In this episode, we’re celebrating the deep flavors of traditional Mexican cuisine. Today’s guest is Mely Martinez, blogger and author of the well-known Mexico in My Kitchen website and cookbook. Inspired by her desire to leave a legacy of traditional flavors for her son to easily access wherever he was in the world, she started a collection of recipes online. The site quickly gained a global audience of cooks who wanted to hold onto the flavors of home, and those who wanted to discover the authentic flavors of Mexico for the first time. She’s masterfully brought together a collection of traditional recipes from across the country, and in doing so, has inspired new generations of professional chefs and home cooks to discover the rich variety within Mexican gastronomy.
What we covered in this episode

Mely Martinez talks about the inspiration behind the recipes (9:48)
The cultural shift driving the resurgence of traditional Mexican food (15:58)
Why you won’t see a Mely Martinez restaurant (18:42)
Regional differences in Mexican cuisine (22:25)
Mely Martinez shares her life lessons from traditional cooking (28:16)
A recipe you can make at home that you won’t find the book (35:15)
Series of rapid-fire questions.
Link to the podcast episode on Apple Podcast

Links to other episodes in Dallas
Conversation with Chef Misti Norris from Petra & The Beast


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Mely Martinez – Pork in Chile Morita with Rice





Entomatadas, corn tortillas covered with tomato and cheese @ Mexico in My Kitchen





Mely Martinez – Mole Poblano





Tamales de pollo en salsa verde @ Mexico in My Kitchen




Recipe: Tamales de Puerco – Pork Tamales from Mely Martinez
Ingredients:
For the meat:
1 pound of pork shoulder, cut into cubes
2 garlic cloves
¼ of a white onion
1 bay leaf
4 cups of water
1 teaspoon of salt
For the sauce:
2 Ancho peppers, cleaned, deveined, and seeded
3 Guajillo peppers, cleaned, deveined, and seeded
2 small garlic cloves
1/3 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Salt and black pepper to season
For the dough:
3 cups of cornflour (masa harina)
1-1/3 cup of lard
2½ cups of the broth where you cooked the meat in.
1 teaspoon of baking powder
Salt, if needed (the broth already has salt added)
16 large corn husks, plus more for adding to the steaming pot
Instructions:
1. In a medium-size pot, combine the pork meat, garlic, onion, bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cover with the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer partially covered, occasionally skimming off and discarding the fat from the surface. Cook for about 1 hour, or until meat is tender enough to shred. Remove the onion, garlic, and bay leaf from the pot and discard. When the meat is cool enough to handle, shred it into bite-size pieces and set aside.
2. While the meat is cooking, soak the dry peppers in a medium-size pot with warm water for about 20 minutes. Drain the peppers and place them in your blender along with the garlic cloves, cumin, and 1/3 cup of water (some people use the soaking water). Process until you have a smooth sauce.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat, then add the pepper sauce with 1 cup of the meat broth and cook for 8 minutes.
4. Add the shredded pork to the sauce and season with salt and ground black pepper. Add more broth if needed. Simmer until heated through, about 5 more minutes.
5. Place the corn husks into a large bowl with warm water to soak for about 30 minutes. After this time, remove the husks, drain any excess water, and set aside.
6. To prepare the dough,