Blackberries or Moras

Bret Thorn wrote an article on blackberries  for Nations Restaurant News and posted it on his Facebook profile.  Of course no Mexican recipes were included because no one associates blackberries with Mexican cooking but they are very much used in both the cooking of Michoacan where they make delicious tamales with a type of wild berry called capulines that can be replaced with blackberries and in Xico, Veracruz where the small local berries burst with flavor.

It was here that i met the Izaguirres-Virues family who first served me pollo en mora (see recipe), one of the most surprising dishes I have ever head.  The chicken was cooked in Dona Carmen’s own brand of blackberry liqueur (a specialty of the town), shredded very finely, sauteed with finely chopped pimento-filled green olives and toasted almonds.  She served it with bunuelos, another surprise!  At Zarela we use this delicious concoction as an appetizer for our catered events, or as a filling for chiles rellenos or blackberry-corn masa tamales.  They are delicious and we will serve them this upcoming weekend.

And let’s not forget the magnificent islas flotantes with salsa de mora, the signature dessert of the San Angel Inn in Mexico City.  They are worth flying there for!  And ona cold night in New York where the high today will be 69F  in mid JUne a cup of atole de mora (a corn porridge drink) will make you very happy