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There’s a dried chile that doesn’t get nearly enough credit, and it’s the pasilla. Not as flashy as an ancho, not as punchy as a guajillo but somehow it delivers this deep, almost chocolatey warmth that makes a dish taste like it simmered for hours, even when it didn’t. I stumbled onto my first proper…
I’ll be honest the first time I made a proper chile food recipe from scratch, I burned the onions, forgot to drain the beans, and still ended up with something so good that my neighbor asked for the recipe. There’s something forgiving about chili. It’s one of those dishes that almost wants to succeed. I’ve…
There’s a salsa I grew up eating at a tiny taqueria near my aunt’s house. Dark red, almost brick-colored, with this deep smoky heat that hit the back of your throat in the best possible way. For years I assumed it was some complicated thing that only professional cooks could pull off. Then one afternoon…
I’ll be honest the first time I tried making a chile crunch recipe at home, I completely ruined it. The garlic burned within seconds, the oil smelled bitter, and the whole thing tasted more like regret than condiment. But I kept going back to it because once you’ve had that perfect crunchy, spicy, savory oil…
The first time I had chifrijo, I was sitting on a plastic stool at a tiny soda in San José, Costa Rica, slightly sunburned and very hungry. A ceramic bowl arrived stacked with layers crispy pork, red beans, rice, pico de gallo, and tortilla chips jammed in around the edges. I didn’t fully understand what…
If you didn’t grow up in El Paso or the surrounding borderland, there’s a decent chance you’ve never heard of Chico’s Tacos. But ask anyone from that city and they’ll immediately get a look part nostalgia, part defensive pride, like you just asked about something deeply personal. The restaurant has been serving their rolled tacos…
I didn’t grow up eating chicory. It wasn’t on the table in my house, and the first time I bought a bunch at the farmers market, I had absolutely no plan. I just liked how the leaves looked a little wild, slightly purple at the stem, with that waxy toughness that felt like it could…
I’ll be honest. The first time someone told me to put chickpeas in cookies, I made a face. A real, undisguised “why would you ruin cookies like that” face. But I was curious enough to try it, and somewhere between pulling that first tray out of the oven and eating three cookies standing right there…
The first time I heard about chickpea tofu, I thought it sounded like the kind of thing that only exists to make people feel better about not having real tofu. A consolation ingredient. Something you’d make once, acknowledge that you made it, and then quietly go back to your usual routine. I was completely wrong….
There’s a version of this story where I discovered chickpea patties at some beautiful farmers market or on a trip abroad. The real version is that I had half a can of chickpeas left after making hummus, no real plan for dinner, and approximately zero motivation to go to the store. What came out of…
