Mexican 101 cuisine

<p>On a recent Sunday morning, Bay Area chef Agustin Gaytan navigated the aisles of Castañeda's Marketplace in Windsor as if he were leading a tour of an exotic country.</p><p>Trailing behind the chef were 20 students from Relish Culinary School, voyaging into the heart of the Mexican pantry to become more familiar with the country's rich, vibrant cuisine.</p><p>"It's a true fusion of culture," Gaytan explained. "The Spaniards introduced livestock -- chicken, cows, goats -- and dairy products. With the galleons sailing from the Philippines and the Orient came spices like cinnamon, cloves, anise and black pepper."</p><p>After the tour, Gaytan took many of the market's colorful products -- jicama and cactus, chiles and tomatillos, oranges and mango -- and arranged them into a delicious menu for a hands-on cooking class at Relish's new culinary center in Healdsburg.</p><p>"I was thinking about key ingredients that people were going to see at the store . . . the cactus, masa, pumpkin seeds and Mexican cheese," he said. "It was an effort to incorporate as many ingredients as I could."</p><p>From Achiote Grilled Fish Wrapped in Banana Leaves to Tequila Flamed Mangos, the menu was inspired by the many regions of Mexico as well as Gaytan's multifaceted career as a chef and gardener.</p><p>That afternoon, the class learned to master many of the tricky, labor-intensive techniques required to create an authentic Mexican feast, from roasting chiles and softening banana leaves over an open flame to making corn tortillas and tamales from scratch.</p><p>Gaytan, who gives similar market tours of San Francisco's Mission district, draws upon plenty of real-life experience to enliven his cooking classes.</p><p>The chef grew up in San Miguel de Allende, an artist's colony located on a 6,000-foot plateau in the center of Mexico. He learned the joy of cooking and living close to the earth from his mother, Rita Hernandez.</p><p>"My mom taught us how to plant and to go to the chicken house to get our meal for the day," he said. "It was natural."</p><p>Gaytan's family tended a small store in front of their home, which was located directly across from the neighborhood corn mill. It started up every morning at 4 a.m.</p><p>"All these ladies would arrive with their buckets full of corn," he said. "By the time the kids were ready to go to school, their mothers would have made tortillas to eat."</p><p>During his tour of Castañeda's Marketplace -- opened a year ago by Jose and Fidelina Castañeda (see sidebar) -- Gaytan started off with a few of the products most important to the Mexican table, including tomatoes, chiles, beans and corn.</p><p>"Corn is the main staple . . . it's the daily bread," he explained. "The corn is cured with lime, then ground into dry masa. If it's ground fine, it's made into tortillas. If it's ground coarse, it's made into tamales."</p><p>The chef also unravelled the dizzying array of fresh and dried chiles and explained each one's names, uses and preparations.</p><p>"Dried chiles are a key element, because they are used to give flavor, spiciness and color," he said. "All chiles originated in the Americas . . . but they settled more in Mexico than anywhere else."</p><p>In the produce section, Gaytan introduced some of the more unusual vegetables and fruits, from the thorny chayote squash and the sour cactus fruit known as xoconostles to the starchy yucca root.</p><p>After talking about some of the traditional Mexican cuts of meat -- tripe for menudo, dried beef known as sessina, thin-sliced beef for tacos -- Gaytan headed to the market's bakery, where delicacies such as the shell-shaped "conchas" pastries were displayed.</p><p>Then, armed with plastic bags full of prepared masa doughs for the tortillas and tamales, the class headed up to Healdsburg to prepare a multicourse lunch.</p><p>One group of students made a Mayan-style fish, marinated in achiote sauce (made from anato seeds, spices and citrus juice), then wrapped in fresh banana leaves. The grilled fish was served with red pickled onions, a pumpkin seed and dried chipotle salsa and fresh tortillas.</p><p>As a side dish, students also prepared Northern Mexico-style Refried Beans with Ancho Chiles, which were finished off with a handful of asadero cheese, a semi-firm cow's milk cheese.</p><p>Gaytan is partial to pink beans, which are tasty and creamy when cooked in a clay pot with garlic and onions.</p><p>"I'm a bean aficionado," he said. "Mexico is a big country, and in every region, people grow only certain beans. It's a whole world."</p><p>While sipping some hibiscus iced tea, the students joined forced to make the tamales, spreading the masa on the corn husk, then adding a filling of roasted chilaca chiles, green salsa and queso fresco, a moist and mild Mexican cheese.</p><p>One of the tricks to making tamales, Gaytan said, is to make sure the dough is very, very spreadable.</p><p>"The spatula should spread very easily on the corn husk," he explained. "Add broth or water if it is not really, really smooth."</p><p>For dessert, the class sauteed mango slices in citrus juice, brown sugar and spices, then added triple sec and tequila and ignited the mixture in the frying pan. The sweet, syrupy fruit was served over ice cream.</p><p>Whenever he goes back to San Miguel de Allende, Gaytan looks forward to waking up in his mother's house and listening to the neighborhood come alive with street vendors.</p><p>"People will come to the door to sell goods, like fresh made tortillas, cheese and raw milk, bouquets of squash blossoms and fresh zucchini and avocados and cactus blossoms," he said. "It's wonderful."</p><p>But if he doesn't feel like cooking, the chef simply wanders downstairs to the market where women sell the wild greens that they have gathered since the days of the Aztecs.</p><p>"They will flavor the wild greens with a simple salsa . . . and sell them with freshly made tortillas and maybe a fresh cheese," he said. "Simple, simple fresh food -- that's a treat."</p><p>Fresh or frozen banana leaves can be found at Hispanic and Asian markets. After washing and drying the leaves, pass them over an open flame until they become flexible. Then cut them to size and wrap the fish like a little gift. This recipe comes from the Yucatan, where it is known as Pascado Tik-n-Xic.</p><p>Achiote Grilled Fish</p><p>Wrapped</p><p>in Banana Leaves</p><p>Makes 4 servings</p><p>1 whole red snapper (3 pounds) cleaned and butterflied (or 1 pound of red snapper filet)</p><p>Achiote sauce (see recipe below)</p><p>¼ cup olive oil</p><p>1 large banana leave, washed and cut to size</p><p>Pickled Onions (see recipe)</p><p>2 avocados, sliced</p><p>12 handmade corn tortillas</p><p>Spread the achiote sauce all over the fish and let marinate for 1 to 4 hours.</p><p>Prepare a charcoal grill. Rub the olive oil on the fish and wrap well in the banana leaf, cooking with the flat side down first. Cook the fish for about 15 to 20 minutes per side until it flakes with a juicy consistency. Serve with hot corn tortillas, pickled onions and avocado.</p><p>Red Pickled Onions</p><p>Makes 1 cup</p><p>1 small habañero or large jalapeño chile</p><p>1 large red onion, peeled and sliced into thin rings</p><p>½ teaspoon salt</p><p>1 large lime, juice only, mixed with ¼ cup water</p><p>Grill, peel and slice the chile. Mix the sliced onion with the salt and lime juice mixture. Add teh chile. Marinate for at least 15 minutes.</p><p>Achiote Sauce</p><p>Makes 1 cup</p><p>2½ tablespoons anato or achiote seeds</p><p>25 peppercorns, ground</p><p>½ teaspoon cumin seeds</p><p>½ teaspoon dry oregano</p><p>½ teaspoon dry thyme</p><p>6 whole allspice</p><p>8 large garlic cloves, peeled</p><p>2 sour oranges, juiced (or 1 regular orange and 2 large lemons, juiced)</p><p>1½ teaspoons salt to taste</p><p>In the blender place the anato or achiote seeds together with the peppercorns, cumin seeds, oregano, thyme and allspice. Add the garlic, juice mixture and salt. Grind at a high speed until smooth. The sauce should be loose.</p><p>Pumpkin Seed and</p><p>Dried Chipotle Salsa</p><p>Makes 2½ cups</p><p>4 tablespoons peeled pumpkin seeds, toasted</p><p>6-8 chipotle chiles</p><p>8 large tomatillos, peeled, washed and quartered</p><p>2 large garlic cloves, grilled</p><p>½ small onion</p><p>1 teaspoon salt, or to taste</p><p>½ cup cold water</p><p>Toast the pumpkin seeds in a skillet, stirring with a wooden spatula. Set aside. In the same skillet or directly over the fire, toast the chiles very quickly (about 20 seconds) turning them constantly. Soak the chiles in warm water for 10 minutes.</p><p>Preheat a grill (medium-high heat). Grill the garlic, turning occasionally, for 5 minutes.</p><p>In a blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients with the water. Grind at a high speed for one minute to form a smooth, thick sauce.</p><p>You can order fresh masa from a Hispanic market, such as Castañeda's in Windsor or El Toro in Healdsburg.</p><p>Handmade Corn Tortillas</p><p>Makes 18 to 20 tortillas</p><p>1½ pounds fresh masa for tortillas</p><p>2 tablespoons cold water</p><p>Mix the masa with the water (if necessary) to form a smooth dough. Roll into 12 small balls.</p><p>Preheat a 12-inch cast iron skillet (or any heavy skillet) to medium heat. Moisten both surfaces of the press with water. Place and smooth a slit plactic bag against both inner surfaces of the press.</p><p>In the tortilla press, press a masa ball into a 5-inch diameter circle. Cook in a skillet at medium high heat for 30 seconds on one side, 1 minute on the other, then 30 seconds on the first side again.</p><p>Repeat until all the tortillas have been cooked.</p><p>Northern Mexico-Style Refried Beans with Ancho Chiles</p><p>Makes 6 servings</p><p>½ pound pinto, black or pink beans</p><p>5 cups water</p><p>1 tablespoon salt (or to taste)</p><p>½ medium onion, quartered</p><p>2 cloves garlic, peeled</p><p>¼ cup virgin olive oil</p><p>2 ancho chiles, tosted, seeded and cut into strips</p><p>1 cup grated asadero or Monterey Jack Cheese</p><p>Place the beans, water, salt, onion and garlic in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Adjust to moderate heat and continue cooking until beans are soft, about 1 to 1½ hours, adding water if necessary.</p><p>Drain the beans and reserve a cup of the bean liquid. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the drained beans and mash them until they form a lumpy, thick puree. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep beans from sticking to pan. Continue cooking until mixture pulls away from sides of pan.</p><p>Add some of the reserved bean liquid to beans and mix in the chile strips. Continue to cook beans, stirring constantly, until chile strips are soft.</p><p>Mix in the cheese and a little more of the bean liquid if necessary. Stir gently and slowly for a few seconds and serve immediately.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Diane Peterson at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@</p><p>pressdemocrat.com</p>