For the last few years, Rick Martinez, food writer and host of multiple food shows on YouTube, lived in Mexico, travelling around the country trying different dishes and experimenting with Mexican ingredients in his home kitchen. Now, his new cookbook, called Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico: A Cookbook, summarizes his favorite dishes from his adventures, from Oaxaca, to Sinaloa, to Mexico City. Martinez joins us to discuss Mexican cooking.

Cemita Poblana

 

Fried pork cutlet

sandwich topped with

strands of queso Oaxaca

MAKES 4 CEMITAS

 

I had walked to the Mercado

Municipal La Acocota in Puebla

and was looking at ceramics

when a crazy thunderstorm

started. It shook the building

and wouldn’t let up. I had not

intended to eat there, but

I was trapped. I didn’t want to

walk in the rain and there were

no taxis nor Ubers nearby.

 

I saw a woman at a cemita

puesto (sandwich food stall)

take balls of queso Oaxaca

and pull them apart into long,

thin threads of cheese—it was

like watching someone pull

apart a sweater into strands of

fiber. Queso Oaxaca is similar

in flavor to Monterey Jack

with the string-like texture of

fresh mozzarella—it is made by

pulling the cheese into strands

and rolling it up like a ball of

yarn. After unraveling it, the

vendor took a handful of the

cheese strands and used them

to top the cemitas before

smashing the avocado into the

bread and closing the cemita. I

was in complete awe. I ordered

a sandwich, of course.

 

This was also my first time

tasting pápalo, an herb that

has a flavor similar to the

combination of cilantro, mint,

and basil. It is pretty difficult

to find, even in parts of México.

So, if you can’t find it, and

you probably won’t, just use a

combination of herbs to mimic

the flavor. But if you do see it,

buy it and try it!

 

4 boneless center-cut pork chops (6 oz/170 g each), excess fat trimmed

Morton kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 large eggs, at room temperature

3 cups panko Japanese-style bread crumbs or unseasoned bread crumbs

½ cup vegetable oil

2 large avocados, peeled, seeded, and halved

4 cemitas poblanas, teleras, bolillos, or brioche rolls, halved and toasted

Chiles Chipotles en Escabeche,or sliced Chiles Jalapeños en Escabeche, plus brine from the jar

½ medium white onion (5.6 oz/160 g), thinly sliced

1 cup (packed) pápalo (1 oz/30 g) or a combination of cilantro, basil, and mint

8 ounces queso Oaxaca or fresh mozzarella (226 g), pulled into thin strands or shredded

8 ounces thinly sliced smoked or cooked ham (226 g)

 

1. Place a pork chops between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to a ¼-inch

thickness. Unwrap and set aside on a plate. Repeat with the remaining chops,

then season both sides with salt and pepper.

 

1. Add the flour to a shallow bowl (a pie plate works best). Place the eggs in

another shallow bowl and beat to combine. Place the panko in a third shallow

bowl. Season the flour, eggs, and panko with salt and pepper.

 

1. Working with one at a time, dredge a chop through the flour, shaking off any

excess and making sure both sides are well coated. Transfer to the bowl with

the eggs and turn to coat. Lift from the bowl, letting any excess drip off. Add

the pork to the panko, pressing it into the crumbs on both sides to adhere, then

transfer the pork to a sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining chops.

 

1. In a large skillet over medium-high, heat ¼ cup oil. Cook 2 cutlets at a time

until the coating is deep golden brown and the pork is just cooked through, for

about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Wipe out

the skillet and repeat with the remaining ¼ cup oil and 2 cutlets.

 

1. Smash half of an avocado onto the top half of each toasted cemita so that it

sticks to the bread. Set a pork cutlet on each bottom half. Top the pork with the

chipotle, onion, pápalo, queso, ham, and a generous drizzle of chipotle brine.

Top the cemita, cut in half, and serve.