By Nicole Solis  May 19th, 2010 2:48 pm  |  Comments (4)

Calabaza en Tacha

We had hoped to run this recipe for one of the delicious traditional Mexican dishes in our May/June 2010 issue, along with the cover story, “Mexico’s Soul Food.” We had so many wonderful photos that we ran out of space in the magazine, so we decided to publish the recipe online.

Calabaza en Tacha
(Winter squash cooked in syrup)

Serves 16

This sweet, syrupy squash is often served with warmed milk for breakfast or dinner (comida, the midday meal, is the biggest meal of the day). In Michoacán, the dish is often made with locally grown calabazas de castilla. Cristina Potters, who supplied this recipe and writes about Mexican food at Mexico Cooks!, says that to break through the extremely hard shell, cooks often resort to using a machete or throwing the squash against a concrete floor.

The ingredients: squash, piloncillos, white sugar, cinnamon, and spices.

INGREDIENTS

6 cups water
14 2-oz. cones of dark piloncillo (coarse brown sugar) or a mixture of 3 ½ cups dark brown sugar and 3 tbsp molasses
2 cups granulated sugar
4 sticks Mexican cinnamon, each about 2.5″ long
1 tbsp anise seed
1 tsp whole cloves
1 medium-size calabaza de castilla or other winter squash (about 3 lbs.), cut into wedges and seeded
Whole milk, for serving (optional)

MAKE IT
1. In a large pot, combine the water, piloncillo (or brown sugar and molasses), granulated sugar, and cinnamon sticks. Place the anise seed and cloves on a cheesecloth square and tie closed. Add the spice bundle to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer until the liquid is thick and syrupy, approximately three hours.

2. Add the squash pieces to the syrup and simmer until the squash is soft and turns a deep brown color.

3. Remove the pot from the heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Place one or two pieces of squash in each bowl. Ladle syrup into the bowl, and pour hot milk, if desired, on top.

Cook’s notes: I made this in the spring, with an heirloom squash from Farmer John’s Pumpkin Patch, in Half Moon Bay, California. Sadly, I forget which variety it was, but happily, a 10-inch chef’s knife did a fine job of cutting it into slices. No machete required.

I found piloncillos at a local Mexican grocery store, in the bulk section. The store had two sizes of piloncillos, but I used the smaller, roughly 2-oz. cones and weighed them until I had 28 oz.

Though Calabaza en Tachs takes a fair amount of time on the stove, it releases one of the most amazing scents I have ever smelled in my life: spicy, sweet, and perfect for warming up the house on a chilly day.

The dish itself is delicious, but exceedingly sweet, as least to my taste buds. As a breakfast, it would be excellent as an alternative to French toast (especially for someone who is gluten intolerant). As a dessert, it’s rather filling. You may consider cutting the wedges in half for more manageable portions. Be prepared to either halve the recipe or feed a large crowd.

By Nicole Solis  August 4th, 2009 9:14 am  |  Comments (0)

An alebrije by David Linares. Courtesy of Zocalo Folk Art.

In the Finds department of Afar, we’re always looking for the story behind the souvenir. One story that absolutely captivated me was that of Mexico City’s famous Linares family and the alebrije papier-mache sculpture.

Suffering from a serious stomach illness, “Papa” Pedro Linares had a feverish nightmare. Clouds turned into frightening creatures: part insect, part dragon, part lizard, and part devil. When Linares recovered, he christened the creatures alebrijes and vowed to recreate them in his art, papier-mache cartoneria sculptures that were collected by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

The alebrije quickly caught on with galleries and museums, becoming a popular subject of Mexican folk art. (A Mexican wrestler even adopted the name El Alebrije.) Linares’ children and grandchildren–and some of their wives–have continued the family tradition, making alebrijes and the familiar calacas skeleton figures. Their work is sold in galleries and exhibited in museums including the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

To buy an authentic Linares family alebrije in Mexico, visit Zocalo Folk Art, which has locations in San Miguel de Allende and Patzcuaro. Owners Rick and Deb Hall have a great collection of Linares work by several members of the family, some of which is available for sale through their Web site.

In the United States, San Francisco’s Polanco Gallery carries many larger cartoneria Linares sculptures, from more traditional Tehuana designs to the very contemporary Punkero (complete with skateboard and mohawk). Polanco’s friendly and extremely knowledgeable owners Aldo and John have worked with the Linares family for more than 15 years, importing their artwork and commissioning special cartonerias from Leonardo Linares, such as a Frida Kahlo to commemorate a recent traveling exhibit of her work.