(Purée de Papas)
Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Zarela Martinez's book The Food and Life of Oaxaca. Martinez also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page.
To read more about Martinez and Oaxacan cuisine, click here.
When I visited the Isthmus of Tehuantepec at the season of spring parties accompanying the local velas (saints' day festivals), I found this vividly seasoned dish being served everywhere. It also turned out to be one of the regular Sunday offerings at Venancia Toledo Hernández's food stand in the Isthmian town of Ixtepec. She gave me her recipe and now everyone I've served it to in New York is in love with the brassy, sensuous flavors.
•This recipe from Mexico's Isthmus of Tehuantepec (the narrow, southern section of Oaxaca between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean) is characteristic of the region's rich, exuberant, highly flavored cooking. The Isthmus shows the influence of merchants from Spain and elsewhere, who introduced Mediterranean ingredients such as olives. According to Martinez, there's a local "passion for the richest of the European-derived foods" and aggressive combinations of sweet and sharp flavors.
•Martinez suggests seeking out Mexican pickled jalepeños, which are less bitter than U.S. varieties. She recommends the brands La Costeña and Herdez, both widely available.
•Regular yellow deli mustard, such as French's, will give the most authentic flavor to this recipe.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Prepare the vegetables: Have ready a medium-size saucepan of boiling salted water. Add the potatoes and cook until barely tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Lift out, letting them drain well, and peel. Set aside. Add the diced carrots to the water and cook just until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Scoop out with a strainer or slotted spoon, letting them drain well, and set aside. Add the peas and cook until barely tender, about 3 minutes; remove and drain.
Step 2
In a large bowl, mash the potatoes with a potato masher. Add the crema and beat with a wooden spoon to eliminate most of the lumps. Add the egg and mustard, continuing to beat until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
Step 3
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Step 4
In a medium-size skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat until fragrant and sizzling but not browned. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the parsley, cook for 1 minute longer, and beat the mixture into the mashed potatoes. Stir in the carrots, peas, pickled onions, olives, and jalapeños. Taste for seasoning and add the pepper and optional salt. Transfer the mixture to a buttered 2-quart baking dish and bake 20 minutes. Serve at once.
