The experience today advertised a "typical Mexican breakfast," a trip to a tortilla factory, a stop at the market, and return to the restaurant. There, we'd have a more-typical cooking school session. And so it was!
We had guessed Huevos Rancheros or Chilaquiles but were pleasantly graced with lamb barbarcoa tacos. The lamb and the preparation are local, from a nearby farm; the meat is cooked in a pit in the ground overnight. Flavorful and totally tender! In addition, we were treated to a portion of a squash-blossom quesadilla ... that was a tick on the spicy side, but very tasty nonetheless. The venue was, quite literally, a hole-in-the-wall with 5 picnic tables set up inside; the grill was out on the sidewalk to save space for patrons. We were first a bit startled, then impressed with the presentation -- sturdy plastic plates had been covered with plastic BAGS, so nothing needed to be washed and nothing fell off a limp paper plate. Genius!
From there we piled back into the vans and moved along to the market. Of course the produce was spanking fresh, though some of it was more impressive than others: radishes the size of plums, avocados the size of a "personal" watermelon. Our instructor drilled the uneducated on the various chiles, though happily we'd have passed a pop quiz. Out the side door and into the NEXT door, and it's the dry-goods side of things -- every bean and pasta imaginable available by the scoop, and plenty of pet food as well. Hmm. But the dried chiles were back-referenced to their fresh versions, so now we know for sure what we're talking about (fresh poblano = dried ancho; fresh jalapeno = dried chipotle).
Down the block, there's a cheese vendor...queso fresca which will be used in our dessert. The flour-tortilla factory offered up a fresh hot giant sample to tear up and share. We also saw a corn-tortilla stand, where the corn is soaked and ground right there before being made up into masa and then the tortillas themselves. All these great ingredients had us ready to cook!
So back to the restaurant, where we met the chef and sous chef. Our instructor is co-owner but also develops many of the recipes; a good number are from her family, including the following bread pudding.
The first assignment was to make Mexican bread pudding, which would need to bake and then cool before serving. Two entire baguettes were sliced thick, deep-fried, and then layered with peanuts, the fresh cheese, and raisins. Each layer was generously sauced with a sweet syrup flavored with cinnamon and allspice. There was a LOT of bread pudding!
Next we moved to a green mole sauce, which reminded us a lot of the Chicken with Easy Pumpkin Seed Sauce which we'd made from Rick Bayless a few nights ago. This mole enjoyed more ingredients, so a more complex flavor profile, but still will be easy to replicate at home.
The appetizer was to be gorditas (thick tortillas stuffed with ... your choice!). By then, first Claudette and then I had reached the end of our ability to stand in the crowded and VERY hot kitchen. We took seats in the dining room where we could hear the conversation in the kitchen pretty well. The stuffing was a fava bean puree, enriched with onion & garlic; corn masa was rolled out into a rough circle, the filling spooned on, and the edges brought together to enclose the filling. Make sure the seal is tight, pat it down to be not-TOO-thick, fry 'em up in lard.
Finally there were two salsas, a roasted-tomato one we had enjoyed at breakfast and one hotter. The second one was added as a courtesy to several students who have attended multiple classes and made the roasted-tomato salsa many times before. How nice!
Now the cooking class is complete, and we adjourn to the luncheon table to enjoy the fruits of our labors. The salsas come out first, with tostadas of various sizes. All but one at the table ordered the signature El Arrayan margarita.
Next come the gorditas, which are crunchy and quite tasty. There's a little lettuce salad underneath them, and a dollop of crema and some red-cabbage shreds on top.
Our main dish was the chicken with green mole, which was complemented with freshly-made corn tortillas and a serving of black beans. Very filling, and fun to compare our memory of our own home-made sauce with this excellent team effort.
Finally came the bread pudding, which had settled to about half its original height. Our expectations were not high for this dish (we figured we'd miss the eggs and cream!) but actually it was quite nice. A small scoop of their house-made vanilla ice cream completed the presentation ... and our meal.
We had noticed first one, then another person arrive and be led to the back of the restaurant, where there were art works for sale. Each left with a purchase ... to the total dismay of some of our companions, who had been discussing which of those two very pieces to purchase for themselves. Ouch! But later we met them in a nearby gallery, they had found related works and were celebrating their good fortune. All's well that ends well...
Now it's nearly 4P and time to find our way back to Nuevo Vallarta. We head downhill to the Malacon, take in the ocean for a few minutes, and find ourselves accosted by a friendly urchin who introduced us to a taxi. No need for dinner tonight -- we'll get back to the kitchen tomorrow.
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