Gabriela Camara - My Mexico City Kitchen

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book is the result of a lot of work and the support of a group of extraordinary people who believe in me and what I do.

First of all, I want to thank my parents, Clara and Gabriel, and Carlos, my brother, for their endless trust and help every step of the way. Having that has made everything possible for me from the beginning.

To Nonna and Doa Concha, and those before them, I am eternally indebted. The abundance of love and caring for others through nourishment and delicious food, lives on. They are my north stars.

I thank my aunts, uncles, cousins, and family everywhere, from Mexico to Italy to the US, for the complex but very true and deep sense of belonging that eating and sharing have given me. Thank you for those long breakfasts in Tepoztln, which turn into lunches and eventually into dinners. Those meals are the genesis of what has become my career. I need to thank Carlos Pellicer Lpez for everything, but particularly for being the artist and poet in residence at Contramar from day one.

To my restaurant teams and partners, past and present, I thank you every day. You are my teachers. It has been challenging at times but, thankfully, mostly fun and a truly extraordinary experience getting to know each and every one of you. Its an honor to share our lives, to be inspired by you, and to have become a family along the way. I appreciate and love you all. Infinite thanks to our divine providence, CT Outis.

For their help with this book, I especially want to thank the entire teams both at Contramar and Cala; nothing would be possible without all of them. Thank you to Kenny Curran for the always inspiring dialogue on flavor and recipes; to Magdalena Vlez for the grace with which she has walked by my side all these years; to Maritza Velzquez for her infinite brightness and loyalty through everything; to Emma Rosenbush for her complicity and belief in that it is all possible; to Andrs Barragn for his stoicism and example; to Wilberth Itza for his ancestral wiseness; to Christian Becker, Ana Paola Rivas, and Isabella de Hoyos for the recipe testing and enthusiasm; and to Isabel Velzquez and Mnica Fernndez for keeping things rolling. I am eternally grateful for my personal magic ninjas, Mao Bravo and Armando Camacho, whose leadership at Contramar and Entremar is beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of. Thank you to Rigoberto Fernndez, who led their way.

Thank you to Lorena Jones for being the best possible editor and pulling this book along through my crazy schedule. Thank you to the whole Ten Speed team: Ten Speed Publisher Aaron Wehner, Publishing Director Hannah Rahill, Marketing and Publicity Director Windy Dorresteyn, Assistant Publicity Director David Hawk, managing editors Lisa Regul and Doug Ogan, Senior Production Designer Mari Gill, Production Manager Jane Chinn, Creative Director Emma Campion, former Associate Creative Director Kara Plikaitis, production designer Mara Gendell, copyeditor Dolores York, proofreader Ivy McFadden, and indexer Ken DellaPenta.

Thank you to literary agent Katherine Cowles, for having the tenacity to get this project going and the continued support, and for reintroducing me to writer Malena Watrous, whose intelligence and friendship made this project fun at every step and whose loving support, great writing, and precise recipe testing made this book what it is now.

Of course, I need to thank designer James Casey for having always wanted me to make a book, for his smart and beautiful advice and work, and for introducing me many years ago to photographer Marcus Nilsson, who is a joy to work and spend time with and whose extraordinary eye and energy make every shoot exciting.

I want to thank the owners and teams of Bar Montejo, Casa Merlos, El Sella, El Churchills, Tacos Don Juan, Tacos Hola, El Danubio, El Jarocho, El Bajo de Atzcapotzalco, El Crculo del Sureste, and El Covadonga for having some of my favorite establishments in Mexico City and for letting us shoot at them. Thank you also to Armando Vega and the El Navegante team for the friendship and partnership of so many years, and to all the people who provide us with their finest produce daily.

Thank you to the one and only Diana Kennedy, for the love and friendship and for teaching me so much about plants, food, and life. You are my family and constant reference.

Thank you, Alice Waters, for the inspiration and generosity, and for trusting that the world can be a better place.

To Gilbert Pilgram, thanks for lighting the way so many times, and for reminding us all that laughing and enjoying life is as nurturing as food.

Thank you to Ignacio Mattos for sharing so much about life and food, and for introducing me to Fernando Aciar.

Thanks to Fernando Mesta and Pepe Rojas, for being my family and for opening Gaga every day.

Thank you to Christian de Len for the daily inspiration and infinite love.

Thank you also to friends who have helped so much in different ways through the years: Federico Shott, for all the conversations about life and book titles; Eduardo Gonzlez, for the laughs and support throughout; and to Azikiwee Anderson for the recipe testing, but mostly for the friendship.

And thanks to all the friends from the notable Bay Area community of cooks, bakers, food producers, and farmers, and to the community of teachers and parents at the San Francisco Friends school. You have all shown us a home outside of Mexico City.

Last, to all our guests in the restaurants who have trusted us and make it possible to go on doing what we love day after day, thank you.

GABRIELA CMARA has opened eleven acclaimed restaurants, including the award-winning Contramar in Mexico City and Cala in San Francisco. She has been recognized for her advocacy on behalf of sustainable food systems. In 2017, she was named a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundations Outstanding Restaurateur award.

MALENA WATROUS is the author of the novel If You Follow Me, and has contributed to the New York Times as well as Allure, Cond Nast Traveler, Real Simple, and many other magazines. She was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, where she teaches writing.

1BSICOS

Basics

M any Mexican recipes are made from the same basic building blocks: salsas, rice, beans, and masa. But the recipes taste different depending on how the building blocks are used. You can scramble refried beans into eggs or poach eggs in bean soup. The ingredients are almost the same, but one dish is dense and hearty, the other lighter and more delicate. Salsa verde can be used sparingly as a condiment spooned onto tacos or by the cupful as the simmering base of a stew, or you can swirl crema into it to make the rich and tangy sauce for chilaquiles. One thing is for sure: most Mexican meals require more than one building block to play with. Thats why this chapter contains so many recipes.

Some of these basic recipes, like the ones for soupy beans and white rice, are so simple that you could learn them by heart without trying. You might be wondering why you need recipes for these things at all. Just because a recipe is easy and simple doesnt mean you shouldnt pay attention to every step of making it. On the contrary, the fewer ingredients and steps a dish has, the more care you should put into preparing it. For instance, my recipe for soupy beans is fairly long, not because its difficult but because a lot of steps ensure that the beans turn out just right. Im sure youve had some bad beans, cooked to a disintegrating mush or crunchy and underdone. If you follow my directions, youll end up with beans that are creamy on the inside with their skins still intact.