"mexican spinach" is it remotely mexican?

[Eden]

I was surfing for a recipe to use up some spinach, and came across several versions of this recipe for "Mexican Spinach". It's a quick side dish of steamed spinach with a little cream & horseradish, which I quite liked, but I have to wonder: Is this in any way shape or form related to Mexican cuisine?

[shelora]

I was surfing for a recipe to use up some spinach, and came across several versions of this recipe for "Mexican Spinach".  It's a quick side dish of steamed spinach with a little cream & horseradish, which I quite liked, but I have to wonder:  Is this in any way shape or form related to Mexican cuisine?

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Just because something has a pepper in it, doesn't mean it's Mexican. Just like when they call a dish "Tuscan". Like Tuscan beans.

I see recipes like this in the local newspaper all the time, pulled off the wire service. Mexican casserole. It's got beans and cheese and some chopped up red and green peppers for colour.

Words like "Tuscan" and "Mexican" and "Home Cooking" are used to seduce people into cooking recipes or in restaurants, to order food.

You have been seduced.

Edited March 8, 2006 by shelora (log)

[Eden]

actually the fact that this recipe has NO peppers was the reason I even asked. Had it been sprinked with chili peppers & cheese I would automatically have labeled it faux.

The only sites I found it on were generic, so it seemed unlikely to be "authentic", but the use of horseradish intrigued me...

[shelora]

I just read pepper in the recipe. I guess they're referring to black pepper.

I could be wrong but I don't think I've ever seen horseradish served or offered for sale in a Mexican market. Horseradish. What would that be in Spanish? Caballo de rabanos?

[Panosmex]

Horseradish= "raíz fuerte".

Buen provecho,

Panosmex

I just read pepper in the recipe. I guess they're referring to black pepper.

I could be wrong but I don't think I've ever seen horseradish served or offered for sale in a Mexican market.  Horseradish. What would that be in Spanish? Caballo de rabanos?

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[shelora]

Horseradish= "raíz fuerte".

Buen provecho,

Panosmex

Thankyou. (Strong root). Excellent.

[nickarte]

To digress a little, what they call "espinacas" here is usually more like swiss chard, but one can occasionally find true spinach (like the kind in the US and, I suppose, Europe) as well . The "tipo" spinach works for some dishes but not for others, as it doesn´t "melt" the way "real" spinach does.

[Panosmex]

To digress a little, what they call "espinacas" here is usually more like swiss chard, but one can occasionally find true spinach (like the kind in the US and, I suppose, Europe) as well . The "tipo" spinach works for some dishes but not for others, as it doesn´t "melt" the way "real" spinach does.

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Both the espinacas and the acelgas we find here in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán hold up in cooking very well. You'd be hard pressed to make a spinach salad, without blanching it first. That said, both espinacas and acelgas are delicious. The huge "hand" of acelgas we bought last week cost 5 pesos.

Usually we cook it simply, with a touch of olive oil, salt and a little garlic. Last time I added chopped chile Poblano and tomato. It was pretty good.

[zora]

When all else fails, blame it on the Yucatecans. That would be my guess, what with the hard-cooked egg on top. And the cream seems somehow to fit in with other Euro-influenced stuff.

On the other hand, it's a recipe from 1964, so who the hell knows what passed for "Mexican" in those days! Just look at "Chinese" from the 60s...