Sobremesa Tasty Mexican recipes for every day

This sumptuous guide to Mexican home cooking takes eager cooks through light staples like soups and tacos to belly-filling fare like beef stews, chicken tinga, and steak with chorizo refried beans. Villasuso's emphasis on weeknight meals, diverse array of offerings, and short preparation times (most under an hour) will keep organized menu planners happy. Slurp on spaghetti verde with charred padrón peppers on Monday, Mexican red rice and fried eggs on Tuesday, feta and pico de gallo with totopos (tortilla chips) on Wednesday, picadillo on Thursday, and finish with halibut aguachile with cucumber and mint on Friday. Carnivores and vegetarians alike have plenty to choose from: pork belly and pinto beans, miso and mezcal shrimp, guajillo steak and lentil stew, sweet potato taquitos, butter bean and caramelized carrot tostadas, and vegan red tamales. Crisp and colorful photos showcase the vivid beauty of these meals (a sprig of cilantro never hurts!) and encourage cooks to make healthy and hearty Mexican platos a part of their weeknight repertoire.

Chef and debut author Villasuso's love for her native Mexico shines through in this collection of flavor-packed and accessible recipes meant to be shared with loved ones. Alongside classic dishes like chicken tinga with roasted potatoes, tres leches cake with mascarpone honey frosting, and pork belly and pinto beans in salsa verde, are recipes inspired by Villasuso's childhood, including chorizo quesadillas made with chipotle and roasted sweet potatoes tortillas, mango and passion fruit no-churn ice cream, and refried chickpea open-face sandwiches. Noteworthy fresh takes include eggplant with guajillo yogurt sauce, roasted pineapple mezcal popsicles, and heirloom tomato pico de gallo salad. Whether for a quick, weeknight dinner like spicy pinto bean and lemon soup or a more elaborate dish like three-chile barbecued beef, Villasuso's instructions are easy to follow, and most ingredients can be easily sourced. Villasuso paints a vivid picture of Mexican food culture, explaining, for example, the difference between corn tortillas and tostadas, and pointing out that the traditional barbacoa method of slow-cooking meat in a hole in the ground dates to pre-Hispanic times. This celebratory collection will have foodies' mouths watering. Agent: Becky Thomas, Lewinsohn Literary. (May)