People of the corn
In the Mayan story of creation, the gods made people out of corn after unsuccessfully crafting them of mud and wood. Corn, or maize, has since become integral to the Mexican way of life. It pervades every aspect of Mexican culture, especially the cooking.
During my first market tour of San Miguel de Allende, the earthy scent of tortillas cooking in outdoor ovens hit me immediately. Women had gathered to cook enchiladas del portal for a festival that was part of a month of festivities for the celebration of the Holy Cross. On their comals, they heated the tortillas that would soon be stuffed with chicken, cheese and topped with sauces and cilantro.
That was the first of many uses of corn that I would discover as I delved into the intricate cuisine of this corn culture. It’s been a little over a week since I returned from Mexico and it is the smell of corn that I yearn for. That smell that permeated the markets is now lodged deeply into my memory. So instead venturing out to the beach or a bike ride on this warm spring day, I set off to find a Mexican grocer in Boston. I wanted a freshly cooked tortilla. I wanted that aroma -- that was such an essential part of my life last week -- with me once again. Yelp led me to Roslindale, a 30-minute car ride from my Fort Point base. El Chavo was widely pointed to as the best source of Mexican products in the area.
While I was able to get some of the ingredients, I had seen in San Miguel de Allende, there were no fresh tortillas, no markets displaying rows of peppers, tomatillos and cactus paddles. I settled for dried anchos, mulatos, oaxacan string cheese and chorizo. I also bought a cheap version of a comal as I sought to create what would become my Mexican kitchen in Boston.
I am not sure that I will ever take the time to make those tortillas by hand. It’s a long process that begins with dried corn kernels, that are then cooked in an alkaline solution of limestone and tomatillo husks to soften them before rinsing and grinding in a metate, which is a grinding stone usually made from lava rock. The resultant flour is then mixed with water to create masa.
We skipped this arduous process at the cooking school (www.mexicancookingvacation.com[l.facebook.com]) that I attended in San Miguel de Allende. There, one of the assistants took the kernels to a mill in the city and brought them back in the masa state. It was then that I was able to step in. The preparation of tortillas is perhaps the most basic of techniques for the Mexicans who have been doing it since childhood. But for me it was akin to an intricate dance with complicated moves that took me several tries to get to the stage of novice. I had to roll the dough, stamp it in a wooden press, take it off transfer from one hand to the other in the most precise of ways. I had to hang it slightly from my palm so I could swoop it onto the comal so that it would cook evenly. Then it had to be turned three times in order to leave once sheet that flaked slightly from the others.This would be the inner layer of the tortilla.
It’s a dance I never considered when buying the stack of Mission tortillas at the grocery store, and its cooking created a smell that I never thought would follow me home and urge me to seek it out in the markets of Boston. While I graduated from this cooking school, I have yet to recreate this dance on my own. Really I don’t know where to start. And that is the case for most of the recipes I encountered. Mexican cuisine is intricate with some sauces, like mole requiring more than 20 ingredients. It is because of this complexity and the cuisine’s importance in Mexican’s culture that it has been added by UNESCO to its list of the world’s intangible cultural heritage. This list incorporates traditions, which are passed down through generations in the form of oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, or knowledge and practices. Fortunately, my instructors at the cooking school are a part of this long heritage. Three generations of women, Maria Marquez, Patricia Merrill Marquez and Monica Navrette Merrill have given me a chance to indulge in their traditions. I have also been lucky enough to take home Patricia’s book The Buen Provecho Book (www.thebuenprovechobook.com[l.facebook.com]).
They are the people of the corn. And when that earthy smell begins to tug at my memory, I will not only think of the corn, but of those who have taught me to prepare and savor it.
Mexican Cooking Vacation in San Miguel de Allende[l.facebook.com]
Mexican Cooking Vacation: Mexican Cooking Adventure and School in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
mexicancookingvacation.com[mexicancookingvacation.com]