What a great guide at Palenque--José Luis Zúñiga
Sure, he knew all about the Mayas who built the extraordinary structures there. And he made certain I saw them by steering me up and down the rough, steep steps.
He wasn't too modest to show how an ancient outdoor toilet worked (above). No walls, no shelter, just a hole in the rocks where you did what you had to in full view. And this facility was for royalty, not commoners.
The ruins were misty and mysterious after a night of rain. Gorgeous, but the real highlight was getting a recipe on the way down.
It was a long hike, plenty of time for José to tell me how to cook fish Chiapas style.
It couldn't have been easier, fish layered with vegetables between anise-scented hoja santa leaves. You enclose this in foil and then grill it for 15 minutes on each side. The photo above shows how it is assembled.
Clouds of fragrant steam pour out as you open the foil, and the fish is wonderfully moist and light. The photo above shows it after cooking.
The wrapper is responsible for the name, pescado empapelado, which means fish wrapped in paper--in this case, foil.
José used a word that I hadn't heard before for hoja santa--momo. The only other name I know is acuyo. Momo grows wild at Palenque, and José led me through a patch of soggy grass and dripping trees to see it.
There he is, showing how large the leaves are, ample enough to wrap the fish.
Momo grows in my yard too, so I made his dish as soon as I got home. If you can get a plant, be careful. It will pop up everwhere. Mine invaded my neighbor's basement, so now I keep it in a pot.
You can make the fish even if you can't get momo. You could wrap it in chard or some other large leaf and add another herb, such as fresh basil.
But for the true taste of Chiapas, you have to use momo.
PESCADO EMPAPELADO
Chiapas Style Grilled Fish
4 large leaves momo (hoja santa)
1 pound any mild white fish fillets
1/2 pound tomatoes, sliced
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1 small green bell pepper, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt
Heat a barbecue or stove-top grill.
Lay out 2 long sheets of foil. Place a momo leaf on each sheet.
Place 1/4 of the sliced vegetables and garlic on each leaf. Sprinkle with salt.
Top the vegetables on each sheet with half the fish, then with another 1/4 of the vegetables and garlic and season with salt.
Cover the vegetables with a second momo leaf.
Now wrap each stack of fish and vegetables securely in the foil.
Place the 2 packets on the hot grill and cook 15 minutes. Turn and cook 15 minutes longer.
Place the packets on a platter and unwrap. Divide the fish and vegetables in each packet in half and place on serving plates. Discard the momo leaves, which are for flavoring, not for eating.
Makes 4 servings.
If you like, you can make larger individual servings by using 1 1/2 pounds of fish divided into 4 servings. You will then need to increase the amount of vegetables by half.
For each packet you will need 2 momo leaves, or a total of 8. However, if the leaves are large, you could use 1 leaf, divided in half, for each packet.
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