Calabacitas con Epazote Yucatecas

This is from Yucatán. Not from central Mexico, where calabacitas usually come with corn and crema, and not from the north, where they get charred over wood and dressed in butter. The Yucatecan version is its own thing: chile dulce instead of jalapeño, manteca instead of oil, and a serious quantity of epazote stirred in at the end.

Chile dulce is the Yucatecan sweet pepper. It looks like a small green bell pepper and it is not the same thing. The flavor is floral, almost fruity, with none of the grassy edge of a bell. If you cannot find chile dulce at a Mexican grocer that serves a Yucatecan clientele, half a bell pepper is the compromise. It will not be the same, but it will be honest. La cocina no es decoración, es trabajo.

The epazote is what makes this dish Yucatecan instead of generic. The señoras in the Mérida markets sell it in big bunches, the leaves still warm from the morning sun, and they will tell you to put it in at the end. Cook epazote too long and the volatile oils evaporate and you lose what you came for. Add it in the last few minutes, off the back of the spoon, and it perfumes the entire pan.

This is a weeknight side. Cochinita pibil takes hours. This takes twenty minutes. Together they are a Yucatecan supper. Cada estado, su propia cocina.