If you absorb just a tiny fraction of what Nora’s grandmother taught her about Oaxacan cuisine over the course of some four decades, you’ll walk away not only with a wellspring of knowledge about ingredients and techniques, but also with a deep understanding of the history. and geography. variation of everything that is today’s Oaxacan cuisine… and of course completely satiated at the end of your gourmet meal.
Oaxacan Nora Valencia captivates her students with informative stories and humorous anecdotes sprinkled throughout her class about her abuelita’s insights into food preparation and ingredient combinations. But he also confesses, as he walked from the market, that his was a long journey to reach a “classroom” setting more than ten years ago: “What my grandmother and mother taught me was not enough. My coming of age as an instructor it required a lot of research and travel, in the nature of sociological and anthropological research, some chemistry and physics, and even botany, and I always tried to get as many old books as possible on Latin American foods, and where possible on plants and Mexican and Oaxacan herbs and pre-Hispanic recipes. There’s one book in particular I still need, called ‘Conquista y Comida’…maybe you’ll find it at a local bookstore and let me know.”
The day of the lesson begins at 9:30, with the students meeting and chatting briefly with each other and with Nora, in a relaxed and informal setting at their B&B, La Casa de Mis Recuerdos. Around 10, taxis arrive to take everyone to the Mercado de La Merced, one of the daily markets in central Oaxaca, if not the most popular…for Oaxacans. About an hour is spent in the market, walking from stall to stall, learning in a variety of ways about indigenous origins and history, and current uses of dried and fresh chili peppers, nuts, tomatoes, cheeses, breads, a large number of herbs, and much more. You leave with an appreciation of how Oaxacan cuisine has reached the 21st century, as a result of the fusion of the use of pre-Hispanic products and meats, with imports first brought from Spain during the conquest period.
Nora imparts an understanding of the difference between produce found on permanent market stalls (most often purchased by vendors from growers or wholesalers with large operations) and those sold primarily by women sitting on the ground who have cultivated fruits, vegetables and herbs. in their own towns and villages: “Now we use the term organic, for what we have traditionally called Creole, which is what these ladies sell. But some of the big stalls also have Creole products, so keep an eye out.”
Nora reveals here and several times later in the kitchen, which ingredients, more readily available at home, can be substituted for what she buys at the market, such as local varieties of green and red tomatoes, specific herbs, chili peppers, and even masa: ” If you can only buy packaged Maseca brand cornmeal in Oregon, and you are making tamales, then add a bit of cornmeal to give it the right texture.Feel the difference between the two types of dough we find here in the market, one for tortillas and one for tamales, and as you may know, we use a lot of Hoja Santa in our recipes, and it’s only available in a few states, like Florida, so if you can’t find it, try using…”
Instead of buying everything on this market visit, Nora has already bought most of it the day before, and what she buys during this short tour is dropped off at each stall and picked up when we’re ready to go. “Now I’m going back to some of the stalls to pick up what we bought, so I’ll meet you outside in 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, you can go and buy some of those rarer dried chilies to take home, that spicy paste that I told you I like to have in my bag when I visit the States, and maybe even some worms that we’ll use to make a sauce later. You can buy a chain of 100 and wear it as a necklace for customs.” Nora passes on valuable advice about what ingredients you should be able to take across the border and what freezes well (ie quesillo and grasshoppers, Oaxacan cheese and grasshoppers).
We walk to his nearby house along a picturesque cobblestone path, where the balance of the class will take place. We will spend the rest of the morning and afternoon in its traditional painted tile (talavera) kitchen with center island, and its dining and living rooms that open onto a lushly landscaped patio with flowering trees, vines and shrubs. A feeling of comfort surrounds you, as if you were at home, because in a certain sense you are, made to feel as welcome as possible. With only one assistant, Minerva, I marvel at the hard work that has gone into pre-preparing some dishes and more importantly, how Nora must be “on” 100% of the time and attentive to each one of us. the ten apprentices. between the ages of twenty and sixty, for more than six hours.
Indeed, everything is Nora, teaching, directing, reassuring, reminding and correcting. With mostly newbies in this class this day, making dessert tamales, one of the two most complex recipes of the day, isn’t as easy as simply mixing some dough with pineapple chunks and wrapping them in corn husks. Three mixtures are prepared, placed in the shells, and then folded very carefully: “Sorry, but this will have to be another mosaic, so we’ll combine two into one, or better yet, how about using an extra shell?” to keep it all together.” There is the dough mixture, the coconut and milk mixture, the pineapple, sugar and cinnamon fusion, plus raisins. “Now make sure that the water from boiling the pineapple doesn’t spill on me, because I can use it at another time instead of plain water, to make a fresh fruit juice (agua fresca). It’s already sweet and tasty.”
When a component was prepared before our arrival, Nora instructs how it was made, for example, with the chicken and beef broth. When there are optional ingredients, Nora not only tells us what we can substitute based on personal preference, but she also explains regional variations. And while we prepare the yellow mole, she educates about the fallacy that there are seven moles: “Some think of seven moles because sometimes we refer to seven regions of the state. But if you stop to think, in Puerto Escondido for example, where shrimp are often used to create broth and as protein in the yellow, shouldn’t we consider this mole as a class or variety in itself?
While we prepare our yellow mole, we are testing how the flavor is subtly changing, adding holy leaf, the mixture of spices, the dough that, it is explained, absorbs and reduces the itching a little. A fiery sauce almost magically turns into a complex mole, a rare creation when prepared commercially. “How spicy does everyone like to eat? You know I’m not promising anything because peppers are like lottery tickets: you never know. I used to say to my grandmother, let me measure, but she said no, use your eyes, your custom nose and mouth”. Nora goes on to say that the same ingredient is often different in strength, flavor and how it is absorbed, like with chicken…it’s not always the same.
While emphasizing historical and regional contextualization in the use of ingredients and the resulting variation in recipes, Nora also ensures that technique is appropriately emphasized in class. She draws participants into hands-on learning, encouraging each to contribute to the creation of each dish.
Printed recipe sheets are distributed, but not until the food has been served. Nora believes that it is better for students to watch, listen, participate, and ask questions first, rather than reading and taking notes. When she completes the meal, she reviews the recipes and answers questions about any concerns.
Around 2 pm, we are ready to try some mezcal and then sit back and enjoy our creations:
1) A snack of fresh pumpkin flower stuffed with a mixture of cottage cheese,
ham, onion and nuts;
2) I consumed holy leaf, with pumpkin flower, cheese, garlic, etc.;
3) Mint rice;
4) Yellow mole with chicken and steamed vegetables;
5) A side of onion slices in a lime juice vinaigrette;
6) Green tomato sauce with maguey worms;
7) Fresh fruit juice of orange, lime and cucumber;
8) For dessert tamales with pineapple, coconut and raisins.
Even Nora’s grandmother would be hard-pressed to produce such a diverse, delicious, and complete meal.
Cocina con Nora is located at Aldama 205, Barrio de Jalatlaco, in downtown Oaxaca. Maximum class size is 10. You can register for Nora’s classes by calling (951) 515-5645 or emailing her at: [email protected].
(Website: http://www.almademitierra.net )