Tag Archives: food

How to make a starter for sourdough bread and how to make sourdough bread, step by step

Posted on by Sofia Larrinua-Craxton
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This is the time it takes to transform a simple mixture of flour and water to crusty sourdough bread.

My friend lent me the book from Bourke Street Bakery and in it, there it was a step by step way of making sourdough ferment from flour, water, air and time.

Having heard horror stories of failed fermentations, I decided to follow this easy guide to great results.  What you need is:

1.     The best quality of strong flour that you can afford

2.     A good source of fresh water

3.     A set of scales

4.     Basic organisational skills

5.     A little patience

Day one: Begin by mixing 50 g of flour and 50 g * of water


Mix well, cover and leave in a warm place overnight.

Day two:  Make a paste by mixing 50 g of water and 50 g of flour, fold this mix into your original mix, cover and leave to rest overnight in a warm place

Day three:  Make a paste by mixing 100 g of water and 100 g of flour, fold this mix into your original mix, cover and leave to rest overnight in a warm place

Day four: Make a paste by mixing 200 g of water and 200 g of flour, fold this mix into your original mix, cover and leave to rest overnight in a warm place

Day five: Discard all but 100 g of the mix [the book says you can place what you won’t use into the compost].

The flour and water are mixed to a rough paste

The starter is folded into the flour/water mix but never stirred

The starter is folded into the flour/water mix but never stirred

* Richard Bertinet advocates for measuring water by weight and not by volume, it is more accurate

Repeat the steps from day two to five, every day for three weeks.  This time should be enough to make your ferment strong enough for making bread.

As the days go by, you will see that your mixture will start to bubble and smell ‘bready’.


It is important to feed the mix every day, otherwise at this stage,  you run the risk of starving and killing the ferment.  It is important to keep the mix in a warm place, an airing cupboard is good or any place that is draught free. DON’T put in an oven, over the AGA or over a radiator, you want warmth but not direct heat.  It is also important to work with clean utensils and to keep containers clean.  This is like a baby and as such, it needs to be fed and to be kept warm and clean!

If your mixture is too cold or hungry, it can develop a grey liquid in the surface, if this happens, please put in a warmer place or feed it with some more flour/water mix.

 

A grey liquid on the surface might mean the ferment is either hungry or cold.

If your mixture does not bubble anymore, it means it might be dead and you need to start again!

To be honest, if you are careful, you cannot go wrong.  Give it a go and when you are ready you can start baking the most amazing bread ever.

Once your ferment is mature, you can feed it less often, twice a week should be enough.  You can even put in the fridge for later use.   If you want to use your ferment from the fridge, feed it three times in a day as described below, this way you can revive your fermet at any time.  This means you can put your bakery on standby and go on holiday for instance.   Once you have mature ferment, you can also share with friends.  I have done this before and it is a great thing to do, however corny this might sound, it transforms lives, do it and you will see what I mean!

Below is an adaptation from the original recipe for sourdough from Bourke Street Bakery, it is not difficult, it just requires a little time and attention. Give it a go, the results are well worth the wait.  This is pure magic!

Begin by feeding the starter on the day you are going to start the baking process; this needs to be done whether you are using your starter/ferment for the first time, from the fridge or from ambient temperature, what you want is to get the ferment going!  Follow the feeding times as described below, this way you will not have to wake up in the middle of the night to feed this baby -a sure advantage of having a bread baby instead of a real one!

First feed about noon: 50 g flour and 50 g water, add this to 100 g of starter, remember to roughly mix the flour and water and then fold this onto the starter as you did when creating the starter.

Second feed -  eight hours after the first feed: 100 g flour and 100 g water,  same process.

Last feed – eight hours after the second feed or early in the morning: 200 g flour and 200 g water, same process.

Now for the bread! This makes 1.5 Kg of bread, that you can divide in three very nice 500 g loaves.

Ingredients:

400 g starter

600 g organic strong white  flour

170 g organic strong wholemeal flour – this particular flour blend makes a heavier mix, for a lighter version use only strong white flour

400 g water

20 g sea salt -ground

In the bowl of a food mixer, put the starter, add the flour and water.  Attach the dough hook and mix on slow speed for four minutes and then increase to the next speed and mix for another three minutes.  You should end up with a rough dough.   Cover the bowl and set aside for 20 minutes, add the salt and mix on slow speed for one minute and increase the speed to medium, mix for six minutes, you should have a very elastic dough that can be stretched to form a ‘window’.  To ensure that you have reached the right level of elasticity, take a small portion of the dough and stretch it within your fingers,  the dough should be able to stretch to transluscent without breaking, if it tears, knead it for another minute or so.

Leave the dough in the bowl and cover with cling film, leave to prove for one hour by allowing to rest in a place at room temperature.

Take out of the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface, stretch to obtain a rectangle that is about 2 cm high and fold one third of the rectangle onto itself and repeat with the remaining third.  Turn ninety degrees and repeat the folding process.  Place the dough in the bowl and cover with cling film, leave to rest for another hour.

Take out of the bowl and cut into three pieces that should weigh roughly 500g each.  Shape the loaves by repeating the folding process described above.

Line three bowls with a tea towel and sprinkle liberally with flour, place the dough seam side up, cover with cling film and put in the fridge to prove overnight [eight to twelve hours is best].

The morning after, preheat the oven to 200 C.  Take the loaves out of the fridge and leave them to rest for a couple of hours or until they have grown by about two-thirds of their original volume.  To ensure they are ready to go in the oven, apply light pressure with your finger on the loaves, if the dough springs back nicely when you put pressure, they are ready, if the indent stays in the dough, they need further resting.

Turn the loaves onto a baking tray that has been covered with grease-proof paper, score using a serrated knife or a razon blade, make sharp indentations about 1 cm deep -this is your signature on the bread.

Put in the oven and if you want, spray with water, this will give a crustier loaf.  Bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath.

Leave to cool on a wire rack and enjoy fresh or lightly toasted, the best!

Easy mid-week supper: Veal with Rosemary and Marsala

Posted on by Sofia Larrinua-Craxton
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During these cold times, nothing nicer than to eat some slow cooked food.  Difficult task to combine slow cooking with busy lifestyles? Not really, with a little thinking ahead you can enjoy weekend food in the middle of the week, the obvious secret: cook in advance.  This is easy and guarantees great results.

Casseroles are great dishes to prepare in advance, they in fact are tastier if made one day ahead.   Of course if you are really organised you can make a large batch and then freeze… this way you can access home-made ready meals at any time.

The principle of casserole making is more or less the same for a number of dishes, make a sofritto by sauteing some onion or shallots and garlic in oil or butter, then dust some meat with seasoned flour, seal the meat, add some herbs and alcohol, add some stock and put in the oven, wait at least one hour and voilá, comfort food at its best.

Here is a quick recipe for veal with rosemary and Marsala wine:

Ingredients for four people

20 g butter

20 g olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, pureed

a sprig of rosemary

400 g diced veal

2 Tbsp white flour

salt and pepper

about 70 ml Marsala wine

chicken, beef or vegetable stock

Begin by heating a casserole pan and add the butter and the oil

Onion, Garlic and Rosemary SofrittoSaute the onion for 5 minutes until transluscent. Add the garlic and rosemary, saute for 2 more minutes.  In a large tupperware container put the flour and sprinkle salt and pepper, add the diced veal, close the lid and shake well.  Take the onion, garlic and rosemary off the heat and reserve.

The browining of the meatAdd a little more oil and seal the meat until light brown on all sides.  Return the onion mix and add the Marsala, cook on high temperature to reduce the volume a bit.

 

Add enough stock to almost cover the meat. Cover the pan and place in the oven, the lower the temperature and the longer it is cooked the better, go for 120 C for 1 ½ hours.  Check the liquid level from time to time, add more stock if the pan looks dry.

Check the meat, it should be really soft and have that melt in the mouth feel.

Enjoy!

 

Yum

You can add mushrooms, wild mushrooms or potatoes to this dish.

How to make Mexican pan dulce

Posted on by Sofia Larrinua-Craxton
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One aspect of Mexican cuisine that seems to be a little overlooked is that of bread-making.  Although Mexico is not a country that has strong associations to bread as it is the case in many other places around the world, and although we are mostly associated to tortillas; there is actually quite a strong tradition of bread making that we inherited through European colonialism and which became firmly established during the years of Empire in the nineteenth century.

It is particularly during the short period in which Mexico became subject to the puppet emperor Maximilian, where traditions of European influence became adopted by the elites.  This included the introduction of bread-making, particularly that of making sweet confections that included pastry, elaborate biscuits and a variety of other items made out of sweetened dough.

As it tends to happen in Mexico, these items were adapted to locality and they took their own shapes and names; so it can be an amusing and strange experience for a foreign person to go and buy ears, gendarmes (or policemen), banderillas (or a hurting device that gets stuck on the back of a bull during a bull fight), shells, bows, rhombs and of course the once yearly Bread of the Dead.

It is not difficult to recreate these confections and recently I made a batch of conchas or shells that we consumed with gusto whilst accompanied with my Mexican parents.  They the big judges actually loved them.

The recipe is taken from Diana Kennedy’s El Arte de la Cocina Mexicana. I have done very small adaptations.  Be aware, this recipe takes a long time to make, but if you have time and with a little preparation you can have a fun weekend of making bread with delicious results at the end of the day.  Since the recipe is so long you might want to make a large batch and then freeze the bread.  To enjoy from frozen, simply place in a warm oven to defrost and warm through and enjoy with a cup of steaming coffee or hot chocolate.

Makes about 16 conchas

Begin by making a first ferment or siembra for the bread, many Mexican breads begin by making a first ferment that is used for the confection of the various types of sweet bread including bread of the dead:

250 g strong bread flour

one sachet [8g] of dried yeast

2 Tbsp warm water

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Put the flour in a bowl.  In a small bowl, crumble the yeast and mix with the warm water, beat well to obtain a paste, add this paste to the flour and eggs, beat well using the dough hook attachment of a food mixer for a couple of minutes, the dough has to be soft and sticky.  Add a tiny bit more flour so that the dough comes off the bowl, take out and place on a lightly floured surface, using your hands, fold it so that it looks like a round cushion and put on a baking tray that has been covered with some greaseproof paper, make three diagonal cuts across and leave to rise in a warm place for a couple of hours, until it doubles its size.

Use half of this ferment and freeze the rest, if you want you can use all the ferment, in which case it will be necessary to double up the quantities below.

Now you are ready to make the main dough:

Cut the ferment into large chunks, place in the mixing bowl and add the following:

500 g strong flour

180 g sugar

½ tsp salt

45 g soft butter

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

60 ml warm water

Beat the ferment and the ingredients using a dough hook for 8 minutes at a medium-high speed, the dough needs to be soft, sticky with a shiny gloss and it should stick together.  Add a little flour so that the dough comes off the mixing bowl.  Again place on a lightly floured surface and fold to make a round cushion shape.  Butter a large bowl and place the dough in it.  Sprinkle with a little flour and cover with cling film and a tea-towel, leave in a warm place for 2 hours or until it has doubled in size.  After this period, place in the least cold part of the fridge and leave it to ferment for 8 hours or overnight.

Before finishing with this process, make the butter and sugar cover for the breads, for this you will need:

125 g plain flour

125 g icing sugar

60 g butter at room temperature

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Sieve the flour and icing sugar and add the butter, mix well using your fingers or whiz using the food processor, you are aiming to have a soft dough.  Divide in two portions, add the cocoa to one and the cinnamon to the other one, incorporate well.  Cover and set aside.

After the long fermentation period, put the dough on a lightly floured surface and turn it into a cushion without pushing too hard, you don’t want to lose the bubbles formed during the fermentation period, divide the dough in four and then in four again in order to obtain 16 pieces, it is wise to weigh the pieces, they should be about 60 g each:

Place some greaseproof paper on three baking trays.  Make a dough ball rolling the pieces of dough and place on the trays, leaving a space of about 8 cm in between each piece.                                                                                                                                                     Divide the chocolate and cinnamon sugar mixtures in eight small pieces each and roll into rounds that you will flatten using the palms of your hands, press until you have a sheet that is slightly larger than the bread ball:

Place this over the bread ball and press firmly over the dough ball, flattening it a little and repeat with all the bread pieces. Once you have done this, proceed to make the cuts; using a sharp knife, cut into the sugar paste making diagonal incissions:


Leave to rest in a warm place for –yes you guessed another two hours, or until the bread rises once more from this:

To this:

Heat up the oven to 190C.  Place the trays in the oven and bake for twelve minutes or until they puff up and turn golden brown:

Now they are ready to be eaten!

Although this process seems interminable, it actually works perfecty for a weekend at home, start on Saturday morning, carry on with your life and do the fermentations during the day, leave the dough in the fridge overnight and continue on Sunday am, you should have bread ready to dunk into hot chocolate sometime around brunch time!

Pan de Muerto / Bread of the Dead

Posted on by Sofia Larrinua-Craxton
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Pan de muerto / Bread of the dead

It is that ime of the year again, the one where evenings get longer and when spooky ghosts will knock on our doors.  In the area where we live, it seems that the number of ghosts grow exponentially each year, we started with 10 and now there seem to be hundreds of kids knocking for tricks or treats.  This is a nice thing and I like to see our road full of little witches, ghosts and vampires, I like to see carved lanterns and it is all quite picturesque.

What I also like is to put a small altar with flowers to my ‘abuela’ Enriqueta, to my second  mother Alisi and to my ’muertitos’ to our dead ones, to remember them with a small and colourful offering which will include pan de muerto, this bread is typical of Mexico and it has lots of symbolism, it made in a round shape to signify the world, it has small pieces of dough attached and these signify bones, and it is always made only at this time of year.  It is very nice served with Mexican Hot Chocolate or Cafe de Olla here is a recipe:

Pan de Muerto  (Bread of the Dead)

Makes 1 large bread

1 x 7g sachet ‘fast action’ dried yeast

100 ml warm milk

500 g flour

150 g plus 2 Tbsp caster sugar

4 eggs, beaten

the juice and zest of 1 small orange, about 35 ml juice

1 tsp vanilla essence

50 g soft butter

½ tsp crushed caraway seeds (optional)

Put the oven to 180 C conventional /  160 C fan / Gas Mark 4

Activate the yeast by dissolving it in the warm milk and add 2 teaspoons of the sugar.

Sieve the flour into the bowl of an electric mixer such as a Kitchen Aid or Kenwood, add the sugar and salt plus the optional caraway seeds and the orange zest.  Add the yeast mixture and mix well.  Add the liquid ingredients except for the butter and using the flat paddle or the attachment for bread, mix at a medium speed for 5 minutes. Add the softened butter and continue mixing for 10 more minutes.  The dough should look very elastic and translucent.  Cover the bowl with cling film or a moist tea towel and leave to rise for a couple of hours in a draught free place or overnight in the fridge.  Punch the dough and put on a floured surface.

Cut ¼ of the dough and with the rest form a ball and flatten on the edge.

Separately make ‘bone’ shapes, you will need 4 long bones plus one ball that represents a skull.

Put the bread on a non-stick, floured baking tray or on some baking parchment.

Leave the bread and bones to rise for another ½ hr and when ready, decorate with the bones making a cross pattern and putting the ball on top.  Brush the whole of the bread with beaten egg and sprinkle with 2 Tbsp of caster sugar.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes at the indicated temperature, then lower the temperature by 20 C and leave for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature again by 20 C and leave for a further 20 minutes.

To see if the bread is cooked, it should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, and should look golden brown and it should have risen quite a bit too!

Note.  This recipe makes a rustic version of bread of the dead which is more dense than commercial varieties.

It is a funny thing that whilst outside the street is a vampire party with everyone dressed mainly in black, inside the house the place is full of vibrant colours with a more solemn atmosphere, a funny contrast which seems go to well in our diverse society.

How to eat a taco and the best taquerias in Mexico City.

Posted on by Sofia Larrinua-Craxton
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Like mole, the subject of tacos is enormous, there are tacos for all occasions, and for all types of people.  Small children in Mexico begin their taco-eating journey from an early age, most likely with ‘flautas de pollo’ which translates as chicken flutes the name being related to the similarity of these crispy tacos to a small flute or piccolo.  Some kids are brave enough to pour salsa on theirs, but many people, little or large enjoy eating these with guacamole, topped with lettuce a dollop of ‘crema agria’ and some crumbled ‘queso fresco’ and of course the ubiquitous optional salsa.  As we continue on our life journey, the palate matures -or in the case of many, it toughens; so more chilli, complex textures and flavours are required and here is where the taco subject extends massively.

To complicate things further, tacos are also associated to different occasions and they can be eaten at christenings, at private parties called ‘taquizas’, for lunch, as a snack just before going out, or as a perfect accompaniment to a long night on the tiles and of course as a good cure for the hangover that develops afterwards.

To attempt to classify tacos according to class, gender, race and festive occasion, would go beyond the scope of my simple blog, so I am not going to do that, not yet.  In fact I think that those outside Mexico who are interested in eating tacos, could perhaps start their own taco-journey by going to places like Taqueria -see my entry below, or its equivalent in whatever city you are.  If you are either in Mexico or are planning to visit and eat like the real Mc Coy, then you can follow these bits of advise:

1.  If you have Mexican friends join them, ask them to take you to their favourite taqueria, do ask what are you going to be eating, we tend to eat everything and although everything is delicious, it might not appeal to all, so ask first.  Then copy your friends add salsa, lime, coriander, onion, whatever takes your fancy, but remember that there is a code here and your friends will guide you, for instance a taco al pastor has to be eaten with onion, coriander and ‘salsa borracha’.  A taco de bistec should have lots of lime and perhaps a tomatillo or pico de gallo salsa. One taco topped with different salsas is a no, no, and don’t dip your tortilla chips (totopos) on salsa it is not quite the done thing… follow your friends or those sitting next to you.

2.  If you are a just a tourist and don’t know of anybody, then this guide might help you.

First of all go to a reputable place, don’t be mislead by the tourist thinking: if I am going to a stall that is full of people, food is being sold quickly so I might not get sick, well this might not be the case, also you might be eating things that are not necessarily of your fancy, so I would recommend going to a proper taco restaurant, or taqueria.  I will give some suggestions below.

Your taqueria should be clean, busy and it should have a ‘maestro taquero’, a master of the art of making tacos: this is a man (apologies for stereotyping people), he is usually in his thirties/forties, generally with a rounded belly and the proud owner of a bushy-black moustache.  He usually wears a white shirt, a white cap or paper hat and and apron and is extremely skillful in the art of taking orders, preparing meat, slicing, grilling, chopping, serving, making a mental account of how much each person is consuming, and then telling you exactly how much you need to pay.  Unlike sushi chefs, a ‘maestro taquero’ does not train for sixteen years before he can make his first taco, this trade is a ‘learn as you go’ job, but an advanced skill it is indeed! So much so that when I see them working so hard, so accurately, and always with a smile, I feel like giving them a round of applause -I won’t do that, I am not that ridiculous!

If you are a novice, go for simple tacos, things like bistec, chuleta, costilla, choriqueso (mexican chorizo and cheese), al pastor (pork in guajillo salsa and grilled pineapple), nopales (cactus), rajas (poblano strips, onion and cream) and alambre (poblano strips, char-grilled onions, bacon and steak). These should come on two tortillas piled with fillings and you need to divide these to make two tacos.  Then you add lots of lime and the salsa of your choice.  Fold the tortilla in half and in half again… if you want to look like a pro, then follow these simple steps:

  • Eat the taco with your hand, placing fingers like this: thumb and fourth fingers underneath the taco, index and middle fingers on top of the taco and little finger sticks out like when you drink a posh cup of tea.
  • Body position is very important.  Gentlemen, remove your ties! Tacos are better eaten while standing up.  To avoid spillages, chest sticks out a little and so does the bottom, this is in order to keep balance!  Tilt your head to face the taco and then you are ready to go.  Remember, practice makes perfect!

Most important is to enjoy the taco and for that you could go to:

El Califa.  Altata 22, corner with Alfonso Reyes in Condesa. Tel. 5271 7666.  London prices but the ‘Gaonera’ is delicious, go for the simple ‘taco de bistec’ which is very good, this is a post-modern establishment with videos, music, fancy deco and exhorbitant prices.  If you are in the area, go and mix with the in crowd, with luck you might spot Gael Garcia Bernal or Diego Luna

Los Panchos -since 1945.  Tolstoi 9, Anzures between Leibinitz and Dante, round the corner from Camino Real Hotel Tel: 5254 2082.  This is a traditional place which is always busy and where you can eat standing up, go for the carnitas, which are yum.  This is great to watch working Mexicans at lunch.

El Rincon de la Lechuza -since 1971.  Located in Miguel Angel de Quevedo almost corner with Insurgentes Avenue, very near Coyoacan district.  Tel: 5661 0050.  My parents used to bring me here when I was little and yes it is a family place, take mum, dad, cousins, brothers, sisters and granny.  Visit on a Sunday for lunch so that you can watch the other families; the grilled meats are very nice and so it was the chicken soup.

El Charco de las Ranas, in Rio Mixcoac 209 Tel 5598 6597.  In the middle of nowhere touristy, yet slightly close to Condesa, this place is a must, their pastor tacos are generous and delicious. In fact all their tacos are very generous.  This is a sui-generis place with slides for the kids, noisy, full of families and it looks like Mc Donald’s goes to Disneyland, but forget all that and enjoy the food, which is not only delicious but generous with fantastic salsas.   Also drink the rice drink (horchata) which is a favourite.

El Tizoncito in Tamaulipas 122, Condesa.  Tel. 5286 7321.  A beloved place that is full of memories, when I used to visit with my friends, where they used to have an ad hoc ‘park in’: people would park all over the place and someone would come and take the order and serve us in the car.  In my university days are full of memories where we used to all eat crammed inside my VW Beetle, and the smell of coriander would linger for days in the car!!  Sadly nowadays this place is a chain with franchises, more of a ‘concept’ now and their tacos do taste formulaic, however it might be worth visiting because they are in Condesa, because they are cheap, and because that first bite of a hot taco al pastor with all the trimmings is a fantastic experience.. and also because to watch Mr. Taco Master at work is something worth watching.

*this guide was partly borrowed from Chilango magazine and also from my own experiences and memories… enjoy!

Tacos al Pastor and Shawarma

Posted on by Sofia Larrinua-Craxton
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One of the things I like of the post-modern world as I understand it, is the fact that we can move from world to world in a similar way to that of opening windows whilst we surf the net.  Well at least that is how I feel life in London is, one is able to enter and leave worlds and move countries and nationalities in no time.

Not many years ago one was only able to move worlds by moving physically and that meant exile for many… how did people in exile continued with their memories of the lost land and dealt with their present in space and time?   I imagine that this meant moving nearby people that lived in the same conditions and people from the same country.  This seems to be one of the things that have happened in large cities and London is a showcase of many areas where people of so many nations live clustered together sharing spaces, a language, culture and food as well.

The other day I had to go to Divertimenti in Brompton Road and whilst I was cycling there, I was -once more, watching all the different pots that simmer in this incredible city, I went from Turkish Green Lanes in the north of London, through various districts that included gorgeous Bloomsbury where my beloved Birkbeck College is, through the trendy Marylebone area with all its shops and restaurants and I ended up in Lebanese Edgware Road, at this point I was quite hungry so I decided to stop at Maroush.  The Edgware Road I imagine, is like some part of Lebanon, full of spotless restaurants that are full of gorgeous, delicious goodies, amongst them lovely salads and dips, fresh and juicy shawarma straight from the grill, juices, a syrup drenched cakes.  Whilst having my shawarma I was thinking about how it is made and how similar is to Tacos al Pastor or Shepherd Tacos and it is funny the link here, maybe Tacos al Pastor are a Mexican adaptation of a migrant food of middle eastern origin.

As it happens, in Mexico we have the same contraptions where piles of marinated meat are put in front of a grill and turned to cook, whilst very skilled chefs cut bits of it and put them inside a bread and serve with salad, a gherkin, chilli sauce and a yoghurt dressing …yum! These are served rolled on sheets of paper and these are delicious washed down with a fresh juice.  These are called Arab tacos, and they can be eaten at ‘‘Taqueria El Greco’ in colonia Condesa in Mexico City and they are really similar to the shawarma I have had in Lebanese London.  However there is another dish that is similar in the way it is made and that is Tacos al Pastor.

I have no idea if these tacos existed when my parents were young, I doubt it.  What I am sure about is that when I was at university these were the rage and funnily enough the principle to shawarma is very similar… a Doner Kebab contraption, using marinated meat, in this case a mix of guajillo chilli, oranges, oregano and other ingredients, grilled until slightly charred and served skillfuly on a corn tortilla, not fogetting to add a little slice of roasted pineapple that has been flicked from the top of the turning grill.  In true Mexican tradition, these are served with fresh lime juice, a little chopped coriander and onions and salsa borracha, a hot salsa that contains pasilla chilli, vinegar and sugar amongst various ingredients.  I don’t know what it is, but these tacos are fantastic and at 7 pesos each from El Tizoncito in Condesa they certainly made very good fare for empoverished students like I was back in … um… back in the 80′s

What is great is that you can order a taco at a time and everyone else does the same -customers usually gather in front of the grill; there is only one man doing all the job and somehow he is able to track what is needed, who ordered what, who needs an extra taco.  Best of all is that each taco is served on a little piece of paper and at the end of your meal, your meal is sorted by counting the pieces of paper left on your plate.  Don’t try to be too smart though, they DO know how many tacos you have had and cheating with the number of papers is just not on.

I love tacos al pastor and I love shawarma, they are very different from each other maybe they have a common ancestor, maybe they are a refection of migrations, of different ways of experiencing something that could be the same, of the way we live nowadays, whatever it is, when in Mexico City do eat some Tacos al Pastor, they are great.