Ixta Belfrage - Mezcla: Recipes to Excite [A Cookbook]

Acknowledgments

When youve been living and breathing a book for what seems like forever, writing the acknowledgments feels very strange indeed, because its the last thing you do before you put the book to bed and accept that its out of your hands. Its scary (what if Ive missed something?), liberating (if I dont let go now, I never will), and, more than anything, incredibly emotional. This book is the closest thing I have to a child, and much like a child, its taken a village to raise.

Firstly, I have to thank three incredibly talented women, my creative partners in making this book so beautiful. Yuki, Tegan, Jess MEZCLA is as much a reflection of your abilities as it is mine.

Yuki, thank you for taking such stunning photographs and for your patience when I was asking you to be everywhere at once on set. You are wonderful!

Tegan, thank you for the thought youve put into designing this book. Ive long admired your work, and your sensitivity for type, space, and color is truly inspiring.

Jess, thank you for bringing your unique eye. You went above and beyond in sourcing beautiful props and backgrounds, and your deftness in setting up scenes and playing with light and shadow made every photograph sing.

Thank you to Kitty Coles and Florence Blair, who cooked all the food for the book shoot. Im incredibly grateful for your hard work and even more grateful for the laughs, energy, and kindness you brought to set each day.

Thanks to Magnus Reid for developing the initial stages of the molcajete illustration on the cover.

Thank you to my wonderful agent, Sabhbh Curran, for believing in me and for all the wisdom and support.

Thanks to Celia Palazzo, who I worked with on Ottolenghi Flavor and who asked me to do this book! Thank you for seeing a future in me and for helping me develop the idea for MEZCLA .

Thank you to Emily Brickell, who has probably seen this book as many times as (if not more than) me. Im so grateful for your countless notes, edits, and for project managing the whole thing.

I am very grateful to Lizzy Gray for overseeing the making of this book and for her thoughtful insights.

My deepest thanks to the rest of the team at Ebury: Sarah Bennie, Stephenie Reynolds, Lara McLeod, Alice King, Catherine Ngwong, Joel Rickett, and across the pond to the team at Ten Speed: Emma Rudolph, Windy Dorresteyn, Aaron Wehner, Kim Keller, Kelly Booth, Mari Gill, and Jane Chinn. Its such a pleasure to be working with you all again.

Thank you to my dear friend Marina Garvey-Birch, who came up with the title MEZCLA on a cold, wintery lockdown walk. I explained the premise of my then-nameless book and, without missing a beat, Marina came out with mezcla, which I knew straight away was perfect. (On a side note, my friend Theo Gould pointed out later down the line that another way of saying mixed in Spanish is mixta. He thought I was missing a trick by not calling it that and having my name right there in the title. That wouldve been ridiculously self-indulgent and very silly, but nonetheless the fact that it didnt even occur to me makes me laugh.)

Thank you to Rom Nesi Pio and Ry Jessup for lending us your beautiful house to shoot the feasting scenes. Rom, my oldest and best friend, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the love and adventures over the last three decades. Heres to many more!

Thank you to Claudia Lazarus and Sam Giles for testing many of the recipes in this book and providing unique feedback in the form of comic videos. More importantly, thank you for being incredibly loving friends, and for looking after me when Ive been at my lowest.

Thanks to Felicity Davis, who has been there for me more times than I could count, and to Holly Sonabend, who makes me laugh like no other.

Rebeka Alexander, thank you for being my rock.

Then theres my top three, who Ill be thanking in every acknowledgment section I write. My mum, Maria Candida de Melo; my dad, Nicolas Belfrage; and my sister, Beatriz Belfrage, who have been unwavering sources of love and support all my life. How lucky I am to have you three! Thank you for the adventures, for the love, and for all the priceless memories.

My biggest thanks of all to Yotam Ottolenghi, without whom I wouldnt be writing this book. Thank you for taking a chance on me all those years ago, for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime when you asked me to co-author Ottolenghi Flavor , and for your guidance and kindness ever since. Thank you for giving me your blessing to go out there and forge my own path.

IXTA BELFRAGE s style of cooking draws inspiration from three countries that she grew up traveling to, eating in, and obsessing over: Brazil (where her mother is from), Italy (where she lived as a child), and Mexico (where her grandfather lived). She cut her teeth at Yotam Ottolenghis NOPI restaurant before moving to the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen, where she worked for Ottolenghi for five years, contributing to his columns in the Guardian and New York Times . In 2020, she co-authored the New York Times bestselling Ottolenghi Flavor and, in 2021, she was named one of the most influential women in food by CODE Hospitality.

Cheesy roasted eggplant with salsa roja

Inspired by melanzane alla parmigiana but with a twist, this version doesnt contain any Parmesan, and in true MEZCLA form, the sauce has gone in a very Mexican direction. I use the same salsa roja recipe as I do in the Chiles rellenos ()its a great sauce to make ahead and have stashed in the fridge. These cheesy roasted eggplants are already very simple, and would be quicker still to make if the salsa were already taken care of. Serve with salad and grilled bread to mop up the sauce, or serve over pasta or polenta.

Serves 4

3 medium eggplants, halved lengthwise (2 lb/900g)

3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for serving

tsp fine salt

Salsa roja

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp (15g) unsalted butter

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped (4 oz/120g)

2 cloves of garlic, finely grated/crushed

10 oz (300g) sweet, ripe cherry tomatoes, such as Datterini

dried ancho chile

1 dried habanero chile (or a pinch of regular chile flakes, if you prefer milder heat)

1 tsp cumin seeds

tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp fine salt

7 tbsp (110g) water

2 tsp tomato paste

Cheese mix

1 ounce (25g) feta, crumbled

1 ounce (25g) Gruyre, roughly grated

3 ounces (100g) mozzarella, drained well and torn into small pieces

6 tbsp (100g) heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 475F (230C fan/250C).

Cut deep crosshatches into the flesh side of each eggplant halfcut nearly all the way down, taking care to not actually puncture the skin.

Lay the eggplants cut side up on a large baking sheet, then rub oil and salt into each cut halfabout 3 tablespoons of olive oil and teaspoon of fine salt (total) across the 6 halves. Bake for 3540 minutes, rotating the pan halfway so they color evenly. The eggplant should be soft all the way through and very well browned on topI repeat, they should be very well browned on top! Please dont be afraid to brown your eggplant more than you think you should.