Glad you stopped by. You may want to subscribe in your RSS reader or get new posts delivered by email. Or learn more about Columbia City Blog. Want more frequent updates follow us on Twitter. Thanks for visiting!
Can you tell me a little more about the food you made at Villa Victoria? You were known for things like putting collard greens in burritos. Well, first of all, burritos are not anything you will find in Mexico. Mexicans are dainty eaters, they don’t want to eat big, honkin’ things. Only Americans want to do that. But people wanted burritos, so I made them, and instead I put in black beans and collard greens, as a syncretism honoring my parents.
What was your favorite meal as a child? Albondigas, or meatball soup. The meatballs have ground beef, garlic cloves, onion, and little mint, plus egg and rice. You bring water to a violent bowl and put in the meatballs, one by one. Meanwhile, you make a sofrito of garlic, onion, green pepper, and tomatoes, and let that cook down. You add it to the water when the meatballs are done. In 15 minutes you have an instant feast.
Within your study of Mexican cuisine, do you find you there’s a region that you have a particular affinity for? The state of Veracruz is very easy to love. It is so varied: You’ve got low plains, high mountains, and the coast. There’s actually a place in Veracruz — Perote — where they grow truffles. They grow truffles, hunt them out, and then they send them to Japan. If you take the bus from Mexico City to Veracruz, you’ll see all the different layers. You come down from the mountains and all of a sudden you’re in a valley, like Switzerland, with cows and meadows. Further down, you get into the steamy tropical area, where there’s coffee growing and lots of fish and vegetables. It’s just beautiful.
Do you have a favorite ingredient? Well, right now I am heavy into coconut oil. Coconut milk, too. I’ve been cooking my rice in coconut milk. And the other day, at a store down by Ikea, I found a half-gallon of coconut oil for just $15. I’m also really in love with lard right now. I just rendered my own lard from Kurobuta pork and I am loving that. My favorite meat right now is pork! I am coming around to it. I understand it now. It was always a mystery to me.More of Angela Garbes’ talk with Naomi Andrade Smith at Voracious. Smith’s old Villa Victoria space is occupied now by Empire Espresso.
No related posts.