🍳 Spanish & Latin Recipes

Chile en nogada is one of Mexico's most celebrated dishes and deeply tied to the calendar: it is made in August and September when walnuts and pomegranate seeds are in season. A roasted poblano chile is stuffed with a spiced meat and dried fruit filling, then covered with a cold walnut cream sauce and garnished with pomegranate and parsley — the colours of the Mexican flag.

Red pozole is one of Mexico's oldest ceremonial dishes: cacahuazintle corn — the large hominy kernels that bloom open when cooked — simmered in a long broth of guajillo and ancho chillies with shredded pork. Each diner builds their own bowl at the table, adding shredded lettuce, dried oregano, radishes, tostadas and lime to taste. Party food, New Year's food, the kind of meal that turns into a long afternoon.

Carnitas tacos are one of the most beloved preparations in Mexican cooking. Pork shoulder is braised in its own lard with orange juice and peel, garlic, oregano, and cumin until it falls apart and crisps at the edges. Served in corn tortillas with chopped cilantro, white onion, and green salsa — a proper market taco, no frills needed.

Cochinita pibil is one of the Yucatan's oldest dishes: pork marinated in achiote paste and sour orange, wrapped in banana leaves and slow-cooked until the meat falls apart. The achiote gives the flesh its deep terracotta colour and an earthy, floral flavour you can't replicate with anything else. Served in corn tortillas with pickled red onion and habanero, whose acidity and heat cut through the richness perfectly.

Tres leches cake is the moistest dessert in Latin American baking: a sponge of eggs, flour, and sugar that, straight from the oven, is slowly soaked through with a blend of condensed milk, evaporated milk, and cream. The cake absorbs every drop and takes on a pudding-like texture throughout. Topped with meringue or whipped cream and served cold, it is the centrepiece dessert of Mexican and Central American celebrations.

Mole poblano with over 30 ingredients: dried chiles, dark chocolate, peanuts, spices, and herbs. Mexico's most complex sauce, requiring time and technique but rewarding with every bite.

Tacos al pastor are one of the icons of Mexican street food, with roots in 20th-century Lebanese immigration: pork marinated in guajillo and ancho chiles, achiote, and vinegar, roasted on a vertical spit with pineapple on top to caramelize the meat. At home you can use the oven or a pan. Served on corn tortillas with onion, cilantro, and salsa verde.

Traditional Mexican guacamole is made in a molcajete and eaten immediately: ripe avocados crushed by hand with serrano chili, very finely diced tomato, white onion, fresh cilantro, and lime juice. No blender, no mayonnaise, no lemon. The texture should be chunky, with visible pieces of avocado. Ready in ten minutes and better than any packaged version.

Oaxacan black mole is the darkest and most complex of the seven moles from Oaxaca. It combines mulato, pasilla, and chihuacle negro chiles with spices, nuts, and dark chocolate to create a truly unique sauce.

Barbacoa tacos are a staple of central Mexican cuisine, with roots in the state of Hidalgo. Beef shank is slow-cooked with guajillo and ancho chillies, warm spices, and avocado leaves until it falls apart in rich, dark juices. Served shredded on corn tortillas with white onion, cilantro, and tomatillo salsa, they are a weekend morning ritual across Mexico.

The Caesar salad was born not in Rome but in Tijuana, invented by Italian-Mexican chef Caesar Cardini in the 1920s. Crisp romaine leaves are dressed with a punchy emulsion of egg yolk, anchovies, garlic and lemon, then finished with freshly shaved Parmesan and garlicky croutons. That umami-rich dressing is what sets it apart from any other salad.

Tacos al pastor have Lebanese origins (from shawarma), adapted by Lebanese immigrants in 20th-century Mexico. Their unmistakable signature is the marinade of guajillo and ancho chiles with pineapple.

Tacos al pastor are one of the icons of Mexican street food: pork marinated in a guajillo and ancho chile adobo with achiote, orange juice, and spices, traditionally cooked on a vertical spit and served on a corn tortilla with fresh pineapple, cilantro, and white onion. The overnight marinade is what transforms a simple cut of pork into something with deep colour and complex smoky-sweet flavour.

Green enchiladas are one of the most popular dishes in Mexican home cooking: corn tortillas filled with shredded chicken, rolled up, and smothered in a green salsa made from tomatillo, roasted poblano pepper, onion, and garlic. Finished with soured cream, crumbled fresh cheese, and cilantro. The tomatillo gives the sauce a slightly tart, herbaceous flavour that no other green pepper can replicate.

Authentic Mexican guacamole has three non-negotiable elements: ripe avocado, serrano chilli, and fresh cilantro. It is crushed — not blended — in a molcajete with tomato, white onion, lime juice, and salt, keeping a chunky texture that speaks of its rural origins. Serve immediately, as avocado oxidizes quickly, and skip the cream and garlic — they have no place here.