It’s my favorite time of year. Dia de los Muertos, colder weather, the holidays and all those comfort foods we love right along with it. Pozole, tamales and, of course, everyone’s favorite: atole!
Apples and peaches, along with those fall vegetables — eggplant, green beans, corn, beets, and artichokes — are currently at their freshest. And don’t forget the humble spinach, my personal favorite and often overlooked. So, in honor of the true arrival of the fall season and the impending holiday, I’ve included here one traditional pozole recipe and two recipes for seasonal produce.
Pozole
My darling neighbors, whom I’ve adopted as my Mexican daughters, love pozole. Every year around this time, their family tradition is to make a big pot of comforting white pozole.
Their mom was gracious enough to share her recipe with me, so if you’d like to cook traditional Mexican white pozole for this month’s celebrations, this one is tried and true, and a total crowd-pleaser.
White Pozole
Ingredients:
- 1 kg cacahuazintle corn (precooked or canned)
- 1 kg pork (leg or shoulder), cut into large chunks
- 1 large onion, quartered
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt to taste
- 5 liters of water
Directions:
- In a large pot, heat the water with the onion, garlic cloves and salt.
- When boiling, add the corn and cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until tender.
- Add the ribs, pork loin and bay leaves; cook for 90 minutes, or until the meat is tender.
- Remove the garlic, onion and bay leaves, then shred the pork loin.
- Serve the pozole with oregano, chili powder, chopped onion, lettuce, radishes and quartered Mexican limes on the side.
Peaches
Is there anything as delicious as a fresh, perfectly ripe peach? Gee, I don’t know, it’s pretty hard to beat. Any way you want it — fresh in a salad, grilled with meat or made into a salsa — it’s just plain delicious.
Here is a quick, easy peach salsa to snack on with tortilla chips or to add to meat dishes or tacos.
Peach Salsa
Ingredients:
- 2 to 3 ripe peaches, pitted and diced
- ½ red bell pepper, diced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- 1 small garlic clove, grated
- ½ jalapeño pepper, minced
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Instructions:
- In a medium bowl, add the diced peaches, bell pepper, onion and cilantro.
- Squeeze the lime juice on top, then add the zest, garlic, jalapeño and salt.
- Mix well, season with a little more salt to taste. Chill until ready to use.
Spinach
Not to overlook this underrated leafy green, these spinach enchiladas will knock your socks off: creamy spinach-and-mushroom-filled enchiladas topped with delicious salsa verde and cheese. It’s a quick 30-minute meal that’s comfort food at its best, especially for a sour cream lover like me!
Spinach Enchiladas
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 white onion, diced
- 2 cups mushrooms, chopped
- 5 ounces fresh spinach
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded Mexican mixed cheese
- 2 cups salsa verde (homemade or store-bought)
- 8–12 warm tortillas (8 large wheat, or 12 smaller corn tortillas)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions:
Make the filling:
- Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add onion and mushrooms, and cook until they soften, 6–7 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add spinach, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until spinach is wilted. Stir in sour cream and remove from the heat.
Assemble the enchiladas:
- Put 2 tablespoons of the spinach mixture onto a tortilla and roll it up. Place in the baking dish with the seam side down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas until the spinach mixture is used up.
- Pour salsa verde over the top, and top with shredded cheese.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the salsa verde is bubbling.
Bel Woodhouse, Mexico Correspondent for International Living, is an experienced writer, author, photographer and videographer with more than 500 articles published both in print and across digital platforms. Having lived in the Mexican Caribbean for over seven years now, she’s in love with Mexico and has no plans to go anywhere anytime soon.
