Chef Lupita
Los Tuxtlas Fried Cassava (Yuca Frita)
Veracruz's Los Tuxtlas yuca is boiled until the centers turn fluffy, then fried in manteca de cerdo until gold and served with salsa de chile seco beside Gulf fish and black beans.
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Chef Lupita
Platanos Rellenos de Picadillo Veracruzanos
Veracruz's Sotavento kitchen puts sweet platano macho around picadillo with olives, capers, raisins, tomato, and chile ancho, then fries it until the outside turns dark and crisp at the edges.
Chef Lupita
Veracruz Refried Black Beans (Frijoles Refritos Negros)
Veracruz black beans cooked with epazote and chile jalapeno, then mashed into pork lard until thick and glossy, the Gulf lowland side that belongs beside huevos tirados and platanos fritos.
Chef Lupita
Yuca en Chilpachole de Los Tuxtlas
Veracruz's Los Tuxtlas yuca, boiled until tender and finished in a brothy chilpachole of chile ancho, jitomate, epazote, and lard from the Afromestiza Sotavento table.
Chef Lupita
Veracruz Stuffed Chayote (Chayotes Rellenos)
Veracruz's Gulf-side chayotes rellenos, hollowed, stewed with ham and Mexican crema, returned to their shells, and finished under a blanket of melted queso manchego.
Chef Lupita
Stewed Black Beans (Frijoles a la Veracruzana)
Veracruz's black bean pot from the Gulf lowlands, simmered with epazote, finished in manteca with jitomate and chile chipotle meco, and served thick enough to hold a spoon.
Chef Lupita
Arroz Jarocho con Plátanos Fritos
Veracruz's Gulf-side white rice, toasted with garlic and onion, cooked until each grain stands apart, then crowned with ripe plátano macho fried in lard.
Chef Lupita
Veracruz Black Beans (Frijoles Negros de Olla con Epazote)
Veracruz's black bean pot, slow-simmered with epazote, white onion, and garlic until the broth turns inky, earthy, and serious enough to anchor rice, plantains, yuca, or tortillas.
Chef Lupita
Flor de Izote Guisada del Totonacapan
Veracruz's Totonacapan dry-season guiso of cleaned flor de izote, tomato, chile jalapeño, epazote, and pork lard, bittersweet enough to remind you this plant came from the monte before the market.
Chef Lupita
Plátanos Rellenos de Queso Veracruzanos
Veracruz's Gulf-side plantain croquettes, boiled ripe plátano macho mashed while warm, stuffed with queso de hebra, and fried in manteca until the outside turns gold.
Chef Lupita
Jarocho Rice and Black Beans (Moros y Cristianos)
Veracruz's black beans and rice, carried through the port from the Caribbean and made jarocho with epazote, bay leaf, garlic, and the black bean that rules the Gulf kitchen.
Chef Lupita
Tostones de Plátano Verde Veracruzanos
Veracruz's Sotavento tostones are green plantain rounds fried twice in manteca de cerdo, salted hot, and served beside black beans, fish, or a sharp salsa macha.
Chef Lupita
Sotavento Fried Malanga
Veracruz's Sotavento malanga, peeled, sliced thin, and fried in manteca de cerdo until the edges crisp, the tropical lowland answer to the potato plate.
Chef Lupita
Huasteca Palm Hearts in Red Salsa (Palmito Guisado)
Northern Veracruz palm hearts simmered in a red salsa of jitomate, chile serrano, garlic, and onion, the kind of Teenek mountain-side guiso that belongs beside black beans and corn tortillas.
Chef Lupita
Veracruz Baked Plantains with Cheese (Platanos al Horno)
Veracruz's Gulf lowland plantains, baked in the peel until their own sugars collapse, split open with melting queso Chihuahua, crema, and the quiet discipline of a Sotavento kitchen.
Chef Lupita
Veracruz Garden Rice (Arroz a la Veracruzana)
Veracruz's garden rice, white and loose, cooked with carrot, peas, garlic, onion, and perejil. The quiet side dish that knows how to stand beside fish.
Chef Lupita
Veracruz Fried Sweet Plantains (Plátanos Machos Fritos)
Veracruz's Gulf lowland plantains, sliced long and fried in manteca de cerdo until the edges caramelize, made to sit beside frijoles negros, crema, and queso fresco.
Chef Lupita
Calabaza Guisada Veracruzana
Veracruz's tropical lowland calabaza guisada, squash stewed in manteca de cerdo with jitomate, onion, garlic, and epazote, served beside black beans and warm corn tortillas.
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