But the most interesting thing about salsa’s mainstream arrival isn’t just how popular it became, but rather how it got there in there first place. According to a 1997 “The Atlantic” article about the growing Hispanic influence in America, salsa was unlike other ethnic crossover foods, like bagels or stir fries. “Whereas most culinary trends begin in the large coastal metropolitan areas and creep inward to the heartland, salsa has its roots among rural Latinos in the Southwest and has spread north and east,” the article states. “This pattern bucks the usual “proletarian drift,” whereby first upscale urbanites become enamored of a new product, such as Starbuck’s coffee, and then, in time, even the most isolated market in Appalachia is selling caffè latte.”

Two more classic Latin condiments: Mexican xoconostle sauce and Cuban mojo.

How fitting. It was Latinos themselves who became salsa’s most powerful ambassadors in America, the ones who evangelized it’s spicy simplicity, who took a humble condiment of nothing more than four ingredients and gave it cultural movement status. Today, of course, the rest of the country is plenty familiar with salsa: not only does it continue to outsell catsup, it boasts twice the dollar sales in comparison, according to a recent reportlinker.com study. Maybe that’s why May is official National Salsa Month?

Whatever the reason, there are plenty of delicious ways to get in on the celebration. Go out and buy a bottle of pre-made salsa, of which there are many, or whip up your own.  Today’s recipe gives the usual salsa cruda a twist by roasting all the ingredients to add a smokey depth. As with all salsas, adjust the heat and acidity to suit your taste. And make sure to have plenty of tortilla chips on hand.

Roasted tomato and garlic salsa (Photo/Betty Cortina)

ROASTED TOMATO AND GARLIC SALSA

5 roma tomatoes, quartered
1 medium white onion, peeled and quartered
1 serrano pepper, halved, cored, seeded, veins removed
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 T olive oil
Juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Heat broiler, placing rack in position closest to heating element. Place tomatoes, onion, chile and garlic in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.

2. Broil for about 10 minutes, until vegetables are blistered and tender. Flip the vegetables half way through. Remove garlic and chile if it’s browning too quickly.

3. Remove skins from garlic. In a blender, place the garlic and vegetables and pulse until coarsely pureed. Add lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and pulse two more times to combine. Pour into a bowl and mix in the cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

The anecdote illustrates the tremendous difference between the role salads play on a traditional Latin American table versus how they’re served on a European one. “For us, it’s not a separate course,” Presilla said referring to the impressive variety of salads she chronicles in her book, a 30-year-in-the-making tome that explores cuisines from throughout Latin America. From simple avocado and watercress combinations to heartier composed concoctions, she dedicates an entire chapter to salads because “for us it’s more like a side dish served with the meal. It’s not a precursor to the meal. It’s part of it. That’s an important distinction.”

And a timely one, too. May is National Salad Month, and we can’t think of a better way to commemorate it than by whipping up one of Presilla’s award-winning salads. She shares two of her most famous ones here: a Cuban-style chicken salad recipe passed down to her by the great women cooks in her family, and a calabaza and grilled pineapple salad with brown sugar vinaigrette, one of the most ordered sides at her acclaimed Hoboken, NJ restaurant, Cucharamama. 

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Cuban Birthday Party Chicken Salad (Photo/Courtesy Maricel Presilla)

Maricel Presilla’s Cuban Birthday Party Chicken Salad

2 pounds red potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice, and kept in cold water until cooking time to prevent discoloration

1 T salt, plus more to taste

1 recipe Chicken Fricassee Cuban Style (follows below)

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, diced, and kept in cold acidulated water (1 T lemon juice per 3 cups water) until cooking time to prevent discoloration

30 pimento-stuffed green olives, halved

2 T capers, drained

1 cup cooked fresh or frozen peas (or drained tiny canned peas)

2 large red bell peppers (1 pound), fire-roasted, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch wide strips

2 cups garlic mayonnaise (recipe follows)

Juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 T)

Freshly-ground pepper

8 oz lightly-blanched fresh asparagus tips, for garnish

1 T minced flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Place the potatoes, 1 T salt, and 1 1/2 quarts water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart, about 15 minutes. Drain and allow to cool.

Remove the chicken from the sauce; reserve some of the sauce. Bone and skin the chicken and cut the meat into 1 1/2-inch cubes; you should have about 3 cups. Place in a large bowl and toss with the reserved sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

At least 2 hours before serving, add the reserved potatoes, apples, olives, capers, peas, roasted peppers, mayonnaise, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste to the chicken and toss well to combine. Refrigerate until well chilled. Garnish the salad with the asparagus and parsley and serve chilled. Serves 8.

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Garlic mayonnaise

8 large garlic cloves, peeled

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lime (about 2 T)

Place the garlic, eggs, and salt in a blender or food processor and pulse to blend. With the motor running, pour in the olive oil in a thin stream. Turn off the machine, add the lime juice, and process briefly to blend. The puree should be thicker than jarred mayonnaise, with some texture remaining from the garlic. Makes 2 1/2 cups.

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Chicken Fricasse, Cuban Style

One 3 1/2 lb chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces

For seasoning paste

8 garlic cloves, mashed to as paste with a mortar and pestle or finely chopped and mashed

2 T fresh lime juice

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper

For cooking sauce      

3 T extra-virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 medium yellow onion (about 8 oz), cored, seeded, deveined, and finely chopped

1 medium red bell pepper (about 6 oz), cored, seeded, deveined, and finely chopped

1/2 tomato sauce

1/2 cup lager beer or dry white wine

20 pimento-stuffed olives

1/4 cup capers, drained

1/4 cup dark raisins

2 bay leaves

1 T chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly-ground pepper

6 large Red Bliss potatoes (about 2 lbs), peeled and quartered
1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1. Season the chicken. In a small bowl, combine the garlic with the lime juice, cumin, salt and black pepper. Run the mixture all over the chicken and refrigerate, tightly covered with plastic wrap, for at least 2 hours or a maximum of 12 hours.

2. In a wide, heavy 12-inch skillet or sauté pan, heat the oil to rippling over medium-high heat. Scrape as much of the marinade from the chicken as possible and reserve. Add the chicken to the pan and sauté, turning occasionally, for about 12 minutes, or until evenly browned. Lift onto a plate with a slotted spoon.

3. In the remaining oil, sauté the garlic until golden, about 40 seconds. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes; stir in the bell peppers and sauté for another 3 minutes. Pour in the tomato sauce, reserved marinade, and beer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring. Add the olive, capers, raisins, bay leaves, parsley, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Add the chicken pieces, potatoes, and broth. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken and potatoes are tender. Remove the bay leaves. Serves 4 to 6.

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Calabaza & Grilled Pineapple Salad (Photo/Courtesy Maricel Presilla)

Maricel Presilla’s Calabaza and Grilled Pineapple Salad with Brown Sugar Vinaigrette and Cacao Nibs

For the pineapple

1 ripe pineapple (about 4 lbs), peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch slabs

1/4 cup simple brown loaf sugar syrup (recipe below)

For the calabaza

2 lbs calabaza (West Indian pumpkin) or Hubbard or kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch dice

2 bay leaves

1 Ceylon cinnamon stick (canela)

2 tsp salt

10 allspice berries

For the vinaigrette

4 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste with a mortar and pestle or finely chopped and mashed

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp salt

2 T simple brown loaf sugar syrup

For garnish

1/3 cup hulled green pumpkin seeds (about 2 oz), lightly roasted

1 T cacao nibs

Hot pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika)

Extra-virgin olive oil

Prepare a hot fire in a grill or preheat the broiler. To grill, place the pineapple slabs on the grill and cook, turning once, for 10 minutes on each side. Brush with the syrup and cook for 5 more minutes until lightly blackened. (If broiling, place the pineapple on a baking sheet and brush with some of the syrup. Broil about 4 inches from the heat source for 8 minutes, then turn over and brush against with the syrup. Broil for 8 more minutes.) Cut the pineapple into 1-inch cubes and set aside.

Prepare the calabaza. Place the pumpkin in a 4-quart pot, add 2 quarts water, the bay leaves, cinnamon, salt, and allspice berries, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until the pumpkin is fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Make the vinaigrette. Place the garlic, vinegar, olive oil, allspice, salt, and syrup in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

Assemble the salad. Place the pumpkin and pineapple in a large bowl and toss with the vinaigrette and roasted pumpkin seeds. Mound on a serving platter and sprinkle with the cacao nibs and pimentón to taste. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and serve. Serves 6 to 8.

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Simple brown loaf sugar syrup

8 ounces panela, chopped or broken into small pieces

1 cup water

Combine the panela and water in a small sauce-pan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, until the syrup coats the back of a spoon. Allow to cool, then pour into a glass or plastic container. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. Makes 1 cup.

Cuban-style pastries filled with guava. (Photo/Betty Cortina)

These Cuban-style pastries are a cinch to make thanks to pre-packaged pastry dough. Fill them with guava, cheese or anything Mom likes. Get the recipe here.

Chilaquiles, huevos rancheros and huevos a la malagueña. (Photo/ Courtesy Patricio Sandoval, Toloache Events, Ana Quincoces)

Forget the usual scramble and instead go for an egg dish extraordinaire with Latin roots, like chilaquiles, huevos rancheros or  huevos a la malagueña.

Golfeado, aka Venezuelan sticky bun. (Photo/Courtesy Michael’s Genuine)

Move over Cinna-bon and say adios to donuts. This golfeado—a.k.a. the Venezuelan sticky bun—is by far the sweetest, moistest breakfast bread we’ve ever tasted. Get the recipe here.

Papaya mango salad (Photo/Betty Cortina)

If you’re treating Mami to a day at the spa, help her keep things light in the morning with this healthy papaya fruit salad, spiked with a dash of Grand Marnier. Because it’s her day after all.

Jalapeño corn muffins (Photo/Betty Cortina)

There’s nothing quite like waking up to the aroma of bread baking in the oven. These jalapeño corn muffins are easy to make and a healthier version than the usual. Get the recipe here.

“My goal has always been to bring the recipes of home cooks – mothers and grandmothers – to New York City diners,” says Torres, who is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. “I think of those recipes as stories that need to be told. To me, that means staying true to tradition and making those recipes from scratch the way they were intended.”

Torres – whose father is a Puerto Rican retired police sergeant and whose Italian mother is a chocolatier who owned a small chocolate shop near their family home in Long Island – says that her mantra of staying true to time-honored tradition is a lesson instilled in her by her beloved abuelita.

“Abuela always said, ‘don’t forget to add love,’” reminisces Torres, who fondly remembers spending weekends and summers with her Puerto Rican abuelita in Corona, Queens. “It’s something very fundamental that I hold close to me now. It’s about focusing your energy on the preparation of a meal and that energy equals love – that special something that makes food taste amazing.”

Sue Torres (far right) has always loved cooking, a trait she says she inherited from her Puerto Rican abuelita. She’s pictured here at age 4.

Torres’ grandmother brought up her father and when he decided to marry an Italian girl, taught her new daughter-in-law her treasured Puerto Rican family recipes for specialties like juicy pernil, fluffy arroz con gandules and perfectly crisp tostones.

“She gave my mom every secret, every recipe. I know the norm is that mothers and mother-in-laws typically won’t pass along an authentic recipe because of some type of competition,” says Torres, the second of three siblings. “But my grandma treated my mother like a daughter and shared that there were no shortcuts to wonderful food.”

No shortcuts, says Torres, meant that she often accompanied her abuelita to the slaughterhouse to pick up the poultry and watched her spend hours hand-grating platanos and yuatia for pasteles (a process during which her grandma usually got a bloody knuckle or two). It meant that no effort was spared during the lavish breakfasts abuelita made, which always included steak, eggs, toast, freshly-fried tostones, sweet maduros and homemade French fries.

“She lived to cook for us,” says Torres, who has competed on the Food Network’s “Iron Chef.” Without her grandmother, explains Torres, she would be nowhere near the cook she is today. That’s why when Torres makes her sweet plantain and oaxacan cheese gorditas – a favorite on the Sueños menu – she remembers her abuelita with every bite

“She taught me that the platanos can’t just be black in color – they have to be soft to the touch,” explains Torres, who lost her grandmother in 1988. “I always tell my cooks to use all of their senses in picking the highest-quality ingredients – it’s so important.”

That sounds like a lesson that abuelita would approve of.

Sweet Plantain & Oaxacan Cheese Gorditas

Sweet Plantain & Oaxacan Cheese Gorditas

 4 black plantains, soft to the touch, almost if not completely black skin

2 t kosher salt

¼ c. Oaxacan Cheese, shredded into pieces

1 qt oil to fry gorditas (canola, vegetable, sunflower)

1 zip lock or plastic bag 6 inch or bigger, cut into two pieces

Rinse the black plantains well with cold water. Bring a large enough pot of water to boil that will fit the plantains. Add the plantains and cook over medium-high heat until the skins split, about 15 minutes. Use a knife to cut the plantain in half and make sure they are cooked throughout. You should see one even color. Remove the plantains from the hot water. Take the skins off the plantains and allow to cool. Transfer the plantains into a bowl while still warm but not piping hot. Sprinkle salt and mash well. At this stage you should have a moldable and workable dough. Should you find the dough to be too wet, you may add plain breadcrumbs, about 2 T. to bind the dough.

Line a flat container with parchment paper. Form a 3-inch round ball with the plantain dough. Place the ball on top of one piece of plastic (cut from zip lock bag), place the other piece on top of plantain ball and press down to flatten to 5 inches. Remove the top piece of plastic. Place 1 T of Oaxacan Cheese in the center and close up the plantain dough to hide the cheese in the center of the gordita. Form each piece of dough to a 3 inch round 1-1 ½ inch thick gordita. Repeat the process with the remainder of the plantain dough. You can cover and refrigerate the gorditas for up to 24 hours before cooking.

In a large saucepan, heat the frying oil to 375. Being careful not to overcrowd the oil, add the gorditas and fry until brown all over, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper-towel-lined plate. Serve the gorditas right away with tomato coulis, dollop of crema or sour cream and scallion slices. You can keep the gorditas warm in a 250 oven for up to 15 minutes.

*Cheese substitutions — goat cheese, drunken goat cheese, Chihuahua, etc.

Tomato Coulis

2 beef steak tomatoes, ripe, chopped

2 cloves of garlic

½ white or Spanish onion, chopped

2 -3 T. chipotles in adobo sauce

1 T. kosher salt

In a blender, combine all of the above ingredients. Season to taste. Heat a heavy bottomed saucepan with enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Once hot, add the coulis. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

But instead of brownies, cookbook author, pastry chef and award-winning blogger Aran Goyoaga frequently makes a light, yet sweet olive oil cake, a dessert that she says was always on the kitchen counter during her own childhood in Spain’s Basque country and one that she makes now for her own two children.

“My two-year-old daughter and I often cook or bake together before my son leaves for school in the morning,” says Goyoaga, whose blog, “Cannelle et Vanille,” is a two-time James Beard Award finalist in the individual food blog category. “There is always something for them to eat after school and cooking, eating together is something that I treasure as a way for them to learn about their culture.”

Goyoaga with son Jon and daughter Miren.

Goyoaga – who grew up in a family of pastry chefs in her small hometown of Amorebieta in northern Spain and worked as a pastry chef at the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach before leaving work for motherhood – says that one of the greatest lessons about cooking that she learned from her mother was that one should always use fresh ingredients. Fresh ingredients – whether just-picked apples or raw milk – makes the world of difference when cooking, especially says Goyoaga, when it comes to cooking for those that suffer from severe allergies.

Apple, Yogurt and Olive OIl Upside-Down Cake

While her son Jon and daughter Miren, were still tiny, Goyoaga was diagnosed with a severe autoimmune disorder and advised to remove all gluten from her diet to reduce inflammation. It turned out that Jon, now 6 years old, was also unable to process gluten. With pastry skills in hand, Goyoaga turned to her beloved kitchen and began to bake, roast, cook and prepare dishes that reflected her love for her Spanish heritage and passion for fresh, seasonal produce. Comforting dishes – like the olive oil cake Goyoaga’s mother used to make – became the basis for new memories she now shares with her own children in their Seattle, Washington home.

“Even a simple recipe can be heartwarming and there’s nothing sweeter than time spent together sharing food,” says Goyoaga, who shares here her variation on her mother’s recipe for olive oil cake, rich with velvety apples sautéed in butter and completely gluten-free.

Apple, Yogurt and Olive Oil Upside-Down Cake

3 Pink Lady apples, or any other crisp apple you like

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick or 30 g) unsalted butter

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (130 g) natural cane sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped

3/4 cup (105 g) superfine brown rice flour

1/3 cup (35 g) almond flour

1/4 cup (40 g) potato starch

1/4 cup (35 g) millet flour

2 tablespoons tapioca starch

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1/2 cup (100 g) packed muscovado or dark brown sugar

1/2 cup (125 ml) whole milk, plain yogurt

1/2 cup (125 ml) olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease an 8 by 3-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.

2. Core the apples, quarter them, and cut each quarter into fourths. Heat the butter, 2 tablespoons of the natural cane sugar, and the vanilla pod (save the seeds for the batter) in a large sauté pan over medium heat until the butter has melted. Add the sliced apples and cook for 7 minutes or until they are tender but still hold their shape. The sugar should not caramelize. Let the apples cool for 15 minutes.

3. Arrange the apples tightly on the bottom of the cake pan in a circular pattern.

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the super fine brown rice flour, almond flour, potato starch, millet fl our, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, remaining cup (100 g) natural cane sugar, muscovado sugar, yogurt, olive oil, and vanilla seeds. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and whisk until the batter comes together. Pour the batter into the cake pan.

6. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Carefully invert it onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

7. Store in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it for up to one month.

Cumin seeds (Photo/Betty Cortina)

Cumin Seeds Not pre-ground cumin, insists Pelaez, but rather the whole seeds, which she toasts and grinds herself in the moment she needs them. “Whenever I was cooking and a traditional recipe called for cumin, I’d just leave it out because I didn’t like the taste,” she said. “I kept wondering why it was in everything when I didn’t like it. But then I was reading a recipe by Chef Marcus Samuelsson and saw that he started with the whole seeds. So I tried that, and it made a huge difference.” The key, Pelaez says, is to only prepare as many seeds as you need, lightly toast them to bring out their flavor—then grind them. Most often combined with oregano, she says the cumin seeds add hints of citrus and pungency and “tighten up all the flavors that are already there.”

Hoja santa (Photo/Betty Cortina)

Hoja Santa A popular herb in Mexico, hoja santa is one of Chef de la Vega’s key ingredients when she’s preparing chicken and seafood dishes as well as soups, stews or moles. “It adds a hint of anise flavor but in a very particular way,” she says. Most often used fresh, hoja santa can also be used as a wrapper for cheese and steaming tamales (the way you might use corn husks, for instance), or it can be chopped or thinly sliced and added to stews or scrambled eggs. If you’re not in a heavily Mexican neighborhood, it might be easier to find dried hoja santa, in which case you can simply sprinkle it into whatever you’re cooking. Just note that the dried version’s flavor is subdued, so you might want to add a little extra.

Panela (Photo/Betty Cortina)

Panela “This is a great little ingredient,” says Gorenstein, “I always have a block of it in my freezer.” While panela, which is dried, raw sugar cane juice, is most traditionally used as a sweetening agent in desserts, Gorenstein tosses it in when braising or slow roasting beef, “because it helps in the caramelization and it adds a great, deep caramel flavor.” It’s also one the of secret ingredients in his barbecue sauce. “The true American barbecue sauce uses molasses, but panela brings a much deeper, more natural flavor—because it’s actual sugar cane.” Other uses? “I add it to a pot of black beans along with a squeeze of lime juice,” he said. “Or use instead of regular sugar it to make a mojito extra sweet.”

Malanga (Photo/Betty Cortina)

Malanga Also known as yautia in Puerto Rico, this tropical root with a woodsy taste is often deep fried into fritters or boiled, mashed and served to ailing tummies. But Pelaez adds chunks of fresh malanga to her garbanzo stews or soups along with potatoes to give the concoction extra starchy texture, she says. “It dissolves a little and thickens the broth,” she says, “and then the malanga becomes so tender and pillow-y its like a little dumpling in the soup. It’s great!”

Whether you like a red gazpacho made with juicy red tomatoes, crisp cucumbers and bright green peppers or ajo blanco gazpacho, the earliest version of the Spanish bread soup, made with finely-ground almonds and sweet grapes, there’s a version for everyone, just in time for National Gazpacho Aficionado Month. That’s right: this classic Spanish soup – a humble meal that was first made by peasants with little more than bread, water, garlic, vinegar and olive oil – can be made in any number of ways, and we’re bringing three of our very best recipes to you to try.

White gazpacho.

White gazpacho (ajo blanco) 

The earliest form of gazpacho was made with a base of bread and blanched almonds, as it wasn’t until the 19th century that New World ingredients like tomatoes and peppers were introduced to Spain. It’s a deliciously savory-smooth soup, made slightly sweet with green grapes accented by the crisp, smooth bite of sherry vinegar.

3 1-inch thick slices crusty white bread

1 cup whole blanched almonds, finely ground

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup chilled bottled water

1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 T sherry vinegar

16 green grapes, for garnish

Toasted almond slivers, for garnish

1. Place the bread in a large bowl. Add cold water to cover. Let it soak for about 5 minutes. Squeeze the water out of the bread. Place the crumbled bread into a blender.

2. Add the almonds, garlic, sea salt and bottled water to the blender and puree until smooth. With the blender running, slowly pour in the olive oil through the feed tube until emulsified. Start with 1/3 cup, and add more if the puree is too thick.

3. Place the puree in a bowl and whisk in the vinegar. If still too thick, add a little more bottled water. Season with more salt if necessary. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

4. To serve, place four grapes in a bowl and pour the fully-chilled gazpacho over them. Garnish with almond slivers. Makes 4 servings.

Classic red gazpacho

Classic tomato gazpacho

This simple gazpacho allows the flavors of fresh tomato to truly shine and is made special with the classic toppings of diced cucumber, garlic croutons, hard boiled egg and scallions.

4 slices of thick, crusty bread with the crusts removed (Portugese or Italian bread work well)

1 cup water

2 pounds tomatoes, coarsely chopped

2 green peppers, coarsely chopped

1 medium cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 medium Spanish onion, coarsely chopped

5 large cloves of garlic, peeled

1/2 cup mild Spanish extra virgin olive oil

6 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1 1/2 cups cold water

Salt

Optional: Finely-chopped tomato, green pepper, cucumber, hard-boiled egg, garlic croutons (recipe below) and/or scallions.

1. Soak bread in water and squeeze dry; set aside. Place tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, onion, garlic, bread and water in a blender or food processor with olive oil and vinegars.

2. Blend until completely smooth and pass through a fine strainer in a bowl, using a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible from the mixture. Add salt to taste and chill before serving. Serve in bowls with toppings on the side to garnish to taste. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Garlic croutons recipe

6 slices of thick, crusty bread (Portugese or Italian bread work well here)

6 large garlic cloves, crushed (use the flat side of a knife to crush, or “smash” the garlic on a cutting board)

½ teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons Spanish olive oil

1. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and coat the bottom of the pan with the olive oil. Add the garlic and sauté for about 45 seconds or until fragrant.

2. Add bread cubes to the pan and sprinkle with salt. Cook the bread cubes until golden brown, stirring as necessary to cook on all sides. Serve over gazpacho. Stored in an air-tight container, the croutons will keep fresh for a few days.

Natalie Morales’ “World Famous” gazpacho

TODAY Show news anchor Natalie Morales is many things, among them smart, beautiful and a talented cook. One of her go-to meals just happens to be her “world famous” gazpacho, frequently requested by family and friends thanks to its chunky mix of tomatoes, cucumber and avocado with a dash of hot sauce for added kick. Click here to get the recipe and watch Morales making the gazpacho step by step below.

If there’s one town in America that’s decidedly all about meat and potatoes, it’s Dallas, Texas. Home to the state’s oil industry, Dallas’s restaurants reflect the tastes of its residents – think slabs of steak and the usual steakhouse sides of creamed spinach and scalloped potatoes. But there is one chef who stands out among his peers in Dallas: Omar Flores, a Culinary-Institute-of-America-trained chef who has made seafood the protein of choice among the city’s foodies, turning out plate after plate of sustainable fish seasoned with clean, fresh and decidedly Mexican flavors.

“I grew up eating predominantly meat myself,” says Flores, 32. “But once I discovered seafood in culinary school, I fell in love and now, I enjoy bringing that experience of diving into something fresh and new to diners in Dallas. This city has an excess of steakhouses and to serve something different that reflects where I come from is a lot of fun.”

A composed hamachi crudo dish by Chef Omar Flores.

Born to Mexican parents – dad owned a restaurant, mom was a homemaker who always sent Flores off to school with enchiladas for lunch – Flores grew up in El Paso, Texas with an appreciation for the flavors of his heritage. He says he always knew he wanted to become a chef and after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in restaurant management at New Mexico State University, took off for New York City’s Culinary Institute of America. Flores worked at several restaurants in New York City– including David Boulud’s Café Boulud – before heading back to the Lone State to work at Abacus Restaurant in Dallas. He quickly earned a reputation for elegant, composed plates and when he heard that a new restaurant  in town – Driftwood – was looking for an executive chef, decided to go for it. One plate of ahi tuna crudo dressed with yuzu, olive oil, English cucumber, 7 spice and churned avocado ice cream later, Flores had the job.

Flores describes his style as contemporary American, and that it is, reflective of the country’s growing Hispanic population and its culinary traditions. He serves steamed littleneck clams in a garlic confit, pickled aji amarillo and white wine broth and plates chargrilled octopus with manzanilla olives and smoked tomato vinaigrette; entrees made special with a decidedly Latin sensibility.

“I make dishes that reflect my style, but that people don’t feel intimidated by,” says Flores, whose cuisine has earned him multiple 4-star ratings from local press, as well as a nomination for “The People’s Best New Chef Award” from Food & Wine magazine. “I want people to feel comfortable about trying Latin-inspired seafood dishes that aren’t the usual fish tacos.”

“I want to push Dallas to try new things – but I want to stay true to who I am by doing so.”

Ahi tuna, avocado ice cream, yuzu olive oil

1 pound Ahi Tuna

Ice cream

2 cups cream

1 cup milk

1 ¼ sugar

¼ tsp

3 avocados

14/ salt

6 egg yolks

The juice from two limes

½ cup spinach leaves

Dressing

½ yuzu

1 tbsp white soy sauce

1 tbsp mirin

2 tbsp seasoned sushi vinegar

¼ extra virgin olive oil

Togarashi, to taste

Cilantro leaves, to taste

1.  In a blender, combine avocado, spinach, lime juice and 1 cup of cream. Puree well and strain. In a mixing bowl whisk together egg yolks, sugar, salt and avocado puree. Scald remaining cream and milk and temper egg-avocado mixture. Strain and cool. Follow recommended ice cream machine instructions.

2. For the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients and whisk until well incorporated.

3. To assemble, slice tuna thinly and arrange on a plate. Season lightly with sea salt, togarashi and place a few cilantro leaves on the tuna. Spoon a small amount of the vinaigrette on the fish and finish off with a small scoop of the ice cream.

The tacos de Tuétano at Hecho en Dumbo feature roasted bone marrow and caramelized wagyu beef tongue with a sherry-avocado salsa; the mole pipián is made with plenty of carefully sourced cinnamon and clove, simmered for hours and served over lamb belly confit and garnished with pickled cactus, crisp white onion and milky queso fresco. Sure, these are Mexican classics, but in 33-year-old Danny Mena’s kitchen, they are reinterpreted with satisfying, heritage ingredients, well-executed classic technique and a subdued, yet modern sensibility that has satisfied hungry customers since the Hecho en Dumbo’s first incarnation as a pop-up restaurant in Brooklyn. Trained at the French Culinary Institute with an impressive stint at the Modern in New York City behind him, Mena has created a restaurant whose menu is forward-thinking, yet familiar with its deep-seated roots in classic Mexico City fare.

Born in Mexico City to a Mexican father and American mother, Mena was exposed very early to the bold, rich flavors characteristic of Mexican cuisine. But, Mena says, despite his parents’ best intentions, he was a picky eater as a kid, preferring beef milanesa cutlets with fries and ketchup over more traditional Mexican meals. With his parent’s divorce as a teen – after which his mother returned to her native Virginia – Mena began the habit of stopping by friends’ homes for meals, where “refusing a plate wasn’t the polite option,” he says. From then on, his interest in food and cooking grew, and during his time studying engineering at Virginia Tech, carved out a reputation for himself as “that guy” whipping up homemade pasta at dinner parties in his small apartment. After graduation with a B.S. in hand, Mena returned to Mexico City to work as an engineer, but couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was meant to be in the kitchen. At 25, he applied and was accepted to the French Culinary Institute in New York City and spent a year and half at the Modern, where he became known for his perfect execution of French cuisine.

“I just knew I didn’t want to cook that kind of food forever,” recalls Mena, who started Hecho en Dumbo as a nightly pop-up restaurant at a small shop in Brooklyn in 2007. “So I just left my job and began to think seriously about how I could execute Mexican food in a way that would retain its essence and beauty, but would be approachable to people across all backgrounds.”

So what began as a small tacqueria – featuring sopes and tacos that Mena cooked up in his loft before bringing them over to the converted downtown Brooklyn general store that hosted Hecho en Dumbo – eventually became a New York City institution, offering a taste of Mexico City reflected in a modern way.

A look at Hecho en Dumbo’s urban-mod interior.

“I think many young Mexican chefs are returning to the food they grew up with, because as a chef you realize very quickly that something is lost in translation when someone outside our culture tries to interpret it,” says Mena. “My approach to food reflects what’s going on in Mexico and what’s happening in the culinary world – it’s traditional, but experimental.”

For Mena, “experimental” includes the use of house-smoked Berkshire pork chops in his molcajete, homemade spice rubs for all of his grilled meats, all-organic ingredients and special touches like infused oils, house-made chicharrón and stone-ground corn tortillas.

“I’m so happy with what I do,” Mena says. “To cook the way I do is rewarding – I’m responsible for making people understand where I come from, and I take that seriously.”

And that even includes the celebration of Cinco de Mayo. Like most Mexicans, Mena considers the holiday a strictly American celebration, but he will commemorate the holiday with a special menu at Hecho en Dumbo. On the menu? Lobster crepes, which reflect France’s lasting culinary influence on Mexican cuisine and Mena’s love of freshly-caught, sustainable seafood.

Crepas de Langosta

Crepes

1 cup flour

½ tsp salt

3 large eggs

1 ¼ cups milk

2 tbsp butter

Place the flour and salt in a bowl and create a well in the center of the flour. Whisk the eggs and milk together and pour into the well. Whisk the flour and egg mixture together, then whisk in the butter.

Heat an 8 1/2 inch non-stick crepe pan over medium heat until hot. Spray with a non-stick spray, then use a 1-ounce ladle to pour the batter into the center of the skillet (or add 2 tablespoons of batter to the skillet). Rotate the skillet in a circular motion to cover the bottom of the pan evenly with the batter (if you hear it sizzle in the pan, your heat is too high).

Cook for 30 to 45 seconds to set the batter. Then use a small, narrow spatula to gently flip the crepe. Cook for only 10 to 15 seconds more, to set the second side. Remove the crepe and place it with the nicer side down on a paper towel. Repeat for the remaining crepes, spraying the pan as needed, and layering the paper towels and crepes.

Sauce

5 pasilla chiles

3 whole tomatoes

½ onion, peeled

1 clove garlic

2 cups water

½ cups heavy cream

1 tbsp sugar

Toast chiles on a griddle for 3-4 minutes until aromatic. Blend chiles with tomato, onion, garlic, and water very well. Strain and pour into a pot with a little bit of oil and cook for 15 minutes, until flavors are melded. Add the cream and season well with salt and pepper and sugar. Keep warm.

Lobster

4 lobster tails

Blanch the lobster tails in a pot of water for 4 minutes. Afterwards remove shell and cut into nice pieces.

To serve, put lobster tails inside of crepes and fold crepe over, ladle the chile pasilla sauce and top with chopped chives.

Need to catch up on our series on a new generation of Mexican American chefs? Check out Part 3 of our series featuring pastry chef Luis Villavelazquez here. For Parts I and 2, click here.