Mexican Vegetable or Herb Question

[Pitter]

I bought a pound of this, because I cannot pass on a vegetable or herb in this part of the country that I have never seen before. It looks like rosemary, but is soft. The leaves are smooth. It may be soft because it may be old, I don't know. The folks at this Mexican grocery store did not speak English, and my Spanish is poor, but I did interpret something about it being used in Mole sauces. Any clues? And if you know exactly what I am asking about, what do I do with it? I figured I'd steam it and douse it with some sort of sauce. None of my four Mexican cookbooks seem to describe this.

[shelora]

I bought a pound of this, because I cannot pass on a vegetable or herb in this part of the country that I have never seen before.  It looks like rosemary, but is soft.  The leaves are smooth.  It may be soft because it may be old, I don't know.  The folks at this Mexican grocery store did not speak English, and my Spanish is poor, but I did interpret something about it being used in Mole sauces.  Any clues?  And if you know exactly what I am asking about, what do I do with it?  I figured I'd steam it and douse it with some sort of sauce.  None of my four Mexican cookbooks seem to describe this.

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Off the top of my head and hoping for the bonus round, my guess is romeritos.

Edited to add:

Romeritos, according to the a description provided by D. Kennedy in her book, From My Mexican Kitchen, are "stringy little greens that grow wild...narrow, round, juicy leaves about 1 1/2 inches long, grayish-green in colour and while they donot have an aroma, they are acidic like nopales."

They are traditionally used in a Lenten dish of dried shirmp fritters served in a mole. Although they are not my favourite, I've eaten them a few times during the Christmas season in D.F. You can enjoy them on the menus at Fonda del Refugio and at El Bajio.

Edited April 7, 2006 by shelora (log)

[Pitter]

That makes sense. It is Lent, and they had huge dried shrimp at $20 per pound, which I passed on, but I was wondering, Why? They had, like, 200 pounds of these things, and we live in the middle of nowhere.

Thanks, Shelora.

[shelora]

That makes sense.  It is Lent, and they had huge dried shrimp at $20 per pound, which I passed on, but I was wondering, Why? They had, like, 200 pounds of these things, and we live in the middle of nowhere.

Thanks, Shelora.

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Lucky you.

[Pitter]

Lucky me is right! We have lots of farms here, and when the Mexicans moved in, people were a bit miffed. I was thrilled! And now we have a grocery store entirely devoted to the Mexican clientele, and they make the very best sandwiches for $3. Now I can get real lard, real chorizo, and all of the chilis one could want. They think this Irish girl is nuts.

[shelora]

Lucky me is right!  We have lots of farms here, and when the Mexicans moved in, people were a bit miffed.  I was thrilled!  And now we have a grocery store entirely devoted to the Mexican clientele, and they make the very best sandwiches for $3.  Now I can get real lard, real chorizo, and all of the chilis one could want.  They think this Irish girl is nuts.

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Wow! What a great story. And what are you going to do with your bunches of romeritos?

[Pitter]

I guess I will splurge on some of those dried shrimp and make some mole sauce, to try to create that authentic lenten dish.