Chef Lupita
Charicorundas con Chile Perón
Michoacán's Meseta P'urhépecha charicorundas are small corn-leaf packets of nixtamal masa beaten with lard, folded with chile perón, and served with crema, Cotija, salsa, and crisp Pátzcuaro charales.
Recipe Archive
Appetizers & Snacks
Explore appetizers and snacks built for the first impression: crisp textures, generous dips, shareable bites, and small dishes that set the tone for the meal.
896 recipes
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Recipes
Chef Dean
Charred Corn and Jalapeño Queso Dip
Smoky charred corn kernels and fresh jalapeño heat swirled through molten queso, brightened with lime and meant for sharing straight from the skillet at your next backyard gathering.
Chef Juliana
Charuto de Folha de Uva
You think rolling grape leaves is delicate work for other people. Good. We'll take that apart one leaf at a time, with rice, beef, lemon, and patience.
Chef Lupita
Chayitas (Tortitas Yucatecas de Chaya)
Yucatan's small fried masa cakes shot through with chopped chaya leaf, pan-fried in lard until the edges crisp, eaten with charred chiltomate and a spoonful of habanero xnipec on top.
Chef Thomas
Cheddar Cheese Straws
Twisted strips of puff pastry stuffed with sharp cheddar, mustard, and cayenne, baked until golden and shatteringly crisp. The kind of thing that disappears before you've poured the first drink.
Chef Thomas
Cheese and Onion Rolls
Mashed potato, mature cheddar, and slowly cooked onions wrapped in crisp, golden puff pastry. The kind of thing you make a batch of and watch disappear before they've cooled.
Chef Ally
Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Herbed Chèvre
Ripe summer cherry tomatoes, warm from the market and hollowed gently, filled with tangy fresh goat cheese scattered with garden herbs. A bite that tastes like August should taste.
Chef Lupita
Chicharrón de Pescado Nayarita
Nayarit's Pacific coast botana, cubes of firm white fish marinated with lime, garlic, and Salsa Huichol, double-dredged with masa harina and fried until the crust crackles.
Chef Lupita
Chicharron de Pescado Sinaloense
Sinaloa's coastal bar staple: cubes of corvina or robalo seasoned with mustard and dry spices, dredged in flour and cornmeal, fried gold and crisp. Lime, mayo-chipotle, and a cold Pacifico on the side.
Chef Lupita
Chicharrón Prensado en Salsa de Chile de Árbol
Guanajuato's Bajío market botana, built from pressed pork cracklings and a sharp chile de árbol salsa, spooned hot from the cazuela into tortillas or onto tostadas.
Chef Thomas
Chicken Liver Parfait with Brandy
Chicken livers cooked pink with shallots and brandy, blended with more butter than you think decent, sieved into silk, and chilled until the surface sets to a pale, trembling gold.
Chef Takumi
Chikuwa Isobeage (ちくわの磯辺揚げ, fried fish-cake with aonori)
A pantry dish with good manners: chikuwa, cold batter, aonori, and hot oil. Fry it quickly and you get a crisp green shell around a springy fish-cake heart.
Chef Lupita
Chile de Uña Colimense
Colima's chile de uña is a cold botanero bowl of hand-chopped jitomate, radish, onion, serrano and cilantro, sharpened with orange juice and vinegar, made to be scooped with chicharrón and tostadas.
Chef Lupita
Chiles Gueros Rellenos de Marlin
Nayarit's beach-grill botana: pale chile guero filled with smoked marlin and cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, brushed with soy, lime, and orange until the edges blister.
Chef Lupita
Chiles Güeros Rellenos de Queso y Camarón
Sinaloa and Sonora's bar-counter classic: pale güero chiles stuffed with shrimp from the Pacific and asadero from the north, dipped in egg batter, fried until the cheese pulls in long ribbons when you cut one open.
Chef Lupita
Chiles Rellenos de Chile de Agua con Quesillo
Oaxaca's own chile de agua, roasted and peeled, stuffed with hand-pulled quesillo, cloaked in a cloud of beaten egg, and fried golden. Spooned into a light tomato caldillo that holds everything together on the plate.
Chef Lupita
Chiles X'catic Rellenos de Cazón
Campeche's yellow x'catic chile stuffed with cazón cooked in charred tomato, epazote, and the perfume of a whole habanero, dipped in capeado batter, fried gold, and served on a pool of chiltomate.
Chef Lupita
Chilorio para Untar de Mocorito
Mocorito's three-century pork conserva: shoulder confited in lard, shredded, then fried with chile pasilla and vinegar until it spreads thick on a tostada like the cured memory of a Sinaloa kitchen.
Chef Lupita
Chiltomate Yucateco
Yucatan's daily tomato salsa. Tomatoes and habanero charred on the comal, ground rough in the molcajete, fried in manteca. The sauce that crowns codzitos, panuchos, and a fried egg on a quiet morning.
Chef Lupita
Chinculguajes Chiapanecos
Chiapas highland masa pockets from the Tojolabal kitchen, stuffed with refried black beans, cilantro, and chile serrano, then pressed flat and cooked on a dark comal until the shell turns firm.
Chef Lupita
Chinicuiles del Maguey de Hidalgo
Hidalgo's Sierra Gorda chinicuiles, red maguey worms cleaned, toasted on the comal, then fried in manteca de cerdo with epazote and served with salsa de chile de árbol.
Chef Lupita
Chiquiadas Chiapanecas
Tuxtla Gutierrez's chiquiadas are small fried quesadillas of fresh corn masa and queso fresco, sealed tight, fried in manteca, and eaten hot with salsa de chile de arbol.
Chef Isabel
Chistorra a la Sidra
Chistorra a la sidra is Navarra's thin fresh sausage cooked hot in dry cider, not served raw. Let the cider reduce until sharp and glossy, then bring bread.
Chef Lupita
Chistorra con Queso a la Plancha
A Chihuahua and Sonora bar staple: thin chistorra seared on the plancha with pulled chunks of melting asadero, served with hot flour tortillas and a molcajete of chiltepin salsa.
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