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Mexican Vegetable or Herb Question


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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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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.

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 by shelora (log)
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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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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.

Lucky you.

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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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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.

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

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