From My Mexican Kitchen: Techniques and Ingredients by Diana Kennedy, Michael Calderwood (Photographer), Michael Calderwood (Photographer)

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GUACAMOLE

Guacamole is one of those popular Mexican foods that is easy to make and very nutritious. There are many versions in Mexico itself, like a delicious one with tomatillos and avocado leaf, as well as many distortions that find their way back to Mexico (like the version in My Mexico from Zacatecas with of all things sour cream!). Guacamole is often served alone or as part of a botana with totopos, to accompany tacos, or as part of that extravaganza of a dish, Carne Asada a la Tampiqueña (The Art, page 287).

There is a lot of advice about how to keep guacamole from turning brown if it is not eaten when freshly made: by adding lime juice (which is not always appropriate), leaving the pits immersed in the mashed flesh, keeping it in an airtight container, and the latest foolproof one of pressing plastic wrap over the surface. (I shudder to think of the action of the fat off the avocados on the plastic!) My advice is don't make it in advance. Have everything already chopped, crush the base ahead of time, and mash the avocados at the last minute in front of guests. Why not? But be sure you have a nice-size molcajete (see page 298) to do your show in style. Of course, the perfect guacamole has to be made in a molcajete so the flavors are intensified by the crushing of the ingredients—cutting them just isn't the same. But if you don't have one, you can blend the base of onion, chile, cilantro, and salt and then mash in the avocados to a rough texture; don't blend to a smooth consistency—texture means flavor!

The recipe that follows is one that I first came across when I went to Mexico in 1957, and it seems tome to be a classic. One of the simpler northern versions with little wild chiles, onion, and lime juice is delicious, as well as the guacamole with the surprising combination of fruit, chiles, and avocado from Guanajuato (My Mexico, page 106). See the advice about buying avocados in advance on page 95, and no sweet onions, please!

Makes about 2 1/2 cups (625ml)

2 heaped tablespoons finely chopped white onion
4 serrano chiles, finely chopped (yes, seeds and all), or to taste
3 heaped tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
Sea salt to taste
3 avocados (about 1 pound/450g)
About 1/2 cup (125ml) finely chopped, unskinned tomatoes

The toppings:
1/4 cup (63ml) finely chopped tomatoes
1 heaped tablespoon finely chopped white onion
2 heaped tablespoons finely (but not too finely, just prettily) chopped cilantro

Put the onion, chiles, cilantro, and salt into a molcajete (see note above) and crush to a paste. Cut the avocados in half and, without peeling, remove the pit and squeeze out the flesh. Mash the avocado roughly into the base and mix well. Stir in the tomatoes and sprinkle the surface of the guacamole with the toppings. Serve immediately.

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Queso Fresco

It is always difficult to generalize, but in my experience the most ubiquitous cheese in Mexican food is queso fresco, a fresh cheese as its name indicates. Of course, there are other local names: queso de metate, queso molido, queso ranchero. While there are many inferior commercial brands, and the odd good one, the best are made in small quantities. On small farms, the extra milk left over from breakfast or supper is clabbered, cut, and drained overnight. The dryish curds are then ground on the metate and pressed into small circular molds. The cheeses are then removed and left to drain once more. They are used fresh as a botana, crumbled to top many types of antojitos, or sliced for stuffing chiles or quesadillas.

Queso fresco has a pleasant acidity and creaminess-if made with whole milk-and it melts well. Occasionally you can see the cheese oreado, or air-dried, which gives it a more concentrated taste and deeper color.

There are some passable and downright bad copies of queso fresco in the United States. The quality suffers because they are made of skimmed or semi-skimmed highly pasteurized milk with lots of rennet, which makes for a very tough curd. They have very little acidity and do not melt well. Of course, there are a very few well-made queso frescos, like those of The Mozzarella Company (see Sources), for instance, and I am sure there are others hidden somewhere. You will have to use what is available. But here is a recipe for true aficionados:

To make queso fresco
Makes just over 1 pound (500g)

4 quarts (4L) raw milk
Liquid rennet (follow instructions on the bottle)
2 rounded teaspoons finely ground seasalt, to taste

Heat the milk to 110_F (50_C) in a pan at least 4 inches (10cm) deep. Stir the rennet in thoroughly, cover the pan, and set aside in a warm place to set for at least 1 hour. The curds should be slightly firm to the touch, and should not adhere to your finger.

Cut the curds into squares of about 1 inch (2.5cm), making sure you cut to the bottom. Leave for about 2 hours for the curds to separate as much as possible from the whey. Transfer the curds with a slotted spoon to a cheesecloth bag and hang up with a bowl underneath to catch the drips. Leave hanging until the curds are well drained and fairly firm-12 to 24 hours, depending on the humidity in your kitchen.

Tip the curds out into the bowl of a food processor, add the salt, and process until you have a fine, crumbly mixture. Scrape into a mold about 2 inches (5cm) deep and press down firmly. Leave to drain for about 3 hours, preferably in a basket or bamboo (not on a metal) rack. Turn over once.

As soon as the cheese feels a little firm, carefully press it out of the mold and let it sit in an airy place to dry a little and season. It should acquire a pleasant acidity.

For requeson (ricotta), don't discard the whey, unless, of course, you have a pig in the back yard. Make requeson. Put the pan over low heat and let it simmer until a layer of curds forms on the surface of the liquid. Cook until the texture of the curds is a little firm. Drain in a cheesecloth bag until the curds are moist but not juicy, about 12 hours.

Queso Panela

Queso panela is the simplest cheese to make, but much depends on the quality of the milk, which of course should be whole and unpasteurized. One summer years ago, when traveling up the Pacific coast of Mexico, and when little settlements like San Patricio were virtually undiscovered, I saw in simple family kitchens the ever-present basket of dripping curds hanging up. The excess milk from the evening's milking-practically each family had a cow sheltered in the back yard-was clabbered for the next day's panela cheese.

For aficionados, follow the steps for clabbering the milk for queso fresco (see page 25), but instead of cutting the curds up, transfer large portions of them with a slotted spoon into a round shallow basket. The curds should be lavishly salted and left to drip overnight. The shape and textured surface will be formed by the basket.

This cheese is best eaten as fresh as possible. It is often served as a botana, or sliced on top of a cold dish or salad. There are available many unremarkable so- called panelas of many brands on both sides of the border. You can also substitute a slightly acidy mozzarella-type cheese.

Copyright© 2003 by Diana Kennedy Photographs by Michael Calderwood