by Bennett Kalafut

Created on: July 10, 2008   Last Updated: August 20, 2011

Rice and beans - pinto beans (frijoles pintos) and peruano/mayacoba beans (fijoles peruanos or frijoles mayacobas) in the north, and black beans (frijoles negros) in the south - are the ubiquitous Mexican side dishes, on the table as part of all or most meals. Recipes for both, in various regional styles, abound. Instead of providing yet more, I offer recipes for a few other largely authentic Mexican side dishes. Many more can be found in good Mexican cookbooks or by asking one's Mexican neighbors.

(1) Refrigerator Zanahorias in Escabeche (Carrot Refrigerator Pickles)
(2) Ensalada de Nopalitos (Prickly Pear Salad)
(3) Camote (Sweet Potatoes)
(4) Tostones (Fried Plantains)
(5) Sauteed Huauzontle (an indigenous broccoli-like vegetable)

(1) Refrigerator Zanahorias in Escabeche

North of the border "pickle" gets us thinking first of cucumbers and then perhaps of okra or onions, but as gardeners know, pickling is a fine way to preserve or prepare many other vegetables. The following is my recipe for Mexican-style pickled carrots, a traditional preparation eaten as an appetizer or side dish. Cilantro is not usually added to authentic Mexican pickled carrots, but I think it improves the taste.

Treating this dish as refrigerator instead of heat-processed pickles keeps the carrots crisp.

Ingredients:
Enough carrots, cut into two-inch segments, peeled, and cut lengthwise if necessary, to fill two thirds of a half-gallon jar.
One onion, cut into eighths.
Three serrano chiles (or similar), halved.
Six cloves of garlic.
Four to six sprigs of cilantro, to taste
Approximately twelve peppercorns.
One pint of vinegar
One pint of water
1/4 cup of salt.

Pack (clean) jar with vegetables and cilantro. Mix water, vinegar, and salt. Add peppercorns, heat to boiling, reduce to simmer, and pour over vegetables. Top jar with additional vinegar if necessary. Refrigerate one week.

(2) Ensalada de Nopalitos (Prickly Pear Salad)

A whole cookbook could be devoted to the ways the nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica, a species of prickly pear) is prepared in the folk cuisine of northern Mexico. The red fruit, sometimes called "tuna" is pureed and used in beverages and confections; the pads ("nopales") are treated as a vegetable. Diced nopal are available in jars or cans, alternately, one may grill a cactus pad to tenderness, after having removed the spines. Like okra, it will become slimy if overcooked. Many local species of prickly pear - even the ones that grow in Saskatchewan, or so I'm told -may

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