Oaxaca, Mexico, has always been on my bucket list of places I wanted to visit and learn about the food. The opportunity came when my son, Neil, fell in love with the city and instead of staying longer in Chile, came back to Oaxaca for six weeks after spending a couple of weeks there prior to going to Chile.
Oaxaca, Mexico, has always been on my bucket list of places I wanted to visit and learn about the food. The opportunity came when my son, Neil, fell in love with the city and instead of staying longer in Chile, came back to Oaxaca for six weeks after spending a couple of weeks there prior to going to Chile.
Before I arrived, Neil already arranged for me to go to three cooking schools.
The first was Seasons of My Heart Cooking School with chef Susana Trilling. After several hours at the local market, with two guides splitting us up and taking us around to show us the various fruits and vegetables in season, we were driven to San Lorenzo Cacaotepec, Etla to a cook’s dream kitchen, with Mexican tile on the counters as well as the walls. Rick Bayless, Andrew Zimmern, Anthony Bourdain, Burt Wolfe, Sara Moulton and Jeff Corwin all have come to this kitchen to film a show with Susana.
People from around the world were cooking with me. An Irish couple was there to learn about Oaxacan food to take home to their pub. Total strangers, at the end of the long day, from 9 a.m.-7 p.m., we all warmed up to each other.
The group, divided up into smaller groups of three, made four dishes. Sopa de Ajo Con Flor de Calabaza is garlic soup with squash blossoms. With two heads of garlic in a chicken stock, the Jewish mother’s cure for colds, and the chile de arbol, according to Susana, this dish “opens your sinuses and heats your chest. My addition of squash blossoms and the licorice-smelling hierba santa give it a distinctive Oaxacan flare. The optional poached egg creates a dish hardy enough for a cena (evening meal) although I’ve eaten it for breakfast many times.”
Sopa de Ajo Con Flor de Calabaza
(Garlic soup with squash blossoms)
Makes: 8 servings
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 heads of garlic, cloves separated and thinly sliced
16 fresh squash blossom flowers, cleaned with sepals, stems and pistil removed
2 medium hierba santa leaves, rib removed and cut into strips or 1/2 bunch watercress with a nice shot of Pernod or anisette
1 dried chile de arbol or chile japones
1 bay leaf
8 cups chicken stock
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
1 bolillo or other bread, cut into 1-inch square chunks to make 2 cups croutons
5 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, stems removed and leaves finely chopped
1/4 pound manchego or gouda cheese, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
8 eggs (optional)
In a heavy 4-quart stockpot, over low heat, melt the butter and olive oil together and saute the garlic slowly, stirring so it does not brown, for about 15 minutes or until soft and translucent.
Add the squash blossoms and hierba santa or watercress and saute three minutes, stirring lightly, taking care not to break up the squash blossoms. Add the chile, bay leaf and chicken stock. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, bake the bread cubes in a 400-degree oven or in a dry frying pan until brown.
Five minutes before serving, season soup with salt and pepper and add the parsley.
In the bottom of each soup bowl, place five bread cubes and five cheese cubes. Ladle the soup over the bread and cheese, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve. If serving the eggs, carefully break the eggs, one at a time, on a flat plate and slip them into the hot broth. Spoon a poached egg into each serving bowl, add the cheese and the bread cubes, ladle soup over all, and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
• • •
The second day, mind you it took me two days to get to Oaxaca, from Hilo to Maui to LAX then to Mexico City and then to Oaxaca, I went to a Casa de Los Sabores Cooking School operated by Pilar Cabrera, who also owns La Olla Restaurant. After a few hours at a local open market, where Pilar purchased the ingredients she needed for the class, we went by taxi to her house to start cooking. The group assisted with making five dishes — appetizer, soup, salad, main dish and dessert.
An interesting side note is Pilar lost one of her sous chefs at La Olla so she asked Neil if he would work some nights. He takes Spanish classes in the morning, works for a gourmet shop developing new products such as introducing water kimchi, tsukudani and furikake to their shelves after lunch, and goes to help Pilar at her restaurant at night when she calls him to help. He is on a 20-month sabbatical from his job as a physicist in Germany. What a learning experience for him!
Then on Saturday, Neil and I went to Alma de Mi Tierra Cooking School, with Nora Valencia as our instructor. As she took us on a tour to one of the markets near her house, she talked about the history of the foods of Oaxaca. Corn, she said, is such an important ingredient in their cooking and it is what gives them the energy to work so hard. Corn is the base to make their tortillas and tamales and they are so particular about their sources. She bought fresh masa from a lady with a small table in the market because Nora said the quality of her fresh masa was superior to other vendors.
The historic center of Oaxaca and the archaeological ruins at Monte Alban are designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The people of Oaxaca are so proud of that distinction and keep their city very clean, washing the sidewalks before they open their establishments everyday.
Foodie bites
• There is a direct flight on United Airlines from Houston to Oaxaca, but I flew to Los Angeles with Hawaiian Airlines, then went on AeroMexico, which stops in Mexico City before going to Oaxaca. I was surprised how many Americans were there to enjoy the cuisine of the city. After all, it is so easy for most of them to get there and with the strength of our dollar, everything seems like a bargain.
I, like Neil, would revisit the city.
Hawaii Community College’s Bamboo Hale is featuring the foods of China and also will have an Asian standard menu. Call 934-2591 for reservations. The hours are 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
Email Audrey Wilson at audreywilson808 @gmail.com.