A couple of days ago, we were trying to figure out a good cook-off topic for late April/early May, and someone suggested tacos. Shortly thereafter, Mark Bittman of the New York Times decided to weigh in with this article, titled "Sunday Morning, Yucatán:"
[O]f all the wonders of Mérida that Mr. Sterling showed me, the one that most grabbed me was the cooking of Ana Sabrina Rivera del Río — called, simply, Sabrina — who is from what many Yucatecs consider another country: Mexico.
I encountered Sabrina at Santa Lucia Park, a few blocks from the splendidly restored building that houses both Los Dos and Mr. Sterling’s home. ... My friends were already there, munching on tacos, and we joined them, ordering a bit of everything: a kind of salad of nopales (cactus leaves); an incredible mix of poblanos, potatoes and corn; a similar dish with chorizo; some warm mushrooms; a straightforward but quite tasty picadillo, ground meat with carrots and potatoes; and the seasonal romeritos, made from a plant that resembles rosemary but tastes like nettles. All were served on corn tortillas, which Sabrina brushed with lard before browning on the comal, a metal griddle heated with charcoal.
Bittman shares three recipes, as well, for Taco Filling With Poblano Strips and Potatoes, Mushroom Taco Filling, and Nopales Filling.
Meanwhile, over at Bon Appetit, Steven Raichlen writes about the food of the Yucatan, including, naturally, tacos. Finally, someone pointed out that the 5th of May was coming -- you know, Cinco de Mayo.
So tacos it is: soft or hard, corn or flour, meat, fish, or veg. As always, we've got a few topics to get us started, including these on tacos al pastor, how to create a DIY taco stand, cabbage in tacos, and fish tacos. There are also tortilla recipes here and a reheating tortillas discussion here.
From cheap on the low-down to gussied-up, tacos run the gamut. What are your go-to recipes? Any that you've been dying to try? You can do better than a big fast food chain place, even if you want that ground beef Tex-Mex style of taco. Let's get cooking.
