Mexican Recipes & Latin American Recipes

From the Yucatan in the South of Mexico, soft eggs sit on top of refried beans and slightly-crisp corn tortillas. Sprinkled with ham and peas and covered in salsa, this dish is incredibly satisfying.

Try our healthy version of a traditional Mexican staple - these delightful refried beans are flavored with epazote.

Roasted chicken rolled in corn tortillas and smothered with tangy salsa verde and melted Oaxaca cheese.

This tasty Mexican rice dish is cooked with tomatoes and chicken stock.

Tart tomatillos and fresh avocados make this mild salsa a wonderful companion to almost any dish.

Black beans with smoked salsa and coconut milk - a mildly sweet and spicy combination.

This fresh and spicy salsa is finished with a touch of lager beer.

A medley of delightful flavors...layers of snapper, onions, olives, jalapeños and cilantro are topped with fresh tomatoes, white wine and extra-virgin olive oil and baked until tender.

Roasted tomatoes and jalapeno peppers add incredible flavor to this simple Mexican salsa.

Pieces of golden-fried halibut are wrapped in warm corn tortillas and smothered with fresh salsa verde.

Lomo Saltado is a popular Peruvian dish that contains simple but delicious ingredients.

Flavored with Mexican chiles, cumin, coriander, fennel, garlic and extra-virgin olive, this chicken is sure to be a hit at your next barbecue.

The old saying ‘you are what you eat’ is not quite accurate. If you want to be in control of what you eat, then, more accurately, ‘you are what you cook’ and if you are not cutting, this means you are not cooking. It’s that simple.

All too often people choose not to cook because the slicing and dicing of ingredients is too much of a challenge and; therefore, considered a chore. People who know how to handle a knife effectively and with confidence naturally cook more and, in turn, people who cook more generally lead healthier lifestyles. For this reason, knowing how to handle a knife is perhaps one of the most important life-skills.

In this lesson, you will learn how to cut using a chef’s knife. You will learn how to grip a chef’s knife, how to position your guide hand and the mechanics of the rolling technique. Most new cooks feel intimidated by a sharp blade, so we will demonstrate a safe and effective way for you to practice this skill before you even pick up your knife. Once you are comfortable, we will show you how to practice cutting with your chef’s knife. We will also show you various ways to position your knife and hands based on the ingredient you are cutting. And finally, we will show you how to hone your knife in order to keep it nice and sharp.

We cannot over-emphasize the importance of this lesson which will, in a very short time, put you on the most effective path to good cooking. It is an exhilarating feeling once you learn how to properly handle a chef’s knife and once you do, you will be able to easily and confidently move on to more challenging techniques to create a variety of delicious dishes.

Excellent cooks can perform a variety of precise knife cuts quickly and efficiently. This is because they have perfected their knife skills by practicing over and over again. It is important to remember, however, that all successful chefs once started as novices – awkward at first – but with determination and commitment, they developed the first and most essential skill in all of cooking: how to cut using a chef’s knife.

The key to using a chef’s knife is to train your hands to apply precise and rhythmic cutting motions so the food you prep prior to actually cooking it is accomplished quickly and with confidence. By applying the correct motion for a variety of cuts, you not only make the cooking of any meal that much quicker and more appealing, but you also expand the possibilities of that dish’s texture based on the cuts you use. In other words, your repertoire of what you can and WILL cook is directly affected by how well and confidently you can use your chef’s knife.

In this lesson, you will learn how to safely and properly cut a variety of ingredients no matter what their shape. There are a lot of fancy and often confusing terms used in recipes to describe different ways to cut ingredients. Terms such as mince, julienne, chiffonade, and brunoise are all very useful to describe specific cuts, but generally, all you need to learn is how to slice and then dicing and all other cuts will naturally follow. Eventually, you will develop a special bond with your knife – the same bond a crafts person has with certain tools. Once this happens, cooking becomes extremely enjoyable.

Pan frying is one of the most common dry-heat cooking methods, yet many cooks have trouble achieving that nice golden crust when pan frying or they have problems with sticking and burning. Pan frying is an important cooking skill to learn as so many recipes start in the pan.

In this lesson, you will learn the few key indicators to look for when pan frying along with some simple yet effective cooking methods that will enable you to master the art of pan frying.

Here's an easy way to pit and dice the avocado fruit to make delicious guacamole, salsa or just to add to a salad.

By mincing or crushing garlic into a paste, it releases more flavor and becomes quite powerful. This is a great knife skill to use in the kitchen when you want a strong garlic flavor.

Removing the skin from fruit such as a tomato, peach or even plums is easy with a quick blanch and an ice bath.

Tomatillos are green in color and have a very tart flavor. They are often used when preparing Mexican food to make delicious salsa or sauces.

Fresh garlic makes a difference, so don't just grab the first head of garlic you see at the supermarket. Here's what to look for when buying and prepping garlic for your favorite recipe.

The serrano pepper is a type of chili pepper that originated in the mountainous regions of Mexico. An unripe serrano pepper is green, but the color at maturity varies.

Chipotle peppers are red jalapeno peppers that have been smoked. You can buy them dried, powdered, pickled or canned in adobo sauce.

Chorizo often refers to fresh pork sausage that needs to be cooked; however, in Europe it is more frequently known as a fermented cured smoked sausage. Spanish chorizo and Portuguese chorizo get their distinctive smokiness and deep red color from dried smoked red peppers.

Grown in Mexico, limones are also know as key limes. Though you could substitute regular limes, limones have a unique tart and bitter flavor which are the basis for key lime pie.