Authentic Mexican: Five Recipes from Rick Bayless

Rick Bayless got into a bit of a juicy PR kerfuffle last week when Jonathan Gold, the great LA food critic, chided him for saying he was bringing "authentic" Mexican cuisine to Los Angeles. (Coals to Newcastle, rather.) Since then Gold and Bayless have made up, and the whole Twitter spat just served to remind us of how much we love Bayless's recipes. Here are five favorites.

Besides winning Top Chef Masters, Rick Bayless is also one of the most knowledgeable chefs around when it comes to Mexican cooking. He has spent years traveling around Mexico and digging deep into the country’s regional cuisines. His cookbooks are a revelation to those of us who grew up eating Taco Bell (ahem!), and his Chicago restaurants Frontera and Topolobampo showcase how incredible Mexican food really is. And his new restaurant in Los Angeles, Red O, will add one more dimension to a city already embarrassingly rich in Mexican food. (Bring a little of that over our way, OK?)

• Read more about Bayless & Gold: Mexican Food Fight: Jonathan Gold v Rick Bayless at Southern California Public Radio

In other words, if you’re looking for a different kind of Mexican dish to make for dinner, Rick Bayless definitely the one to ask! Check out these recipes of his that we’ve gathered from around the web:

• Smoky Chipotle Salsa with Roasted Tomatillos from Leite’s Culinaria
• Red Chileatole with Fall Vegetables from Epicurious
• Pork Tinga with Potatoes, Avocado, and Fresh Cheese from RickBayless.com
• Spicy Grilled Chicken with Creamy Pumpkin Mole Sauce from Bon Appétit
• Yucatecan-Style Fresh Coconut Pie from the Food Network

• Find More Recipes! Recipes from Chef Rick Bayless on Frontera - RickBayless.com
• Get the Book: Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless

What are your favorite Mexican dishes? And are you a fan of Bayless and his books?

(Images: RickBayless.com)

Comments (10)

I looovve Bayless! My favorite of his books is Mexican Everyday--the recipes for home-cooked beans and guajillo-spiced pork and potatoes (kind of fussy, but definitely worth it) are standards around my house.

I just read about Red O yesterday; unfortunately is was not in a flattering light. The issues weren't about the food per se, the diners were offended by the manager. Apparently the manager was quite homophobic toward the party.

I love Bayless too. I don't begin to know the depth of LA Mexican, but I can bet it barely scratches the surface of the diversity of food available in Mexico. And Bayless should be commended for promoting Mexican "alta cocina" (haute cuisine), when most Americans think of Mexican food as a cheap hangover cure. In Mexico, you can dine all over the spectrum amazingly well, and we could stand to get a little dose of the higher end here in the US.

At the same time, I really appreciate Bayless's (or, really, Baylesses'--as his wife, Deann, does a lot of the research and writing with him) dedication to traditional food. His "Mexico One Plate at a Time" book is great because it's so methodical about what constitutes a "traditional" dish, and how and what you can adjust if you want.

Bayless is my HERO! How I wish I could travel Mexico with him :) Being a Latina he makes me proud of my culture! It’s wonderful to see him featured this week. I'm honored that my recipe was posted in the SAME week!

That Pork tinga, above, is soo good, and you can make it in a crockpot!

I plan to try the Pork tinga. The Wall Street Journal printed this recipe as a favorite of then presidential candidate Barack Obama. We made it for inauguration day and it has become a staple. Pretty easy--even if you have to pull out the blender.

http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/view?recipeID=51

Preguntas de autentidad dejado a un lado, por que habies elijido alguien que no es latino para el primer autor destacado en la semana de la comida latino americano? Y ademas, noto que una sola pais recibio una semana entera (italia), y ahora dedicamos una semana a dos continentes de cocina. Es reduccionista.

We have the pork tinga often at our house - it is amazing!

I'm a fan of the guy for sure but Rick Bayless isn't the only chef who has extensively researched and written cookbooks about real Mexican food, he just has the best PR team? It would be great to see Zarela Martinez, Susana Trilling and Diana Kennedy featured this week too.

I was curious to see what MaryWynn above had to say, and had it translated. excuse me if I miss any points. for those of you also curious, MaryWynn states that, "questions of authenticity aside, you feature an author who is not even mexican for latin american week.
Furthermore, I notice that a single country received a full week (Italy), and now you devote a week to two continents' kitchen. It is reductionist."

I do love Bayless, especially his chocoflan recipe, but MWynn brings up some good points. I am not aware, however, who would be a more authoritative source of mexican cooking.

And there definitely seems to be a HUGE variation across latin america concerning food that we have not even begun to understand.