Mexican cuisine is an American favorite from coast to coast, but many people are too intimidated to try cooking real Mexican meals in their own kitchens. In Truly Mexican, Roberto Santibañez shows you that it’s the flavors that are complex, not the cooking. With effortless preparations and fresh, flavorful ingredients, Mexican home cooking can be simple and simply delicious.

An introduction to Mexican cooking covers the main ingredients as well as how they’re best prepared—from toasting tortillas to roasting tomatoes—and offers a few simple kitchen commandments that make great results a given. Recipes cover main dishes, sides, salsas, guacamoles, moles, adobos, and more.

▪ Features 128 recipes for authentic Mexican favorites—from classic tacos and tamales to stunning dishes like Braised Short Ribs Adobo and Red Snapper Papillotes in Green Mole

▪ Includes a useful Sources section to help readers track down authentic Mexican ingredients

▪ Provides straightforward instructions on essential techniques like roasting chiles, making fresh tortillas, and filling enchiladas

Illustrated throughout with dramatic photos that evoke bold Mexican flavors, Truly Mexican puts the real tastes of Mexico within easy reach.

Photo credit: Romulo Yanes

Featured Recipe: Pineapple and Cucumber Guacamole (Guacamole con Piña y Pepino)

Author Roberto Santibanez writes:

This is yet another wonderful recipe from my partner’s mother, Delia, who lives in avocado country and is so enamored with the fruits she grows that she turns them into beverages and desserts, not to mention plenty of guacamoles. This is one of her finest inventions and gives you so much in each bite—the soft crunch of cucumber, the sweet-tart flavor of pineapple, and the creamy pleasure of this chapter’s featured fruit. Plenty of heat and lime give it life and make it a great companion for anything grilled—salmon, shrimp, steak, whatever!

Because it’s more like a pineapple-avocado salad than a guacamole with a little pineapple, I often treat it as an appetizer salad and serve it to my guests in bowls with spoons.

Cooks&Books&Recipes Featured Cook Amy, fearless homemaker, notes:

guacamole is, hands-down, one of my favorite dishes. while it is perfectly satisfying (+ addictive) simply accompanied by tortilla chips, i also love it when it’s paired with fresh grilled chicken or fish. though standard guacamole is undoubtedly delicious, i’m always on the lookout for a guacamole recipe that has interesting, unexpected flavors or textures.

when i saw the recipe for this pineapple + cucumber guacamole, i was intrigued. fruit in guacamole? i had never tried anything like it, but the flavor combinations were definitely interesting and had the potential to be amazing. once i made this guacamole, it far exceeded my expectations. the pineapple adds a wonderful, bright acidity that cuts through the richness of the avocado, while the cucumber adds a fresh, crisp texture + flavor. this guacamole is intended to be chunkier than your average guacamole, but if you prefer a smoother texture, a few pulses in a food processor or even a couple strong mashes with a potato masher will give you a more uniform texture, while still preserving the wonderful flavors.

when i first received this cookbook, truly mexican: essential recipes and techniques for authentic mexican cooking, i was thrilled. this is not your average hide-it-on-the-bookshelf cookbook. with it’s gorgeous, colorful photos + wonderful descriptions, this cookbook could just as easily play the role of a conversation-starting coffee table book.  with sections on everything from the basics of mexican cooking to adobos, moles + pipianes, it wonderfully covers mexican cooking in a way that is complex + authentic, while still being approachable enough for a novice chef to attempt. i’ve already bookmarked a bunch of other recipes + have a feeling that there’s going to be a lot more mexican cooking in my household than there ever was before!

Photo credit: Amy Donovan

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