden with cheddar cheese and dull enchilada sauces. Tacos were made with flour tortillas or hard shells, not the fresh, soft corn tortillas of Mexico, and the same dishes repeated ad nauseam on restaurant menus. Missing were the vibrant, fresh foods that could be found just across the border: salads of fresh fruit dressed with lime and chile powder, rich moles, and soul-satisfying caldos (soups).There was one special exception. I could always get good tamales. Somehow, tamales made it across the border unscathed. At home, my parents both worked and had to take care of three boys, so we didnt get as many home-cooked meals as we liked, but when we did, they were amazing. My mom made the best enchiladas and tamales and Mexican red rice. I still crave those childhood foods, so when I became a vegan chef in my thirties, I decided to explore my familys food heritage. I am so glad I did.

Mexican food is about friends and family. Its about fresh ingredients and chiles. Its about sharing, throwing big parties, spontaneity. And its about the eating. Mexicans, my moms family included, are fixated on food. My mom told me a story about how, after the women in the family were done playing cards, her aunt Marta would ask if anyone was hungry (the answer was always yes!) and head into the kitchen to make chiles rellenos, simply because thats what they did. I learned about how my grandmother and great-grandmother made fresh tortillas every day for breakfast, to be eaten with butter and jam. She told me stories about how all the women would come to the house for two or three days to make tamales for holidays or elaborate parties, often two- to three-hundred people strong. The largest one was for over a thousand people, in honor of my moms cousin after she was named Miss Mexico. I regularly cater for large groups, but I have a professional staff on board. They were doing that all by themselves and from the stories they tell, I think they would have put me to shame.