Yucatan, all you have to taste in Mexico to be able to say you have eaten local. Not only typical dishes but also places not to be missed in the Yucatan.
One of the most interesting aspects of a trip, besides obviously the possibility of visiting more or less known places and getting to know new cultures, often very distant from ours, is to discover the excellence. typical food and wine local.
For us Italians, who are used to eating very well, being able to find a cuisine that can satisfy our palate is never so simple. In fact, there are not a few places where I have had to adapt and be satisfied with dishes that are not always satisfactory, perhaps without a real culinary culture behind them, and then return home, satisfied and hungry, for the series "After all, I'm not coming so far only for the food! ".
Yet one of the best exceptions, which I remember with great pleasure, was the peninsula of Yucatan, one of the places abroad where I have eaten better and which surprised me not a little. Maybe because I started with a rather heavy baggage of prejudices, like that Mexican cuisine is very spicy, that you only eat tacos and tortillas, etc… None of that. I actually found one very varied cuisine, with a deep culture behind it, rich, colorful and with many flavors. A real discovery, taste after taste. Of course I also found that Mexicans eat everything, especially the poorest populations, including snakes and iguanas in their diet, but if we exclude these ingredients that are not very popular with us Europeans, the rest is worth tasting!
The first prejudice that needs to be debunked is that Mexican cuisine is not spicy. Or rather, there are typical dishes that are rather spicy, but there are many others that are not at all, because it is not true that Mexicans love to sprinkle everything that passes for their palate with chilli!
If for us Italians one of the main ingredients is wheat, from which we obtain the flour, necessary to prepare bread and pasta, for Mexico the key ingredient is corn, from whose flour the famous ones are obtained tortillas. In the Yucatan it is said that if a woman is unable to turn corn into flour and process tortillas, then she will never be able to find a husband! Depending on the shape or use, tortillas change their name: they become burritos if they are stuffed and rolled; they become quesadillas if they are fried and stuffed with cheese; they become echiladas if they are seasoned with chili sauce; they become nachos if they are cut into triangles and fried.
One of the things I loved are the sauces which are usually found at the table as an appetizer. My favorite is the guacamole, a green sauce made with avocado, lime, coriander, onion and a pinch of chilli. I've tried making it at home or eating it in various Mexican restaurants, but I've never been able to match that fantastic taste. The refrito frijoles instead it is one sauce made from dark beans which contrary to what one might think is not heavy at all. Instead, treat the pico del gallo, whose appearance is very similar to the classic and fresh topping for bruschetta, instead it is a condiment whose degree of spiciness can seriously test even the most savvy palates!
Another very popular ingredient is fish, seen and considered that the Yucatan overlooks the Gulf of Mexico. The Lobsters they are very popular and can be found in all restaurants at very low prices. In Campeche, both i shrimp, a typical local specialty, is the pampano, an Atlantic fish very similar to dolphin fish. A typical and rather tasty dish is precisely the pampano stuffed with shrimp and spicy sauce: a mouth-watering delight.
And what is the best way to end a meal if not with a coffee? Yes, but not a simple coffee, but with a Maya coffee, which I saw served at the restaurant Pancho's, in the center of Merida. It is prepared in a very choreographic way and being flavored with alcohol, it is poured into glasses with a spectacular waterfall of fire that left me speechless. It is worth ordering just to see it prepared with such skill.
