Beyond Burritos and Margaritas

Posted at 12:00 pm by Mary Ann Lesh

Sep 1st

Mexican Food You May Not Have Heard About

Tortillas, beans, rice, and chiles are staples in Mexican households and Mexican restaurants all over the world, but people south of the border enjoy many other foods you may not have heard about. Here are a few of them.

Pitaya

A deliciously sour-sweet watery and nutritious cactus fruit.

Guanabana

Smells like pineapple, tastes like strawberries and apple with a touch of citrus, with a creamy texture, like coconut or banana, and generous amounts of Vitamins B and C.

Huitlacoche

A delicious and nutritious edible “disease,” huitlacoche, the fungus known in English as corn smut, can bring a higher price than the corn on which it grows. Raw or roasted, it makes delicious tacos, quesadallas, enhiladas, and other delicacies.

Flor de Calabaza

The beautiful squash flower can be cooked or eaten raw, made into poppers, or used as an ingredient in vegetarian pozole.

Nopales y Tunas

It may look like something to avoid touching, but this is a desert feast. The tunas (cactus pears) taste as sweet as jam when they are ripe, and they can be found in an explosion of different bright colors. The leaves, known as nopales in the mercado, are a rich source of protein and fiber. They can be scraped, chopped, seasoned, sauteed, and enjoyed in a variety of dishes.

(Original article published by M. Lesh in Coffee Talk, September 1, 2019)

Author: Mary Ann Lesh

I have been a teacher, university administrator, and translator in Mexico, Texas, and Massachusetts. I have traveled in Central and South America, Europe, Asia, the United States and Mexico. I grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas, attended Midwestern University, then received a bachelor’s degree in English, education, and journalism from Baylor University. I have a master of education degree and doctoral studies in Spanish literature from Texas Tech, with additional studies in translation, French, Portuguese, website design, and art at the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, Boston University, and the University of Texas at Dallas. I am the mother of three and grandmother of seven. I have lived in Cancun, Mexico, since 2017.

Fruit and Stuff