cookery grind

mole sauce on tacos, rice, and beans

Today my friend Rachel joined me at Cafe Azteca for a "cookery grind" which is a cooking lesson. Hugo, who owns Cafe Azteca with his Irish wife, has built a reputation on fresh and quality Mexican food. I can honestly say it is the best Mexican food that I've had in Dublin and there really aren't many others who are doing Mexican food well in this country.

After hearing that Hugo offered lessons I made an appointment and invited Rachel to join me. I thought it fitting since Rachel and I originally met in San Diego where we worked at a seafood restaurant on the San Diego Marina. It was called Hudson Bay Seafood at the time (it has since been sold) and focused on dishes from coastal Mexico like fish tacos, the 'best clam chowder on the planet', and seafood salads. Anyway, with our love of Mexican food Rachel and I had a lot of fun in the class with Hugo.

We went from the very basics of pico de gallo and guacamole to refried beans and a delicious mole sauce blended and imported from a mill in Mexico. We even made corn tortillas and sopes by hand and I think I figured out what I was doing wrong before. My favorite part of the class was figuring out restaurant-style Mexican rice because mine never turns out fluffy enough. The secret is to quick-fry the rice in oil first and then add a tomato-based sauce in the water, which gives it the lovely pink color. I cant wait to visit Rachel in Carlow next week and recreate all the dishes on our own.

Hugo took some pictures of us after the class eating our food--which tasted heavenly by the way. If I can get those from him I'll post a better picture. Here is the picture below--gracias Hugo!

yes we are awesome