Masa Inn

If visitors to Oaxacan cooking school La Casa de los Sabores came away with nothing more great recipes and a gastronomic meal rich in unique flavors of herbs and spices with hints that are hallmarks of the cuisine of Oaxaca They will leave fully satisfied. But a visit with the owner and chef Pilar Cabrera also inspires extraordinary and U.S. travelers with a sensual immersion day in pictures, sounds, smells, and yes, tastes and tested recipes of southern Mexico.

As always, a recent culinary odyssey with Pili, as it is known, began at La Casa de los Sabores something in the morning - at 9:30 am Over the next few hours, she introduced me and others in the class to the wisdom and experience of her great matriarchal culinary tradition. Pili learned the basics and intricacies, including the mysteries of the seven famous moles, to his grandmother, who learned from her grandmother before her. She is a master-born Mexican cuisine of Oaxaca south, as well as international epicurean trends, capable of sharing the secrets of preparing meals with the most eclectic of novices and experts alike - in English and Spanish.

Our day began with Pili informal talk on the menu and the food she would introduce us to one of the colorful markets of Oaxaca. The extra attention to the main ingredients of the cuisine of Oaxaca held us spellbound. "What we do today with the peppers, she says," is warm and tropical ... with Chile de agua, you will see that we use not only for flavor but color as well, and I'll teach you how we keep this beautiful, bright green. "

Once prepared with this knowledge, we are all engaged in a shopping trip to the well-known market, Mercado de la Merced, armed with multicolored bolsas - market bags - to carry the compras - purchases. Pili had prepared a partial list of races, but she advised us she always adds "surprises" such as fresh food, women farmers sometimes cut down the mountain.

"When you have a chance to find something real special or unusual, you can buy and integrate into the comida," she said. "Today, for example, searching for mushrooms, because they grow so well in the rainy season. So we'll see what kind of fresh fruit, we can use for dessert. "

His contribution in the unique shops and small factories enriched the short walk to the market. A rich bouquet drew us into a factory that has been making chocolate from scratch. As Pilar told us about the ingredients - cocoa, cinnamon, almonds and sugar - the owner welcomed us with "do you taste?

The lesson began in earnest when Pilar began methodically searching through the inner and outer parts of the market and the exchange of pesos for its plethora of fresh produce.

"See this woman sitting there, what it has in the bowls," she said. " She just brought the raspberries and blackberries from the Sierra Juarez. We can use them for dessert. Notice how fresh and beautiful. The mushrooms beside them, see the size, size and bright orange ... is the time of the year, but not for our recipe today ... Here, we do not buy the Big Green tomatillos. I prefer small, locally grown, because they are not sour like the others, and they taste much more, perfect for salsa that we prepare today. "

She encouraged us to smell the herbs as she explained their use, particularly dishes from Oaxaca. "Today, we use this hierba santa for the mole," she said as she was examining samples of the fragrant leaf until it had found the best and freshest for storage in one of our bowls. "But we also use it to wrap fish and make tamales. "

<.