Flor de Izote Guisada del Totonacapan

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large 5-quart pot for blanching the flowers
• •Cast iron comal for charring the jitomates and chiles jalapeños
• •Wide 12-inch clay cazuela from Naolinco or a heavy skillet
• •Wooden spoon
• •Colander or woven basket for draining the blanched flowers

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the flowers

   Lay the flor de izote clusters on the table and pull off the white blossoms and tight pale-green buds. Discard the thick central stalk. Split any open blossom with your fingers and pinch out the hard green pistil and the heavy stamen cluster. Keep the tender petals and buds. Rinse in a bowl of cool water, lifting the flowers out so grit stays at the bottom. This cleaning is the work of the dish.

   If your vendor sells them cleaned, still check them. One tough green center can make a mouthful taste medicinal. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado before you trust a plastic bag.
2. 2

   Blanch the izote

   Bring 4 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon kosher salt to a boil in a large pot. Add the cleaned flowers, reduce to a steady simmer, and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until the petals bend instead of snapping. Drain and rinse under cool water. Press gently with your hands to remove excess water. Discard the blanching water. It did its job and took the harsh bitterness with it.

   Taste one petal after blanching. It should be pleasantly bitter, like a wild green, not soapy or punishing. If it still bites too hard, blanch again in fresh salted water for 3 minutes. Do not add sugar. This is Veracruz, not candy.
3. 3

   Char the base

   Heat a dry comal over medium-high heat. Roast the jitomates and chiles jalapeños, turning them with tongs, until the tomato skins blister and the chiles show dark spots. The tomatoes should soften and give up their juice. Chop the tomatoes, saving every drop of juice. Stem the chiles and slice them into rajas. Leave some char. That is flavor, not decoration.

4. 4

   Fry the aromatics

   Set a wide clay cazuela or heavy skillet over medium heat and melt the manteca de cerdo. Add the sliced white onion and cook 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often, until it softens and turns gold at the edges. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. If the lard looks generous, good. The flower needs fat to carry its bitterness into something round. La manteca es el sabor.

5. 5

   Cook the tomato

   Add the chopped charred jitomates, their juices, the jalapeño rajas, and a good pinch of salt. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the tomato loses its raw smell and thickens into a loose sauce. Watch the edges of the cazuela: small orange beads of fat should appear. If the sauce is watery, keep cooking. A guiso has to fry before it stews.

   Do not use canned tomato here unless the market gives you nothing worth buying. Fresh tomato is part of the Veracruz lowland kitchen. A can is a compromise, not an upgrade.
6. 6

   Stew the flowers

   Add the blanched flor de izote and 1/2 cup water. Fold gently so the petals are coated in the tomato and chile. Tuck in the epazote. Cover partially and cook 12 to 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the flowers are tender but still have shape and the sauce clings to them. Taste for salt. The bitterness should still be there, cleaned up and disciplined.

7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Turn off the heat and let the guiso rest 10 minutes in the cazuela. Remove any woody epazote stems. Serve warm from the clay with hand-pressed corn tortillas and frijoles negros refritos in manteca. No crema. No cheese. The flower is the point. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Buy flor de izote in the dry season, when the clusters are tight, ivory, and firm. If the flowers are brown at the edges, slimy, or smell sour, leave them at the stall. Cook what the market is selling today, not what you wish it were selling.
• •This is yucca flower, flor de izote, not yuca or cassava root. Do not confuse the two. If you forage, identify the plant properly and never use flowers from roadsides or sprayed ornamental landscaping.
• •Use manteca de cerdo. Neutral oil will cook the vegetables, yes, but it will not give the tomato the same body or soften the bitter edge of the flower. La manteca es el sabor.
• •The chile here is fresh chile jalapeño, also called cuaresmeño when fresh. Do not reach for chile ancho or guajillo just because they are Mexican. Dried red chile pulls the dish away from Papantla.
• •Squash blossoms are not a substitute. They are softer, sweeter, and collapse in the pan. If you cannot find flor de izote, make a different dish instead of forcing a bad substitution.
• •Serve this beside frijoles negros, not pintos. Veracruz's black bean is not a decoration on the plate. It is the bean of the house.

Advance Preparation

• •The flowers can be cleaned and blanched one day ahead. Drain well, wrap in a clean kitchen towel, and refrigerate in a covered container.
• •The finished guiso keeps refrigerated for 3 days. Reheat gently in a cazuela with 1 or 2 tablespoons of water so the tomato loosens without turning soupy.
• •Do not freeze flor de izote guisada. The petals turn cottony and lose the tender bite that makes the dish worth cooking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 260g)