TacoProject

Taco recipes, taquería reviews and regional guides from Austin: al pastor, birria, breakfast tacos, salsas and the stories behind them.

Marcus Bell

Horchata: The Taco Night Drink

Prep (min)

10

Cook (min)

0

Total

8 hrs (soaking)

Serves

6 glasses

Difficulty

Easy

Heat 🌶

1

Mexican horchata is an agua fresca made from rice and cinnamon. It descends from the Spanish horchata de chufa of Valencia, which uses tiger nuts. In Mexico, rice took over, and the result is the creamy drink that tames even salsa de árbol.

  • 1 cup long-grain white rice
  • 1 cinnamon stick (canela), broken up
  • 5 cups water, divided
  • 1/2 cup sugar, or to taste
  • 1 tsp vanilla, optional splash of milk
  1. Soak rice and cinnamon in 2 cups hot water overnight.
  2. Blend until very smooth, about 2 minutes.
  3. Strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth.
  4. Stir in the remaining 3 cups water, sugar and vanilla. Serve over lots of ice.

Cochinita Pibil and the Tacos of Yucatán

The Yucatán peninsula has a cuisine all its own, shaped by Maya traditions, Spanish ingredients, and Caribbean trade. Its most famous dish is cochinita pibil: pork marinated in achiote and sour orange, wrapped in banana leaves, and slow-roasted until it pulls apart with a fork.

Cochinita pibil with pickled red onion
Photo: El Nuevo Doge / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

The name

Cochinita means little pig (traditionally a suckling pig). Pibil comes from the Yucatec Maya word pib, an underground earth oven. A pit is dug, lined with stones, and a fire is built until the stones are glowing hot. The wrapped meat goes in, the pit is covered, and hours later dinner emerges smoky and tender.

The flavors

  • Achiote (annatto): the seeds of the achiote tree, ground into a brick-red paste (recado rojo) with spices such as cumin, oregano, black pepper, and allspice. It gives cochinita its color and earthy flavor.
  • Naranja agria (sour orange): a bitter, tart citrus common in Yucatecan cooking. Outside the region, cooks often approximate it with a mix of orange and lime juice, sometimes with a splash of vinegar.
  • Banana leaves: wrapped around the meat to keep it moist and add a subtle, grassy aroma.

Serving it

Cochinita is served in tacos, tortas, and panuchos (fried tortillas stuffed with black beans). The essential topping is cebolla morada encurtida, red onion pickled in sour orange, usually with a fiery slice of habanero, the chile most associated with the peninsula. Sunday mornings in Mérida often mean a cochinita torta and a cold drink.

A glass of horchata
Photo: Sharon Hahn Darlin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Other Yucatecan dishes worth hunting down: poc chuc (citrus-marinated grilled pork), relleno negro (turkey in a black chile paste), and sopa de lima. Browse more regional styles.

Related

Tacos de Canasta: Mexico City’s Sweaty Basket Tacos

If you have spent a morning in Mexico City, you have probably seen a bicycle with a big wicker basket strapped to the back, wrapped in blue plastic and cloth, and a vendor calling out tacos de canasta. Inside are dozens of small, soft tacos, stacked and steaming. Their nickname, tacos sudados (“sweaty tacos”), explains the texture perfectly.

Tacos de canasta in Coyoacán
Photo: Jorge A. Ramos Ruiz / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
[Read more…] about Tacos de Canasta: Mexico City’s Sweaty Basket Tacos

Quick Vegan Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

Prep (min)

10

Cook (min)

20

Total

30 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Heat 🌶

1

🥄 Pairs well with: Pico de Gallo, Salsa de Cacahuate

Roasted sweet potato and smoky black beans are a combination that punches way above its weight. This is our go-to when it is 6:30 and nobody has a plan.

Ingredients

  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp chili powder, salt
  • 8 corn tortillas
  • 1 avocado (or a bowl of guacamole), pickled red onion, cilantro, lime

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Toss sweet potatoes with oil and spices and roast 20 minutes.
  2. Add the beans to the pan, stir, and roast 5 more minutes.
  3. Fill warm tortillas and top with avocado, pickled onion, cilantro and lime.
PrepCookTotal
5 minutes25 minutes30 minutes

Rajas con Crema and Mushroom Tacos

Prep (min)

15

Cook (min)

25

Total

40 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Heat 🌶

2

🥄 Pairs well with: Salsa Verde Cruda

Rajas means “strips,” and rajas con crema is a central Mexican classic: roasted poblano peppers cooked down with onion and cream until silky. We add well-browned mushrooms for a meaty depth and sweet corn for pops of color.

Ingredients

  • 4 large poblano peppers
  • 12 oz cremini or oyster mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 white onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3/4 cup Mexican crema (or heavy cream)
  • 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco
  • 2 tbsp oil, salt, and 12 warm corn tortillas

Method

  1. Char the poblanos directly over a gas flame or under the broiler, turning until blackened all over.
  2. Seal them in a bowl covered with a plate for 10 minutes, then rub off the skins, remove the seeds and cut into strips.
  3. Brown the mushrooms in a hot skillet with 1 tbsp oil and a pinch of salt. Do not crowd the pan. Set aside.
  4. Add the remaining oil and cook the onion until soft and golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and corn for 2 minutes more.
  5. Stir in poblano strips, mushrooms and crema. Simmer 3 to 4 minutes until thickened. Season with salt.
  6. Spoon into tortillas and finish with queso fresco.
Is it spicy?

Poblanos are mild, but every so often you meet a feisty one. Taste a strip before adding it all, and balance with extra crema if needed.

More meat-free ideas live in Vegetarian Recipes.