2 Myth-Busting Mexican Dishes that Your Family Will Love

By Lorenza Munoz

Some people talk about Mexican food as if it were a sin. "I looove Mexican food," they confess in hushed tones, "but its sooo fattening." Or, they say, it's too spicy, too laborious, too meat-heavy, or that it's too unsophisticated.

Myth No. 1: Mexican food is fattening.
The most influential aspect of Mexican cuisine, indeed its foundation, is the pre-Hispanic culture. So, let's return to its roots and forget about the Tex-Mex-deep-fried-in-lard-giant-portion-chimichanga for a moment.

The Indians in Mexico never used animal fat or vegetable oil to cook their food. They boiled their meats and vegetables or roasted them directly on the flame or with a comal -- a clay or metal plate. They would bury meat underground in hot embers to cook it, or wrap fish and meats in banana leaves, avocado leaves or corn husks to bake in a wood-burning oven.

It was not until the Spaniards conquered Mexico in the 16th century that frying, lard and grease-heavy foods such as chorizo were introduced into the Mexican diet.

Related: Dig in to a home-style red pozole.

But even with the Spanish influence, one can easily make healthy and traditional Mexican food. One of my favorites is a classic Mestizo dish called verdolagas y puerco en salsa verde. This stewed dish of purslane, pork and salsa verde is a typical example of the meshing of the Spanish influence (they introduced pork to the Indians) with traditional vegetables and sauces. Not only is it delicious -- it also happens to be one of the healthiest stews you can eat.

Myth No. 2: Mexican food is too spicy.

Sylvain Daumont, the famed French chef who arrived in Mexico in the mid-19th century, said that a great cook needs to combine flavors and textures instinctually, just as a painter blends colors.

Mexico's cuisine has a complete palette. The most dominant flavors and textures come from the indigenous groups who predate the Spanish conquest. But from 1502 forward, waves of Spaniards, French, Germans, Jews, Italians, Czechs and Lebanese landed on the shores of Mexico. This melting pot of cultures belies the assertion that Mexican food is always spicy.

Related: Check out Diana Kennedy's take on Oaxacan food.

The French, in particular, have had tremendous culinary influence.In 1863, only four decades after the Spanish were defeated in Mexico's War of Independence, French troops invaded to try to bring Mexico back under Europe's sphere of influence. They installed Austro-Hungarian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian as emperor of Mexico in 1864, to the delight of some of Mexico's elite. French soldiers began to assimilate into the population as well, creating a new form of mestizaje. And so, la grande cuisine Francaise was quickly incorporated into the bourgeois Mexican diet.

Related: How to make your own spiced pumpkin churros.

For elegant dinners, menus were printed in French. Instead of sauces based with chiles, they were made of wine, cream and butter. Dinner tables were set with fine bone china showing the family crest, imported French lace linens and fine Austrian crystal.

Although the French occupiers were forced out -- in 1867 Maximilian was shot before a firing squad and his wife Charlotte returned to France -- the cuisine remained. And so the chayote, a native vegetable, is enjoyed in a light bechamel sauce and served as a side dish to a steak au moutarde, for instance. Soups such as cream of carrot are blended with cilantro, or mushroom cream soup with epazote. Huitlacoche -- corn fungus, an indigenous delicacy -- was given a new twist by being served not with tortillas, but inside crepes.

Related: The secret family recipe for perfect mole.

Perhaps one of my favorite recipes from home is the creamed chayotes my mother would make or the Italian-inspired noodle dish called sopa de fideo, which is served in a tomato broth and augmented with sliced avocado, cotija cheese and banana. For the main course we would have chicken thighs cooked in a sauce of vinegar and dried herbs such as marjoram, oregano, thyme, basil and summer savory. Because in my family we do like spicy, a salsa was always served on the side. And so while spice is a fact of life in Mexico -- it is not the rule.

Pork in Verdolagas and Green Salsa

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 large bunch of purslane, cleaned with the stems cut
1 medium yellow onion, sliced into rounds
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 7-ounce can of Herdez green salsa, medium heat or if you have the time, 1 cup of homemade green salsa
½ pound of pork neck
1 pork loin, cubed
1 32-ounce carton of chicken or vegetable stock

Directions

Heat some olive oil in a stewing pot and toss in the pork loin cubes to sear. Once they are browned but not cooked, add in the onion and garlic. Once the vegetables are soft, add the purslane and mix it in. Add the salsa, pork neck and stock. Add salt to taste. Cover and, ideally, let it cook for about 2 hours, until the pork loin is soft to the touch of a fork. Serve like a stew with tortillas and sprinkle a little cotija cheese on top.

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