As a child, I’d go to the tianguis (street market) at Obrero Mundial Avenue. It’s a traditional bazaar where I’d eat quesadillas and flautas (rolled tacos). I remember my mum cooking traditional Mexican food — things like fried tacos, carne de cerdo con verdolagas (pork with purslane), mole de olla (beef and vegetable stew) and milanesa (fried cutlet).
You can try these types of dishes at Taqueria El Jarocho, a restaurant in the Cuauhtémoc borough.
Corn and chilli are two ingredients that define Mexico City. Chilli, in my opinion, adds flavour, not just spice. Corn is the base of everything we do at Maizajo.
It would be romantic to say we go to the market every day to get our ingredients, but this city is too big for that. We source our corn and meat from a range of providers and farmers around the country. For seasonal ingredients, though, we try to go to the market at Central de Abasto.
I always have an amazing meal at Nicos in Azcapotzalco. It’s where I first fell in love with traditional Mexican food as a cook. It goes back to our culinary roots, but uses really good quality produce. I always ask for the mojo isleño con robalo (snook fish in a tomato sauce) or the catch of the day with fried plantains.
Click here to read the complete, original article by Farida Zeynalova on National Geographic
Source: National Geographic
