Authentic Mexican Recipes by Olivia Smith

Mexican cuisine is as complex as other ancient cuisines, such as those of Indian Cuisine, China and Japan, with techniques and skills developed over thousands of years of history. It is created mostly with ingredients native to Mexico, as well as those brought over by the Spanish conquistadors, with some new influences since then.

In addition to staples, such as corn and chile peppers, native ingredients include tomatoes, squashes, avocados, cocoa and vanilla, as well as ingredients not generally used in other cuisines, such as edible flowers, vegetables like huauzontle and papaloquelite, or small criollo avocados, whose skin is edible.

Vegetables play an important role in Mexican cuisine. Common vegetables include zucchini, cauliflower, corn, potatoes, spinach, swiss chard, mushrooms, jitomate (red tomato), green tomato, etc. Other traditional vegetable ingredients include chiles, huitlacoche (corn fungus), huauzontle, and nopal (cactus leaves) to name a few.

European contributions include pork, chicken, beef, cheese, herbs and spices, as well as some fruits.

Tropical fruits, many of which are indigenous to Mexico and the Americas, such as guava, prickly pear, sapote, mangoes, bananas, pineapple and cherimoya (custard apple) are popular, especially in the center and south of the country.

Here you will find more than 50 mexican recipes anyone can make and enjoy.