5 Ingredients or Fewer

In Mexico, pickled onions are to taco stands what pickle relish is to a hot dog cart in the U.S.—a condiment that taco-lovers can’t do without. Make it at home and save yourself the trip across the border.

In Mexico pico de gallo is used to describe a wide variety of regional salsas, which are always made with cubed fresh fruit and/ or vegetables. Pico de gallo is also known as salsa picada, which means minced or chopped sauce. The most common version is made with red tomatoes, onion, and green chiles and is sometimes called salsa mexicana or salsa bandera, because the colors in the salsa represent those of the Mexican flag. I like to make mine with yellow tomatoes when I am in the mood for a sweeter salsa. Feel free to use red tomatoes if you want to keep it traditional.

Mangoes sprinkled with a mixture of chile and salt and served on a stick are popular street-corner fare in Mexico. I love the combination of flavors so much that I used it to create this salsa, with the addition of avocado for extra richness. Mangoes come in several varieties, and any type will work as long as the fruit is ripe but firm enough that it won’t fall apart in the salsa.

Tomatillo salsas vary greatly from region to region in Mexico. Some are boiled, some are fried, some are roasted, but all of them have the same distinct acidic taste that makes the tomatillo one of Mexico’s trademark ingredients. A batch of this salsa is made daily at my house; it’s always in my fridge. It’s my topping of choice for quesadillas.

Traditional basil pesto gets a run for its money with this bright, flavorful Mexican version of the Italian original. Cilantro pesto is best on cold pasta salads and is great as a topping on grilled chicken or fish.

What’s better than one chile? Three! Mexican food owes much of its flair to the chile, which has been around since about 7500 B.C. Chiles add heat and depth to almost everything I make at home. (As an added bonus, some scientists believe the chile has miraculous disease-fighting powers, with the ability to promote weight loss and to prevent everything from heart disease to cancer.) Here you have the cascabel chile, which adds a slightly nutty flavor, the árbol chile, which brings heat, and my favorite, the sweet and smoky guajillo, to create a salsa that is in perfect harmony.

My aunt Martha swears that this smoky, sweet, tropical salsa takes her back to Yucatán no matter where she is when she makes it. It works especially well with Cilantro Tandoori Chicken (page 110), but it will enhance any grilled fish or meat. If the grill’s fired up, throw the pineapple right on it; a grill pan will do just fine if you’re cooking indoors.

“Drunken” salsas have been around forever. They were originally prepared with pulque, an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of the once-sacred maguey (agave) plant. Pulque, which is not easy to find outside of Mexico, is not distilled and has a much stronger flavor than tequila, which I use in its place in this recipe. The alcohol is mostly burned off in the cooking process, leaving only its musky flavor. The sweetness from the freshly squeezed orange juice gives this salsa a wonderful balance.

Refried beans are frijoles de la olla that have been fried in a little fat. Because they are traditionally cooked in lard, they aren’t really known for their healthful qualities, but this version uses a fairly small amount of butter and olive oil instead. You still get a very rich and flavorful dish that is perfect for filling tacos or for serving alongside grilled steaks. Double or even quadruple this recipe as needed.

I could easily survive on beans and tortillas for days—or even weeks. In fact, that is pretty much what my diet consisted of when I worked as a food editor. I was both nostalgic and barely able to make the rent at the end of the month, and let’s face it, beans are cheap. Frijoles de la olla are just that: beans (frijoles) that come straight from the pot (olla) to your plate. No fussy seasonings, just perfectly cooked beans that are heaven in a warm tortilla with a drizzle of Mexican crema or sour cream. I always have a batch in the fridge to heat up for a hearty and very healthy dinner packed with cholesterol-lowering fiber and a good dose of protein, iron, potassium, and vitamin B1.

This dish is one of the standouts at the Valladolid Thanksgiving table. Roasting acorn squash—or any vegetable—caramelizes the flesh and brings out its natural sweetness. Your veggies will be exponentially more flavorful than they are when you boil or steam them.

Thankfully, in Tijuana we don’t have to wait for summer to get the grill out. One of the benefits is that we can eat grilled corn on the cob any day of the year. Jalapeño butter is easy to make and adds the perfect finish to the slightly charred corn. If you have any left over, store it in the fridge for up to a week; it’s great on a baked potato or green beans.

Melted and slightly browned Oaxaca cheese mellows out bitter cabbage for this wonderful side dish. My son loves this with a little bit of lime juice sprinkled over it, and I like the edges, where the cheese is crisp and almost charred. When cutting the cabbage, cut on an angle so that there is a piece of the core on each wedge; it will hold the individual leaves together. For an impressive presentation, create a lattice with the strings of cheese.

The idea for this dish comes from a chef at culinary school who liked to bread salmon with shredded russet potatoes. Sweet potatoes add a whole new dimension to this delicate crust—a perfect counterpoint for the smoky sauce.

This dish comes with a stranger-than-fiction true story shared with me by a guest on my television show on Discovery en Español. This man’s grandfather was once stranded on an island, close to starvation. To survive, he caught a barracuda, wrapped it in seaweed, and cooked it over an open fire. The grandfather lived—and so did the recipe, with a few adaptations for non-life-threatening situations. The banana leaves add subtle flavor to the mahimahi and they look great on the plate. You can find them, fresh or frozen, at most Latin markets. Aluminum foil will also work in their place.

This is one of those recipes where success relies on the freshness of the ingredients. Use the best-quality Gorgonzola you can find, be it a mild domestic version or the more pungent Italian variety. Either one will pair nicely with the chile oil, which enlivens this classic recipe. This makes for a beautiful presentation on a platter, but you can easily divide the beet slices among individual plates and serve it that way.

This has to be the easiest recipe in the book. Maybe that’s why this plate showed up on the table almost every day when I was growing up. It also happens to be a very healthy and refreshing snack that my son loves. At every taco stand across Mexico, next to the salsas, you will find a bowl of sliced cucumbers and another with whole or halved radishes. These are meant to be sprinkled with lime juice and a little bit of salt to appease your hunger while the tacos are being prepared. Make sure both the radishes and the cucumbers are very fresh and crisp!

This blend of two classic flavors, combined with a hint of chipotle, makes for a fast and easy party favorite. You can make these 3 days ahead and store them in an airtight container.

I was visiting my father one afternoon when unexpected guests stopped by for a game of futbol. He turned to me and said, “Quick, make me an appetizer, chef!” There was nothing remotely exciting in the fridge and the pantry appeared to be just as hopeless, until I noticed a jar of jalapeño-stuffed olives. Stuffed with cheese, breaded, and panfried, these little guys disappeared before anything else I made was given a second glance. They are great with an ice-cold cerveza and store-bought tartar sauce for dipping.