EatMx: Real Mexican food, at home and on the road

Searching for Pan Dulce in Oxnard

Life has premium moments, like discovering a new panadería.

As a pan dulce addict, I am always looking for places where I might find breads that are different from, and perhaps even better than, those I've already tried.

This time, the allure was increased by being in a new town--Oxnard. The sure way to locate a panadería was to get a local tip, and the logical place to ask was a taco shop.

This is how I found La Central Bakery, a paradise of Mexican goodies. In the cooler (at left in the photo) were boxes of tres leches cake and two kinds of flan--flan napolitano (a rich, plain custard) and flan de elote (corn).

Above them was chile preparado (above), red chile ready to use in tamales, and containers of mole negro (black mole) paste.

The front counter was stacked with snacks such as duros and popcorn (above), boxes of cookies, bags of bread, bolitas de tamarindo (tamarind sweets) and tubs of lard.  La Central is a tortilla factory too and on weekends has hot foods.

But my eyes went to the stunning display of pan dulce in the showcases, and I soon had a trayful: Wheat semas, one of them topped with piloncillo; a long lengua (tongue) sprinkled with pink sugar, a pretzel-shaped alamar, a bun decorated with white frosting and coconut, and a small, chunky cornflour bread.

The woman behind the counter pointed to a plain bun as her favorite.  This contained a surprise that I couldn't see, raisins at the bottom. A flat, round chamuco was composed of yellow dough wrapped in a band of plain dough and sprinkled with sugar. It was thicker and more elaborate than other chamucos I have bought.

I also picked out a large flaky oreja (palmier or elephant ear cookie) and a thick sugar-sprinkled cookie that might be made from corn dough. I won't know until I taste it. It's in the foreground in the photo above.

Although new to me, La Central has been around since 1948. It is family owned and uses the same recipes that have been popular since it opened. Here is the side view as I approached it, walking along Meta Street.

La Central Bakery and Tortilla Factory, 600 Meta Street, Oxnard, CA 93030. (805) 483-8434.

There's a Nispero in This Margarita

In a village in Oaxaca, people talked to me about nisperos. This was the first time I had heard the Spanish word for loquat, and luckily, I have a nispero tree in my front yard.

During the season, which is now, I've made jar after jar of jam; I've cooked sliced loquats in syrup, and I came up with this pineapple-loquat margarita, which is pure, foamy heaven.

If you don't have a loquat tree, look for the fruit at farmers' markets, but do it now. The last of my fruit is wrinkling on the tree, which indicates the season is ending. 

PINEAPPLE-LOQUAT MARGARITA

2 fresh loquats, peeled, seeded and trimmed 
1/4 cup cut-up fresh pineapple 
2 ounces silver tequila
1 ounce triple sec
1/2 ounce simple syrup
Juice of 1 key lime
3 ice cubes 

In a blender container, combine the loquats, pineapple, tequila, triple sec, syrup and lime juice. Blend this thoroughly and then taste. If the pineapple is not sweet, you may need to add more simple syrup.

When you have flavored the drink to taste, add the ice cubes and blend until foamy and most of the ice is pulverized.

Turn into a cocktail glass and drink immediately before the foam subsides.

Makes 1 serving. 

How to Get a Recipe: Ride the Bus

Some people get recipes from books and magazines, others from the Internet. But I got this one while riding on a bus, L.A. Metro's line 20, which runs along Wilshire Boulevard.

Heading toward Beverly Hills, I struck up a conversation with a Salvadoran woman. She started to tell me about her pollo guisado, a chicken dish so interesting that I wanted to make it at once.

Unfortunately, I had to get off before she could give me all the details. In our hurried exchange, she couldn't think of the actual name of an ingredient she called semilla blanca (white seed).  

Studying Salvadoran cookbooks, I figured this was sesame seed. We had already eliminated such possibilities as white peppercorns. 

I had to guess at quantities and procedures, but the chicken turned out very well. The flavor was extraordinary, unlike anything I have made before.

It's so like a Mexican mole that I am including it in EatMx.com. The best part is, you can make the sauce one day, cook the chicken the next and then combine them. What could be easier than that? 

POLLO GUISADO
From an Unknown Salvadoran Woman

The Sauce:

1 pound tomatoes
3 dried California chiles
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon raw pepitas
1/4 cup almonds, blanched
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon powdered chicken stock base
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon anise seeds

On a griddle lightly sprayed with nonstick spray, roast the tomatoes, chiles and garlic. Remove the chiles as soon as they are softened and fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes. Continue roasting the tomatoes and garlic until spotted with black. Separately, roast the pepitas in a covered skillet until lightly browned.

Remove the stems and rinse out the seeds from the chiles. Tear them into pieces and place in a small saucepan. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the chiles stand until softened.

Remove the loose peel and stems or stem ends from the tomatoes. Cut them in halves or quarters if large. In a blender container, combine the tomatoes, drained chiles, garlic, pepitas, almonds, coriander seeds, sesame seeds, chicken stock base, curry powder and anise seeds. Blend 2 minutes, stopping and starting the blender several times. 

Remove the sauce to a container with a lid.  Rinse out the blender with a small amount of water, or use some of the broth, if you are cooking the chicken the same day. If preparing the sauce in advance, cover the container and refrigerate it overnight. Makes 2 cups sauce.

The Chicken:

2 pounds boneless chicken pieces
3 cups water 
1 wedge onion
1 clove garlic
Salt

Place the chicken in a Dutch oven. Add the water, onion, garlic and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, loosely covered, 30 minutes for breast meat, a little longer for dark meat. Turn off the heat and let stand in the broth until cooled. Drain off the broth and reserve. Set aside the chicken.

Place the sauce in the pan in which the chicken was cooked. Bring just to a boil. Add the chicken pieces. Simmer, loosely covered, 15 minutes, or until heated through. If the sauce has become too thick, thin with some of the broth. Reserve any remaining broth for another use. 

Serve the chicken covered with the sauce. Accompany with rice.

Makes 4 servings. 

Spicy Steak Straight from Baja

Here is one of those simple, homestyle Mexican dishes that are as comforting as they are delicious.

Only this recipe isn't from a home but from a resort, Villa del Palmar at the islands of Loreto in Baja California Sur.

I think of resort and hotel food as bland and "safe," tailored to please tourists wary of anything spicy and unfamiliar. But that isn't the case at Villa del Palmar.

The food I had there was so good that I wish I could find its equal at home. But at least I have a few recipes like this one for steak in spicy tomato sauce, given to me by Angel Ruiz Gutiérrez, the food and beverage director.

PUNTAS DE FILETE
Steak in Tomato-Chipotle Sauce
From Villa del Palmar 

1 pound trimmed flank steak
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound tomatoes, chopped 
1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped 
1/3 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Cut the steak into 3/4-inch chunks or strips. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat and cook until browned and any liquid has cooked away, 12 to 13 minutes.

Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lower the heat. Add the tomatoes, the tomato sauce and chipotle chiles and simmer until the tomatoes are softened into a sauce, about 20 minutes. Stir in the cilantro.

Serve with rice.

Makes 4 servings.