Squash Blossom Frittata on a Uriarte Talavera Plate
One of my favorite tastes in Oaxaca is fresh squash blossoms. They are so beautiful, a delicious golden-yellow food taste that signals the beginning of summer. In Oaxaca, the markets will be filled with bunches of squash blossoms like edible bouquets.
I’m in North Carolina for a few more weeks before I return to Mexico in mid-June. Stephen, my husband, has been cultivating our organic garden and we have a patch of volunteer squash plants. We are also part of Granite Springs CSA in Pittsboro. Each week we receive a bountiful basket of organic food grown by Meredith and her troupe. This week, the special treat was baby zucchini and yellow crooknecks. Along with our bumper crop of volunteer male (no fruit) squash blossoms, creativity was calling.
For our May 26 wedding anniversary, Stephen cooked us a delicious breakfast –this squash blossom frittata. Here’s the recipe.
Ingredients
- 3-4 blossoms, rinsed in vinegar water and patted dry
- 1-2 small zucchini or yellow squash, sliced thinly
- 4 eggs
- 3 T. water
- 3 T. olive oil
- 3 T. butter
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1/4-1/2 cup Queso fresco or Ricotta cheese
- Chopped parsley or cilantro (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
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Beat eggs and water in a bowl until frothy. Add parsley or cilantro if you are using them. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
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Pick 3 to 4 blossoms per person and 1 or 2 baby yellow or green summer squash. Rinse blossoms well and drain on paper towels.
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Melt butter and olive oil. Sauté the onions and zucchini or squash until soft. Add blossoms and sauté for about 30 minutes. Remove blossoms from pan.
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Pour egg mix into the same pan, and add onions, and squash to the pan – arranging evenly. Lay blossoms out like a sunburst radiating from the center to denote 4 equal portions.
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Cook over medium-low heat in an 8″ omelet pan until almost set. Dab top with soft cheese in equal parts around top of frittata. Most dairy sections of U.S. supermarkets now carry Queso fresco! Thank you, Mexican immigrants.
- Finish under broiler about 3 minutes until lightly puffed and slightly browned.
Macuilxochitl, Tlayuda Capital of the Tlacolula Valley, Oaxaca
Church at Macuilxochitl
What makes Macuilxochitl unique is more than its gorgeous three-domed church that stands proudly in the center of the zocalo, waiting for continuing restoration. This is a village noted for its tlayudas. These are the extra-large sometimes marigold-colored tortillas that are made in the traditional way using masa pressed by hand and then toasted on the comal until the dinner-plate sized discs are puffy and toasty brown on both sides.
My story today is about tlayudas and the hands of women who make them. We enter into the smokey, cavernous space called kitchen, obscure and mysterious. This is a large adobe brick structure that holds the cooking stove, comal, and a flock of chickens that nest under the wood-fired stove.
This is not easy work. First, you must prepare the large rock-sized balls of masa, ensuring that they don’t dry out and are the right consistency for kneading. Then, you take a fist size piece and form it into a ball, flatten it and bring it to the tortilla press, where between two sheets of plastic wrap, you press and press and press again using all your upper body strength to make this staple as flat and transparent as possible.
With nimble fingers you spin it like a pizza dough to stretch it out even more, then lay it gently on the very hot, lime-coated comal (griddle), taking care not to burn fingers. With thumb and forefinger, the tlayuda gets turned every 30 seconds or so to be sure that it cooks evenly and doesn’t burn. It needs to be toasty and not soft. There are so many ways to make masa into tortilla variations.
Today, this masa is more white. Sometimes, it is yellow or has a red or blue tinge, depending upon the type of organic, locally grown corn used. Perhaps it is a blend of white and blue or white and red, which gives it a more subtle shade.
Jane tries her hand at the press
The tlayudas go into a tall, multi-colored basket, stacked and covered with cloth, ready to take to market. We try our hand at the labor-intensive task. After two or three tries, we are tired. This is work and we sit to rest. Our hosts keep at it. This is their livelihood.
Macuil, as the locals call it, is also a Zapotec village of skilled stonemasons, called albañiles, who work in construction, building traditional adobe houses and more contemporary ones made with brick or concrete block. As an agricultural village, it is also noted for raising sheep (borregos) and growing tending the milpas (small plots of corn, squash and beans). Within walking distance from Teotitlan del Valle, Macuilxochitl is also accessible from Pan American Highway 190 via a moto-taxi tuk-tuk or collectivo.
Tlayuda Recipe: One large flat, crunchy tortilla toasted and dry, about 12″ in diameter. Smear with black bean paste. Drizzle with green or red salsa according to taste. Add shredded string cheese or Oaxaqueño string cheese, shredded chicken, diced tomatoes, Julienne red peppers and onions that have been sautéed until soft, top with thin slices of avocado. Mexican version of pizza. Cut into triangles and serve. Great entrée with salad or as an appetizer.
Portrait Photography Workshop: Capture Your Experience, April 2-9, 2012, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Food & Recipes, Photography, Travel & Tourism, Workshops and Retreats
Tagged blogsherpa, eating, food, Macuilxochitl, Mexican pizza, Mexico, Oaxaca, photography, recipe, tlayuda, Tortilla, workshop