I received this book from the publisher, Rock Point (part of the Quarto Publishing Group), at no cost. It’s available now, $45.

I’ve been making my way through this book for… a while now. But: life. Anyway! Now I’ve made enough of the recipes to be able to say that yes, this is a cookbook I’ll be keeping; there are several recipes that I expect will become staples.

How I got to now without a Mexican cookbook in my house is something I can’t quite believe, but here we are. I’ve made bits and pieces, but just by looking recipes up after having something particularly good at a restaurant. Oh, and one of my lockdown purchases was a tortilla press, at a time when a local Mexican supplier had a deal on (press + 3x1kg bags of corn meal). So I’ve now been inspired enough that I have bought more corn meal, Mexican oregano, some dried chillies, and Mexican chocolate…

The first thing to know before you rush out to buy this as your first Mexican cookbook is that it is Martínez’ second book. This means that it does not include some of the more basic, fundamental recipes; she includes a list of the recipes from that first book, and it’s things like tortillas, Frijoles Refritos (Refried Beans), and Pico de Gallo. So if you want the very basics, I suspect it’s actually a good idea to get that first book (The Mexican Home Kitchen), which I don’t personally own but I assume is as good as this one.

Martínez starts with an overview of Mexican food customs, and then – ever-useful for folks looking to cook outside of their usual customs – “The Mexican Pantry”. This section doesn’t just explain foods that the reader may be unfamiliar with (in my case, nopales); it also talks about how particular foods (eg carrots) are used in Mexican cuisine. There’s an entire section on Peppers; living where I do, many of these are inaccessible, but it was useful to see which are hotter than others, so I can make adjustments as necessary.

So, things I have made!

• Chilquiles: actually a breakfast food, but we had it for dinner. Fried tortillas, avocado, refried beans, a tomato salsa… this was totally delicious.
• Papas con Chorizo (chorizo with potato): hilariously, thanks to a mistake with my butcher, I did not get my chorizo… so I made this with bacon instead. And it was fine, but it would be better with chorizo.
• Chilorio: pork shoulder, simmered for an hour, then cooked with a sauce made from peppers and various spices. Super tasty, super easy; almost a breakfast, but this Anglo-Celt can’t come at that.
• Spicy Pork Short Ribs: didn’t make this with short ribs, because this isn’t a common cut in Australia, as far as I can tell (at least not in my area). But it was delicious nonetheless: simmering the pork and then frying it in its own fat is intriguing and excellent.
• Tuna empanadas: delicious also! Empanadas are very easy!
• Tilapia a la Veracruzana: I don’t think we have tilapia, so I used rockling. Fish, capers, olives, tomato… you’re not really going to go wrong.
• Enfrijoladas: same deal as enchiladas, but the sauce is made with beans (frijoles), rather than a tomato or pepper sauce. The things you learn! Stuff tortillas (cheat and use bought wraps) with (store-bought) roast chicken, top with a black bean sauce and avocado… fancy as! And super tasty.

… and there are still more I haven’t made yet. Recipes are generally well written, with clear instructions and times. Photos aren’t the most stylish I’ve ever seen but they do convey what the end result should look like. I’m looking forward to a lot more Mexican in my life. (Anything to facilitate more avocado.)